I Love Autumn



Even Unripe Pumpkins are Pretty

 I know if you'd read here much at all you know I love Autumn.  It's like saying I love tea.
As winter seems to last more than half the year here, I try to squeeze every moment out of each golden day.
Yesterday we went for a walk after Cupcake's nap.  It was perfect.  Sweetheart even joined us.  He's been scurrying around prepping for the winter it was nice to see him just relax.  Of course, the fact that our walk ended with picking tons of tomatoes and grapes at the neighbor's may, or may not have felt like a break by the time it was done.
There is now another enormous basket of tomatoes on my counter.  Some are ripe, but most are not.  Little baskets of grapes and peppers sit next to the big basket waiting for me to do something with it all.  The front porch is filled with firewood, pumpkins and massive sunflower heads all curing and waiting for me to do something with it all.  And there are piles of books for school, dried herbs to be made into salts, shea butter, beeswax, gift baskets, and waiting for me to more do something with it all.  Notice a theme?
Guess I should get off this chair and get to work!
I was going to wax eloquent about Autumn, but I guess I'm outta time.  Maybe I'll take the camera on our walk this afternoon and share more tomorrow.  I also made an easy, but delicious pumpkin soup the other day that I'd like to share about.  In return, maybe you'll share your favorite pumpkin recipes to me!

Pumpkins

 

 So, I brought in the rest of the pumpkins yesterday.  Somehow, I managed to grow over 60 of them this year.  Thinking I'll be needing to hang out a Pumpkins for Sale sign!
They've survived crazy weather, deer, cows and bears to make for a bumper crop.
My.  Think of all the Pumpkin Spice Lattes this could mean......

Welcome

to the porch.
Come join me for a cuppa tea?

Taking a Break

I am sitting here at my Hoosier in the kitchen on my red stool cutting up apples.  It has been a sunnyish day and a bit warmer.  It feels like an extra day of Autumn. 

The apples were picked from the apple trees we have out back weeks ago.  I stashed them in the basement recently just to get them out of the way, but decided I had better get to work on them before they rot.

I have been slicing off the good parts of the apples for a few hours now and needed to take a break, so here I am.  Cupcake is still snoozing and boys are playing upstairs.  Turkey broth is simmering on the stove to become soup for our dinner tonight.

Sweetheart is chopping wood to keep us warm.  An endless job it is.  Guess it is his version of laundry.

We are strolling along the days, thinking ahead to Christmas.  Except Pumpkin who is completely fixating on TOMORROW when he becomes six.  He has been waiting forever and is not quite sure he can wait so long. 

For some reason I am not as excited about my next birthday as he is.  (40)  I think it has something to do with not having done all I wanted and being who I wanted to be by then.  Guess it is good I have a few months to go.

Yesterday Sweetheart took the boys with him for a few hours.  It was rather quiet around here.  Cupcake slept a good part of the time.  I slept for a few minutes, but spent most of the time sipping tea and hot cocoa and reading Dickens.  I didn't want to waste the quiet by sleeping too much though I was tired.  Cupcake is teething teething teething and has a hard time sleeping through the night from it.  Looking at her gums, it appears as though all the rest of her teeth should be popping in this week.  I wince just to see it.

I finished David Copperfield last night before bed.  I started it at the beginning of the month and so feel quite accomplished to have finished it all so quickly.  ;)  I also read a few Mitford books at the same time.  As much as I enjoy Karon,Gaskell, Austen, and Alcott, I do believe that Dickens may be my favorite author. 

There is so much to each story.  Such a depth of characters and such a variety of them fill each story.  How he weaves so many different threads of storylines together to create such tales is truly amazing to me.  I even just love the names of them all!  They are so descriptive of each person.

Now, it is time to start on his Christmas Stories.  By the way, the DK Eyewitness Book version of A Christmas Carol is extraordinary.  There are so many details given on each page that make it all come to life.  I HIGHLY recommend it for adults and kids and it would make a great read aloud this Christmas season. Just a thought.

