Apples Everywhere

Happy Thursday Everyone!
It's a foggy morning outside right now and I'm having a fairly lazy morning catching up on my friends blogs. I've spent huge amounts of time reading blogs the past couple of nights when I couldn't sleep. I drained my ipad battery to 5% on three different occasions if that tells you how much I've read. The problem is that there are so many interesting people and blogs out there and I keep finding more. Some of them read like stories and I find myself going all the way back to the beginning of the blog. I did that with two of them yesterday and last night, reading 3-5 years worth of posts! Oh my! Now I need to get more productive. I can read a book and knit at the same time due to a nifty book holder I picked up at a craft fair a couple of years ago. But I can't read blogs because you have to constantly scroll down and I get frustrated only knitting a stitch or two before it's time to scroll again. :-)

Now I told you on Tuesday that I was off to the orchard to buy some apples. I had planned to take a leisurely walk around and get some pictures because, after all it was Tuesday and who would be at the orchard besides me? Oh. My. Goodness. There were at least a dozen school buses, plus daycare vans, mommy vans and miscellaneous other vehicles when I arrived. I tried three different orchards and it was the same thing there. Now, you know I love kids but the quiet photos I had planned were out. Kids everywhere. Climbing on things not meant to be climbed on. Hilarious. Really. I felt for those teachers and moms. I've been there, oh yes I have. So I settled for a few photos that I took as I stopped along the roadside.

This first one is as I was driving into the very first orchard and the other two are of the beautiful hills and fall colors.

This is a log home that I absolutely drool over every time I drive by. Unfortunately there wasn't a good place to pull over and get a picture on the two lane highway.

An alpaca and llama farm not far from our house. Aren't they adorable?

Signs pointing the way to the myriad of orchards. These are all within about 15-20 minutes of our home and are located at the base of Mt. Spokane.

The little shop at one place had lots of jams and jellies to purchase.

Of course apples were purchased and made into applesauce and pie filling.

Sometime since last fall I have loaned my apple peeler/corer/slicer out and it didn't return to me. I didn't discover this fact until I got home and began peeling the box full of apples. Oh my aching hands! I've gotten spoiled with my Pampered Chef slicer. But, I persevered and now have about a dozen freezer bags full of apples.

This flaming bush belongs down the street from us. A sure sign of fall.

My English roses are still hanging in there, although we have had some very heavy frosts this past week and I expect it to stop blooming very soon.

And last, but not least, I cut some of my lavender and have it hanging in bunches to dry. Any ideas on what to do with it? I didn't cut much because I've never dried it before and want to see how it turns out. Maybe I'll do more next year.

And now I'm going to take a box of books to the post office for my dear mom-in-law. After that, an afternoon of knitting on Alex's scarf maybe?

Have a lovely Thursday my friends.

Blessings,
Betsy

A little of this, A little of that...

Good Morning friends!

It's a beautiful Tuesday here in sunny Spokane, WA. Fall is definitely in the air. Coats are worn, at least in the mornings and evenings and a layer of frost is on everything when I wake up in the mornings. Hubby and I officially winterized the trailer last weekend, so that's done for another year. So sad. The weekend was absolutely stunning as far as weather goes. Sunday after church, we had lunch with our "best friends forever", *smile*, Neal & Jenny. Then we took what was going to be a short drive to an area I hadn't been to before. We ended up driving 85 miles around two lane highways and byways, enjoying the fall colors and just talking. A nice relaxing way to spend a Sunday afternoon. I didn't take any pictures though and can't believe that I let that opportunity pass by.

Monday I ran lots and lots of errands and got much accomplished. I even made a big pot of chicken and homemade noodles for dinner. Here's a peek for you. The first one shows the noodles rolled out. Then the noodles are cut and drying on a tea towel. Finally, bubbling away in the pot with the chicken. A perfect fall dinner. I also had a green salad and cranberry sauce with it. Yum! Yum!

I think I'm finally even beginning to figure out how to make smaller batches for just Hubby and me. I usually end up freezing a big bag of leftovers, (which isn't a bad thing!)

Miss Piper also had her one year checkup yesterday and all is well. Still some dietary issues,(no dairy,) but she's growing very well and is a happy girl. She did get four immunization shots and that was agonizing for both her AND Mommy. I think Grandma should have been there, don't you? :-)

On the knitting front, I managed to make quite a few pairs of mittens this week, bringing me up close to 70 pair!
Barbara, a blog reader also sent some hats to add to the school children's box. Thank you Barbara! She sent several others too, but I already gave them to Lindsay on Sunday. They are going to be nice and warm for some little kids.

