Saturday Meanderings
Happy Saturday! I am so delighted to be back writing again after two rather eventful weeks. It’s still hotter than the dickens in Phoenix but I am getting a brief respite from the heat while writing this from the cooler mountains of Arizona. Thank you for joining me today for Saturday Meanderings where we chat about all good things.
A Whirlwind Move
As you may recall, my middle child, Julianna graduated in May with her masters in Global Security and Intelligence. Three weeks ago, she receives a fabulous job offer in her field of study with an international company, with one of their facilities based in Austin, Texas.
With a few days of accepting the offer, she (and her boyfriend) fly to Austin to find housing. Four days later, they fly home and begin the quick process of collecting their belongings from multiple locations. With a packed U-Haul and her car filled with 2 dogs, 1 cat, 1 gecko and 85 house plants, we make the two day drive to Austin.
After the second day, I felt like I needed a walker after sitting in the car for 10 hours. Next, 5 days of unpacking, cleaning and painting, I am home nursing all the aches and pains of manual labor. Not sure if this is an Austin rental market thing, but it is surprising how rental turnovers do not involve deep cleaning.
Initially we thought the baseboards were just dirty, but after scrubbing, they still look horrible. A quick coat of white paint makes a big difference. A relatively easy fix with a big impact.
Kitchen cabinets are sticky and get a good cleaning with a degreaser. Now it feels sanitary enough to fill with utensils and kitchen items.
The windows that lack privacy with an adjacent house, get this pretty film coating my daughter selected. Surprisingly easy to apply, it adds a bit of interest instead of blocking out the light with curtains or blinds. What a great affordable option.
Easy Decorative Pie Crust
My last post, I share the secrets of making a delicious peach pie. Here is a way to upgrade your game and it is SO easy. My sweet friend, Tevia gave me this decorative rolling pin as a gift quite some time ago and I have never used it.
After rolling the dough, I cut in between the embossed designs and make strips for a lattice crust. Since I don’t want to cover the pretty design, simple narrow strips are made for the pattern.
In researching this type of rolling pin, there are so many designs to choose from. You can use it for cookies, clay, ornaments, and other crafty projects. Check out these beautiful holiday designs here.
Remember the salt dough ornaments I made last year? I think it would easy to make those ornaments using one of these decorative rolling pins.
Annual Pumpkin Hunting Trip
Each year we look forward to driving to Snowflake, Arizona to Willis Family Farms to buy pumpkins. This year, walking out to the active pumpkin field is actually quite a hike. The closer fields are being rejuvenated and not planted with any pumpkins this year.
Typically we get 4 wheelbarrows full of pumpkins and gourds, but this year we buy far less. Dragging 175 lbs of pumpkins all the way back to the check out stand was not fun. I swear it was a mile.
There are many other activities at Willis Family Farm for your family~corn maze, haunted corn maze, train rides, laser tag and cute baby pigs and goats. I do suggest going earlier in October when they first open.
Do You Decorate for Halloween?
Each year I debate whether or not to decorate for Halloween. With fond childhood memories of Mom putting up cornstalks around the entry lamp post and painting faces on pumpkins, I get a bit nostalgic this time of year.
My friend, Chloe, lives in a perfect neighborhood to decorate and see the spectacular decorations she has designed this year with large skulls. She is able to remove all the decorations before Hurricane Milton hit and fortunately they are safe with minimal damage.
Chloe will be demonstrating some holiday styling at our workshop on November 9th. It is always exciting to see what masterpiece she will create.
Kensington Doll House Company
There is something so magical about a well-appointed dollhouse~from the diminutive furniture to the scaled-down wallpaper and scrumptious fabrics. If you want to see some gorgeous photos of the work of the Kensington Doll House Company, click here.
This mother-daughter duo have turned their passion into a business, taking private commissions from their clients.
Geranium Moving Time
Each spring we move our geraniums up to the cabin as they love the cooler temperatures and rainfall. They generally look tired from the Phoenix heat but within a few weeks, they are happy and abundant.
The plants are looking so strong and healthy. Today I will be deadheading them and getting them ready for transport back to the Valley. Next week’s temperatures should be lower (keeping my fingers crossed).
The 12th season of the Great British Baking Show is now showing and it’s one of Finn’s favorites. Love that dog!
It’s been a scary weather week with the impact of the hurricanes. Our friends in that part of the country have experienced a range of damage from severe to being without electricity for over a week. Thankfully, they are physically safe. Our hearts and prayers are with those who are suffering. Hoping the hurricane season is over soon.
Wishing you an enjoyable weekend. We’ve got outdoor chores here at the cabin getting it ready for the winter. It’s nice to be here~so quiet and touches of fall in the air. Just what I need after a very hectic few weeks!
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Congratulations to your daughter getting the job. You are a great mom. Those pumpkins are so pretty. I love decorating for Fall but no halloween at my house!! Finn is a beautiful baby…
Hi Mary – what a bunch of coincidences. Today my family and I went to our fave pumpkin farm with a huge hayride way out to the 14 acres of pumpkins – all kinds and colors- to cut ours off the vines too.
And not even an hour ago my mother in law was telling me how one of our dearest family friends is moving into a house rental and how it is just filthy and not cleaned – so this friend and a bunch of helpers are painting, deep cleaning, etc. Guess it truly must be a thing. Yuck. I think that is so weird.
And finally – we stopped getting Netflix for a number of years and just re-subscribed and the first thing we did was start catching up on TGBBS. So Finn, you have great taste, indeed. It is such a gem of a series.
Hope your daughter is settled in and hope your aches are already gone. That’s true love – moving someone. ♥
Wow you WERE busy!! So proud of Julianna, and you’re a wonderful mother to help with all that. I’m sure she’s thrilled to have you! Such a beautiful pie crust! That’s a brilliant idea to roll the design then cut for the strips – you come up with the best ideas. I’ll definitely have to get one of those rollers and try it sometime. My husband was lamenting the lack of peach pies this year, so I’m saving your posts for next year! Your geraniums look happy and healthy and ready for their trip back to the flatland. It’s so nice that you have a cooler place for them to recover from the summer heat. And YOU to recover too! Thanks for keeping us in the loop – it’s always great catching up with you, my friend!
Such a BEAUTIFUL pie crust, Mary, thank you for sharing. We were gifted my mother in law’s vintage rolling pin with designs and have made cookies, but we will be trying a pie crust. It will be so pretty for Thanksgiving.
Such a busy time you’ve had! You are such a great and helpful mom.
Love all your pretty flowers and huge pumpkins.