Well, the soup is almost ready and Cupcake just awakened so I am off for now!  Sorry for any typos.  No time to edit.  Not that I usually do anyway...

Changing Seasons

We played today outside in the snow. Catching flower-shaped snowflakes, the kind you see in the picture books of perfect crystals, yet melting in an instant, landing on gloves, sleeves, and golden leaves from the passing autumn. Throwing wads of snow, little hands not bothering with ball shaped spheres. I laugh and toss more, shaking snow-laden branches on little boy heads. Sweet girl is snuggled in warm inside with Daddy. Finally, a promise of hot chocolate leads us back inside.

Stomping boots, removing wet layers, thinking of how it much stuff I've piled on them to keep them warm. Rubbing rosy cheeks, wiping runny noses, gathering the trail of dripping things, I hear her cry out. Hot chocolate will wait as she needs to be nursed. The boys pile on Daddy with their snugglely blankets and tell him about their adventure outside while we sit next to them. Giggles and cuddles, warm hands and hearts.

Winter is my least favorite season. I would live in an eternal autumn if I could. But, as we are facing the new season I am trying to embrace it as best I can. On this first day of snow I made sure we were out to enjoy it when my first instinct is to instead brew a pot of tea, turn on some beautiful music, light candles and curl up with a book. I'd rather stay warm and cozy. I'd rather stay safe in my cocoon.

This change of seasons is not limited to the weather. We are standing on the brink of life right now. Looking back at what we have lived until now, and dreaming of all that might be. Wanting to embrace the future, to run into it with arms open wide and alternately wanting to just curl up and stay where it feels familiar, even safe. Wishing to take a leap of faith, but only if I could get a glimpse of what that new life would be like in six months, a year. That of course, wouldn't require faith, now would it?

I am not the same woman I was when I began writing in this little space. Those of you who have followed my journey have seen some of the changes. You've been there through the times of rejoicing as well as the times of tears and great mourning. You've sent laughs, and prayers and love. And I am a better person for it all, and for your friendships. I've learned from you and laughed with you as well as praying quiet prayers for you. I hope you have been blessed as well.

You read my words, my rants, my recipes. I've discovered so much about me through this process as well. I've learned that I don't want to live an ordinary life. I want to grow and learn and discover more and more. I have heard my own heart sing. I have learned to create new things, and grow more in my garden than just beauty. I have discovered that my soul is fed through the simple things. I am renewed by creating and learning and working hard. I have learned to slow down my life and do more than just rush through the days. I have learned to truly live.

I no longer want the same things I did even a few years ago. I want to take another step back. To live a life focused even deeper on what really matters: my Lord, my Love, my family. I want to grow in a community of people with whom I can share not just my life, but theirs as well. I want to teach my boys lessons, not just from books, but from the glory of His creation all around us. To see the beauty and uniqueness in a flower, a snowflake, a sunset, a star. I want us all to feel the awesomeness of His power in the world He has created. I dream of a life of open spaces, quiet places, the smell of the dirt, the warmth of the ground beneath my toes, of watching a seed sprout and grow, of a new life born. I want chickens and goats. Truly.

I stand here today, on the edge of a new season. Yes, winter is coming and with it many things I'd rather not face including a literal coldness and darkness. It is more than that though. I am faced with a new season of life. Will I embrace it, or run and hide because it is dark and unknown? I hope not. My heart wants to run to this new season and not hold anything back. To embrace the changes that will come, some desired, some truly scary in the dark moments of my day. But I don't want to fear. The faith that has brought me this far will certainly carry me through. And I have the love of the most wonderful man beside me holding my hand as we take a step of faith together. And of course, I have the love and laughter of my beautiful children who will be with us each step of the way. The road ahead of us is unknown. We cannot see around the next bend. But, what if we never step out? Think of all we would miss.

