Saturday at the table Archives - Feet Under My Table

Won’t You Join Me At the Table?

Leslie J Watkins — Sat, 19 Oct 2024 17:28:59 +0000

Happy Saturday at the table this morning. Coffee cup in hand. Cool weather just outside the door. Do you have plans for a glorious Saturday? I’m headed out to find pumpkins today for a project to share with you all. I’m a little late to the party of adding pumpkins to my porch. Sharing finds at the table this morning first! There’s so many great finds to share with you at the table this week. This recipe stopped me in my tracks when my friend, Missy, shared it! Seriously! You can find her recipe for it here. Ready in 15 minutes. Yes, please. I love this idea for keeping dried oranges vibrant. You can find my friend at Stone Gable’s post here. I love that she also has other ideas for using them. If you are a vintage decorator? Robyn is your girl. A blogging mentor for me, she always inspires me in her decorating and life. Fall inspiration from her found here. I could watch her set a beautiful table as often as she creates them! I’ve been on a hunt for some brown transferware to add to our table this fall for gathering. Liz always inspires me with hers. My friend shared this House and Garden home that is not what you’d expect in fall decorating…but, oh, so lovely. The UK always draws you in to cozy and inviting. This week at the table? Well, this week has been more “readying for fall”. When the weather is gorgeous, crisp air and cooler temperatures? I’m thinking on all that is best to be done outside. FINALLY, the reformation of two beautiful four drawer antique chests began. I was hopeful to simply refinish them. But, even Joy at Lamon Antiques ,where I purchased them, told me she felt certain that they would have to be painted. After sanding, sadly, she was right. Be watching for the finished results. Now, so many decisions on paint is the next to be made. The darker Bobo hydrangeas have once again been added with faux pumpkins and pinecones to the wooden container on the screened porch. More recipes happened in the kitchen. This week? I was inspired to create a pumpkin pasta from someone who came across my feed. My husband suffers from food allergies and gluten sensitivity…so why not give that pumpkin pasta a new gluten free version? I’ll be sharing that one soon! I have several pumpkin recipes that I have been working to make my own this week. Tweaking always happens! My husband loves my roasted tomato sauce, which was again made this week. I think the cooler temperatures will wipe out the rest of the tomato season…which always makes me sad. Aren’t the colors of those tomatoes gorgeous?! Tomato plants were covered during potential frost nights…but, even though they are loaded with green tomatoes, the wonderful season of tomatoes is truly coming to an end. Soup Season! The cooler temperatures here ushered in the official launch of soup season. While my husband enjoyed beef stew I had added to the freezer, my menu needed French Onion soup. A fast and easy version was created and shared this week. If you love French Onion soup, hope you will give this one a try. If you love caramelized onions, a great crockpot recipe for those is included in that post. Do you need more soups in your life? If, so? I’m your friend. Here are a few of my favorites that may make their appearance for those with feet under my table next week… Sharing my favorite sweet potato chili in the October VUE magazine this month. This recipe was shared this week with guests who had their feet under my table. TIP: Just leave out the pasta to make it gluten free. Do you love chowders? One of my friends shared many from several of my friends in one post. Thanks, Stacy! I think I’ll need to try them all. Don’t they look amazing? Hope this week finds you filled with conversations and activities that bring warmth and enrichment to your life. I’m seeking those, as well. So very thankful that you have joined me here. I never take your time or engagement for granted. Always truly grateful for your support and comments. Happy Saturday, friends,

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An October Table Talk Saturday

