Gracie's Pearl Dangle Ring

I found some seed pearls at the store a while back. I've been trying to decide whether to use them in a bracelet or necklace when suddenly thought a pearl ring would be perfect.

The Big Gobbler

Here it is, the photo of the big tom turkey fresh from the oven. It was 16.24 pounds and cooked in an oven bag. Comes out moist and delicious every time. Happy Thanksgiving!!

Summer's Last Hurrah

These are the last blooms from my garden. Everything else, including the mums, have finished flowering. The geraniums were the last hurrah.

My Little Cabbage

My dog loves to eat cabbage. She begs for the veggie. I included photos as proof. And she eats it out of my hand and looks for more. Want to get on puppy's good side, come to the house with cabbage.

Show Stopper Necklace and Earring Set

Back to working with black and white again. Guess it's my tribute to Obama winning the election - bringing black and white together in a glamorous way. Take a look at the stunning necklace that drapes beautifully just below the neckline with fun and funky earrings that match. Tres chic. Perfect with a little black evening dress. Great for dancing the night away.

Champagne and Cigarette Earrings

What's missing from these retro style earrings? Champagne and cigarettes, of course. Maybe a disco ball. Oh wait, the reflective ball is in these large purple sequins. Can't you just feel the heavy back-beat rhythm and see the flashing lights. Great for a New Year's Eve party.

Homemade Pizza

When the weather gets chilly, it's time to break out the cookbooks and start baking. Tonight I made home made pizza. Yum.

I made the crust with flour, water, yeast and a pinch of salt. Spread it on a pizza pan, of course. Topped it with a crushed tomato mixture, garlic, my homegrown oregano as well as my own homegrown basil. Added red onion slices, green olive slices and fresh mushrooms to the mix. Finished the creation with some freshly grated mozzarella cheese. Double yum.

Since every bone in my body was aching, I decided to open some Pelee Island wine. An Autumn Riesling with a picture of a red bud branch on the label. I honestly don't know if I chose the wine based on the label, the type of wine or the fact it said "Pelee Island". You see, I vaguely recall going to Point Pelee as a child. It's a national park in Canada famous as a bird and monarch butterfly migratory area. Point Pelee is a peninsula that has a long boardwalk. At least that's what I remember. Never knew that there was an island in Lake Erie called Point Pelee Island and that it had a winery. Although, now that I think of it, I think my friend Stacy and her husband went to Point Pelee and brought back some wine. Probably from the Point Pelee Winery.

Take a look at the photos of the pizza and wine. If I would have gone to a pizzaria this meal would have been over $20 (the wine hikes up the price). My cost, excluding fuel for the oven, under five smackaroos. Aside from the olives and salt, everything was locally. The Canadian winery is fairly close to Michigan. Reducing my carbon footprint. Yay!!!

Jayne's Necklace

I have been busy raking leaves. In two days, I packed 22 leaf bags. And it's been cold, windy with drizzle. Fun.

During the week I created a necklace. I twisted a heavier gauge silver and used it as a finding. A thinner strand of silver holds a small, pink bead tenderly. The necklace uses white organza ribbon to hold the creation around the neck.

It looks like something Jane Eyre might wear. So I named it the Jayne necklace, an updated version of the fictional character's name. I've included a front and side view of the necklace.

Inspired by Spain - Rachel's necklace

Had a bit of time this afternoon and created this multi-colored bead necklace. The center finding looks moorish. Like something you might find in Spain. This is the Rachel necklace.

Macomb Conservation District 's Tree Sale

I had one more volunteer activity for the month of October and that was participating in the Macomb Conservation District's fall tree sale. The District provides trees in quantities of 10 or more to residents at a very reasonable price. About five days prior to the sale, the plants are dug from the soil and shipped to the sale site. Volunteers sort and package the bare root trees. Each plant has a moisture mixture surrounding the roots to keep them alive and healthy.

These trees provide wind breaks for landowners, stabilize sandy soil and provide better air quality. Trees available included Norway Spruce, Austrian Pine, White Pine, and Colorado Blue Spruce as well as other conifers. Tulip, crocus, hyacinth, and daffodil bulbs were also for sale. The bulbs were shipped directly from Holland a day before the sale. Pretty fresh bulbs if you ask me.

The Macomb Conservation District is a great organization that has provided this service to the community for over 20 years. If you are in the area, look for it's next sale in Spring, 2009.