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Mackfam
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| Posted: Oct 09 2009 at 2:28pm | IP Logged
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Ladies, I just love Autumn! And it heralds an entirely new freshness in keeping home for me after the oppressive summer heat! I love to cook during this time of year. I'm rethinking pantry storage and looking anew at the workzones in my kitchen - are they tidy? are they stocked?
So...could we chat about pretty fall preparations in the home? Share with me what you enjoy doing in the home during the loveliness of Autumn! 
I'll go first!
Pantry I tidied and freshened my pantry, spending a good bit of time reorganizing. I went through all my storage options - questioning if I had enough, purging excess. Gave some thought to storage.
Freezer Pantry I should have defrosted this summer...but I didn't. Oh well. So, I just moved and arranged things and I'm starting an inventory list so that I can make some plans for fall baking to freeze and making stocks and things.
Bake Center I cleaned and wiped down my bake center - vacuumed out my bread machine, restocked grains, rearranged my glass canisters and containers so they were more practically laid out and arranged. I polished my big butcher block top on my bake center - smells so lovely now!.
Table I set out the cheeriest and warmest cranberry red and white gingham checked tablecloth with cranberry red napkins and set a fall display in the center with autumn colored silk leaves. I'll change this out periodically as we also have some lovely "faux"  fruits that look pretty with fall leaves. I love setting out mums and vases of red Dogwood Tree berries in the fall as well. A collection of nuts gathered from a nature walk makes a festive seasonal display. I'd love to hear some of your seasonal table display ideas!
Cooking Zones I did a thorough wipe down of everything and cleaned my cooktop and ovens (don't be too amazed! I just sprinkle baking soda, bake, and wipe up the burnt on parts), cleaned out the fridge.
Tableware Familiarized myself with a few items that had become stashed in the back of cabinets that would be nice to use more often, some that would be particularly nice for afternoon autumn teatimes.
Bedrooms I changed out all the sheets to flannel sheets which we love in cooler weather!
Children's clothes switcheroo I'm doing that this weekend and I'll make notes on my notecards (that I keep in my purse) of any items they're in need of.
Outside We set out our pumpkins out on the front porch. These grew as volunteers out of our compost bin and they look very festive. I can't wait to plant pansies! We need to tuck in the gardens soon, but we haven't had a first frost yet, so there's time.
Home Management book/box I moved my home management binder to a pretty red toile box...cause I WAY outgrew a binder and it's working out better for me. But, I needed to spend some time tidying and re-filing things. I did that and made a place for my freezer and pantry inventory list to land....now just need to work on them! I also sat down and finished up my early autumn menu plans and filed these in my box.
I'd love to fill in ladies, and you're all so very creative!!! I just love tending home and hearth during this season - I feel like a little squirrel gathering acorns - preparing, preparing! Please share with me your favorite autumnal seasonal chores for the home!
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Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19 , ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
Wildflowers and Marbles
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melanie
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| Posted: Oct 09 2009 at 2:49pm | IP Logged
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We have some mums on the front porch...I was going to get pansies, but the annuals we planted out front are just growing like mad with all the fall rain and look great, so I'll probably just leave them.
The kids painted small pumpkins at church the other day...even the toddler painted one, and they are lined upa long the top of the piano with a string of scarecrow lights.
I still need to do something pretty for the dining room table though.
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Melanie
homeschooling Maria (13yo), Kain (10yo), Jack (5yo), Tess (2yo), and our newest blessing, Henry Robert, born 4/23!
slightlycrunchycatholic.blogspot.com
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stellamaris
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I got a new fall-ish table cloth and then the children helped me make a centerpiece. We used a large terracotta saucer from a garden pot and put three autumn-colored candles in the center. Then they surrounded the candles with findings from the woods, just pinecones, leaves, moss, etc. My artistic ds made an adorable fall fairy with an acorn cap and voila! a little touch of fall to warm the dinner hour!
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Caroline
Wife to dh 30+ yrs,ds's 83,85,89,dd's 91,95,ds's 01,01,02,grammy to 4
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Mackfam
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| Posted: Oct 10 2009 at 5:29pm | IP Logged
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melanie wrote:
| I still need to do something pretty for the dining room table though. |
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Oh, I'd love to hear what you decide on, Melanie! I like ours right now, but I'd love to change it up a bit later in the season!
stellamaris wrote:
| We used a large terracotta saucer from a garden pot and put three autumn-colored candles in the center. Then they surrounded the candles with findings from the woods, just pinecones, leaves, moss, etc. |
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I LOVE that idea, Caroline! Very simple and lovely! We're planning on going on a nutting party through the woods soon, and I think I'll gather a few treasures with this in mind! I love the idea of using a terra cotta saucer to contain the candles and treasures! How lovely!
