HAPPY HALLOWEEN ---MY ALL TIME FAVORITE HALLOWEEN PUMKIN PICKIN' PICTURES!

Those of you that have followed me

for a while

will remember these pictures.

They are some of my

ALL TIME FAVORITE

pictures of 

SWEET CHEEKS.

She would have been 2 almost 3

when these were taken.

Here she is proudly holding 

HER OWN PUMPKIN!

She was so happy

UNTIL

Big pumpkin--Little Hands

spell disaster!

UH-OH

NOT GOOD!

I smile every single time I see those pictures of her.

Wishing you all a

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

and

WHOOOOO said PUMPKINS

have to be scary?

WHOOOO?  

Not ME!

marthastewart

Of course,

I CAN be a LITTE SCARY

just ask MyHero

Care to join me for a little 

PRACTICAL MAGIC TEA?

I promise I won't cast a spell on you---

OR

WILL I?

You may ONLY drink what I serve you!

image

BOO

CHUNKY APPLE CAKE FOR THOSE THAT WANT TO GET CHUNKY & Update On Mr T.

Helllooooo Wisconsin!

We DO like our butter here.

We also like apples...

okay..and flour and sugar...

I have played with this recipe over the years

and it is pretty darned good -

if I do say so myself.

I made this when my cousins 
from Pennsylvania
were here a while ago.

Sure do love my cousins and don't see them
nearly often enough.

One cousin contacted me for the recipe

so I assume that means it was good.

Anyway-that meant I needed to type it out.

Here it is.

Grease a 9x13 pan.  Preheat oven to 300

Mix together:

2 cups flour

2 cups sugar (white)

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon ( I used Apple Pie spice)

dash of salt

Add  above to:

Two sticks butter

Four eggs

Cream two sticks butter and blend in 4 room temperature eggs(that is important-don't use cold eggs) 

Add the flour mixture above.

Stir until well blended.

Then stir in:

4 cups peeled apple chunks

2 cups walnuts

Spread in greased pan.

Bake ONE hour a 300.  It is hard to test for doneness because the apples stay "wet".  It should look a bit "dry" on top.  You may have to add additional time depending on how much water your apples have in them.

Cool completely and frost with Cream Cheese Frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

1 stick butter

3/4 pound confectionery sugar

2 tsp vanilla

1 -8 oz pkg cream cheese

Cream butter and cream cheese together and add sugar. Beat well and then add the vanilla.

I also sprinkle the top very lightly with the Apple Pie spice after it is frosted.

Serve with good hot coffee or tea or ice cold milk.,

These two little girls sure loved a treat...
They are older now but still
as sweet as they were back then.

I think I might make a pan of this for fun-

just in case anyone in the family  
 is thinking about getting skinny on me!

Have a wonderful day-

I will visit as I can!

Oh- and-
Remember the prayer request here 
for Mr T?
They did a spiral biopsy but it was inconclusive.
He is having another biopsy next week.
Please continue to keep him in your prayers.
He is not doing well at all.
His mom-my friend,Sandy,
is holding up pretty well.
She's a trooper--but pray for her, too.
You all know how hard it is to 
have a sick child.
We'd rather be sick ourselves.
Love you guys---
will visit as I can.

GOING CRAZY LISTING HERE!

Whoever said 

ETSY IS EASY

might have been telling a lie...

and YOU know who YOU are!

Anyway,

It takes time to get things ready,

photograph them,

resize them for Etsy,

research pricing 

(if you can FIND pricing)

figure out shipping costs 

if you are going to include that...

and then just jump through the hoops

to get the listing up and running.

Yeah--

It's a lot of work

but, so far,

I LOVE ETSY.

(ask me tomorrow- I might change my mind)

Here's what I listed in the shop today:

Cottage On The Cove

Pop over HERE if you have time.

And, as always, 

Thanks for taking a peek!!

A FEW NEW VINTAGE ITEMS I JUST LISTED

JUST A QUICK LITTLE POST

I Listed a few new items

in my Etsy Shop today.

Pop by 

COTTAGE ON THE COVE

if you are interested.

Thanks  for  looking!

Be back in a day with a

REAL POST.

FALL IS IN THE AIR-AND If You Visit Me At The VA YOU Might Be Falling Down

I really need to get myself in gear,

get my pictures loaded onto my computer,

get them to Picmonkey,

 and then share them here.

I am WAY behind in doing that.

Not that I have anything else to do or anything.

So, that being said-

I have a few shots of the dining room dressed

as it was for Fall.

Here is the bombe chest

with Grandmother Clara's 

Silver Tea Service-
It needs a good polishing right now....

From a bit further back...

Did you notice my little lamps are

WEARING HATS?

I got those after season last year.

They are DOG HATS 

from the Pet Section....lol

I think I paid 50 cents apiece for them.

The dining room table arrangement

started with my old turquoise basket.

The little old blue level is from my farmhouse.

It was along the cellar wall.

See the MIX sign tucked down in there?

It was "stolen" by my girls from an abandoned building where my father used to go.

I have no idea where it came from.

The POE card/tag was part of a giveaway from 

Vera-Row Homes & Cobblestones 

a couple of years ago.

My poor crow 

is looking a little worse for the wear.

Looks like he got in a fight 

with another crow and lost.

