Zombie Pincushion!! Thank You Val!!!

For several weeks I have been trying to upload pictures of this amazing zombie pin cushion I won from Yarnigras. Finally I am home long enough to upload the pictures and offer a heart felt thank you to Val over at Yarnigras and Yarnigras Swapper Spot. She hosts the coolest swaps and I have has such a great time participating in them.

Thank you val, this little guy sits next to my VooDoo doll pincushion and is quite happy in his new home.

Yuletide Blessings Embroidered Fleece Blanket now in my Etsy Shop!

This beautiful cream colored fleece blanket was just added to my shop. If you have a friend or relative that likes Dragons you may want to check it out. I will personalize this with a name for free! As time permits I'll be adding additional embroidered items to the shop as well as some other fun things. To check it out click on the picture.

Check back later tonight for a peep at the sweet little Zombie that showed up at my house last week!

Happy November

Every morning on my way to work I pass several cow pastures - which is pretty awesome as I work in the heart of Reno. I have been working in the same area for about 5 1/2 years now and every year, just after Halloween, the local pumpkin farmer brings the left over pumpkins to the cows.

I can assure you, having watched the farmer truck in the pumpkins, cows feel joy. Watching them run to the pumpkins is so sweet. This year, after telling myself for the past 5 seasons that I WOULD TAKE PICTURES, I finally had not only opportunity but also my camera, I also had my 16 year old son in the car - Yikes! After dropping the boy off at school (he insisted that he could NOT be in the car when I pulled off to the side of the road to take pictures of cows - his actual words were - really mom?? really?), I made my way back to the pasture and just enjoyed the view.

Just before I made the U-turn that would put me next to the field another car pulled off to the side. A man got out of his car and laughed at my camera as he pulled out his own. We talked about the cows, the view, our families, all the while taking pictures of happy cows. After a while, we said our good byes and went our separate ways. It was a nice moment, standing with someone who was experiencing the same love of life that I was.

Having spent my high school years living in rural Pennsylvania and attending school in rural Maryland, I really love that Reno is such a "Wild West" type of town. My office building is nestled between cow pastures and, of all things, the airport. I get the best of both worlds, livestock and crops that I can watch grow,  lots of lovely mountains, and if I have to visit the city it is only a 4 hour drive into San Francisco, only 2 1/2 if I stop in Sacramento. I occasionally grumble about being in the west but that's only because I miss the amazing friends I have back home, truth be told, I love the Sierra Nevada mountains, Lake Tahoe and Reno and as much as I would love to move home and be closer to family and friends, I love where I am and I cherish the family and friends I have made while living in the wild, wild west!
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And the Winners are...

Congratulations to the winners of my two Halloween Blog Party Give Aways

Incipient wings who won the Cookie Cutter Package at my Haunted Halloween Tea Party and

Plum Field House Gardens who won the Voodoo Doll from my Broomsticks on the Bayou party.

Email me with you mailing information and I will get you gifts mailed out to you.

Thank you to everyone who stopped by for a visit. I'll be having another give away soon, in celebration of my 250th post - which should be sometime in November!

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween!

Be sure to stop by later this evening. I'll be announcing the winners of my two give-aways tonight. To enter you can visit the post or this post. Be sure to leave a comment and also follow my blog. I'll be drawing around 8:00 PM Pacific time!

A special thanks to The Graphics Fairy for this amazing graphic!

Haunted Halloween Tea Party and a Give Away!

Thank you to Vanessa at aFancifulTwist.com for hosting this wonderful event. Be sure to click HERE to see all the blogs that are hosting tea today

Welcome to my home, I am so glad you were able to stop by, it is such a lovely day for a Haunted Halloween Tea Party!

The beautiful colors of the season are in abundance here so I had to share but before you come inside make sure you check behind you, we don't want anything to follow you in!

                                     

                                               

The table is set...

The tea has been brewed, and...

The snacks are ready, so please sit for a spell and join me for tea. 

 I made these lovely cookies myself using this fabulous recipe I found on eHow.com

Best Soft Sugar Cookies

4 Cups Flour

1 Teaspoon Baking Powder

1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda

1/2 Teaspoon Salt

1/8 Teaspoon Nutmeg

2 Dashes of Cinnamon

1/4 Teaspoon Cream of Tarter

1 Cup Butter - Softened

1 1/2 Cups White Sugar

1 Egg

1 Teaspoon Vanilla

1/2 Cup Sour Cream

Frosting

Directions:

Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon and cream of tater in a bowl and set aside.

In another bowl, cream butter and sugar until smooth. Add egg, vanilla and sour cream, mix until blended. Add dry ingredients and mix until combined. Wrap dough in plastic warp and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Roll dough to a 1/4 inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Cut into shapes with cookie cutters.

Bake for 8-10 minutes, until the BOTTOM of the cookie starts to brown. Do not over bake or the cookies will crumble. Allow to cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes then move to wire rack and cool completely.

Ice with frosting of your choice. Click the eHow link above or HERE for a link to the recipe. For the recipe I used to frost my cookies click HERE.

These cookies are really yummy. They are soft yet held their shape well when baked. I hope y ou enjoy them while you are visiting today!

To celebrate this lovely Haunted Tea Party I am giving away a Brand New Set of these Awesome Cookies Cutters, a Haunted Recipe Card with the Above recipe and one for the Icing as well as an Altered Tea Tin complete with an assortment of 12 tea bags...

Here are the cookie cutters, the winners will be in the original package... these are mine :0)

To enter the Give Away all you have to do is follow my blog (if you don't already) and leave me a comment. Really, that is it!

Thanks for stopping by, I'll be visiting everyone tomorrow!

Here is the number of the comment that was picked as the winner...

And the winner is... Incipient Wings :0) Congratulations. Email me with you mailing address and I will mail you your goodies! 

** Note** I am not sure that the email link is working correctly so please email me at AutumnWindReno at Aol.com 

It's almost time for a Haunted Halloween Tea Party!

This is a quickie post since I am at work and only have a minute but I wanted to say that I am so excited to be a part of this year's Haunted Halloween Tea Party being hosted by A Fanciful Twist. Check back on Saturday to join in on the fun and to enter to win in another giveaway!

For more information on the party you can click the picture above or click here.

See you then!