Day 1 - Nothing says fall like a hearty bowl of soup.

Fall always puts me in the mood for soup.  Pumpkin soup is on my list of must do but today I made an old family tradition that my mother used to call Tattie Soup.  Tattie is Scottish slang for Potato.  This soup is chock full of cut up potatoes, carrots, celery and just about any of the wonderful root vegetables available in the fall plus plenty of beef or lamb chunks.  It really is a vegetable beef soup but my mother always called it Tattie Soup.  Sometimes she would simmer a beef roast and slice it up for dinner with potatoes on one night and make soup from the broth for the next night.  I suppose with 5 kids on one income it was really just a way to stretch a few meals.  Today it's more of a wonderful treat. 

I picked up a couple of beef bones, beef shanks and lamb shanks at the store on Sunday and my son started the stock yesterday.  I was mighty surprised he was willing to take on the task.  Not that making a stock is a big task but it can be for a 20 year old guy who spends most of his spare time playing video games.  While I was at work he started simmering the stock and when I got home I let it cool, put it in the fridge and let the grease rise to the top.  This morning I skimmed it off and then during the day my son chopped up some celery, carrots and potatoes added it to the stock and let it simmer until I got home from work.  Once home I added the beef and lamb from the shanks and simmered another 30 minutes.  Mr. Saylor brought home some garlic bread and we had a hearty fall soup for dinner. 

It came out great and I think his Grandma would be proud to know he made a pot of her traditional soup. 

 

Last night I started making some votive candles with some bits and pieces of candles my daughter and I picked up a local Goodwill's in the area.  I found a cute little chick cup which I planned to save for Easter.  However, when I filled it with the candle wax and placed it next to my fall flowers and pumpkin it almost blended in to the fall décor.  I took a quick pic but put it away until the spring.  It really is an Easter decoration. 

 

And last but not least I filled a little glass jar with candle wax and to make it look more appropriate for my fall inspiration challenge.  I wrapped it with some yarn and added a cute orange button.  So here it is with it's winter sweater on.  I made sure it is low enough on the jar to not catch fire!  Plus, I added a burlap bow to my flower display to give it some pizzaz. 

 

 

So that completes my projects for day 1 of 31 days.  Looking forward to my next set of projects.  This is keeping me on track to get the house decked out for the Thanksgiving holidays!  I'm loving it!