We Pardoned the Turkey

We pardoned the turkey here at HFTS.

Rack of Lamb is on the menu.

Spode's Woodland American Turkey

Happy Thanksgiving 2011

Best Wishes for a Happy Thanksgiving!

Joining

Tablescape Thursday @

Between Naps on the Porch

Feathered Nest Friday @ French Country Cottage

Home Sweet Home @ The Charm of Home

Show & Tell Friday @ My Romantic Home

Potpourri Party @ 2805

Seasonal Sunday @ The Tablescaper

"NOVEMBER"

November comes

And November goes,

With the last red berries

And the first white snows.

With night coming early,

And dawn coming late,

And ice in the bucket

And frost by the gate.

The fires burn

And the kettles sing,

And earth sinks to rest

Until next spring.

A poem by Elizabeth Coatsworth

Linking to

Mosaic Monday @ Little Red House

Masterpiece Monday @ Boogieboard Cottage

Tabletop Tuesday @ A Stroll Thru Life

Fall Into Fall Party @ DIY by Design

Wow Us Wednesday @ Savvy Southern Style

Trip Treasures

A recent trip to Baltimore and Wilmington 

garnered a few treasures that have found their way 

into fall vignettes here at HFTS.

Antique Majolica in Various Leaf Patterns

Vintage Binoculars with Leather Details

And a Wonderful Fall Inspired 
Scherenschnitte

Scherenschnitte is the art of paper cutting. The tradition of scissor cutting was brought to Colonial America in the 18th century, primarily in Pennsylvania. A 1930s Quimper pitcher holds a fall bouquet, while a wooden blackbird and wooden pumpkins finish out the vignette.

As with this piece, these works of paper cuttings often have symmetry of design. Here fall leaves radiate off from a Tom Turkey. Acorns, owls, pumpkins, and black crows further embellish the design.

All these intricate details immediately 

drew me to this piece, along with the beautiful fall colors 

that were hand water colored.

This design is by 
Pam Rankin Hultz.

And since black crows play a major roll in my new paper cut, I thought I'd include a few more crow inspired vignettes I created last year when I shared the following Native American legend that I taught my students in the fall of each year.

It was believed that in ancient times, all crows were as white as the snow. The native Americans that roamed the plains in search of buffalo hunted on foot. It was a difficult life, and the people depended on the buffalo to survive. They used every part of the buffalo for food, clothing, tools, and shelter.

The crows were friends of the buffalo, and as they soared high above they could see everything that happened below on the prairie. When they spied hunters approaching a herd, the crows would swoop down to the buffalo and call out in warning: "Caw, caw, caw. The hunters are near. You must run." The buffalo would scatter and leave the hunters without a kill. With time the people began to starve.

Among the crows was one that was larger than the others and the leader of the flock. The people decided that they must capture this big white crow and teach him a lesson. They devised a plan.

A young brave would wear a buffalo skin with head and horns. He would graze among the buffalo as if he were one of them. As the hunters approached, the crow called out his usual warning: "Caw, caw, caw. The hunters are near. You must run." All but one of the buffalo stampeded away. So the crow flew down and perched on the lone buffalo saying: "Caw, caw, caw. Can you not hear? The hunters are near. You must run and save yourself." 

The brave then reached up from under his disguise and grabbed the crow. He tied a cord to his legs and attached the other end of the cord to a large stone. The crow was captured!

The people met again to decide what to do with this bad crow who was causing them to go hungry. As they gathered, one impatient brave grabbed the crow and threw him into the council fire. At once the fire burned through the cord, and the big crow flew to freedom.

But the big crow's beautiful white feathers were now black from the fire, and as he soared above the people could hear him call: "Caw, caw, caw. I'll never warn the buffalo again."

From that day on, all crows are as black 

as the blackened scorched feathers of the big white crow.

You might be interested to know that crows are very intelligent birds and can mimic sounds. These large birds are often a problem for farmers and gardeners because they tend to live in large flocks which consume large amounts of food.

So if you have a garden,

you just might want to add one of these.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thankful for Friendships

Recently my life hasn't allowed the luxury of time to create new posts for HFTS, and I've received many thoughtful notes from friends checking on me. I greatly appreciate everyone's concern and the friendships I share with all of you here in the Land of Blog. I truly appreciate each of you! What an amazing community of generous, caring, and thoughtful friends. I'm indeed thankful for your friendship!

Today I'm recycling a post I created for

2009 Thanksgiving Tablescape.

I hope to have new posts to share very soon.

We celebrate Thanksgiving with thankful

hearts for the bountiful blessings of our life.

Our table is set 

awaiting the arrival of our guests.

Salad plates in 

Olde Avesbury by Royal Crown Derby.

Dinner plates in 

Palermo Brown by Richard Ginori.

Italian Pewter chargers by Cosi Tabellini and

Talisman enameled silver flatware by Christophe.

Crystal stems in

 rich amber by Denby.

Antique sterling French napkin

rings collected through the years.

Some are monogramed 

in beautiful scripts.

The heirloom napkins 

were a gift from my mother-in-law. 

 Each have been monogramed by hand 

and were stitched by my husband's grandmother.

The table cloth is by Yves Delorme in

shades of green and subdued teal blue.

My Tuesday Morning acorns have 

been pulled into service as place card holders. 

 Fallen leaves from a Red Oak are inscribed 

with each guest's name using a silver paint pen.

Small initialed treat boxes 

are favors to be taken home.

Inside are 

honey glazed Texas pecans.

The center piece is a single pillar 

within a crystal hurricane lantern, a recent thrift find. 

It is flanked on either side by small 

white pumpkins, and all sits on a pewter tray.

Dinner will be served from the nearby sideboard 

in white French porcelain dishes. 

The antique silver and mother of pearl serving pieces 

are all individual pieces that I've purchased piece by piece.

A simple glazed container holds a 

bouquet of tulips, gerber daisies, 

hypericum berries, and golden thryallis.

Red ware pottery, acorns,

squirrels, horn votives,

candles, an amber 

glass turkey container,

vintage candy containers,

pumpkins, gourds, and more turkeys 

set the mood for Thanksgiving.

After dinner. . .

dessert will be served 

in the adjoining sun room.

A lemon cyprus topiary and

pumpkin shaped gourds 

are the centerpiece.

Coffee and dessert will be 

served on Richard Ginori china.

To see what the chef prepared for this dinner,

FRIENDS, FOOD, AND FUN click here.

Enjoy Your Day!

Thanksgiving Blessings to All!

Joining the following this week:

Tablescape Thursday @ BNOTP

Open House Party @ No Minimalist Here

Feathered Nest Friday @ French Country Cottage

Potpourri Friday @ 2805

Home Sweet Home @ The Charm of Home

Show & Tell Friday @ My Romantic Home

Seasonal Sunday @ The Tablescaper

Sunday Favorites @ Happy to Design