Keep the ideas coming girls! I'm taking notes!
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Jen Mackintosh
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Wildflowers and Marbles
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Lisbet
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When you do centerpiece decorations, how do you keep your toddlers out of it?
I have done nothing but put pumpkins in the flower beds and gourds on the mantle. We have so much going on here right now that I don't know that I will do much more. We have been doing a lot of baking. The bread machine runs twice a day now!
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Lisa, wife to Tony,
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Lisbet
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I forgot to add that I have been keeping the pantry stocked with more flour and brown sugar lately, and our side of beef is hanging this week and I will prepare our freezer for 300 pounds of fresh meat for the winter! :) We've also had quite a few pots of soup here lately. 'Homeschooling' consisted of teaching my oldest dd to make homemade stock and chicken and dumplings last week.
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Lisa, wife to Tony,
Mama to:
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Abby, 15
Gabe, 13
Isaac, 11
Mary, 10
Sam, 9
Henry, 7
Molly, 6
Mark, 5
Greta, 3
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Angel
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Lisbet wrote:
| When you do centerpiece decorations, how do you keep your toddlers out of it? |
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I have the same problem here. So - no new centerpieces. But we did pick up a 1/2 bushel of apples at Agway today (Gala and Northern Spy).
Being a transplanted southerner so far north, my autumn preparations mostly involve preparing to survive the winter.  I will be getting out my sunlight lamp soon. My dh has been cleaning windows and screens so that as much light as possible can come through the windows during our gray months (which seem to be starting early this year, hrmmm....) I spent some of the afternoon decluttering the CDs and DVDs that have clogged the top of our entertainment center for too long. It is my dearest wish that I will be able to put some houseplants up there instead, to have a little green there to cheer me up as the leaves come off the trees in the next week or two. We also bought paint today for our front room, which needs it badly. We chose a light cream semi-gloss, which should be nice for winter time.
As far as food goes... we still have brussel sprouts, kale, and leeks in the garden in need of harvest... my dh cleared out our makeshift pantry and stored this year's onions and potatoes... and I have a row of pumpkins sitting on our front porch that will need to be made into breads, muffins, and custard before they freeze. Our meat chickens are awaiting slaughter -- which will happen soon, I hope!!! -- and then I'll have nearly 30 chickens in the freezer. Not as many egg dishes now with the dwindling light, but soon my new layers will actually start laying, so hopefully they'll at least keep us in breakfast for a while.
I haven't completely switched clothes yet, or completed my seasonal ordering to compensate for growth, or dug the snowboots out of the basement. I am, therefore, behind, since our ten-day forecast does mention the s-word.
I used to love autumn, but I'm trying to come to terms with it up here. On the one hand, the foliage is beautiful. On the other hand, it's a bittersweet time, as I am not a fan of cold weather. But I'm learning to take beauty where I find it.
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Angela
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Mackfam
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Lisbet wrote:
When you do centerpiece decorations, how do you keep your toddlers out of it?
I have done nothing but put pumpkins in the flower beds and gourds on the mantle. We have so much going on here right now that I don't know that I will do much more. We have been doing a lot of baking. The bread machine runs twice a day now! |
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Well...I confess that I don't usually do centerpieces...but we gave this one a try and so far everyone has loved it so much. But...Katie does get into it. She likes the shiny leaf confetti. I love your idea of setting out a few autumnal things up high...maybe I'll try to do a bit more of that!
Angel wrote:
| We also bought paint today for our front room, which needs it badly. We chose a light cream semi-gloss, which should be nice for winter time. |
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Oh, this sounds so pretty! My mom and dad have an OLD farmhouse and mom painted the beadboard a cheery high gloss cream and it makes such a huge difference! The high gloss bounces light so much and the cream is so pretty and goes with everything! This old farmhouse wasn't built with light/open/airy as a theme - it was built as all old farmhouses were - very practically and with an economy of windows! So, I can understand your desire to let in as much light as possible. I learned that trick about the gloss level of paint from painting at Mom's - it's amazing how much light it reflects in the room! How's the painting coming anyway????? I hate that part! 
