Farewell to an Old Friend

This week has been a very emotional week.  We said good-bye to a dear friend, our 2004 Subaru Impreza.  I honestly thought we would keep this car forever.  It had become a trusted member of the family. We had the Subaru, "Subie" as we lovingly named it, for over 11 years.  It was the first car our oldest son drove when he got his license in Virginia.  We had decided it would become the "kid" car, seeing each one of our four kiddos through their early driving years.  Our youngest  graduated high school in June, and will be going off to college next month,  and it really made no sense to keep four cars around as my husband and I become empty-nesters.

Fair Winds and Following Seas ~ Tuesday's Treasury List

In 10 days we will celebrate my husband's Navy career in a retirement ceremony with friends and family.  The Navy has been a part of our lives for over 26 years ~ it's hard to say goodbye, but exciting to think about the future.  We've been proud to call ourselves a Navy Family. I found these items on Etsy that reminded me of my husband's remarkable service to our nation.

 

'Fair Winds and Following Seas.....' by hartleyrowe

Yesterday was my husband's last day of going to work in a uniform. The Navy has been our life for over 26 years ~ I thought this Treasury List was fitting today.

Starting a New Chapter......

There's a story here.....

There's a story behind the pages you see above.  I'm not sure what it is yet, but I look forward to reading it as the year progresses.  I may not be "reading" it in the literal sense. This journal I just completed will be journeying with my son back to Egypt, his new home following his recently completed study abroad semester there. I will most likely depend on my son's updates to Facebook, his blog, and other social media applications to keep me connected to him. But I will also imagine him writing in this journal each day in a place so far away.

This was my first attempt at bookbinding by hand and it will certainly not be my last.  I loved the process beginning...to end.  I like the fact that I touched and shaped each of  these pages for my son.  Hopefully as he records his journal entries outlining his experiences in his new home and at his new career, it will bring him some comfort by reminding him we're here for him at all times.  He's a new college grad with an Anthropology degree and he is setting out to study, educate and serve the world!

These empty pages symbolize so much to all of us.  They represent an unwritten story of the future waiting to be told, the story of 2013, and beyond.  They will most likely reminisce of the past days of 2012 as well.  2012 has been an amazing year for all of us in so many ways.  All of our four children have reached major milestones in their personal lives and their careers ~ ranging from our oldest becoming a small business owner while still juggling the act of the corporate world, to our youngest getting his drivers license.  It's also been a year of discovery for me as I started the Hartley Rowe blog and opened my Etsy shop.  And, to anchor us all, 2012 has become the last full year my husband is a member of our beloved US Military.  We are looking toward his retirement from the Navy this summer and all the possibilities and challenges that come along when a lifelong member of the military (he was a Navy kid as well), tries to navigate his way in a civilian world.  2013 will be an exciting one for our family for sure!

So, here's to the beginning of stories...for my family and for yours ~ let's all keep reading to see how they out.

Thank you for stopping by today and thank you for a wonderful 2012 for the Hartley Rowe blog.

~ Alison

P.S. Keep an eye out for a future post with a tutorial on how I put the journal together.  If anyone out there has any tips for bookbinding, I would love to hear them.  By the end I was covered in glue and fearful it would all fall apart!!   Thank you!

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

"It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year"!

 This plaque hangs over the pantry door in our kitchen.  We have started decorating our home for the holidays, but this decoration  was not unpacked from one of our 13 boxes of Christmas decorations.  You see, it hangs in our  home year round.  Sure, we bought it for a holiday decoration almost ten years ago, but it has changed into much more than that.  My husband actually found it and had to have it.  I agreed!  I love everything it stands for.  The holidays are a time when friends and family are closer and there is excitement in the air.  However, in early January, when it is time to put away all the decorations, this one does not make it in the boxes.  I decided long ago we should have it displayed year round to help us remember that every day can be the  most wonderful day of the year.  All we need is a little reminder.  So, here we are, 10 Christmases and six houses later, and it is still a reminder that every day is special and any time can be the most wonderful time of the year!

Here are a few pictures taken Thanksgiving weekend as we started our Christmas decorating.

With each Navy  move, we are always faced with the dilemma of where we are going to put our Christmas Tree.  This year we found the perfect North Carolina Fraser Fir at a local tree lot here in San Diego.  Boy was this Carolina girl a happy one!  It was a smaller than usual tree for us, but it was perfect!  We have it in our family room and I smile and think of my childhood every time I walk in the room. 

Below is our sweet kitty cat, Smokey, standing guard (or sleeping on the job) and waiting for Santa Claus.  Our stocking are hung by the chimney with care and our family room is ready for "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year".....now I must finish the rest of the house!

     

I wish you all Happy Decorating, and may every day be the most wonderful time of the year!

~ Alison

Applesauce Season!

I must say, I love my day job!  I also love creating things for my Etsy shop as well, but there are just some weeks that I am reminded how much I truly love being an elementary school librarian.  Last week was one of those weeks.

I shared the book, Applesauce Season with my fourth graders last week.  I love this time of year and all the  memories it brings back of  harvest time as a young child.  I remember the bounty from our own garden and how much fun it was to pick all the vegetables and prepare them for canning and freezing.  But one of my fondest memories is applesauce-and-apple-butter season!  I loved sharing the book and tying in family traditions and seasonal celebrations in a nice perfect package with yummy applesauce as a bow on top.  It gave me the opportunity to share with my students some of my memories as a kiddo when all of my cousins would meet at my aunt's house to pick apples.  We would then proceed to my other aunt's house to take turns stirring the big cauldron of simmering apples.  We all played a vital role in turning out the season's perfect apple sauce and apple butter.  There are some books that just transport you back to another time in your life.   This books does just that for me.

