So tell me, what do these two pieces of furniture have in common?

Maybe more than you think:

1. They both are furniture. (Duh.)
2. They both have drawers. (Another Duh.)
3. They both belong to me. (Maybe Duh but you didn't know if I just borrowed it or not.) (Duh.)
4. This list is really Duh.

See, I've been wanting a nightstand to add to my bedroom. I've never had a complete matching bedroom set, and that's really not a problem with me because I'm more of an eclectic person anyway. But I'm afraid my furniture is probably too eclectic to even be eclectic. It probably plain long clashes.

While we were in Tennessee for a family reunion .... did I even tell you we were in Tennessee? I bet you saw my header up there ^ and thought we have beautiful fall leaves here too. You didn't think that?? Good! Whew!

Well, let me just tell you, it is still green here. We should be getting a hard frost in the next couple of weeks or so. I just picked 6 lovely jalepeno peppers from our garden the other day plus several green bell peppers. And we have ornamental corn that has tiny ears on it although that probably won't actually have time to ripen before the weather gets cold.

We live in the semi-tropics I tell you and we just don't have hardwoods that turn brilliant colors. The Bradford pears usually have spectacular color once a hard frost comes. If they haven't all defoliated (?) by then.

So while were on our way to Tennessee I openly drooled over the brilliant colors and was sad that I couldn't take more pictures. Surely at the campground there would be lots to photograph. We ate a picnic lunch at a lovely rest area.

Once we got to the campground west of Nashville, we noticed most of the colorful leaves were already on the ground so I gave up that dream.

And I only took 2 pictures at the reunion. Here is one of them:

My uncle Harold bravely striding back toward the main meeting room. He is a used car salesman and would be very happy to purchase a car for you if you need one. I've purchased the last 3 I've owned from him.

Anyway Lois and I went junk/antique shopping while were were there and I found a nice little night stand that someone had done a shabby-chic job on it. And I wanted to find one that I could paint and since this one had already been painted and I could just paint over it. Nice. $35. That was nice too.

And I found a tree:

But they had a No Trespassing sign so I didn't go inside the fence.

So anyway, this past Saturday I finally had time to paint the nightstand. It is far from perfect but if you see it hopefully you'll be far enough away to not notice the blemishes. I found antique gold paint at Walmart in the crafts which came pretty close to matching what was on the chest of drawers. And get this ... the pulls on the chest of drawers are pewter. Pewter with antique gold?? It looks okay on the chest but the night stand (Yeah, the pulls are kind of odd here. They were left over from Lois' bathroom when she decided she wanted black pulls after all.).

So now what do they have in common?

You probably don't want me to start another list. Mine are kind of dumb.

And we've been to Tennesse and back.

And my bedroom furniture is still eclectic. See the footboard there? I've been wondering what that would look like painted black.....

Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a winner!

The random number generator chose #26, the number of the comment left by Theda.

Congratulations, Theda! Hope you enjoy your picture! I will send you a message for more information.

Thanks to everyone who participated!! You all found many lovely things about fall. And you made me hungry! I happen to love everything pumpkin and apple as well.

May your fall continue to be lovely!

Literally. Today it is dropping lightly from the sky. At a balmy 75*. Our seasons consist of summer, summer, summer and chili. When the first post-summer weather hits, post-summer weather being the first day that we have zero humidity and highs in the 60s, the tomato aisles in the grocery stores get wiped out. Tomato sauce is the local base of choice for Chili. And we're talking Chili here, not Chili Soup. You know, the kind that makes you invest in small stocks like Tums.

While Chili is one of my favorites, Hearty Hamburger & Broccoli Cheese Soups & Cheesy Chicken Chowder are also among my favorites, I think I have a new favorite:

Chicken Enchilada Soup
inspired by someone else's recipe. adapted to what I had on hand.

And so sorry but I don't even have any pictures to share with you. The soup really didn't last long here. I opened so many cans for this that it almost wasn't feeling like homeade soup anymore so feel free to replace items with your home-grown, home-canned products. You'll feel better about it.

Without further non-sensical ado:

Chicken Enchilada Soup

1 can (15 oz) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (10 oz) rotel tomatoes
1 can (15 oz) whole kernel corn
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium bell pepper, chopped
1 can (10 oz) enchilada sauce
1 can (10.75 oz) cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup water
1-2 cups cooked, diced chicken

Toppings: 
shredded pepper jack or sharp cheddar cheese
sour cream
chopped fresh cilantro
fried tortilla strips or tortilla chips

In a medium saucepan, bring water and juice drained from corn to a boil. Cook onions and pepper until nearly soft. Add remaining soup ingredients. Heat and serve. If it is too thick, add milk to desired thinness. Serves 4-6.

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This is a little on the spicy side due to the Rotel tomatoes so you could replace them with diced tomatoes instead. And you could add jalapenos to taste. And the corn, I'm thinking home-frozen corn would be really good instead of the canned. And you could make your own enchilada sauce too. I have a recipe that I got from my friend Nettie years ago in the faraway land of NW Ontario.

So if you try it, let me know what if you liked it or not. And what substitutes you made, 'cause if your a non-conformist like me, you find it really hard to follow a recipe to a T.

And stay tuned. A give-away is coming up very soon.......

And how do you like right-aligned posts? Does it challenge the brain a little? 
A little brain challenge is a good thing!!!