Monday, October 09, 2006

I love Autumn......

It is truly beautiful here in central Ohio! The trees are starting to turn and bathe themselves in their glorious red, brown, gold, and green colors. Farmers are beginning to clear their fields for the fall harvest, rolled bales of hays litter the golden fields. In Amish country, cornstocks are stacked neatly into bundles. Farmer's markets are open everywhere, filled with bushels of baskets of indian corn, goards, pumpkins, and some of the most beautiful fall mums.

That is exactly what Don and I experienced yesterday as we drove up St. Rt. 23 N towards Findlay. We were heading up to the Hancock County Fairgrounds where an Christmas craft show was taking place. It was the perfect day to do so... sunny and warm, with just enough chill in the air to keep you from getting too hot; at least until later in the afternoon. We arrived shortly after 2:30 p.m. with just enough time to wander leisurely through the barns and the booths filled with some amazing pieces of handcrafted goodies.

There were vendor's selling both Autumn country crafts and Christmas items; everything from home decor to candles and scented rose hips. I saw some very unique pieces, as well as the occassional booth of pre-purchased items --- although most of these were scattered in among the myrid of other items. I was pleasantly surprised by some of the prices... some things were priced high, while others were fairly reasonable. I saw one booth of nothing but handmade creating cards... a lot of scrapbook supplies and SU stamps went into the creation of them. Each consisted of an envelope and clear bag and sold for $2.50 each. The girls booth wasn't busy and I felt a bit sorry for her as I realize the time and effort it took to painstakingly create each and every one of them. I must say that she did some beautiful work! Had Don not been a bit tired of walking, looking, and shopping, I would have liked to have had time to stop and chat with her a bit.

I did purchase just a few items... a rusty barn star and an 8 oz. container of some pear scented rose hips. MMMM, it smells heavenly! There were some other autumn and christmas scented ones that smelled just as yummy as well. But I walked away with a lot of ideas and inspriration to create some items for my own home. Although, I gotta admit that I love the clutter look and the eclectic mix at these shows but absolutely hate it within my own home. Maybe its because I'm the one who has to dust and clean and take care of it all.... LOL! Anyways, I am inspired to add some of my own fall decor pieces to our home, after I clean house today! It is that time of the year for some fall cleaning and planning for the upcoming holidays.

Speaking of holidays, I purchased a few more things for Alexxis. 2 new outfits.... one I'll keep out for her to wear now and the other will be wrapped up for Christmas. It is a cute 3 pc. outfit with blue jeans, a long sleeve printed onsie, and a vest with Elmo! It was simply too darn adorable to resist! {At this rate, no one may get any presents, LOL! I gotta start on my craft projects soon and do some thinking about what to purchase for family and friends soon.}

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