Of course, at the end of the week, I had to make sure to cook up some applesauce just for us as well.  We have amazing farmers' markets in our area and I am always keen on buying an extra apple or two, just to watch them ripen to the perfect "applesauce" apple.  All week long, as I read the book, I couldn't wait for the weekend to arrive so I could whip up a batch of fresh applesauce for my youngest kiddo, Patrick...the only one still at home in the nest.  He loves apples. He has an organic gala apple every day in his lunch.  I just knew he would be happy to come downstairs to simmering applesauce on the stove for breakfast.  I took some pictures along the way to share.....I can almost smell the "long gone" applesauce as I post the pictures here for you to see.

Here is about half the batch of apples I used for the applesauce.

(I forgot to take a picture of the full amount!)

I love using our simple apple corer/slicer.  I just peel the slices after they have gone through.  I then simmer the apples with a bit of cider for a good while.  When they have simmered for a bit....

I add the brown sugar and cinnamon...not too much, but just enough to give it that special autumnal flavor.  I put almost as much cinnamon as sugar!

I then mash the apples with my grandmother's old potato masher.  I do think it's one of my most prized kitchen possessions!

 

Patrick and I are both vegan so we no longer add butter (I miss it so much) to our dishes.  But I did find a worthy substitute in this Earth Balance spread.  Don't use too much butter (or spread) ~ half a teaspoon for the entire batch is plenty.

  

The end result was perfect.  Patrick just finished off the leftovers tonight.  It was the first thing he had Saturday morning and the last thing he had Sunday night! 

Yum ~ Yum

We love applesauce!!

....and Let the Decorating Begin!

I love this time of year!  This week I started pulling out the Halloween decorations.  I love the process of going through box after box and deciding what to put where. Most of our decorations are family treasures that my children have made over the years.  It takes me longer and longer each year to go through each box and decide where I am going to put each creation.  

                                      

We are renting our last house as we prepare for my husband's retirement from the Navy next year and the purchasing of our final (can I say "dream") home.  So this is the next to last house I will have to design a new decorating scheme for the holidays.  I think  I have lost count of all the wonderful homes we've had over the past 26 years.  Fifteen.Sixteen.Seventeen....it is somewhere near there.  I find that my decorating has changed from being all for the kiddos, to being all for my husband and me.  

Three of our four children aren't even home any longer.  They are off to college and beyond.  Two of them are not even in the country at the time!  But they know that I am here busy getting the house ready for all the neighborhood ghosts and goblins who will knock at the door in a couple of weeks looking for a treat.  I also think our 16-year-old, who is still stuck at home with his father and me, secretly likes all the decorations.  He may not say it, but I'm pretty sure he's glad I still take the time to get everything on display.

I hope my children know how much I look forward to this time of  year.  It brings back so many memories.  The little ghost above was one of the very first Halloween decorations we ever made as a family.  Our oldest son was only two years old and we did not have a lot of extra money to spend on holiday decorating.  The little fella above is made from a syrofoam ball covered with a napkin and tied with a ribbon.  I drew the eyes  and nose on with a Sharpie.                                                                    

                               

The sweet little ghost above was made  years ago at the children's preschool.  It's actually an embroidery hoop and a handkerchief.  We made felt cut-outs for the hat, eyes and mouths.  The children all got to glue on their hats and faces....(and oh, the painting in the picture of the turkey was done by one of my sons when he was in middle school ~ aren't the colors perfect for this time of year?)

Our mantle is usually held for our very special treasures.  This is one of the only places that is Smokey-proof.  Smokey is our cat ~ you will meet her at the end of this post.  We always hope our homes will have a great fireplace and mantle.  It becomes the focal point of all our holiday decorating.

Here is a brown lunch bag jack-o-lantern and a startched cheesecloth ghost.  I am constantly amazed at the fact they have survived packing and unpack over so many years.  The ghost is now 17 years old and the jack-o-lantern is 14.

 This precious jack-o-lantern was made by my daughter when she was in the first grade.  She's now away at college studying to be a teacher:)

In addition to decorating with my children's creations, I also love to use vintage items grouped together.  Having a similar color scheme or another like theme ties them in with their surroundings.

The arrangement above uses a silver pitcher we have  had for years and years; it was my grandmother's before it was ours.  Together with our antique metronome from Australia and my Goodwill candlesticks, the collection sits on one end of our piano.

Whenever we have a chandelier in our new home, I always try to make it a focal point as well.  Here, I've simply used a leaf garland.  I'm trying to decide if I want make simple shades as well....but I'm sure time will get in my way.

These sconces are on the wall and flank our dining room window year round.  The candles and embellishments change with the seasons.  Here I've used napkin rings, cut in the back to allow them to be stretched around the three inch pillar candle.  Our white walls usually drive me crazy.  But for some reason, I really like this white tone on tone look at this time of year.  However, you can bet your boots, the minute we buy our retirement home, I'm painting every room!  I love paint!

One of my favorite Halloween decorations is our very own Black Cat.  Meet Smokey, here she is lounging  

on one of her favorite spots in the house.  The very bottom step of our stairway.

Happy Halloween!             

My Father's Workshop ~ Tuesday's Treasury List

'My Father's Workshop' by hartleyrowe

I'm starting a new Tuesday tradition for the blog beginning this week. I'll create an Etsy Treasury List, a similar themed collection of items from various artists and curators found on Etsy. For this first Treasury List, I decided to create "My Father's Workshop". These are items that remind me of working in my father's workshop. There I developed a love for creating treasures.

Treasury tool by StylishHome.