Leslie J Watkins — Sat, 12 Oct 2024 13:53:34 +0000

Welcome to an October Table Talk! It’s a cooler Saturday morning today. Thank you so very much for your prayers for my family during Hurricane Milton. Power out, generator on with refrigerators working, and only small shrub damage for my sister. My nephew, in Tampa, returned home to no damage. Lots of tree limbs down, and still no power. We will take that. So very thankful! If you missed my post with comfort food, inspired by my sister who was navigating Hurricane Milton, you can read it here. The bucks grazing in the yard and fewer hummingbirds are a great reminder that transition is happening here. One last fill of the hummingbird feeder happened this week. I’ll keep cleaning and filling until I no longer see them here. When the feeding season ends, I’ll be trying a new method to completely clean the black off of the silicone feeders that has been problematic this summer. I’ll share what works when that happens. Do you have any suggestions of what removes that best for you? Gotta keep those little hummingbirds safe and healthy. Gardening Table Talk This week we harvested zinnia seeds, leaving some on the ground for bird food through the winter. If you need to know how we harvest those seeds to save, here you go. We always remove the plants each fall and clear the beds to prepare for next year’s planting of those harvested seeds. A few other gardening activities happened this week. Amazingly the basil has turned more beautiful than ever, so that will bring me to making pesto this weekend. We have frost warnings this weekend. I hate to see all of the summer annuals disappear. Some of my annuals look better than ever this time of year which continues the conundrum of pulling them and replacing them with fall plants. Does that happen with you? Ferns gloriously are flanking my porch and surrounding pots and benches around the deck and landscape. Fall decorating continues. The back porch got another transition with wreaths moved from summer to fall; new tablecloths; cleaning floors (again) and new fall touches added with pinecones and dried hydrangea to carry out the theme outdoors. Our sectional needed a cleaning. My husband found this great product that is amazing, with little soap residue. Because we love it so much, we ordered a two pack to keep it in stock. I can’t believe how spotless it is now. My friend, Wendy, came up with a great DIY pumpkin pillow that I need to try here. Kitchen time. My tomato plants have continued to produce and three batches of roasted tomato sauce were made and added to the freezer this week. More bags of the freezer tomato packets for sauce was added to the freezer, too. I’ll probably need to gather tomatoes or cover plants before the frost warning this week. The party is about over for them. Have you been drawn into the kitchen for baking this week? Here are a few finds that I thought sounded interesting: Thanks for your suggestions for my birthday trip! Mackinac Island was suggested. November the Grand Hotel is closed…but, they do have a weekend where they close the hotel that sounds really fun! Opening and closing of the hotel sounds memorable. The wonderful thing about having a November birthday? Christmas season arrives. No matter where we go…the sights and sounds of Christmas will welcome us. I’m all for that. I don’t know about you, but Christmas shopping appeared yesterday after a bit of Amazon shopping for grands. My focus will take me to more heart gifts for Christmas this week…creating and thinking and making will make my heart happy. Even if you go locally to find or create gift boxes that will be loved, it’s a great time to reflect and thoughtfully do that. For me? It gets less lost in the hustle if I plan early. More talk from the table.. If you missed my post this week on the genius laundry tip, here you go! Never lose a sock again! An easy way to sort clothes BEFORE you wash them, too! If you have a large family and the sorting of clean laundry is overwhelming? This idea is genius. When I had four great nieces and nephew last year while their parents were in Europe, this would have helped immensely to determine whose socks, underwear, etc. belonged to which child. Plus? each family member can bag their own personal laundry and get the bag back to put away. Okay, off my band wagon now! More from the Saturday sidelines… What are your plans today? Praying for my friends in Florida trying to navigate their way home or still without power for those who live there. Today is our last Farmer’s Market that we may stroll through. We may also make a trip out to buy apples and finally get applesauce and apple jam made for the pantry. I’ll be sad this winter if we don’t have that done. If you want to make these recipes and don’t want to can them? Add either to a freezer container and add to your freezer. You can thank me this winter when you are enjoying both…canned or frozen. Tonight I’ll be volunteering at the Carson Center for our Paducah Symphony performance. Always a great evening filled with beautiful music and friends among the audience. What’s on your agenda for next week? I think I’ll be tackling the refinishing/repainting of chests for nightstands for our bedroom for starters. Wish me luck! And then there are Christmas gifts to plan and create. A trip to Charlene’s is in the works soon. We were in the Smokies when they had their Christmas Open House this year, so fall and Christmas ideas will be overflowing there to enjoy. I’ve shared about a trip or two here before. If you are close? Don’t miss a visit to their Tea Room and gift shops. Support your local businesses, friend. Today’s economy and local friends need our support. Having friends with their feet under my table is on next week’s agenda, too. It’s time for a bit of fall gathering with great food, conversation and to share life. Can’t wait! Happy Saturday, friends!