You see, Sweetheart's job ended last week. We had wondered if it would for some time and then thought it would just change to be more of what we wanted. Instead, it has simply ended. We must pick the pieces and move on, literally. We have many thoughts and dreams and hopes, but no real answers at the moment. Whatever we choose, we choose together and that is a great comfort. The greatest comfort is though, that we are not alone in whatever we chose. He is with us. And though we don't have the answers we want, and I wish I knew more I am confident that He loves us. No matter where we live or what we do for a living.

Autumn Color

*sigh*

So, my kitchen windowsill is getting rather full.
In addition to the nice bottle of dish soap, the jar of fresh cilantro, and the pot of mint we have quite a collection of friends.
We have Frederic the Caterpillar, Leo the Ant Lion, and Katie the Katydid.
Each has his, or her, own container.
The plants and bottle have doilies under them, of course.
Maybe the bugs should, too.
It is possible that we've taken our Nature Studies a bit too far...

Come

Come said the wind

to the leaves one day,

Come o'er the meadows

and we will play.

Put on your dresses

scarlet and gold,



For summer is gone

and the days grow cold.

-Victorian Rhyme

Another Autumn Luncheon

It is such an absolutely gorgeous day here today so the boys and I enjoyed our lunch on the front porch.
It was a lovely meal though a bit more informal than my last luncheon.
They sure do love fresh peas. ("Green balls, Mama!")
***
I actually started making gifts in January and continued until April when we really devoted all our extra time to the yard and gardens. Summer was spent still working in the garden and fall on preserving the harvest. Now it is November and I need to get back in the swing of creating!
Though I find I am low on ideas.
Most of my family has already been given my homemade body products. And I wonder if jars of preserves are really considered a gift? I love handmade gifts the best, but have a hard time not just sharing those things year round. We are also planning to do most of the giving to charity this year, I believe. Still, decisions, decisions! I'd better get to work.
PLEASE feel free to leave suggestions!!!!
What are you planning for holiday gifts?

Dumpling Slides Too!

Autumn Day at the Farm

Between a new machine with new software and breaking my favorite lens on the camera, I've been having a hard time posting pictures. That should change now.
Sweetheart downloaded Picasa for me last night. I love it, plus I can make these fun collages. I stayed up way too late last night playing with it all. I also had over 530 pictures from the last month to deal with.

Autumn Luncheon

Yesterday I had my Mom and two ladies over for lunch. One of the ladies owns Berry Patch Farms, our home away from home. Her sister has just moved here and so we wanted to get to know them both better.
It was a cold, snowy, drizzly day. But we stayed snug with visiting and soups and hot teas and coffee. They stayed for several hours and we all just got to take a break and relax. This has been such a busy season for them at the farm so I really appreciated that they would take a few hours out of their busy schedule to just be with us.

Our Menu:

Squash-Apple Soup with Nutmeg Cream and Spiced Pecans
Carrot Ginger Soup
Whole Wheat Herb French Bread
Salad with Pickled Squash & Beets, Cranberries, Garden Carrots & Tomatoes, Bacon & Parmesan Cheese served with Homemade Vinaigrette Salad Dressings
Cinnamon Cranberry Scones with Clotted Cream, Peach Butter & Raspberry Jam
Zucchini Bread & Pumpkin Bread

I had made the soups in advance and just warmed them up. That just left the bread, scones & salad to put together that morning. Other than forgetting the scones in the oven and over baking them, everything turned out just fine. We enjoyed our leisurely lunch and then moved to the family room for our desserts & drinks. As the snow fell, we enjoyed our peaceful time warmed with the joy of new friendships.

What a wonderful day it was!

Alive & Cookin'

I've been so busy in the kitchen I haven't had time for writing. When I'm not cooking, I'm trying to spend as much time as I can out with the boys and friends. Our weather had been rather up and down here in Denver with a storm currently rolling in.

