A Carousel For My Nonpareils

With a little liquid gold leaf, I gave this lazy susan I found at a thrift store a quick Parisian makeover.  

Since then I have been collecting glass stoppers and interesting lids to fit into glass bottles to use as a place to display my sprinkles. And I do love a French inspired theme.

So now I have taken to collecting sprinkles.

Wondrous and beautiful sprinkles like these sugar pearls and pink nonpareils.  Have you ever even seen pink nonpareils before? 

Did you know sprinkles are relatively inexpensive?   

Wouldn't these pink nonpareils look stunning on some dark chocolate? 

All I had on hand tonight was some white chocolate morsels, so I made up a handful of candies for our after dinner snack.   

Check out these vivid canary yellow nonpareils.  Who knew?   I hereby declare that sprinkles are my latest obsession! 

It's such a happy obsession though, anyone care to join me? 

Linking up with Michael from Inspired By Charm

Late Fall in Maine

Post Halloween at our place, with more leaves on the ground than in the trees. 

The grackles have been coming to our feeders in droves today.  Every time I grabbed  my camera they would see me and scatter, but I managed to get this shot through the window before they saw me. 

There is still some pretty color left along the route we take on our daily walk. 

Yet by the time we finish our walk, we've noticed it gets darker a little bit earlier each day.  

Henri took this zoomed in shot of the early morning fog right outside our window when he woke up at the crack of dawn the other day. 

We just got finished unloading 2 tons of bio bricks into our cellar that the delivery guy brought tonight after dark.

Now I think this tired Maine gal will retire for the evening and thoroughly enjoy a good night's rest.  And we'll see whose feet hit the deck at the crack of dawn tomorrow.  I already know it won't be mine. 

My Shabby Textured Harvest Decor

I think I found the last 3 white pumpkins available in the entire State of Maine.  And I am so in love with them.  I love this one because of it's texture. 

I paired my pumpkins with a ceramic pheasant and then captured a shot of them through the shabby mercury surface of one of my vintage mirrors.   

Gosh, I really love all that added texture that the mirrored image gives.   

Here's a closer look at the actual pumpkin in the foreground, compared with it's more textured reflection in the mirror. 

Then I remembered I had brought in the last of my cilantro the other day and left it on the counter of my downstairs kitchen. 

I am lucky to have 2 kitchens where we live and this one is not the one I cook in everyday, so I decided to just make it part of my harvest decor too. 

So why not harvest the seeds to use as a spice. 

  

So far I have no idea what recipe I could use these cilantro seeds in though. 

But I really like the color and texture, as well as the fragrance that has managed to envelop the entire space.  So there you have it, the extent of my harvest decor so far. 

Oh and Simon says hello to everyone too. 

I think he has probably taken notice of that pheasant in the downstairs kitchen. 

The Way Out

Starting out on this sunny 57 degree day I was fine, but after the first couple of miles my hands were cold and the wind was making me shiver. 

But oh the scenery just kept getting better and better. 

In addition to letting me drive, Henri brought chocolate.

 He also found some gloves for me to wear, pulled up my hood and let me have the last piece of chocolate.

Yes, yes this IS fun and I like it very much!  He just forgot to tell me I had chocolate on my lip. 

We ended up riding 36 exhilarating miles on this glorious autumn day in Maine breathing in the smell of the pine scented woods and fading autumn leaves as the trail led us through a tranquil wilderness bog surrounded by wildlife and the calm serenity of a windswept open field. 

Nearly back to where we started out we came upon Jasmine and her master just starting off on their journey. 

 

I do believe I even saw her wink at me as if to say "I always have fun here too."

Blueberry Barrens of Deblois Maine

Scenery while driving along Route 193 in Deblois today.

A close up of a row of tiny blue camps used to house migrant workers during blueberry season. 

This location is owned by the Jasper Wyman & Son Company, the largest U.S. grower, packer and marketer of blueberries. 



Henri pulled over to the side of the road several times for me today. 

One of our favorite autumn rides.  

For when an autumn Nor'easter comes through and blows almost all the pretty leaves right off the trees.  That's when we head for the place where we know the color is still wildly brilliant. 

A Study In Color

Fall colors I've captured this week from a few of our favorite places here in Maine.   The crimson of the blueberry barrens in Franklin, not far from Sorrento.

 Lily Bay Road overlooking Moosehead Lake up in Greenville.    

Seemingly taken in the wilderness, yet just 1 mile from the hubbub of downtown Dexter.

Asticou Azaela Garden in Northeast Harbor on Mount Desert Island. 

From Great Head Trail in Acadia National Park overlooking Sand Beach and the Beehive. 

My first painting from an art class I started today in Ellsworth.  

 

Ok that was painful, but necessary, so I will be sure to show you my progression attempt to paint something that won't make me wince when I look at it.  The class I am taking is Adult Finger Painting, taught by my friend Helen Douglas.  If you are local and want to join in the fun you can contact Helen at (207) 664-9559.  Take a look here to see some of Helen's amazing finger paintings.