And, you always amaze me with your garden bounty, Angela! You always have something lovely coming in from the gardens to tuck away for the winter! Remember those volunteer pumpkins we saw growing out of my compost bin? That's all I have to show for this year - 9 volunteer pumpkins! I have determined that there is no possible way to garden in the clay soil of Alabama topped with invasive bermuda grass unless you have a seriously powerful tiller!!!! Which I don't....yet!
I finished adding some more to our pantry stores yesterday - I got a 25 pound bag of rice from our grocery buying club that I added to our buckets of grains, and I got some dates and maple sugar crystals to make some sweets with this winter. My little fella just loves maple sugar candies...anyone have a good recipe?
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Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19, ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
Wildflowers and Marbles
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CrunchyMom
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Jennifer, you really must get Square Foot Gardening and build some raised beds. Then, you make your own soil from compost, etc...
It is a great system for bad soil. We've used it in our city yard for space purposes. My dad's new home in the city (if you can call Oneonta that, though, it is the county seat ) borders a giant clay pit, and this year he was able to grow a few things in a raised bed. However, square foot gardening helps you fit a LOT into raised beds, and I think it is such a pretty garden with all the orderly, symmetrical plantings instead of rows. He has a recipe for the right mixture of soil and compost that will have soil the correct density for his concentrated method.
The best part is, no weeding. Seriously, it takes about 90 seconds a day to pull all the weeds out during the summer.
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
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[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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Mackfam
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I'd love to do square foot gardening, Lindsay...and we tried one year...it's that darn bermuda grass! It's so invasive! And then the fire ants made a bed in the garden... I know I didn't commit myself enough though! Maybe you're right...maybe that's where I should be turning my effort and attention - square foot beds. I've actually had the best luck with container gardening here. Might have to get your city-dwelling-dad to tell me his mixture ratio! I do have the book and my brother has the most beautiful and abundantly producing square foot beds. I need to see if he has any good pointers as well.
I need to figure out how to thwart the ants and the bermuda! But...that's the subject of another thread! Still...thanks for replanting the idea in my brain. I just felt like I was up against so many obstacles for gardening around here that I'd just become best friends with my farmers market!
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Jen Mackintosh
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CrunchyMom
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Not to hijack your thread, but one of the steps he has is laying down a liner in the base of the bed to keep out weeds from the ground. Or does the bermuda just seed so abundantly it blows into the top?
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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asplendidtime
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I try to keep a centerpiece around all of the time, usually it's just on a lazy-susan on the table. My toddlers mostly stay out of it, provided nobody leaves salt and pepper on the table...
I put "pretend" leaves around everywhere, low enough that the toddler can see and touch, and he mostly doesn't bother with them. He did at first but got over it.
We organised something like a nature table on the sill over top our kitchen sink, so leaves they gathered, some fakey ones, pinecones, and other treasures.
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JodieLyn
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Nothing major but.. the store had their harvest decor on sale so I got a couple of "ginger pumpkin" candles. I love spicy scents, except in the heat, they're too warm and cloying when it's hot.. but in the cool weather.. ginger and cinnamon and a new one I got but haven't used yet.. ginger and cardamom.. apple and cranberry.. yummy scents. I don't have fall decorations really.. but that's ok, I'm working on kids learning chores and decorations would just be in the way.
They were putting out Christmas deocrations and I saw some bead garland in irredescent and silver and I'm really thinking about getting some for Easter. I use gold ones at Christmas and love how the house looks with them.. and I'm struggling with decorating the house at Easter.
But that's not fall
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Donna Marie
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I am inspired by your posts! Right now there are some old fashioned baked beans bubbling in the oven and they will be all day...the house is full of this wonderful molassess-y popcornish smell...(the kids think it smells like popcorn)
I am cleaning windows (old home..have to go outside on a ladder) and such, making things as tidy as I can....even my very challenging kitchen (I have beans and grains in bulk and it gets waaay dusty and sticky in there so very easily)...and I want a woodcookstove?!....I'm nuts, I tell ya!
My little 'shoe' (I am the young woman who lives in one ) gets cluttered very quickly if I don't do a major clean at least twice a year of everything...so I started 2 months ago...and...
don't wory about me, I will be fine...I'm not giving up...no way...you will never find me if I do...I will be buried alive in the wake of my active children!!