The cooler temperature is welcome today as I've been canning Tomato Sauce, Apple Cakes in Jars, & Apple Butter. I've also got a giant pot of Squash-Apple Soup simmering on the stove and a pork roast roasting along with the rest of the twelve pound Hubbard Squash in the oven. I've got the windows open so we don't roast as well!

Yesterday we enjoyed a lovely day at the Denver Zoo. I figured we had better go then while the weather was fine. We had a nice time visiting with all the animals.
This weekend Sweetheart & I disappeared to Berthoud, Colorado for our anniversary get away a few months late. We had a lovely room at the Berthoud Inn and the best dinner ever at the Retro Bistro. It is totally worth the drive for just the dinner! (Thanks Grandma! And stop by tomorrow for some soup and your milk, if you want.)

I used up a bunch of tomatoes on Sunday mixing them up with onions, roasted red peppers, carrots and a bunch of spices for a yummy soup. More tomatoes are ripening everyday. I think we'll end up using all 80 pounds up. I even have some tomatoes in the dehydrator right now. We'll see how those work out.

In fact, I was in the garden yesterday and found more tomatoes, carrots and another zucchini that had been hiding. I hope clean up the garden and prep in all for winter this week and weekend. I've got a list of chores to do outside both front & back.

I am not a big magazine person, but I do love "Victoria", and "MaryJane's Farm" magazines. I recently discovered "Hobby Farm Home" and hope to subscribe soon. We don't farm, but the ideas inside it are practical for us with the way we live and our gardening.

The current issue contains the recipe for Apple Cake in a Jar and a comprehensive list of ideas for shutting down the garden for winter while prepping for spring. It also has some fun homemade Christmas gift ideas and a tutorial for pie crusts. All sorts of things I love!

Well, enjoy your day! Time to go stir the soup.

Mmm...Coffee!

While I drink tea a lot (understatement) I do enjoy coffee as well, especially this time of year. Though I usually drink my tea hot and black, I love sweet coffee with lots of flavor.
I stopped buying the fancy creamers when I decided to stop eating and drinking things that contain ingredients I cannot pronounce. Amazing how much "food stuff" that eliminates! Seriously, what are we eating? /soapbox.
What is a girl to do when she even starts to question her Pumpkin Spice Lattes and wonder what that weird film they leave on the roof of one's mouth is all about? One hopes it is just the fat from the whipped cream, but still.
There are a few recipes out there like this one I'll try when I bake squashes this weekend for purees. Until then, I'm using my Pumpkin Spice Brown Sugar.
I had poured a little brown sugar in a jar and stirred in some cinnamon and cloves a few weeks ago. Mixing it all together added great flavor and kept the floating spices to a minimum. It is also amazing in oatmeal. This morning I noticed I needed to make more. Someone had commented and asked how I had mixed it up before, but I didn't pay attention so I wasn't sure.
Today I paid attention. I had read about how easy it was to make brown sugar so I decided to kill to birds with one stone. I poured one cup of regular sugar into a jar and added one tablespoon of molasses. That's it: instant brown sugar. It is soft and flavorful, but not at all overwhelming. I then stirred in a tablespoon of cinnamon, and a teaspoon of both cloves and nutmeg.
It turned out great! I love molasses so I may add more in the future. Did you know that the only real difference between light and dark brown sugar? It' just more or less molasses. Super easy and know I can just make up what I'll need and not have bags of brown sugar going rock hard in the pantry. It is cheaper, too.
It will be great the next time I make these and use my homemade vanilla extract. Hmm...that gets me thinking. Maybe I should pour some of the vanilla in the spice sugar for coffee. See? This is how I get myself in trouble: one thing just leads to another.
I am now imagining how good this cup of coffee would be with a batch of Ginger Bears. So soft and autumny and filled with molasses and spices. They'd make a good dinner, right?
I just remembered this post I read recently. She had some links for homemade creamers. I think I might need to add a pint of half and half to the milk order for tonight's delivery. Any fun ideas to share yourself?

