a jump on fall

I decided last winter that I wanted one of these beaded bib necklaces, and I put a little effort in at the tail end of Christmas break. This is how far backed up I am on projects: I just finished it today. Finally. whew. It's big, but it's simple; I might add some more frills to it later, but I kind of like the clean graphic quality it has right now. And it's fairly large for my frame, I should add: from tip to tip, the bib is about 4 1/2 inches wide, so I'm not sure I need to overwhelm myself with my jewelry.

The beads in the main body are tri-cuts my partner's mom gave me; she bought them decades ago and they probably actually date from the 40s or 50s. They're this beautiful purpley-grey-brown colour, and sparkle from the cuts. Nice! The edging is in peyote, simple black 12-ought seed beads. I worked it on calico leftover from a skirt I altered, backed with fusible web leftover from a home project. The strap is leftover leather thong strung with stone and pewter beads my partner's mother bought in Mexico. All in all, I paid about $5 for the fusible faux-suede that I used to back this thing, that's it.

Much better than dropping $230+ at a store for a new one. I think I might try wearing this layered with some chains; any thoughts?

just us

another quiet night at home, music on, candle lit, a bottle of wine and a nice dinner and dessert together. We sat on the couch and ate and talked and clinked glasses and analyzed this wine (Big O Wine's 2007 Chardonnay): I said peach with a faint hint of anise lingering after; he figured out that there's banana at the end, too, and there's a middle note of warm vanilla.

Pears with Blue Cheese:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Toast a handful of walnuts (approx 7 min in hot oven). Remove walnuts when they become fragrant and are lightly toasted; set aside.

Cut two pears in half and core (we used Taylor Gold). Melt 1-2 Tbl. butter in a skillet over med-high heat. When melted, place pears, cut side down, in the pan. Cook until pears are golden-brown and beginning to soften.

Transfer pears to a baking dish, cut side up. Stuff the hollow where the core was with blue cheese, mounding it slightly. Place the pears in the preheated oven and bake, perhaps 7-10 min, or until they are tender. If you like, switch to the broiler and brown the cheese a little.

Remove pears from oven, sprinkle with the walnuts, and drizzle all with honey.

Mm-mm; perfect for a mellow night in with your sweetie!