Jars

jar

noun

1. a broad-mouthed container, usually cylindrical and of glass or earthenware

In my house, jars are not only utilitarian, they are also decorative.  Jars rarely end up in our recycle bucket as we tend to reuse them for all kinds of things!  Once upon a time, we had bags and bags of baby food jars.  Those days are behind me now and I was appalled recently to find most baby food in disposable plastic containers!  When I started looking around the house, much the way one does when looking for an Easter egg, I realized how many jars held a place of honor in my home.  They're in the kitchen cabinets, on the mantle, in the dining room, the sewing room, on the workbench, the bookshelf, the windowsill.  And of course, there's a very grand jar in the barn.

These items at the church fair simply wouldn't look right in plastic!

The afternoon sun shines in through the marbles in the jar.

Teabags on the counter....a necessity.

I snapped this wonderful image of sunflowers in a jar at a fair in Maine.  They beckoned to the passerby....come to our booth!

Caramels in a jar; soon to be turned into caramel apples!

Vintage Atlas jars keep the moisture out of the bouillon.

Upon opening the barn door one morning, I noticed a lovely old jar that was rather large.  I believe it came with the house, which makes me wonder; how long has that jar been watching over the barn?  I shall leave it there.

The tulips stand at attention in the jar on the mantle.

I tend to collect seashells and a jar seems like the logical place to keep them. 

The candle waits to light the window on a snowy night.

The jar makes a suitable home for a Christmas cactus cast-off.

Candy in a jar?  I have several.

There's something wonderful and inviting about a new batch of jelly in luminous jars.

How else could we present our jams and jelly at the fair; a bowl or plate?  A ziplock bag?  Absolutely not.

Tis the season for home made snow globes!

An antique jar makes a seasonal display special.

A nest and an egg in a jar?  Sublime.

More seashells mean more jars.  These vintage biscuit jars are favorites of mine; both gifts from my mother.

As we renovate this big old rambling farmhouse, we collect things.

Snacks in a jar.

I thought this was a terrific find for my sewing room; a lamp made from a jar and filled with marbles!

You have a button jar too, right?

Pickle jars.

More items for the fair.

While the paper cup certainly serves its purpose, the jar adds beauty to the blooms.

More jars; more seashells.  Or is it the other way around?

Jars over my husbands workbench.  Truly utilitarian.

I walked the beach quite often as a child; my bounty rests on the bookshelf.

This wonderful old Ball jar sheds light on a dreary day.

A square jar and a round jar.  It's the different sizes and shape of jars that fascinates me.

These jars await their fate at the basement door.

Pumpkin seeds in a jar.  What a delightful gift!

Ball released these vintage style jars; part of their American Heritage Collection.

What will these jars hold?

 The ultimate jar.

There's a woodpecker in the barn.

This seemingly annoyed hairy woodpecker caught my attention this afternoon by pecking non-stop at the old barn window.... from the inside. 

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Roasted pumpkin seeds make a wonderful snack; especially on a blustery fall day!  Be creative and add your own favorite spice.  Divide the seeds and let everyone choose his or her favorite flavor.  Make sure you set some seeds aside for next years growing season!

Separating the pulp from the seeds isn't as hard as it looks.  Just let it run through your finger over a colander in the sink.  It's OK if you don't get all of the pulp out.

Let the water drain out of the seeds.

Assemble your supplies:  olive oil, sea salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cayenne pepper.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

You'll need:
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 tablespoon sea salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
Note - You can adjust any of these amounts to your personal taste.

You'll also need approximately 2 cups of pumpkin seeds.

Add your spices to the seeds.

Mix well.  Add 1 tablespoon olive oil.  Mix again.

Spread mixture on a cookie sheet.

Put into preheated oven for approximately 20 minutes.  Mix occasionally while baking.

You'll know the seeds are ready when they turn light golden brown.  They will also smell delicious!

I chose to have mine in front of the wood stove with a cup of hot cider sprinkled with a dash of cinnamon.  While the pumpkin seeds were roasting, I cut the remaining blooms from the garden as we're expecting a frost tonight!

Wonderfully good!

Trick or Treating images....the lights are out.

 

 

 

 

Hallow-e'en 1915 
by Winifred M. Letts 1916

Will you come back to us, men of our hearts, to-night
In the misty close of the brief October day?
Will you leave the alien graves where you sleep and steal away
To see the gables and eaves of home grow dark in the evening light?

O men of the manor and moated hall and farm,
Come back to-night, treading softly over the grass;
The dew of the autumn dusk will not betray where you pass;
The watchful dog may stir in his sleep but he’ll raise no hoarse alarm.

Then you will stand, not strangers, but wishful to look
At the kindly lamplight shed from the open door,
And the fire-lit casement where one, having wept you sore,
Sits dreaming alone with her sorrow, not heeding her open book.

Forgotten awhile the weary trenches, the dome
Of pitiless Eastern sky, in this quiet hour
When no sound breaks the hush but the chimes from the old church tower,
And the river’s song at the weir,—ah! then we will welcome you home.

You will come back to us just as the robin sings
Nunc Dimittis from the larch to a sun late set
In purple woodlands; when caught like silver fish in a net
The stars gleam out through the orchard boughs and the church owl flaps his wings.

We have no fear of you, silent shadows, who tread
The leaf-bestrewn paths, the dew-wet lawns. Draw near
To the glowing fire, the empty chair,—we shall not fear,
Being but ghosts for the lack of you, ghosts of our well-beloved dead.

A non-traditional Jack O' Lantern!

When our boys were growing up, we always tried to inspire them to be creative and to think outside the box.  So after years of carving "normal" Jack O' Lanterns, our older son came up with this.  No fancy carving kit kit was used; just a little imagination and a kitchen knife.  A Boston Bruins Jack O' Lantern.  His fourth grade art teacher would be very proud.

Happy Halloween!