Dreaming of Tuscany

Having completely thrown over my plans to spend the day with the apples, I've instead been pouring through A Thousand Days in Tuscany, a book my Mom brought over last night. I've taken a brief break from reading to start a loaf of Schiacciata Toscana, or Tuscan Flat Bread. I love books with related recipes written in them. I'm guessing it will be like a fochacia bread with fresh rosemary, sea salt, and olive oil as focal ingredients. It contains a fair amount of cornmeal so that will add a bit of a different texture, I think.


I dashed out back and picked some rosemary and basil. I have a bowl full of fresh tomatoes and am trying to figure out what all I want to make. Maybe some pasta with grilled chicken? Shall I pick some beans to add to the mix? A bit of zucchini is always good with the abundance we have right now. Decisions, decisions. How blessed we are to have all that we do!

The bread is on its second rising and I've just minced the rosemary so my hands are fragrant with that delicious piney scent.

We've just tucked the boys in for naps and I need to spend more time outside cleaning up the garden spaces. I pulled the sunflowers out over several days this week and discovered all sorts of things still growing, hiding and seeking out a bit of sunshine. We'll see how they do know that the crazy canopy of sunflowers is gone. I've been collecting seeds from the various flower heads for planting next year.

I am planning on not having the sunflowers in that garden area next year. I also think the mallows and cosmos were a bit much. They simply all engulfed the smaller plants and groundcovers I put in. Right now there are purple mums blooming away, a purple delphinium, and one purple anenome. The gladiolus came in purple as did a mystery bulb. There are a lot of different greens from the rosemary and basil plants to the lemon balm and baby tears.

Besides all the glorious shades of purple, there are bright spots from the nasturtiums and a few forget-me-nots. The forget-me-not seeds are easy to save as they are little burrs and I am forever picking them off of whatever I've worn into the garden. They also love to attach themselves to my hair where I seem to find them hours later.

As the days cool we're spending as much time out back as we can. The boys played out back as I pulled and cut and tended the gardens yesterday. They love their sandbox and running through the grass. Pumpkin loves to see all that's still growing and is happily counting watermelons and cantaloupes. I'm amazed by the tomatoes and beans! Some of the tomatoes are enormous and I hope they ripen up this week.

This is so wonderful to be enjoying the bounty. Worth all the endless hours of work this spring and summer to make it all happen. I will be even happier next year when all I have to do is plant and not do all the work we did to get this all going. We still have the old garden area to whip into shape and I am planning on doing more weed pulling as soon as I can put the bread in the oven.

Ciao!

PS- Here's the link to the Spice Pumpkin Waffles. The chutney recipe requires me typing more, so it'll be up another day.

Zippy!

That's the best way to describe the Curried Apple Chutney I made yesterday. It's the most amazing recipe of apples, raisin, brown sugar, curry and other spices. But to keep it from being basically a baked apple, it also has vinegar, onion, and sweet peppers. Oh my! I am so looking forward to trying more than just a sample spoon.

The original recipe called for hot pepper and garlic which I omitted due to personal preferences here. Oddly enough the yield should have been five pints, but I barely had two and a half pints. Canning recipes and yields can be so odd. I also put up another five and a half quarts of pickles from the garden cucumbers. Cause we needed more pickles. If they was ever an emergency situation, my family would be surviving on bread and jam and pickles. Of course, we'd be able to eat these for weeks on end!

I got a pot of applesauce simmering on the stove waiting to be finishing and put into the jars. I kept all the cores and peels I've been making and am planning on running them all through the press I have. It'll all probably only amount to one cup of juice and a big mess, but since I have everything on hand I might as well try and it will mean they'll be almost no waste. I suppose I could keep the leftovers from making cider for cider vinegar. Maybe next year.

I did try to run the peels and cores through the mill I was given so as to make apple butter from the leftovers. That was just an exercise in frustration and mess just like the peach experiment. Glad it was free. I'll probably try it again with tomatoes since they are soft, but if that doesn't work it will need to find a new home. Grumble.

