“Falling” Productive

This is the column I wrote for The Leaf Chronicle, which appeared in the Sunday, Oct 20, 2013 edition.

As I sat down at the computer to write my column for this week, I posted my confession on facebook. I was there (on facebook) and elsewhere looking for inspiration. I had several suggestions for topics for my article, but mostly just some friends aiding and abetting my delinquency. I did have one friend who made a suggestion which was along the lines of what I was thinking already, so Ruta, here you go . . .

I am finding, as I usually do this time of year, that I am rather productive. There is something about fall that motivates me; even the rainy days. I’ll take a rainy day in October over a sunny day in August every time! Perhaps it is the cooler weather, the fresh breeze blowing through the shop and the house or the excitement of the coming season. Whatever the reason, it seems to come in the nick-of-time each year.

At the shop, I’ve finally started clearing out some of the “stuff” I’ve allowed to accumulate over the years. I’m boxing up some of my creative supplies to take home or donate. I’ve found I don’t have a lot of time for creative activities while at work—well, at least not this type of creativity. This will have the added benefit of clearing some shelves so we can lay-out our Christmas inventory and get it ready to move to the floor in a few weeks; yes, I’m sorry . . . I’m a retailer.

At home, I’ve been trying to accomplish some of the same. I’ve got a donate box, a storage box and the trashcan! As I transition to my fall décor, it is the perfect time to do a little weeding. Of course, this is a slower process than at the store; things are pretty clear cut there—get it on the floor to sell, donate it or throw it away. At the house I slow down. There’s so much more to consider. I’ve got children getting ready to move out of the house—eventually—so I have to consider things which might be useful in their first apartments.

Then, of course, I have to consider the Antiques Road Show. I know you know what I mean. You’re looking at that pitcher that Aunt Ethel gave you for your wedding. You’ve never used it—not even to hold flowers. This time it’s getting donated, but . . . as you place it in the box you notice the marking on the bottom. What does that say? “W. Germany.” Then you’re thinking, where did I hear something about that? If there is a “W” that clearly means is once belonged to the former President, right??? No, that wasn’t it. Think. Right, it means “West Germany.” That place no longer exists! I’ll bet it’s worth something! Wouldn’t that be a shame to donate it, to later watch as some stranger shows-up on the Antiques Road Show with the pitcher Aunt Ethel so thoughtfully chose for you?

So, umm, yeah. Back to how productive I’ve been.

While my daydreams tend to gain some footing, I still feel like I’ve made great strides at the shop and at home. I’ve been slowly adding decorative fall accents throughout the house; they will be firmly in place until after Thanksgiving. Christmas does not encroach on our orderly observation of holidays at the house. (Heck, I’m lucky to have the tree decorated by December 25^th!)

Since I like to share ideas for transitional décor you might want to use in your own home, I’ll close by sharing a picture of the mantel in our dining room. This is one of my favorite places to focus our seasonal décor for several reasons. It is the first room I see when I walk out of our bedroom, it is where we do most of our entertaining and I can also see it from the room where I spend most of my waking hours—the kitchen.

Several weeks ago, I was ready to remove the summer accents I had used to adorn it for the season, but not quite ready for Indian corn and pumpkins, so I decided to add some items that would carry through until Thanksgiving, while giving a nod to the fading summer days. I started with a few books stacked on their side—choosing those with colors that reflected my transitional theme. Then I added brown pillar candles and a hand decorated emergency candle (similar to the one I gave instructions for last week), as well as a few rusty iron accents. The final touch—the hydrangeas I dried a few weeks ago. I left them in the aqua ball jars, because the colors worked so well with the shades of blues and greens in the hydrangeas. I loved this display so much, I was hesitant to take it down for my full-blown autumn mantel, but I do look forward to using the dried blooms again next year.

Next week, I’ll share more pictures of my home and how I decorate for this most wonderful time of year.