Saturday Fun--Pumpkins and Sleigh Bells. What?!?

Saturday was a fun day.  Hubby and I spent the day together, which is my favorite way to spend the day.  We started out our adventures by heading to the local pumpkin farm.  I purchased four pie pumpkins, which I will puree and freeze for later, then I purchased an arrangement of broom corn, some mini pumpkins, a medium-sized white pumpkin, and something called an apple gourd.  We'd never seen the apple gourds before, so I was intrigued.  It's green, and shaped like a giant apple, hence the name.  We walked around the pumpkin yard, visited a tom turkey in a cage (for a funny turkey song by comedian Heywood Banks, click here--no worries, perfectly family-friendly), and petted a girl's pet kitten.  It was a good time.  We plan on going back for a Christmas tree in a few months, when they go from selling fall items to Christmas items.  On a side note, I always thought it would be fun to have a Christmas tree farm!  In my head, it would be awesome.  There would be snow, of course, because people like snow and picturesque Norman Rockwell-type memories.  There would be horses and sleigh rides, and hot cocoa, and nice customers, and just all-around fun.  I have a friend whose parents have a tree farm in southern Indiana, and I enjoy reading about their fun times during the Christmas season.  Anyway, we enjoy having a live Christmas tree and the fragrance of fresh pine.  I'm looking forward to it already!

I love the simple elegance of a white pumpkin.

Apple gourd--isn't it neat?

Small pumpkins drying before being placed about the house.

Two of my four pie pumpkins.  They are good sized--hopefully I'll get a lot of seeds to roast and pumpkin to freeze!

Speaking of sleighs and horses, our next destination was the local antiques store just north of town.  (I know, weird transition.  Just stay with me here.)  I was on a mission for two things: a one cent coin from 1847 and a set of antique sleigh bells.  Earlier this week, while perusing Etsy and Ebay for other reasons, I came across both and decided that my life would not be complete without either item.  The sleigh bells, I wanted for Christmas decorating (more on that below), and the coin, for the living history programs that I volunteer for at the McKinnis House.  I thought the coin would be a neat conversation piece, as in "my husband gave me an allowance this week".  I plan to investigate just how much that coin would buy a hundred and sixty-five years ago (I just looked it up; it is the equivalent of a quarter today.  Still wouldn't buy much--maybe just a newspaper).  After walking around the antiques store for a few hours, I finally found both!  This is a large antique store, the kind where dealers can rent booth space, so there are well over two hundred booths/vendors that comprise the store.  In the whole place, I found a total of three sleigh bell straps, and two were in terrible condition.  The third was priced a bit higher than I wanted to pay, but was exactly what I had in mind, so we were able to haggle the price down to something more affordable.  The coin, while not exactly common, is also not exactly rare, but I was able to find a coin in good condition for a decent price.  I left there feeling like I had struck gold, so happy was I with my purchases!  It was already Christmas for me.

For the sleigh bells, I plan on hopefully being able to preserve and restore the leather strap on which the bells are mounted.  I will contact the local tack stores to see what they might recommend.  However, if anyone has any suggestions about restoring old leather, please feel free to leave a comment at the end of this post.  I will be sure to post what I find out as well.  I considered trying to shine up the old bells too, but after considering it more, I have come to the conclusion that I like the patina on them too much to do anything.  Once I get the leather back to good condition, I plan on mounting the whole strap onto some greenery and adding a bow or some type of festive decoration, and possibly hanging it on the side of the front door that faces into the living room.  I am also considering hanging it on the wall next to where the tree will be, but that would require having something to hang it on, like a nail, and I don't want to put holes into the wall.  Removable 3M hangers might be an option, though.  Oh, I'm so excited!!

If you have an interest in sleigh bells, and don't know much about them, I suggest checking out this website: Classic Bells.  With the information on that site, you'll know what you're looking at in no time! 


After that, we had pizza, and it was gooooood.  We made a few more stops, then headed home.  As I said before, I love having Saturdays with my bestest bud, where we have no place to be, nothing to do, and can just go at our leisure.  Plus, the weather was gorgeous--seventy degrees and bright blue skies.  What a great day! 

What are some of your favorite things to do with your husband?  Keep it PG-rated!!  :-)

One thing I like to think about regularly is the Garden of Eden.  The Bible says that God created the heavens and earth, land and seas, plants and trees, the sun and moon, fish and birds, cattle and beasts of the earth, and finally man and woman (Genesis 1-2).  All this in the span of a week!  My weeks are never that productive, no matter how hard I try to get things done.  Anyway, for man and woman to live in, God created the Garden of Eden, and from Biblical accounts, it was a spectacular place to dwell.  Not only was it perfect, but it was beautiful, lush, and probably unlike anything we see now (or will ever see) on earth.  I wonder what it might have looked like.  I wonder if there were plants and animals there that were never seen again once Adam and Eve were cast out.  I wonder if there were colors in there that we know nothing of today.  In short, I wonder if it was a literal heaven on earth.  Even on perfect, beautiful days like Saturday, I know that it's nothing compared to what we have to look forward to in eternity with our Heavenly Father one day.  Something to always look forward to!