It certainly feels like autumn around here! The spice applesauce simmering on the stove, the pumpkin spice waffles cooking in the waffles iron, & the pumpkin candle burning. Even my coffee tastes like autumn as I mixed together brown sugar, cinnamon and cloves and tucked them into a jar on the counter for oatmeal mornings.

I discovered the mix is delightful in my coffee as well. Much cheaper than a Pumpkin Spice Latte and easier to get around here. Though I do love those lattes! It must be a family thing as my sister in California mentioned having one the other day--over ice. By mixing the spices in the sugar I am able to stir it all evenly into the coffee without the spices just floating on the top as they do when I just sprinkle them in.

I've still got another twenty pounds of apples on hand. I'll probably make more of everything and some apple butter as well. So yummy! I do love all the foods that are in season this time of year, don't you?

I used up the rest of the pureed squash I had frozen last fall for the waffles this morning and I'm down to one Hubbard squash from last year's garden. It's a big one, but I think I'll need to try and find some more. They are such good keepers and I use them in any recipe that calls for pumpkins or squashes. I didn't get any planted this year, but will make it a priority for next year's garden.

Well, I need to go and stir the applesauce and scrub down the cider press as I've not used it before. I'll let you know how it goes!

Sunshine & Apples

The sun returned & disappeared throughout the day, but I am just glad for the amount we had! The boys and I took a bit of a country drive. It was wonderfully sunny and we enjoyed seeing some of the leaves changing.

We went into a little town, Hygiene, which was in fact quite clean. We checked out the little store and stopped in the local cafe. I bought a cup of coffee and the ladies there let the boys each pick out a gourd from a box a neighbor had brought it. I bought some potatoes from an unmanned roadside stand just tucking my money in the jar and taking the potatoes. Love this life!

We then went to Sweetheart's office and the four of us enjoyed a picnic lunch. The weather turned and it got rather chilly by the time we were done. On the drive home we stopped at the farm and picked up our first box of apples.

While the boys napped I filled the two dehydrators up with apple slices and took my book, The Ministry of Motherhood, by Sally Clarkson out onto the porch with my cup of vanilla tea. I was happily reading and rocking and sipping my tea when the clouds rolled back in. I read for a few minutes, but since my book was getting wet from the rain I decided to come back in.

Now the boys are up and playing with their blocks and gourds and dinner is cooking in the background. I'm planning to do a bit more prep work on the apples and getting ready for canning tomorrow. I'm going to make applesauce and maybe more apple chips. I recently read about making apple butter from milling the cores and peelings. Since I was given a food mill last month I'm planning on trying this idea. I've also been longing to try a apple-ginger-curry chutney recipe so I'm going to try to squeeze that in as well. We'll just see how far the apples go.

I've also got to do something with the cucumbers from the garden so maybe I'll get a batch of pickles in as well. The kitchen will see plenty of use tomorrow! I think I'll plan to do something in the crockpot as well to make sure we have dinner.

My, what a difference a little sunshine can make. Have a wonderful rest of the day.

Good Morning

Oatmeal Breakfast with Pumpkin Spice Honey Toast & Caramel Coffee

Today the weather changed. Whereas, yesterday was one of those perfect Autumn days that found me out in the garden before everyone else was up, today I just wanted to stay huddled in bed snuggled down deep. Alas, I had to get up anyway.

It was so gloomy and dark I thought our breakfast needed a bit of brightening up. Breakfast by candlelight not being an everyday thing here. Of course, it was so pleasant I may have to reconsider. In fact, the candle is still burning bright scenting our home with a delicious pumpkin spice fragrance. I cooked and baked up a storm yesterday and so am just enjoying what I made and not really cooking today, my usual preferred method for making our home smell yummy. Not much beats the smell of fresh baking bread, does it?

