Books, Soaps, Muffins, Etc.

As Lisa said, I have also been a bit remiss in posting lately. The weather's been cooler, and walking outside in the wind is such a thrill! I love autumn, and the chillier and windier it gets, the more I love it. Today I bought chicken feed, chicken grit, and some onion sets at the farm store. I put most of the onion sets in the ground in the garden. We live in a place where you can grow onions over the winter -- who knew?
Adam and I stopped in at Buckhorn Books here in our little town. I found four books.

 I began reading Julie and Julia right away. I did enjoy the movie, but the book is (sad to say) a bit more hard core. Julie Powell is not a nice girl. I'm tempted to put it away and pull out My Life in France, which I've read before. Julia Child is much more appealing that Julie Powell. Her book was only $1.

 The sweet little Jan Karon book was $1.50. The Strangers Gaze (isn't it odd that there's no apostrophe?) is an anthology of pieces spanning four centuries, all about County Clare, Ireland. The nice thing about an anthology is, if you don't like one writer's voice, there's always a new one a few pages over. People like William Penn, John Wesley, William Thackeray, and Thomas Carlyle all contribute. It cost $1.50
The travel book is by Elizabeth Shackleton. The fly leaf mentions her "author husband and his many travels," but I've yet to discover who this woman is. The book is set in 1925. She traveled with only a maid. A small hotel, per day, cost her only $1.75. How lovely! This book cost $2.98.
I did finish my homemade pot-pourri, and I'm very pleased. I sprinkled some clove and some cedarwood essential oils on the mix, and it smells fabulous. It's in a shallow decorative bowl in the dining room.

 I made soap last week. This is lavender, plus two bars of eucalyptus and one bar of clove.

 The ones with poppyseeds are balsam scented. The other four are a sandalwood blend.

 A lovely friend at church has begun making wreaths for our four church doors, changing them each season. She just hung the autumn ones. Aren't they pretty?

 Another childhood friend has started a facebook group for readers of Jan Karon's books. I read many of them years ago, but haven't read one in about 7 years, I guess? So it was fun to find this little one, very sweet. Today is my fasting day (for health purposes), so it was challenging to read about Esther Bolick's delicious orange marmalade cake!

Speaking of oranges, I'll be trying Granny Marigold's orange-date muffins, found on her blog here. I'm convinced that true, fabulous orange taste is obtained by using the whole orange. Can't wait! I also plan to make a little chocolate pudding this week, or perhaps a chocolate bread pudding. Doesn't that sound yummy? Bread pudding is a perfect autumn food. Well! Maybe I should add a few fall recipes to my Autumn Journal, yes? Orange-date muffins would fit that bill nicely too!
What are you baking lately?