The house of windows

We have a lot of windows in our house. And, I have covered nearly all of them.



 I've made grommet curtains,



roman shades,



tab top drapes,



shirred valences,



I have even stenciled vinyl roller shades. There couldn't possibly be one more window to cover, one more stitch to sew, one more style of curtain to hang. I thought so, too.

Until I found this to die for botanical print cotton. What to do with it? Of course! Pleated drapes for the living room! Timeless, classic, and according to my mother, the only style of drapes my great-grandmother every made. So, here goes nothing. Keep posted as I seam rip my way to a new living room......pinch pleats first!



Oh, the weather outside was frightful



October 29th brought the season's first snow. I can't say that I minded terribly, though it was strange to see snow on pretty yellow leaves. While K and I were inside making goodies for a Halloween party, the animals of the neighborhood were out having a good time. The horses continued to graze.



The dogs romped around the yard.



And these little guys ran back and forth for most of the afternoon. Seems the first snow even brings out the kid in them :)



Jack Frost



Today, in our little corner of the world, we woke up to the season's first frost.



The last of my snap peas aren't happy. Goodnight, garden. See you next year.



Chesnok red garlic



According to my great grandfather, garlic should be planted right after the first full moon in October. According to "The Garlic Guy" in our town, sometime within the 1st two weeks of October is good. I missed both deadlines, but figured late garlic is better than no garlic.





Let's hope my onlookers don't get a hankering for garlic bulbs!



All the leaves are brown...



...and the sky is gray. And, K isn't working today. Which makes it a perfect day for a cup of pumpkin coffee, a haircut for K at the good old fashioned barber shop (complete with good old fashioned barber's pole!), and of course,



playtime in the backyard for Bee and Lily with their new frisbee! I'm also working on our lunch, cheese frenchees (post coming shortly). This is a new stomping ground for me, but apparently a delicious sandwich from an old restaurant called King's Food Host. I've never deep fried a cheese sandwich, but here goes nothing. Everyone needs a little greasy goodness from time to time :)



Pantry supper with a little help from the garden



This time of year, going to the garden isn't as joyous as it was just one month ago. But, it still has some tricks up its sleeve and so do I! After a long day of travel back from the south, K and I were not about to go to the grocery store. I needed to come up with something that 1) I had ingredients for, 2) was filling, 3)  was easy and 4) could be eaten all day. My journey started in our  now meager garden. Leeks, scallions, chives. Perfect!



Red potatoes from my favorite local deli. I think they somehow inject these with extra sweetness. I have never had a potato better.



Chicken breasts. Enough for stock AND chicken salad for lunch during the week.



Chorizo. Yum!



Sourdough bread. Don't get too excited. It's not technically "homemade." That's K's job. I had help from King Aurthur Flour Company's bread mix.



The final product? The most delicious soup and warm bread! Onion-y, spicy, warm and tasty. I left the pot on the stove and we munched on it all day. And, finished both loaves of bread by the time we went to bed that night! 



The dog days are o-O-ver



I've been pretty horrendous at keeping up with writing a blog. Not because I don't have the time. Not because I don't like to write. Not because I don't have anything TO write. In fact, I have a lot I'd like to share, which was my problem. Naming this blog "Dog Eat Sock" has been playing tricks on my brain. I thought, "Well, I certainly can't share recipes or gardening successes, er, failures or all the other wonderful things I get to do as a 29 year old house wife." By the way..I have the best job on the planet. After telling K my desire to write about more than just the dogs he said, "You can write it on Dog Eat Sock!" Ok. He wasn't that upbeat about it, not because he doesn't care, but because, well, dudes aren't really that upbeat. Anyway, the high temperature today was 62. And I loved every second. So did Bee and Lily.



While they are outside laying in the cool grass I've been inside working on our favorite fall meal, beef and burgundy. It's not my recipe, but I wouldn't dare try to play with it's prefect blend of browned bits, wine and caramelized mushrooms. Chances are, if you have ever been invited to our house during the colder months, this is what we served. At one point, I was afraid people would stop visiting because they were sick of eating it. I know one thing for sure, there's not a person in this house that could ever refuse this delicious, fall perfect, meal.