The good news is that Sweetheart did some work this weekend on my computer so I hope I'll be posting a bit more. The setup I've been using since July has been so uncomfortable that I have not written as much as I would have otherwise. I was in fact thinking of just quitting blogging altogether.

But, for the three of you still reading this, I've decided to keep going. Besides, where else would I be able to write and dream and share?

The boys are sleeping now, some dishes are soaking in the sink and the laundry is spinning away. Gentle music is keeping me company in the background and I am enjoying the simply beauty of a quiet afternoon. I've enjoyed a little reading (Mitford) and a lot of tea.

Around the house I've been tucking bits of Autumn color with flowers from the garden and some of my leaf garlands and ribbons. Of course, one can always tell what season it is around here based on the tea set that's in use. Since Saturday I've been enjoying my Lusterware set. It's a funny process. I needed to wash the tablecloth so I pulled out a burgundy one to replace it. Then the rose centerpiece no longer matched so I got out my candles and fruit and leaf plates. That meant that the rose Tree Chintz tea set clashed and so I pulled out the Lusterware. This then meant I needed to change the curtain tiebacks in the dining room. Those ribbons didn't match the one on the Victorian crystal candy dish and so I changed that out. Sweetheart just laughed.

While I was at it I did up a new wreath for the porch and changed out the porch flag. This necessitated the need to wash down the entire porch, walls and windows. I stopped there. Of course, I still have more leaves and ribbons and will probably putter around tucking bits and pieces here and there throughout the week.

I just heard a little boy wake up, so I'll go for now. So much more to write & share!!! Maybe later.

What are you doing to welcome Autumn to your home?

Living Life

I feel like we've been so busy living life that blogging about it has been set aside.
We've been to Berry Patch Farms more times than I can count. It's closer than any grocery store so it is easy to run up the road for eggs and fresh produce as needed. (We live on the far east side of Denver.)
Since I only head to the regular grocery store once a month to stock up on bulk foods and meat it's so great to have something close for the fresh things. Don't know what I'll do when they close for winter! They'll be open until Thanksgiving, but then closed until late spring/early summer.
*****
We'll try to head to the zoo a few more times before it gets too cold. The Denver Zoo really is nice. We fed the Lorikeets on our last trip there. My Mom played hooky from work and went with us. It was a great day.

They are giving each other kisses in the picture above. Something they do all the time that just melts this Mommy's heart.

Pumpkin loves to see all the animals and Dumpling likes to be pushed along in the stroller eating snacks. I'm not sure he much cares about the animals yet, but he sure likes going along for the ride. When he finishes what's on his tray he starts finishing up whatever Pumpkin has left behind.



We went up to Estes Park two weekends ago just to enjoy an Autumn drive. I wasn't able to get any really good pictures of the color in the mountains, but we had a lovely day. The barn picture at the top of the page was from that drive.

We stopped along the way at the Miller Farms where Pumpkin was able to see a few of his friends. They had painted a bunch of old cars and a truck to look like the characters from "Cars". (In case you hadn't noticed the reoccurring toy in almost every picture of Pumpkin--this boy loves Lightning Mc Queen. He goes everywhere with us from Target to picking up wheat at Nadine's today. If he's not in Pumpkin's hands, he close by!)

They've also got a bunch of old tractors and even a small plane out on display and for the kids to climb all over. Apparently, they have a bunch of other rides and things for the kids, but we didn't actually go inside. We were quite entertained for free just in their parking lot!

When we got to Estes we walked along by the river and found a place to have our picnic lunch. Pumpkin and Sweetheart threw tons of rocks in the river, a favorite pastime of theirs.

After lunch, we headed back down the road until we found some National Forest access signs and drove along the back roads.

Sweet Dreams, Little One.

**************
Our garden has been actually growing things (besides weeds) this year. Here are some pictures of what we'll be harvesting soon. We're trying to let everything go as long as possible, but it is likely that we'll have a hard frost this weekend.

