Started this post early this morning minutes before Terah woke and now the day is nearing half over and I'm just getting back to trying to put some words with the chosen photos! Dancing is happening in the front room but Kali is out doing duck chores so Alida and Terah are on their own (which, of late, normally means that some squabbling is bound to occur within minutes). We'll see how far I get!
It was time for one of our monthly family nights and the girls also still had some unused coupons from their summer reading programs (soon to expire). So those two things combined into a family adventure to Grand Caverns, complete with a visit to their mini-golf and then a picnic to top off our time together! Let me first put in a plug for Grand Caverns - it's so much less commercial than Luray Caverns and we chose to go on a school day and hit the day and the time perfectly - we had our own personal family tour! It was lovely! As you will see I have no pictures from the time in the caverns. That was due mostly to the fact that the last time we went Terah was just days of being born, thus safely (and quietly) tucked inside me. This time she was experiencing a new thing that was a little unnerving at the start. That meant I was occupied with her the whole time - she went from being a little scared and so asking to go out or home and then to nurse, to then getting
very comfortable with our tour guide and the place such that she wanted to dance around and I was worried she was going to bump into the walls or other cave structures.
That particular day was loaded with fun as later on Ivy came over for a playdate, giving her parents a date evening. I'm not sure who had more fun, but I think it's safe to say it was a win win of an evening all around! The four girls and I went for a bike/wagon ride which was very fun. It's cute to watch children get comfortable in their surroundings. Ivy was taking it all in at first and by the end was boldly rocking the sides of the wagon seeing how she could maneuver the slats and make fun noises. We then enjoyed a picnic outside, where Ivy once again outlasted the rest of us in her chair - I'm still not sure how to tell when she is done eating, as she seems happy to just sit there and have me shovel in yummy morsels as long as I'm willing!
This past weekend I got to a project that has been on my long term wish list. I was assuming I'd wait for a time when Mom was around to boost my confidence trying the experiment. But the walnuts seemed ready so we gave it a shot. Here's the before and the after and a few in between pictures. Our futon cover is now closer to the dirt color we wished for (Jason and I clearly were not thinking about kids when we chose a cream cover years ago!). Walnut hulls proved to make an amazing dye and the girls enjoyed dyeing a few pairs of socks and underwear and on day 2 when Jason gave it a second go round (for more even dyeing and a little more darkening) he threw a few clothing items of his in as well. We are happy with the results!
With that project just barely tucked away and cleaned up from we hosted a large grape juice making day on Tuesday with neighbors. We crested 80 quarts to share among ourselves of pure grape juice (liquid gold, I like to call it) by day's end (and over 3 gallons of strained grape pulp that is amazing with yogurt or by itself or on biscuits). Wow! Very fun! We all picked off grapes in the morning, had lunch together and when it was down to filling jars and the clean up, I took over the process so the others could get on to other things. I'm happy they trusted me with the process after I had run the one juicer dry in the morning. And maybe had they seen my two mishaps in the afternoon they might have not felt so confident. In short, the makeshift clamp on the one juicer we were borrowing came off and I got boiling grape juice on both of my hands and all over the floor and shortly after that the whole tube came off while I was trying to fill a jar, also sending grape juice where we didn't want it. I feel SO grateful that my hands are not worse - I hardly notice them unless I look at them or someone bumps them (which with Terah around happens a little too often).
That seems like maybe it is enough action for days of late but in all our spare time it seems we are harvesting chestnuts and filling bags in the fridge. We can't eat them fast enough! As soon as I finish this up we'll be sitting down to a new recipe for lunch - chestnuts and bacon with kale. Can it be bad? [IT WAS DELICIOUS!!!] We also roasted chestnuts over and outdoor fire the other evening for the first time - Yum! They are not very buggy at all this year and the harvest is more plentiful than I ever remember. If you are in the area (or wish to come visit) and like chestnuts, we'll happily send you home with as many as you will use!
This picture is a pretty common stove top appearance these days - do I ever just use one burner? Here we have a large batch of ricotta cheese going, some of the last tomatoes stewing with shallots and a veggie saute that just needs eggs and cheese to be popped in the oven to have with biscuits for our brunch. That was the morning I also made a cottage cheese bake again (having Jason and I just take one taste and then wait until today for leftovers to see how we felt. The day I dyed our futon cover I was quite sick throughout the day and we were worried that something went awry with my most recent batch of cottage cheese - this was very discouraging to me and the jury is still out but we are a little nervous about trying it again so I'm baking with it and we are eating it in small doses - so far so good).
The little gal pictured here is as silly as she looks, and is not relaxing much as she approaches 2 years of age in less than a month! She is keeping me on my toes for sure and talking up a storm - with me understanding a greater percentage of the chatter each day. A very common phrase, being shouted in the front room as I type, is "no, no ida." As I mentioned earlier, Alida and Terah are cute with each other when all is well but if either are tired things can go downhill pretty fast. Or hungry, which is likely the case at this hour. The last of these pictures will have to stand alone or with short captions!
