Sorry, folks! Our server has been having some issues over the past few days. If you’ve tried to leave a comment and couldn’t, please try again. If you want to send your comment directly to me, please feel free and I can post them for you. Hopefully this will be resolved soon! I can’t even do a new blog entry because it won’t let me upload any photos. Sheesh ...

Such a strange title, is it not? This post is all the fault of Becky over at Iron Needles who is in the midst of Blogtoberfest. Her post the other day (which can be found here) included a discussion on Q-Tips and it made me think about something I had not thought about in years. When I read her post I immediately thought about my high school years and how my Father was always telling me I had cornered the market on Q-Tips. I can see him shaking his head in disbelief at the mascara-blackened Q-Tips discarded in one big messy pile on my vanity table. I was, in short, a Q-Tip slob.

The reason being, of course, was that I used them in my make-up repertoire. I am lucky to be blessed with long eyelashes. In high school I played that feature up to the hilt. Each morning I could be found seated at my vanity table in front of my lighted makeup mirror (who uses those things anymore?) layering on the mascara and painstakingly separating the lashes with a lash comb. In the process of using the lash comb I would plaster my mascaraed eyelashes against my eyelids to better separate them. And there lies the reason I used so many Q-Tips— had to get all that mascara off my eyelids! I must have used ten Q-Tips per day. Multiply that times 7 days a week and you have a lot of Q-Tips. Why I didn’t throw them out when I was done with them I can’t tell you. But I didn’t. They just accumulated.

I racked my brain thinking of old photos of me that might prove my point. (About the eyelashes, I mean, not the pile of used Q-Tips.) I finally remembered my senior photo that was taken for the yearbook. I took off for the basement with the goal of finding those old yearbooks. Our basement is a mess, have I ever mentioned that? What we didn’t completely unpack when we moved here three years ago has been rummaged through time and time again. I managed to find them in a box marked “Lynne’s childhood memories.” Here is the photo but it’s way too small to see any detail.

I thought some more. Hmm ... seems to me I had seen the bigger, color version of that photo somewhere not too long ago. My baby book maybe? Yes. There it was. Perfect. Bless you Mom for keeping all this stuff together.

Look at those eyelashes! No, they are not fake. I wouldn’t kid you about a thing like that. They look a bit ridiculous now, but hey, it was the 70’s. Need a closer look at all that goo? A lot of work (not to mention Q-Tips) went into that look. I am now wondering just how I got all that mascara off. Lots of Johnson’s Baby Oil I’m guessing ...

Becky I hope you are satisfied. Look what you made me do! I would never have thought about it if not for your post. But it brought back some memories of high school days and I had a good laugh reading inscriptions in my yearbook. Do today’s kids still sign yearbooks as if they are autograph books? All those people saying “don’t forget so-and-so” and of course now I can’t remember who so-and-so is anymore. One inscription got me laughing. At least my eyelashes had made an impression on “Dave” enough for him to give me the alias of “Lashes.”

I had to look him up. I don’t remember him very well except that he was really really tall. And nice. I think he played golf on the school team. He was also a year ahead of me. Here he is.

Nice sideburns, Dave! So, David Morrison, where are you now?

I still have long eyelashes but I only wear a modest amount of mascara on them these days. And, I still use Q-Tips to tidy up stray mascara. Old habits die hard I guess.

Here are the nuts that keep falling out of the trees. I don’t know what they are but this is the first year we’ve had them. Acorns, yes, usually tons of them, but these I have no clue. They don’t actually have an edible nut inside from what I can tell. Take a look and tell me if you recognize them. The green ones are freshly fallen.

I am not joking when I tell you I can hear them hitting the across-the-street-neighbors’ deck—even in the middle of the night. It can’t be acorns; they are too small to make that much noise when they hit. It’s very bizarre! We’ve lived here for three years and never had them, or at least not to this degree that they are constantly plonking down and threatening concussion if they hit you on the head. Very curious ...

That was the nut half of this post, now on to the recipe!

Last week’s distribution from our CSA included acorn squash. We made Rosemary-Scented Risotto in Acorn Squash Cups the night before last with one of them. It was delicious! Such a nice autumn dish. I just love any kind of squash.

The squash cooks in the oven for 45 minutes while you make the risotto.

Don’t be afraid of making the risotto. It’s easy! All it asks is just a hand to stir it and for you to pay attention to it. The recipe (if you follow the link) does not call for this ingredient but we think it’s important in a risotto. Vermouth.

And no, not for drinking, for adding to the rice as it’s first liquid to soak up. I think Julia Child was famous for tippling her Vermouth, wasn’t she? I prefer a nice crisp glass of Chardonnay by my side while I tend the risotto. Anyway, Vermouth is paramount in my opinion if you’re going to make a good risotto. Pour it on and let it soak it all up before starting to add your broth. Just stir and add more broth as it gets incorporated. Repeat until rice is done. When I am making the risotto I slip another splash or two of Vermouth into the broth about ten minutes before I think the rice will be done. Rick doesn’t, but I do. So I wonder why he always thinks my risotto tastes better than his? Was it that splash of Vermouth or was it just because someone else made it?

Ladle the risotto into your cooked squash halves and enjoy! We’ll be making this again soon.

There is something special about the quality of light at this time of year. It’s soft. Golden. The sun dips lower and lower and barely makes it above our trees. In the morning the light sifts through the trees creating glorious sunbeams. It shines through droplets of water leftover from the previous night’s rain, and a spider’s web.

The pool, now closed for the winter, never makes it into the full sunlight.

The hours of sunlight we can count on having each day get fewer and fewer. Night falls faster and faster. The sun is reluctant to wake up. Prepare to spend more time inside it seems to be saying.

The moon takes over the sun’s job and also rises through the trees, bathing the yard in its pale shimmery light.

I don’t know about you but I am taking in all of this golden light that I can!

It’s been gray/rainy/foggy and cool this week. Typically fall. Our mushroom foray that was rescheduled for today was put on hold for yet another week. It would seem the mushrooms are reluctant to make an appearance. So instead we visited Bed, Bath & Beyond and bought new bed pillows, sheets, and towels. The washer and dryer are working overtime getting them all ready for use. Well, not the pillows of course. (Did I mention the dryer is fixed? Well, mostly. It still needs a new belt which will be installed on Monday, but at least it’s usable.)

I just now stepped out on my deck because I heard the Carolina Wren singing its sweet song. It actually prompted me to write this entry. Such a cool bird to have around and it has so many different tunes it can sing! My neighbor’s rooster was crowing too, and every once in a while the sheep chime in with their cute baaaa…baaaa…baaaa‘s. My neighbor told me that they will be bred this fall so we’ll have more sheepy noises to come. I told her we’d love to have some milk to make cheese from but I don’t know if that will happen or not. It’s complicated. There will be wool though from the shearing. (Not that I would know what to do with it!)

There is also the very loud thwack! sound of acorns (or maybe it’s the other large nut-like things that have been falling this year) hitting the deck of my neighbors across the street. The rustling of tree leaves and limbs can also be heard as the squirrels busily run to and fro with their nutty booty.

Even though the trees are not showing much color as yet, fall has arrived. And maybe, just maybe, I’m out of my blut.