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Saturday at the Table

Leslie J Watkins — Sat, 21 Sep 2024 14:48:41 +0000

Good Saturday morning at the table! Thank you for joining me. It’s always a favorite moment to invite you to have your feet under my table…share recipes, projects, gardening, seasonal thoughts and inspiration. If you are here…that means we have a bit of shared interests and connection…and for that I am truly thankful. So…here we go! Let’s begin with Saturday gardening talk at the table… Are you a zinnia lover? Our sweet zinnias are winding down the season. They are trumpeting the last of their glorious blooms on some plants, while others have left for the season, laid down their crowns and begun to wither. Lifespan, isn’t it? Seasons that change that often we aren’t quite ready for. I get it. I’m always thrilled in the spring when they begin and sad when they make the decision to end their beauty. There are still loads of bees and a few hummingbirds gleaning from the nectar from those remaining. There are many spent zinnia blooms to harvest for planting next year. If you need inspiration on how to harvest seeds OR how to plant them…just click on those links to learn more. Simply a joy each year to have them in my landscape. Do you still have hummingbirds at your feeder? They are definitely winding down the season here. I’m making only half the quantity of hummingbird nectar each time I refill and clean the feeder. I always have difficulty pulling out summer flowers in pots to transition to fall. Do you have that problem? I never want to remove spring plants to replace with summer ones, either. Laura, at Garden Answer is ALWAYS my inspiration to switch out plants for the seasons…she’s been a favorite to follow for years. If you have followed me long, you saw where I traveled to Andrew Seed Co., her family’s business. Even if you aren’t a gardener…she’s an amazing one to follow. Do you change out your menus with the change of seasons? That’s happening here already. This week I shared a new version of a fall chicken salad…reminiscent of a Waldorf chicken salad. If you missed it, here you go! I realize that some of you aren’t pumpkin spice fans…but, a new coffee shop in town produced the BEST pumpkin spice latte this weekend. Evergreens Coffee and Plant shop here added a cream cheese whip to the top. Oh, my! I need to recreate it. If you are local, it’s pretty amazing. On my menu plan this week are a few requests: With zucchini still available from farm stands, it just seemed natural to add it to the menu. Although I don’t think I’ll be canning more this season, one of my favorite posts lately has been the pineapple zucchini. Who knew it would be so popular, right? Another great use for zucchini before it disappears for the season. Just click on the links that take you straight to any of those recipes. What are you cooking for dinner this week? I’d love to know in the comments. What are your plans this weekend? A visit to Franklin, TN never disappoints. We spent the day there yesterday at my favorite shops. Loved these pots from the Iron Gate. Let’s talk about this table… A new line of dipped tapers and then different types of candle holders took my breath away. Lovely. Today we are headed off to enjoy our annual BBQ on the River festival. An average of 30K will join us along the banks of the river to enjoy incredible BBQ, amazing sides and desserts, great music, catching up with friends, and shopping with the local vendors scattered among the streets and lawn. It’s simply the BEST. I had the joy of taking my college roommate on Thursday for the first stroll and first bite of this year’s festival. If you are close today, it’s worth joining us. The party won’t end until about 11 this evening. What makes this the BEST? It’s a charity fundraising event that will raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for so many groups and needs in our community. The smell in the air and atmosphere is like NONE OTHER. I shared about it here if you want to read more. More Saturday table talk inspiration gathered this week… Have a wonderful weekend, friends! Thanks again, for joining me here for a bit of Saturday table talk. I’d love to know what’s happening with you in the comments. Happy Saturday,

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