The fun of being retired!

It really has been fun being retired (with a couple of lapses, lol).  One of the things I have enjoyed most is getting my house decorated for fall and having people over for dinner. I think my sewing machine is confused...it's been so long since I really worked on projects like these.

This arrangement is my favorite.  I had an orange candle, but its aroma was so strong I had to put it in the garage. Side benefit, the garage smells good!  I remembered that many years ago I made small pumpkins for my classroom from styrofoam balls.  I had the top of a cone so I just made a "candle" using diluted Elmer's school glue and orange tissue paper.

These are the changes I made in the den.

Now... in the living/dining room

The doll is Russian symbol of hospitality.  I got it many years ago in Moscow.

Table decorated with 0.99 napkins from the sale rack at Bed, Bath and Beyond, Dollar Tree water goblets, hand made napkin rings with flowers and ribbon from the dollar bin at Michaels!! Oh, yeah.  the chargers were 1.00 at Michaels and the plates are from Walmart.

A close-up.  The chargers are green.

This little fellow has been around for years and came back to life as I discover things in my "warehouse in the garage"  I made him as part of the occupations unit for my third graders a long. long, time ago.  He originally had a baket with chicks in it, and his sister had a Teddy bear.  One of these days, I'm sure she will surface!