The Father of our Nation--George Price

Last week Belize celebrated 30 years of being independent. Before then it was a British colony named British Honduras. Today I am taking a moment to remember the father of this Belizean nation, Rt. Hon. George Price. He died last week monday, 2 days before the Independence Day on the 21st of September, which he has helped bring about. The present prime minister has announced that today, the day of his funeral, will become a national holiday in honor of Price.

 He was our first prime minister.He has set a great example of what a prime minister should be, and has perhaps contributed the most to Belizean politics. People will remember him as a very humble and unselfish leader, one who was willing to sacrifice everything for his country. What other prime minster would be content to live in a one room house and drive a beaten up old truck as prime minister?... He was not too proud to walk along the street picking up other people's trash. We Belizeans have a lot to learn from him.

At 92, we are happy that he is finally relieved of all the earthly burdens and is able to get his much needed rest.

Welcome Fall!

My Belizean readers probably think I'm crazy, talking about fall! Belize does have four seasons, only they differ a little from North American seasons: 

warm summer, 

hot summer,

humid summer, 

cool summer.

When in Tennessee, we had the most beautiful fall ever. I really fell in love with fall when I lived there. Ever since we moved from the US, I miss this wonderful season. 

Blue Skies

Crisp Air

Crunchy apples on trees

Colorful trees

Leaves on the ground

Geese honking overhead

Fresh apple cider

Aunt Sue's apple butter

Apple Pie

Everything else apple!

Corn being threshed

O wait! We have corn here too that will be threshed soon! So not all is lost here after all. I have something to remind me of fall... In fact, I decided this year I am going to celebrate fall, regardless of what it looks like outside. I had fun decorating my house for fall! Even if it might feel a little out of place, it helps me not miss it quite so much. 

 I hung this corn on the front porch close to the door. Lucky we have our own corn field so I can pick as much as I please for decorating.

 Well, how about that! This made me so very excited to see. Last year I looked around for trees changing color, but didn't find anything worth noting, I thought. this year, much to my delight, I noticed the tree right in front of our house has some leaves that look like this just before they fall off. You will find a few kinds of trees here that turn yellowish or orange, but probably not in fall.

 I fashioned this sign a few weeks ago. I thought it would add so much to my decor, and it seems to work.

 I wish you could smell that candle! Pumpkin pie spice. Hmmm, it spells pure autumn to me. Those maple leaves in the frame were some I picked up from Tennessee; I don't part with things easily, can you tell??? Glad I didn't!

 I got my inspiration for this candle holder from here.

 Nuts are hard to come by here, so I went with cohune nuts, which are available all year long and can be picked up in any woods. Using my crude wire basket, this turned out to be a pretty neat centerpiece I thought. Ok, pumpkins aren't impressive here, but maybe I haven't looked in the right place yet. People call these brown squash pumpkins around here. I think I will have to raise my own next year...

Ok, this one obviously looks a little out of place against a green background. Hmmm, I'll think about what I should do with it...

There you have it. Fall in Belize!

Now, I want to share with you some real fall photos from Tennessee and Iowa...

 That was our old house. See the smoke curling out of the chimney? It takes me back to those years when 'life was simple, sweet and slow'...you could come in from the crisp fresh air out where you chopped some firewood, then warm yourself by the stove...

Maple trees adorned our yard with golds and reds...

 

 I sometimes wonder if this swing is still hanging from that maple tree in the middle of our yard?...And if any children are ever swinging in it, dragging their feet through those crunchy leaves on the ground...I better stop myself...

 Going to the Smokey Mountains, we saw lots of beautifully decorated places.

This one's taken on our farm in Iowa. One fall we had apples, all we could handle and much more from one tree. That was an apple fall all right!

That is my autumn post for you. I hope you enjoyed the little tour!

Linking to this party:
The Shabby Nest

An Improvement

We have made a HUGE improvement around here. I always had to go downstairs to do laundry, and then up a few more stairs again with the load of heavy wet laundry to hang it up outside. There's often ants under the wash lines. I worried about getting skin cancer in the sun... and when it started raining, we had to fly down the stairs to the back of the house to see how we got the laundry in dry...

Now, I do my washing on the front porch, just a few steps away from my kitchen! I told Daniel it was heavenly. No more hot sun on my skin; no more ants pestering me; no more running down to see how we get the wash in in case of rain! No more dragging the laundry down and than up again, twice over... Yes, life has improved a lot because of it... I have so much to be thankful for. I have a lovely view from the porch. It is often windier up here than it is behind the house. And here is one more great thing; we moved the table and chairs that I restored a while back up on the front porch as well, so I have a table handy to fold the laundry if I choose to do so. See the lines to the left of the photo below? Daniel fastened it to a coconut tree in the pasture. Which means I better make real sure I hang my laundry securely so it won't fall down and get chewed up by cows or land on some undesirable stuff...you know.

Decorating with Jars

Jars. I like jars. In all shapes and sizes. I find using jars a very economic yet perfect way to decorate a house. Lately I have been looking for different ways to display jars, and today I want to share them with you. 

 Tea light candles in baby food jars! Last saturday my daughter and I went yard saling again, and as I have said before, I always peer into those boxes marked 'free' cause I just never know what I will find. This time it was a bunch of baby food jars. O yes!

 We also tried this one: flowers in a baby food jar. I painted the lid gold, stuck some flowers into a small piece of sponge foam that I painted green and glued to the inside of lid, and voila. A very pretty little gift for any pretty little lady, and so inexpensive. And, your flowers are going to stay pretty and clean, protected inside the jar from dust and humidity, which can be a problem here in Belize.

 When I saw a similar soap dispenser, I got busy with my own, as I had a few of those empty blue jars on hand. I have been on the lookout for ways to use them, and this fit perfectly in my bathroom, where I already have a blue quart jar with shells. It is a much better dispenser than the cheap plastic ones you buy with soap. I did use the cheap plastic bottle to fashion this one though. I melted a hole in the center of the white lid that goes on the jar, and used the top of the plastic bottle to insert into the hole from the inside, and then screwed the dispenser on. Easy enough! I am thinking this would also make a great gift. One could just use a clear jar, and use colored soap.

 Here are two jars I was very excited to find during last yard sale hunt...they turned out pretty neat after a good washing and painting the two lids a lovely golden color.

 Perhaps having Dilmah tea in them makes them appear even more attractive?...

 Jars for photo frames. That is a new one for me, but I LOVE the idea! I had to try that one instantly, and it was a hit I thought.

 How about a bunch of buttons in a vintage jar? I have it sitting on my vintage (and only) sewing machine; it looks right at home there. I like this jar because it has my year number on it: 1976. If I was American I would like it because it has the liberty bell on it. It actually says 1776 on top and 1976 on bottom. 

 Assorted marbles in an emptied candle jar.

I am sure there are many more ways to decorate in jars. I will keep my eyes open and add them as I keep prettying up my house!

Linked to:

Funky Junk Interiors
The Shabby Nest