CINDERELLA...

Her name is Cinderella. 

 She was found abandoned 

in the back of a classy establishment 

because she wasn't pretty enough 

to be out front 

among her peers.

The wicked stepsisters

 had gone shopping. 

 When they spotted Cinderella,

 they knew they had found

 perfection.

She wasn't very attractive 

so she shouldn't mind 

staying home 

and tending to the kitchen duties,

 while the sisters tended 

to their

 social affairs.

She wasn't too tall, 

she wasn't too short or too wide. 

 She was just about the right size

 and she wouldn't take up 

too much space. 

She would fulfill 

her obligations 

nicely.

When the wicked stepsisters

 left for the ball, 

they were tittering behind 

their white gloves

 because they knew that

 Cinderella was 

green with envy.

Enter Fairy Godmother...

Hello, Cinderella.

Would you like to attend the ball?

Why, yes I would, but what about my appearance?...

...I am greatly in need 

of some dental work...

and I would need some

 strong makeup 

to cover these spots

 on my face.

Never fear, Cinderella,

 anything is possible 

when Prince Charming

 and his faithful and constant apprentice

 are at your 

disposal...

...and with a few 

substantial undergarments

 and a beautiful white gown,

 you will be ready

 for the ball.

I would love some jewelry,

 my gown looks very plain.

Your wish 

is my command.

Oh, Fairy Godmother, 

I feel almost

 beautiful...

...if only you could 

magically hide these spots 

on my face, 

cried Cinderella.

My dear, 

will this do? 

 An exquisite addition 

to your wardrobe 

that will perfectly match your gown, 

and will be sure to

 turn heads at

the ball.

I do feel beautiful

 and am no longer

 green with envy. 

Do you have any

 parting thoughts for me

 as I leave for 

the ball?

Just be home

 before midnight!

 You know the drill! 

 We have more to do

 in the kitchen 

and you know this project

 is not only

 about you!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yesterday was my birthday 

and as I am typing,

 a box appeared on the front porch.

 Tim, Tami and Jake 

sent me the most

 magical and cutest set of lights.

I just love them 

and have never seen any 

that I like better...

Aren't they just

 the sweetest things? 

I'm thinking I will hang them 

around the front porch 

for Christmas 

and then when next spring rolls around,

 they will go out 

onto the screened porch.

 There are enough of them 

to hang nicely

 across the ceiling. 

 Thank you my sweet children.

 Love you all to the moon!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In parting 

I would like to leave you 

with some words of wisdom 

sent to me by

 my dear sister-in-law

 on my birthday:

If with age comes wisdom,

Why is it that our britches

get bigger and not our hats?

I don't know 

but if all our wisdom 

is going to our butts,

 we're bigger smart-asses

 than we thought 

we were.

...Judy...

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A GHOST, SOME PUMPKINS AND A REALLY GOOD BOOK...

The Cottage Witch

 would like to thank you all 

for your kind comments and sweet visits

 during this past month.

  She has just simply

faded away for the time being but,

 if all is right with the world, 

she will return next year. 

 In the meantime, 

I hope you all enjoyed a Happy Halloween

 and I will leave you with 

a picture of Kai 

being a bit perturbed

 because the trick-or-treaters 

ate all the candy...

...and some warnings thoughts 

of what not to say 

when giving out candy:

It's not a sword, it's a light saber.

I'm not a bride, I'm an angel.

I'm not Snow White, I am Red Riding Hood.

 And on and on and on..

As the Cottage Witch 

you would think 

I would know 

these things!!  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I've never told you this before

 but there is a ghost

 at the Cottage.

 Not literally,

 I don't think, 

but the spirit of one 

who lived here long ago. 

 Her name was Elizabeth Garland

 but we, fondly, call her

Miss Lizzie.

She was the second daughter

 of the Garland family

 who resided in our Cottage

 from 1910 until her death in 1975.

 Even though 

there were some inhabitants

 before, and some after, 

including ourselves, 

the Cottage is forever known in town 

as the

 Garland House.

Miss Lizzie was a school teacher. 

 Above,

 she and her students, 

are pictured in a class photo 

taken around 1920?

 I know the date

was written on the back of the photograph 

but I scanned the front side only 

into the computer,

 and now I can't remember

 where I put the original! 

 This is the same

 elementary school 

that the Captain and I 

worked at, and then retired from. 

(Click on the photo. It is such fun to see these kids clothing and the expressions on their faces)

The reason we call her a ghost

 is that from the very first time 

we stepped foot in the Cottage

there was a feeling of

graciousness and of well being

within the walls.

 From everything

that we have learned about her 

this described how 

she lived her life.

Whenever,

 we can't find something 

that we are looking for 

and neither one of us 

will take the blame 

for misplacing it,

 we just say that 

Miss Lizzie 

must have been here.

Miss Lizzie never married 

and she retired from teaching 

in the late 1950's.

 A newspaper article 

at the time of her retirement stated,

 "Teaching 

'her children' 

the ABC's 

with a strong mind 

and a good heart".

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Last week,

 good friend Kim 

of Exquisitely Unremarkable 

posted about a pumpkin 

that she painted on a pillow.

 I have been looking through 

all the catalogs 

at beautiful pillows, 

designed for the holidays, 

and really cringe when 

I see the prices.

 When Kim 

talked so caringly about

how we all have an artist

 buried deep within us, 

I thought maybe 

I would try and bring mine 

to the forefront 

and come up with 

a version of my own.

Well,

 that didn't turn out too badly

 and cost nothing 

as I already had all the supplies needed 

so thought I'd take it 

one step further 

and do some 

sweater pumpkins...

...I had 

the lighter colored sweaters 

for years 

and a fast trip to the thrift store

 turned up the orange one.

  I had saved stems

 from last year's pumpkins.

  Good thing 

I only saved four 

or I would have sweater pumpkins

 coming out of my ears, 

they were that fun

 and that easy to make.

I even attempted

a free hand drawing 

of a pumpkin 

on my little blackboard..

Now I think 

I'm ready to tackle 

Christmas designs. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I pre-ordered

 Chip and Joanna's book

way last summer 

and finally received it last week.

 The Captain and I

 are both great fans of

 the Fixer Upper shows 

but especially of 

Chip and Joanna Gaines themselves.

 They have such strong

 family values

and seem like such 

fun-loving and honest people

 and after reading the book,

 I can honestly say 

that is how they appear 

in real life

 also.

  We both sat down

 and I read aloud 

and it was such a good read 

and was over way too quickly.

  They are certainly living 

the 'American Dream', now, 

but have put a lot of hard work 

into their life

 to make it possible. 

 They have had a lot of support 

throughout their journey 

but in the end

 it is because of 

their strong work ethics and 

Chip's sometimes devil-may-care attitude,

 along with Joanna's decorating skills, 

that has made them 

so successful.

We both hated 

for the book to end 

and now eagerly await

 the November 29th 

new season opener of 

the Fixer Upper

 on HGTV.

...Judy...

A cute, little wildflower seed card 

enclosed in 

"The Magnolia Story"

 book.

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