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Thursday, November 19, 2009

Thanksgiving Blessings



Thanksgiving


For each new morning with its light,

For rest and shelter of the night,

For hearth and food

For love and friends,

For everything Thy grace sends.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Welcome. I am so glad that you stopped by. We are having a lovely cool weekend in Southern California - perfect Fall weather to attend the Vintage Flea Market in Old Town Tustin. Let's have a cup of tea in my garden and take Bentley, my studio assistant, to Tustin to the Vintage Flea Market and look for inspiration for Fall flowers to paint along the way.










Old Town Tustin is a delightful little town located in the midst of urban California. The homes are adorable cottages located on large lots with wonderful gardens. Lots of the homes have carts in front filled with flowers, fruits and vegetables for sale. Everything is on the "honor system" - customers leave money in a basket or jar and pay for the purchase. The basket with persimmons "for sale" caught my eye. Note the jar on the bench filled with quarters.



Finding Inspiration . . . . .





Here . . . . .




There . . . .






Everywhere . . . .











I was so inspired by the colorful fall colors and the persimmons for sale that I pulled out my sketch pad and watercolors and painted the little wheelbarrow filled with Fall flowers. It was located next to the bench with the basket of persimmons. I am sorry that I forgot to take a photo of the wheel barrow to show you.




It turned out that the Flea Market was not until Sunday. . . . . let's head back home to bake pumpkin bread and as promised I will share my recipe with you.



Warm pumpkin bread and a cup of hot tea are wonderful refreshments for a relaxing time with family and friends before the holiday rush.


I think that you will find this recipe for pumpkin bread easy and delicious and it makes two yummy loaves so you will have one to share with family or friends. I am a creative cook and tend to tweak recipes - you may want to stick with the traditional recipe the first time around .


Pumpkin Bread


1 (15 ounce )can pumpkin

2/3 cup water ( I use apple juice)

1 cup vegetable oil

4 large eggs

3 1/3 cups all purpose flower

3 cups of sugar ( I use l cup of brown and 2 cups of white for a spicy flavor)

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans


Preheat oven to 350. Spray or butter 2 8X5 loaf pans.


Beat pumpkin, oil, water and eggs until smooth.

In separate bowl sift flour, sugar soda and spices. Add to pumpkin mixture - add nuts and mix well. Pour into pans and bake 55 minutes - one hour until wooden pick comes out clean.

P.S. I also add 1/2 cup raisins along with the nuts.

Relax and Enjoy!



Wishing you and your family a Peaceful and Blessed Thanksgiving and may this lovely Moravian Blessing say it all:


Come, Lord Jesus, our guest to be
And Bless these gifts
Bestowed by Thee
And Bless our loved ones everywhere,
And keep them in Your loving care.


Thank you for stopping by. I love hearing from you and sincerely appreciate your visits, comments and those who follow my blog. If you would like to see me paint something special or have any questions, please leave me a comment or send me an e-mail.

Have a lovely week. Blessings, Erin


P.S. Next week we will decorate for the Christmas Holidays and will paint together a little door greeter sign for Christmas.


14 comments:

Yasmin said...

I proceed many beautiful blogs... I am an extremely visual person.. maybe for my work everything that is beautiful attracts me a lot and everything is inspiration source.
But translating their texts I could see that there is more than plastic beauty.. there is the beauty of the shelter.. of the friendship and of the love..
I am anxious to see what sees for the christmas.
congratulations asks for such charming space.
Hugs
Yasmin Mundaca

Anonymous said...

Hello,


What a beautiful post on Thanksgiving. I am going to bake pumpkin bread today only use fresh pumpkin since I have so many in my garden.
Darling painting.
Love,
Elizabeth

Penny from Enjoying The Simple Things said...

What a wonderful place for a stroll. I love the idea of the honor system! You live in the prettiest area, what wonderful inspiration all around you! Your painting is so lovely.

The pumpkin bread sounds yummy! Thanks for the recipe!
Hugs,
Penny

Marilyn Miller said...

Lovely photos. I love the persimmons in the basket, it reminds me of my childhood in California.

Stacey said...

Erin your post is beautiful and the pumpkin bread sounds delicious.

Rhondi said...

Hi Erin
You take such wonderful photos for your inspiration. I love the painting and al the colors of fall. Thanks for your sweet comments and I can't wait to see my prize!
Hugs, Rhondi

Mary said...

Love the abundance of colorful flowers in Tustin - and your painting is delightful.

Love pumpkin bread - will try your recipe.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday Erin.

Anonymous said...

Your paintings and your photos are sooo beautiful. They really speak to me.

What type dog is Bentley? I'm thinking of getting a dog and I really like his type. He looks so sweet. You and Bentley look like a match made in heaven. :)

Thank you for sharing your lovely work.

Unknown said...

Tustin sounds like a wonderful, colorful, sweet place to live. I'm enjoying your cute blog! Happy Fall Ya'll From Houston, TX

Donna said...

What a lovely place and a lovely painting! Beautiful colors!

The pumpkin bread sounds yummy, thanks for the recipe.

Wishing you a wonderful thanksgiving, Erin!

Hugs,
Donna

Phyllis said...

Hey Erin,

A perfect post for Thanksgiving. It seems that folks skip right over this wonderful and uniquely American holiday from Halloween to Christmas.

Very pretty blessings...and paintings! I hope you, Bentley and yours have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!

Anonymous said...

Erin, as always, an enjoyable visit and a feast for the eyes at least - since I'm in PA and that delicious looking pumpkin bread is 2500 miles away! ;-)
Diane

kathi said...

Wishing you a beautiful Thanksgiving filled with many, many blessings!

Ruth Welter said...

hi Erin, Your new watercolor is so pretty...I hope you and your family have a wonderful holiday. All the best...Ruth