Thanksgiving Table Decor Ideas…I've gathered some surprises.

ThanksGIVING is right around the corner…How festive will your table be?

Do you need some ideas?

Clever Libby Langdon came up with this "Thankful" stone place cards and centerpiece idea…write the guests name with a black sharpie pen on a river rock for each place setting.

Have pens and stones on a buffet so that when guests arrive that they can  write what they are thankful for on a stone. 

Place thankful stones in the  center of your table and add votive candles. Great conversation starters!

I love anything FRESH…Lemons, pears, mini artichokes, apples,grapes and persimmons make a colorful and easy table decor when dropped into tall glass container. Amazon has a great price on glass containers $29.95 for three!

Continue the fresh theme…a simple gross-grain ribbon tied around each place setting with a sprig of rosemary and sage make an appealing fragrant bundle your guests will surely love.

Pine cones, magnolia leaves and pheasant feathers OH MY! Gorgeous and simple in its elegant nod to Thanksgiving. Gold dipped fall leaves with green plates make the table come alive!

A galvanized container, gourdes, ivy, colored bottles, nuts, persimmons, candles and a fresh rose or two give this table setting a casual feast for the eyes.

Whatever you plan on doing for a table decoration …the most important element is FUN. 

Be playful in your mix of ingredients there are no decor rules and besides you know what I say "Rules are made to be broken."

Images Google and Libby Langdon

Modern Sewage Treatment

In one of my other lives, I write about Long Island Sound, where pollution and improvement to sewage treatment plants is a big issue. New York City is investing tons of money to fix its treatment plants, four of which sit near the far western end of the Sound. A bit farther west, in Brooklyn, the city is upgrading its Newtown Creek plant. The Times published this terrific picture of it today. -- ta

Stone's Celanese House on the Verge of Being Sold

While maneuvering continues about the fate of the Alice Ball House, two doors away on Oenoke Ridge Road in New Canaan, Edward Durell Stone's Celanese House is on the verge of being sold. Contracts have been signed; the closing is still to come.

Of course anything can happen between signing of the contracts and the closing, but it looks as if the Celanese House, a real gem inside and a conversation starter if nothing else on the exterior, will be bought. The listing was for $4.9, so if the final price is anywhere even near that, it won't be a teardown. There's background here and here.