I love bringing the outdoors inside...I am trying to be very careful I don't bring in anything that could be toxic to my young man (who just turned 1 yesterday and is eating everything and everyone in sight)
I have this lovely red Japanese maple that spreads its bright red leaves through the little windows on each side of the fireplace and one of the dining room windows and I LOVE this color peeking in from outside. (Thanks be to God dh has been too busy to trim them back a bit from the house...they are just starting to turn and it is just GORGEOUS! We get this color from this tree in the spring too! I have been meaning to get glycerin and preserve them on their colored branches and place them on the mantle...we shall see if I can get to it
This tree encourages me to clean the windows there FIRST every fall... that and the other dining room window and the little accent window in there have the dogwood turning its colors and showing its berries...the 2 trees kinda arch where the accent window is (in the middle of the 2 regular ones) so it looks like a cathedral ..and I am reminded to hold my tongue and be holy (or else) as we school at that table I was looking for ANYTHING that would remind me to keep my cool and I like searching for God in nature...so here I am looking longingly outside...and I need to get back to work...
am I a nut or what? If pressed, I will blame it on my children. haha ...LOL...this might help...How to preserve leaves
Saying a devout Ave for all of you as you inspire others in your Domestic Monasteries!
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Donna Marie from NJ
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Finding Elegant Simplicity
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stefoodie
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I'm so bad with this, but I'm trying. I do have some autumn decor but it's downstairs in the basement in a box somewhere and I really will need hubby to go and find it for me... sometime.
So right now I've got a bunch of mini-gourds and pumpkins (I bought a package at Whole Foods) that I just set out on our cake stand -- which is standing on the buffet. And since I don't have a budget for anything else decor-wise this month, I took out some tableware instead that were autumn-ish, and set them out beside the cake stand. So I've got a Japanese tea set, a sushi and sake thing, and a French onion soup crock. They don't get really go together but they were orange and brown. That's the extent of my decorating SKILLZ as far as that goes. When I find my leafy things and my twigs and stuff downstairs maybe it will look more like harvest time around here. Of course there's always autumn food in the kitchen. Right now I've got a really beautiful squash and a pie pumpkin on the counter. Tomorrow it will smell of apple pie in there.
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CrunchyMom
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One of my favorite things to do for decor is have the actual seasonal foods we are eating arranged prettily. Apples and pears in a fruit bowl, the winter squash that we will be eating later set out, etc...
I love clementines, and even though I can find them pretty much year round now, it didn't used to be that way and I associate them with fall and the holiday season. Next time I grocery shop, I will probably pick some up, put them in a pretty bowl for the few days they last, lol, and save all the peels. Then, I have a small, old pot without a handle that I keep on the stove through the fall and winter, switching out the orange peels, cinnamon sticks, cloves, and water to keep simmering on the stove. It smells so festive!
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
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[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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melanie
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Thank you for the link on preserving the leaves...I was just going to ask how you did that! 
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Melanie
homeschooling Maria (13yo), Kain (10yo), Jack (5yo), Tess (2yo), and our newest blessing, Henry Robert, born 4/23!
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melanie
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I too love the idea of gathering outside treasures to put in a terra cotta dish. I may try that this year and see how it goes...my toddler has learned how to climb up on top of the dining room table.  Nothing makes my heart stop quite like walking into the room and finding her toddling around up there! My dh says he's going to drive a stake through the middle of the living room and tie her to a leash there.
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Melanie
homeschooling Maria (13yo), Kain (10yo), Jack (5yo), Tess (2yo), and our newest blessing, Henry Robert, born 4/23!
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Angel
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melanie wrote:
| I too love the idea of gathering outside treasures to put in a terra cotta dish. I may try that this year and see how it goes...my toddler has learned how to climb up on top of the dining room table. Nothing makes my heart stop quite like walking into the room and finding her toddling around up there! My dh says he's going to drive a stake through the middle of the living room and tie her to a leash there. |
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Wait till she starts thinking of the furniture as an obstacle course which she must complete without touching the ground. Which is what my twins have graduated to.
Come to think of it, that is a sign of colder weather around here...
Ok, it's back to making pancakes for dinner for me
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Angela
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Mackfam
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Ooooooh! Just adding....if you can splurge ladies, you won't be sorry!!!! I took a peak at my weekly allowance and I'll need to wait a couple of weeks to order for fall, but if you can fit it in, this is my favorite fall tea! It's so yummy on a cool afternoon! So warm and comforting!
Hot Cinnamon Spice Tea
And...this looked like it might be delightful to try...
Cranberry Autumn Tea
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Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19, ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
Wildflowers and Marbles
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4Real Forums : Our Lady's Loom, Larder, and Laundry
Topic: The Loveliness of Autumn in the Home