We've got quite a few Hubbard Squashes which I'm planning to substitute for pumpkin in a bunch of recipes. I think I'll need to do up some Spice "Pumpkin" Butter and more "Pumpkin" Bread and maybe some pies. These things are huge! We've also got more Birdhouse Gourds than there are birds around here.

A few things, I can't even identify. That thing that looks kind of like a peach pumpkin is another type of Hubbard Squash, I think, and I have no idea where the striped thing came from. I only planted the seeds from a squash I bought a few years ago for Pumpkin's baby food. Who knows what happened? I was hoping for pumpkins, but only ended up with one dark green one. Maybe next year's garden will go better!

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I've been reading along quite a few things. I'm doing the Northanger Abbey read-a-long and finished up Pride & Prejudice. I read Persuasion just before that and must say I like it more and more with each reading. It may soon be my favorite Austen book.

I also checked out a bunch of books the other day from the library. I printed out everyone's suggestions and got as many as I could find. If I couldn't find the specific book someone suggested, but found another book by the same other I checked it out. I'm now in the middle of three or four of them. It's good. I'll also take the time to track down some of the titles from other libraries and try to read as many as I can. I really appreciate your ideas and suggestions! Maybe I can get my act together and do some reviews on them. Maybe.

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I made Janna's Curry Chicken recipe yesterday. Oh, yum!! It was a cloudy, cool day here in Denver, just perfect to have something cooking in the crockpot. Do try it yourself! It is soooo good. I meant to set aside one piece of chicken for lunch today with a friend, but forgot to take it out yesterday and it ended up in the Curry Chicken as well. I felt odd serving a guest leftovers, but she didn't seem to mind. Good thing, as it was really all I had! We fed the two older boys noodles and cheese, which made them happy. Dumpling plowed through another good serving of the Curry Chicken. He has good taste!

I had planned to make the Curry Chicken yesterday so that we could enjoy the leftovers tonight before I was to go to the Homecoming football game with Janna and CL. Now, I'm not sure Janna is going and it is awfully cold out. Plus, Sweetheart is likely to be working late so I don't think it will all work out. Besides it is Friday and in our house Friday night is Movie Night and I'd hate to miss that. Last week I asked Pumpkin what, besides "Cars", he'd like to watch. He very matter of factly replied, Cranford." Of course! What two year old isn't fond of Elizabeth Gaskell and BBC movies? We watched "Cranford" and both boys watched with great attention and enjoyment.

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This post was even longer as I had added a bunch of pictures of Sweetheart and I as we finally got to go away for our tenth anniversary celebration last weekend. However, I messed up on the html for the pictures and gave up. Our anniversary itself was the week I miscarried in July. Not a good time to celebrate. We had already planned time away in August, but had to reschedule after my Mom fell. Everything came together though, finally, and we had a delightful time away. Maybe another post will work, besides, I think this one has enough pictures!

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I hope you are having a delightful day, wherever you happen to be. I'm off to make a pot of tea and wash up the dishes from lunch before the boys get up from their naps. I'm going to leave the page to The Button Willow Chronicles open to enjoy her music as I head off to putter around the kitchen. If you've never stopped by TBWC, you're in for a real treat. It's full of wondrous stories and quotes and pictures of all my favorite things. Go on, take a look, just be sure to come back here again to visit soon!

Guess Where We Went Today?

Ok, not a tough thing to guess if you've been reading here at all lately. We met up with some new friends today at Berry Patch Farms. Katie and I connected on-line a long time ago through Sandy's Tea Society. Since then, she's commented here now and again, but today was the first time we've met in person.

She, and her kids, were such a delight to hang out with! We spent some time out in the fields picking raspberries then enjoyed our lunch a the picnic tables under the giant cottonwood trees. The chickens and turkeys and Bacon Bits were all out and about enjoying their picnic lunches as well from all the food the kiddos seem to drop on the ground.

I thought this post would be longer, I've got so much more to share! However, someone has just awakened from his nap, so I must go. Hope you're enjoying this incredible Autumn day!