As a carry along in my purse I've been knitting on this scarf for Alex for Christmas. I think I'm safe to say that, since I'm fairly certain he doesn't read this blog!!! I finished the dishcloths that I had the order for, so now this is my easy to carry project.

The pictures don't do this yarn or pattern justice. I hope after it's finished and blocked it will photograph better. This is the beautiful yarn I bought in Gresham at Little Lamb and Ewe, after my lunch with the girls. Yes, it does have patches of pink in it, but that won't bother Alex a bit. He's secure enough in himself to wear a little pink! :-)

I'm not sure if I mentioned it before, but in just a little over 3 weeks, Hubby and I will be heading to Tokyo to spend some time with Alex. I want to finish this scarf for him by then so I can see him open his early Christmas gifts. He's busy planning activities for us. The fall leaves in Kyoto and he mentioned the Japanese Alps in Nagano where the Winter Olympics were held. I would be happy just to spend time with him in Tokyo. We've already traveled around Japan quite a bit and would like to just sit and visit with him. But...he wants to show us places we haven't been yet so off we'll go!

And now, I'm off to Greenbluff where all of our lovely orchards are. I want to buy a box of apples to make applesauce and pie filling. Hubby has a client in from France and won't be home for dinner, so I have lots of time to get those apples done...if I just get a move on and go. I'll take some pictures to show you our beautiful countryside.

Have a lovely day. "This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it."

Blessings,

Betsy

Sunshine! Beautiful Sunshine!

A warning for you right up front. This is a rather picture laden post. I'm over the nasty little flu bug that hit me for about 48 hours. Thank goodness. Yesterday Chloe and I went out and packed up the camper. Food, clothes, some kitchen things that I use year round. Six hours later it was unpacked and put away at home and I was exhausted. But it was a most beautiful day at the lake. Only Chloe and I and the guys that work there were around. So, so quiet. Barry is cleaning out the garden and he was doing the last strawberry harvest for the year. I was the happy recipient of a huge bag full of strawberries. Yum! Saturday, Hubby and I will go back and to the actual winterization of the trailer. Antifreeze, clean the roof off and put the slides in, etc. Such a bittersweet time of year.

The trees were absolutely beautiful there. I think I was lucky enough to be there during the height of the color yesterday.

This last picture is at a friends spot. Sally researched and painted it herself. Isn't it cute? They are all places she's either been to or wanting to travel to.

On the crafting front, during my time in Portland I was able to finish all 21 of the dishcloths that were ordered. While sick on Monday and Tuesday, even with aching hands I made three more pair of mittens to add to the pair I finished in Portland.

Mandy gave me this yummy Pumpkin Butter a few months ago. I opened it when Gracie visited and I'm enjoying it on a piece of toast in the mornings. It just feels "right" to have pumpkin butter in the fall doesn't it?

And no post would be complete without the obligatory Piper pictures when I've just been to see her.
This first one is a drawing from a picture that was taken in April at Brad's brothers wedding in Nebraska. Isn't it amazing? I think it looks very much like she did 6 months ago and I know this will be a cherished treasure.

And then of course, a couple of birthday pictures. Our little princess! She is such a sweetie.

Yesterday when Mandy, Piper and I were face-timing, it was so sweet the way she kept trying to touch my face through the ipad. She really does seem to love me! That makes this Grandma very, very happy. They will be coming here for Thanksgiving and then we're planning to head back to Portland for Christmas. I would be wonderful if they could spend as much time with Brad's family too, but they have very little vacation time only the actual day off for both holidays. It would be impossible for them to make it to and from Nebraska for the holidays. Even though we're over 350 miles away, I can still drive there in about 6 hours so I feel very blessed.

And now, I need to get busy and finish house-cleaning and start making more mittens! I want to hurry and finish them so I can start working on a couple of Christmas gifts. And then, of course, I still have that yummy yarn Gracie gave me to make a scarf of my own. Why oh why can't these fingers knit faster?

Have a lovely weekend my friends. And remember to smile at someone. It could make a HUGE difference in their day.

Blessings,

Betsy