Memories of fall and decisions, decisions ...

Today was a beautiful fall day and although I would have preferred to be outdoors, I had to work. I work at home though, and my office has a window through which I can see down the length of our street, and enjoy the fall colors and neighborhood activities while I work. I started a big pot of vegetable beef soup this morning and it filled the house with a delicious smell as I worked. I love vegetable soup. I learned to make it from my mother, who learned from her mother, who learned from her mother. There's nothing like vegetable soup in the fall to warm you from within.

One of my fondest memories of growing up is "vegetable soup nights." We'd come home from school and there would be a big pot of soup on the stove and fresh baked bread. We didn't have a regular dinner time on those nights. Everybody just scooped soup into a bowl whenever they were hungry, grabbed at thick slice of bread smeared with butter, and went back for more all evening long. We children always thought of it as kind of a party. It didn't dawn on me until I was much older that it was Mom's way of using up all the little bits of leftovers from the week and it was probably a pretty inexpensive way to fill 7 hungry tummies when the money ran out before payday!!

It's funny that some of my favorite childhood memories are of times when our family had the least. Something to remember in these tough times when more and more people are having to struggle to get by.

Red is my favorite color. The couch in my living room is red. My kitchen would be red, but Honey wouldn't let me. My car is red. The majority of my clothes are red. Right now, my toenails are red!! I just love red!!

I've been working on something with red and white fabrics. I thought I'd make a mini-quilt, since I've never done one before. I made all these little half-square triangles in various red fabrics and paired them with white. Now I have to decide how to put them together. I can't decide which arrangement I like best.

This one is nice ....

Or this one ....

Then there's this ...

Or this ....

But I think I like this one best of all.
What do you think?