The Apple House

My Aunt Nan listens to her inner voice and creates teddy bears that have a history. It wasn’t always so.

Nine years ago, she walked into the back yard and it was like a voice said, “you’re going to need a place to go when you retire.” Although she wasn’t ready to retire for a number of years, the idea of a “place to go” became a project for her husband, Harlan. “There was an old apple tree in the corner of the yard and, on that spot; he built a studio for her. Their daughter named it “The Apple House”. It has all the comforts of home…lovely to work there even when the snow is falling and the wind is howling. She is as “snug as a bug in a rug”!

FALL fix-ups~

Thanksgiving is right around the corner and you know what that means.  Soon we'll be trading in all our warm festive fall decorations for more greenery and sparkle which I am looking forward to but I don't like to rush the seasons around here, much to my local big box stores dismay. Every year they try to entice me with all the new and improved " made in china " stuff  they hope I can't live with out but I stayed true to my own ways and went rummaging around for things I could re-invent, re- arrange and re-use right here at home!

My fall table -scape is simple but does the trick for adding some color and it's all stuff I already had. The lantern  and glass candle sticks are Target original's I have had for a few years. The handpainted tray was a yard sale deal. I paid 10.00 dollars for it and tucked it away thinking I might hang it on a wall in our dining room but I just never found the right place for it.. I love it as a foundation for the lantern and candle sticks this year! I enjoy adding  nature's gifts to my decorating themes so I went scavenging in the back yard for pinecones, and found a few varieties as well as a few cut rounds from logs we have burned in our out door fire place. Free and festive! So, before you head out and run up your credit card... do some rummaging of your own. You might be surprised at what would make-do one more year! It's a great feeling to re-use old things in a new way. Each time you do not only will you remember past occasions, but you will be making new memories to last a life-time.

FALL ART DAY Plein' Air with SUSAN SLOWEY

Susan Slowey lives in the Ellisville section of Plymouth, MA. She has been teaching art to children and adults for many years. This year she opened her schedule to give more people a chance to see art as a way to open their eyes to the world around us.

Sue says, “I believe everyone has creativity”. There are learned skills and techniques that can be learned at a young age or older if you have never given it a try."