A Pretty Good Day Despite the Rain (and the soup)

Today was a chilly and rainy day.  It was a kind of day to get caught up on all sorts of odds and ends.  We ran some errands and then came home.  We started a fire in the fireplace.  It was so warm and cozy.  I made bread and some really disgusting squash soup.  I had gone to Panera yesterday for lunch and ordered their Autumn Squash soup.  It was delicious so I googled a copy cat recipe so I could make some today.  I found several recipes and chose one.  I had all the ingredients like squash, pumpkin, apple juice, cinnamon and a little onion, carrot and celery.  How could I go wrong with these ingredients?  It looked so good and creamy and comforting.  I made a big kettle of it.  I cut big slices of homemade bread and slathered them with butter.  I ladled a big soup mug full of soup.  Then I tasted it.  GAG!  I thought is was horrible.  As I served it to my husband, I warned him.  He tried (bless his heart) but just couldn't finish it either.  Now I have half a kettle of soup to dispose of.  I don't know if I should try another recipe or just go to Panera when I have a hankering for this soup.  You probably can guess my answer.

It doesn't look so bad, does it?

As long as I am discussing disgusting, I switched my closet today from summer to winter.  My closet looks ugly, and I swore I would never blog about it or show it to anyone.  It looks like I live in a warehouse, but the system I have is awesome.  It took me less than a minute to switch seasons.  I don't have a ton of clothes anymore.  I donated bags of clothes last year, and it was such a freeing experience.  We have a fairly large closet with a wall of shelves which my husband built.  In the past I would stack clothes on the shelves instead of putting them in a dresser drawer.  The idea was good, but it was hard to get a clothing item without toppling the whole pile.  Then the stack was either a mess or the whole pile would end up on the floor.  To remedy this situation, we went out and bought 25 of the plastic milk crates.  People usually use them for file folders.  We split them up and each of us loaded our clothing in the crates.  We put t-shirts in one, pajamas in another, and so on with all like items together.  They fit on the shelf perfectly.  When I do the laundry, I fold the clothes on the bed.  I put mine away and leave my husbands for him to put away.  I fold on the bed so they have to get put away before he can get into bed.  It takes no time at all because every item has a bin or fits on the shelf.

I fold the laundry on the bed.

We still fold the jeans on the shelf, but we are considering bins for them too.

As bedtime approaches, I had a pretty good day.  A lot of these days would not be welcoming, but it was a small introduction into winter.   I knit a little, I read a little, I cooked and baked and rearranged things, I bought a few groceries and even bought a Christmas gift.  Yup, it was a good day.

Toad Lily

This is going to be a short blog written to document information about a certain plant we have in our garden.  I haven't started my bullet journal yet so this is a way for me to remember the weather on this day.  Bullet journals are awesome, and my daughter is having great success in using one.  If you don't know what they are, there are several youtube videos showing how to set them up and how they work.

The bees love this plant and they are still feeding this late in the season.

This is the Toad Lily.  My sister gave me a start of this plant a long time ago.  I can't remember when, but probably almost ten years ago.  It is a perennial plant that dies down every year and comes up in the Spring.  It gets two or three feet tall on single stems. I have no idea the name of this variety, but I know it grows well in a somewhat shady environment. 

Toad lily's grow on a single stem with alternating leaves.

It has always been very sensitive to cold weather, and it is the first plant to get touched by frost.  Some years we barely get any blossoms and those we do are zapped by the cold.  This year is very different.  It is the last week in October in Princeton Wisconsin, and we haven't had a frost yet. My Wax Begonias look the same as they did in the summer and the mums and hydrangeas are still beautiful.  They are getting covered with pine straw and falling leaves, but still look nice.  I took my geraniums in a couple weeks ago because I thought the summer was over.  I could have waited for a while longer.

The leaves of this Toad Lily are beginning to turn brown but each stem is still loaded with blossoms.

I am sure this nice fall weather will end soon.  It is Wisconsin after all, but each nice day will make our winter shorter. Because of these blogs, I can keep track of the seasons.  It appears that late October 2013 was similar to this year.  http://www.thecabincountess.com/2013/10/the-last-few-days-of-fall-in-wisconsin.html