And just a peek at 

the backside:

I am loving the blue mixed in with 

the colors of fall here this year.

Lots of other stuff to show you

when I get my pictures loaded so 

BEAR WITH ME!

Oh- and did YOU get YOUR flu shot yet?

We HAVE to have them to work at the 

VA Center.  

I never get them but I sure would not want

to infect any of our older vets-

many of whom are already in 

weakened physical conditions-

so, I will have to get one next week.

I have never had the flu in my life-

knock on wood-

(or laminate-your choie)

I am thinking about offering 

those sweet old veterans

FLU SHOTS

right at the front desk.

Aww...C'mon

It's the Irish in me.

It would make me father proud!

And, I would actually give them

out for free.

Don't you wish you were in my line?

Have a Happy Wednesday!


I have a few new things listed today
in my Etsy shop if you are interested..
the LAST of my pumpkins
and a few other things.
A Cottage On The Cove Etsy Shop

POP BY MY SHOP-FOR NEW PRICES ON FALL THINGS

Just cleaning shop house here.

Pop by my Etsy shop 

for new prices.

Most prices include

FREE SHIPPING!

A Cottage On The Cove Etsy

Thanks for looking!!!!

Back tomorrow with the results of

PICK YOUR FAVORITE TABLE!

A SPECIAL PRAYER REQUEST FOR MY FRIEND'S SON.

We need some special prayers...

He doesn't want his name out there

just yet so I will just call him

MR T.

A few months ago MR T started losing weight

and figured it was job related because

he has a hectic schedule.

Fast forward a few months 

and he started having a hard time breathing.

Off to the ER.

He has a mass in his chest.

He had a spiral biopsy on Thursday

and they went into his lungs.

They are waiting for the results.

Whatever the results he is going

to have to have surgery.

His mom, Sandy,

has been my best friend 

since we were young.

Our kids are all friends.

My kids call her Aunt Sandy.

She is the closest thing to a sister

that I have ever known.

She is beside herself with worry

and lives 12 hours away

from MR T.

Please pray for all of them..

for him and his family and

their peace of mind.

Pray for their ability to deal with

whatever the outcome of the biopsy.

Thank you so much --

and if you are not a pray-er--

please send them 

healing thoughts and wishes.

Love you all and

thank you!

AND THE WIENER IS.................

Only MY SON and

HIS SON

would follow 

Wife & Mom

around Target

looking like this.

Wife & Mom tries to pretend

SHE IS NOT WITH THEM.

BIG MISTAKE-

because that causes the wieners to

make even more of a 'scene'!

The People of Walmart

have nothing on these two!

Mom & Dad just went to 

CJK's  FIRST 

Kindergarten Conference.

Teacher said,

"He is a really good little boy

AND

HE IS VERY FUNNY."

Proving, once again that 

the nut doesn't fall far from the tree.

This is following at least 4 generations

of people that find humor in

just about everything.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MIMI! Can you REALLY be FORTY?

Mindy Rose!

My wild Irish Rose.

Oh!  How my dad would 

have loved you.

You look so much like

his side of the family.

You were born 10/12/77

just a few minutes after midnight.

You dad kept urging me to 

HURRY UP AND HAVE THE BABY

so that you could be born on

your Uncle Paul's birthday.

I was NOT good at being

told what to do then.

I'm still not very good at it-shhhh.

We weren't much at picture taking back then.

We had a Polaroid camera~

everyone did and

we were no exception.

It took quick pictures

but they were BAD.

And film was expensive

and we were oh-so-poor

when you were tiny.

Your sister, TPot, thought you

were her own personal pet.

And you were so good-natured

that you let her feed you

whenever she felt like it.

Sometimes she fed you 

Hershey's cocoa right out of the can.

You were her best audience..

Always a step behind her

because you were only

a year younger.

If she sat in the leaves

you sat in the leaves~

You loved your birthday parties

at Happy Joe's Pizza Place

and rode the carousel whether

it was turning or not.

You would stay on

until we pried your fingers

from the horse.

And Oh! How you loved

being a bride.

I lost count of how many Halloweens

that you dressed as a bride.

YOU were ALWAYS a bride

and your brother was ALWAYS

a rabbit.

And, then, one day I turned around

and you were a young woman.

A young woman 

with a passion for singing

and a passion for the Lord.

You made a missions trip to China..

and saw a different side of life..

You came home

older and wiser.

You were beautiful when

you were in high school-

And your hair...Oh! Your hair..

Complete strangers would come up to

you and ask you where you got

your perm..

Your answer was always the same.

~From God~

And, finally, you didn't need to

dress as a bride for Halloween anymore.

No indeedy!

You would dress as a bride 

for your wedding

which was held outdoors.

Your Dad performed

the ceremony and.

it was a dream wedding

to a man that loves you.

Three years later you had BigBoyE

And when Big BoyE was 2-1/2 

his brother, Charles-In-Charge

joined him.

And -then you were blessed with

our sweet little

Baby Bright Eyes.

You all make a beautiful family-

even when you-know-who

acts up!

You live in another state-

but close

enough where we can get

there in a day's travel.

Happy, Happy Birthday

Mindy Rose!

I won't be celebrating with you this year,

as you know,

but I will be there in spirit.

Love you to the moon and back!

SEE you soon!;>)