chipmunk house

Sixty four degrees today. I went for a walk sans camera so when I returned home I wasn't able to get a shot of the little chipmunk who was sitting inside my pumpkin staring out at me as bold as anything.


my witch's pot filled with all my favorites in hopes that we don't many trick or treaters this year and I can eat it all


orange pom pom mums


DiCamillos cookies for Sara and Jay for are coming for dinner with us and MJ, our nephew from San Fransisco who is in town for a few days

modern bathroom

I heard a story on NPR recently about how all the home decorating shows on TV misuse the word modern when they mean contemporary or fresh. The modern style of decorating came about in the mid 20th century about the time our house was built. This style uses mostly light but not cool colored walls and accessories which feature geometric designs in bright colors. The modern decorating style is commonly called retro today. The idea is to give a bright and airy feel...clean and simple...no need for clutter. B and I have always liked the retro tiles in our bathrooms so when we decided to remodel our powder room we decided to keep the wall tiles. Our geometric design is definitely the rectangle. Square marble floor tile, square wall tiles, rectangular medicine cabinet and vanity. The square mosaic wall hanging my niece, Mandy, made for me fit perfectly into this bathroom.


squared off faucet


We needed a short towel bar and B found this square one on-line and it even has a little black trim on it.


This gorgeous marble floor is my favorite feature. It has veins in the marble that match the wall tile.

I love the new bathroom so much I sometimes go in it just to gaze at it. Before remodeling, this bathroom had white linoleum with gold flecks, a white vanity, pink toilet and ancient pink and aqua flowered wallpaper. What a difference.

pumpkin time

One week to Halloween and I hadn't bought my pumpkins yet. So Sunday I picked up three at Wegman's. Check later to see how we carve them. B and I still carve pumpkins every year. I hope these make it to Halloween. We have aggressive little squirrels here who like to chew right through them.


We have been having a streak of sunny warm weather so after Wegman's I headed out for a walk. This dog had the same idea.


a cute little tree with red berries and a few yellow leaves outside of Creekview Restaurant on Main Street

harvest dinner

one dish meal I threw together featuring autumn foods

whole wheat penne, apples, butternut squash, escarole, red onion, walnuts, maple apple chicken sausage links


sauced up with a reduction of half and half with a dash of maple syrup and parmesan cheese and served up on my pretty Syracuse China plates I found at the Junior League resale shop

auction winnings

lilies in my sewing room

B and I didn't win any baskets this year in the Chinese auction but got lucky in the silent auction where we won all three things were bid on. Four tickets to the Buffalo Philharmonic...any classic performance, this plant stand with lilies and a home Depot gift card


and this still life oil painting.


This was the first year that we bid on anything in the live auction. We were the high bidders on this five foot long beautifully framed picture....three stitched together photographs of Niagara Falls circa 1915. With a little rearranging of existing pictures, it will be finding a home on this wall in the stairwell.

foundation dinner

arriving at the casino

Every year NCCC Foundation holds a dinner and charity auction to raise money for scholarships for NCCC students. It is always a classy event and a chance to get dressed up. In the past it has always been held at the college and always catered by the students in the culinary department. Every meal I've ever had at NCCC for any function has always been superb and a delight. This year the venue was changed to the Seneca Niagara Casino in Niagara Falls. I was concerned that the food would be catered by the casino so was pleasantly surprised to find the best of both worlds...a beautiful venue and the NCCC students still catered the food. After walking through the casino under the big sun we were in the hotel part of the casino.


interview area from the second floor

We were escorted to the second floor by Paul who had been a scholarship recipient the previous year. We took the escalator up to the second floor to the banquet rooms. At the top of the landing three NCCC students who are majoring in broadcasting were interviewing people like Joan and Melissa Rivers do at the Oscars. This was being broadcast and shown on TVs in the reception area where we enjoyed hor doures, champagne, wine and mixed drinks.


dance troupe in shimmy dresses

Tickets for the Chinese Auction were being sold by six girls in various color shimmy dresses. They were part of a dance troupe that later in the evening performed a couple numbers for us.


Chinese auction baskets


more baskets


Indian art viewed from the second floor


I've never seen so many woman in black dresses. I swear I only saw one red, one silver and the rest of the ladies including me were in black.


roulette


table in the banquet room

After the Chinese Auction closed we were all asked to proceed to the banquet room. There were 45 tables. B and I were seated at table #6.


napkin with dice


comma shaped pear cake with candied pear and jellied caramel aspic


flowers in the bathroom


Inside of my purse seems to go along with the evening's color scheme of red and black. We each received a deck of cards as a favor.


My setting late in the evening just before we bid on and won a framed photograph of Niagara Falls circa 1915 in the live auction.


another shot of the casino

dinner invitation

Jay and Sara invited Bill and I to dinner on Sunday. Sara's dad, Pete, and grandma, Mud, were also there. Sara's mom was attending a psychic fair with a friend and couldn't make it. This is the table right before we sat down to eat. We had two kinds of marinaded pork tenderloin, (mojo and honey mustard), baked potatoes, homemade blush applesauce compliments of Sara's mom, French bread and a yummy salad full of colorful peppers.


Jay, Bill and Pete


watching the Bills lose again


while the girls...me, Sara and Mud (Sara's 90 year old gram/ Pete's mom)


prepare Granny Smiths for the crisp


tummy's full...dishes cleared away
This is the table and chairs I found this summer at a garage sale for $20.


Sara and Jay (who just can't have his picture taken without making a goofy face)


and we finally meet Kayn