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| We have ant issues! They come, they go, they come again. Here they are, up on the top of our pantry ready to launch! Another project in our future: taking off the ceiling of our corner cupboard, seeing if there is a nest in there to clean out, reattach and caulk. Will that take care of it once and for all??? And do we prioritize that indoor project before frost? Likely not. |
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| My little kitchen helper - who really can help now if she is so inclined. :) |
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| It may be the end of the season but the bounty is still beautiful, varied in flavor, color and texture. Harvest day every other day usually yields a smattering of such delicious treats! |
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| I love autumn joy! It's thriving in Nora's garden and makes me smile every time I pass it. The bees love it too! |
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| Another form of autumn joy for me! The harvests are coming to an end, and it's time to get cover crops in and tuck things in for the winter. I love this time of year, with the yellows and oranges and reds and the cool evenings and mornings! The only thing that would make it better would be getting outside at those times more! For now, must close as nap time is now upon us!! |
It was time for one of our monthly family nights and the girls also still had some unused coupons from their summer reading programs (soon to expire). So those two things combined into a family adventure to Grand Caverns, complete with a visit to their mini-golf and then a picnic to top off our time together! Let me first put in a plug for Grand Caverns - it's so much less commercial than Luray Caverns and we chose to go on a school day and hit the day and the time perfectly - we had our own personal family tour! It was lovely! As you will see I have no pictures from the time in the caverns. That was due mostly to the fact that the last time we went Terah was just days of being born, thus safely (and quietly) tucked inside me. This time she was experiencing a new thing that was a little unnerving at the start. That meant I was occupied with her the whole time - she went from being a little scared and so asking to go out or home and then to nurse, to then getting very comfortable with our tour guide and the place such that she wanted to dance around and I was worried she was going to bump into the walls or other cave structures.
That particular day was loaded with fun as later on Ivy came over for a playdate, giving her parents a date evening. I'm not sure who had more fun, but I think it's safe to say it was a win win of an evening all around! The four girls and I went for a bike/wagon ride which was very fun. It's cute to watch children get comfortable in their surroundings. Ivy was taking it all in at first and by the end was boldly rocking the sides of the wagon seeing how she could maneuver the slats and make fun noises. We then enjoyed a picnic outside, where Ivy once again outlasted the rest of us in her chair - I'm still not sure how to tell when she is done eating, as she seems happy to just sit there and have me shovel in yummy morsels as long as I'm willing!
This past weekend I got to a project that has been on my long term wish list. I was assuming I'd wait for a time when Mom was around to boost my confidence trying the experiment. But the walnuts seemed ready so we gave it a shot. Here's the before and the after and a few in between pictures. Our futon cover is now closer to the dirt color we wished for (Jason and I clearly were not thinking about kids when we chose a cream cover years ago!). Walnut hulls proved to make an amazing dye and the girls enjoyed dyeing a few pairs of socks and underwear and on day 2 when Jason gave it a second go round (for more even dyeing and a little more darkening) he threw a few clothing items of his in as well. We are happy with the results!
With that project just barely tucked away and cleaned up from we hosted a large grape juice making day on Tuesday with neighbors. We crested 80 quarts to share among ourselves of pure grape juice (liquid gold, I like to call it) by day's end (and over 3 gallons of strained grape pulp that is amazing with yogurt or by itself or on biscuits). Wow! Very fun! We all picked off grapes in the morning, had lunch together and when it was down to filling jars and the clean up, I took over the process so the others could get on to other things. I'm happy they trusted me with the process after I had run the one juicer dry in the morning. And maybe had they seen my two mishaps in the afternoon they might have not felt so confident. In short, the makeshift clamp on the one juicer we were borrowing came off and I got boiling grape juice on both of my hands and all over the floor and shortly after that the whole tube came off while I was trying to fill a jar, also sending grape juice where we didn't want it. I feel SO grateful that my hands are not worse - I hardly notice them unless I look at them or someone bumps them (which with Terah around happens a little too often). 
That seems like maybe it is enough action for days of late but in all our spare time it seems we are harvesting chestnuts and filling bags in the fridge. We can't eat them fast enough! As soon as I finish this up we'll be sitting down to a new recipe for lunch - chestnuts and bacon with kale. Can it be bad? [IT WAS DELICIOUS!!!] We also roasted chestnuts over and outdoor fire the other evening for the first time - Yum! They are not very buggy at all this year and the harvest is more plentiful than I ever remember. If you are in the area (or wish to come visit) and like chestnuts, we'll happily send you home with as many as you will use!
This picture is a pretty common stove top appearance these days - do I ever just use one burner? Here we have a large batch of ricotta cheese going, some of the last tomatoes stewing with shallots and a veggie saute that just needs eggs and cheese to be popped in the oven to have with biscuits for our brunch. That was the morning I also made a cottage cheese bake again (having Jason and I just take one taste and then wait until today for leftovers to see how we felt. The day I dyed our futon cover I was quite sick throughout the day and we were worried that something went awry with my most recent batch of cottage cheese - this was very discouraging to me and the jury is still out but we are a little nervous about trying it again so I'm baking with it and we are eating it in small doses - so far so good).
The little gal pictured here is as silly as she looks, and is not relaxing much as she approaches 2 years of age in less than a month! She is keeping me on my toes for sure and talking up a storm - with me understanding a greater percentage of the chatter each day. A very common phrase, being shouted in the front room as I type, is "no, no ida." As I mentioned earlier, Alida and Terah are cute with each other when all is well but if either are tired things can go downhill pretty fast. Or hungry, which is likely the case at this hour. The last of these pictures will have to stand alone or with short captions!
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