jimmy, johnny & a dog named beau

election day, 1960

the cranberries

This weekend I got rid of the mini-pumpkins and waxed autumn leaves. November is here.  We've set the clocks back. But as the evenings get longer and the days greyer, I need some sort of decorative pick-me-up. And if it's simple and frugal, even better!

I really love the garnet colour of cranberries and they give a nice seasonal touch when it's too early to plunge headlong into Christmas decorating (and, yes, it is still too early). Make sure they're dry and got rid of any soft or bruised ones - the firm ones should stay fresh for little while but keep an eye on them.  It's tradition in my family that from late fall on we have a candle at suppertime so I added an inexpensive dollar store pillar candle.  I like the way the candlelight makes the berries gleam.

If your style is more contemporary, they'd look great in a row of tall glass cylinders or square vases.  A centrepiece in under five minutes for under $5! As Martha would say: it's a good thing.

mystery masterpiece

This fall I discovered - and, you know, I honestly can't recall how - Canadian mystery authour Louise Penny.  With her series, she's taken the traditional village mystery and brought it into the 21st century in Quebec's Eastern Townships.  There's so much to love about her books:  the cozy (yet disproportionately murderous) hamlet of Three Pines, her carefully drawn characters - each one lovable yet flawed so that you can imagine any one of them could be the murderer but are devastated to find out which ones are, her clever plots, her descriptions of food and the little nods to Canadian culture (from Tim Horton's double-doubles to the delicate Quebecois-Anglo dance in la Belle Province).

But above all other winning qualities of her books is her protagonist Inspector Gamache who readers not only seem to admire but fall in love with.  Turns out that's no accident.  Louise Penny explains why...

the great pumpkin fling

the great pumpkin fling from Miss Allaby on Vimeo.