Halloween Storytime

Once again I go through the Halloween box to find treasures to share with the preschoolers at the library. I was so glad to have the opportunity to use some past treats!



HoosierKitty's witch quilt was admired and the witches counted before the witch song was sung.










And the little cat that the Indy Duo gave me was just the right color for "Taffy" in the old tale of the pumpkin-colored cat.

Hope you all have wonderful Halloween tales and treats!

Basil bombs

Just before the first freeze, I harvested the basil.

Lots of basil.
An armful of basil.
A sinkful of basil.

All this basil grew from cuttings from our farm share. We would get a bunch of it along with the veggies and eggs and I would stick the basil in a cup of water so it would keep until I used it. I used far less than expected. Then the next week more basil would arrive and I'd look at the past week's bunch and find that it had rooted. So I stuck bits of basil outside in the ground - and it grew. It flourished! We had the best basil patch ever!
Bumble bees and tiny butterflies loved the flowers.
Anytime a recipe needed basil I had lots of leaves to pull - far more than any recipe needed.

When I harvested the basil, it scented the whole house. That powerful basil aroma hit your nose when you walked in the door. What to do with so much basil? Basil bombs.
We learned about basil bombs from our friend Brian. Basil leaves and a little good olive oil, processed in the blender until they make a paste. Rolled up in balls and wrapped and frozen.

All winter long when sauces and stews call for basil I'll just drop in a basil bomb.
(And if you happen to visit and look in the freezer, this explains those little round green balls.)Basil bombs.

An explosion of scent and taste.

"Dust off and go on"???

What???

These are cough drops, folks, things you take when you are feeling miserable.

What brilliant mind thought I needed annoying platitudes to go with my sore throat?

For the benefit of ...

What a brilliant fund-raiser! Eat out for the Library!
If there is one thing librarians can do...

it's eat.

And drink.

And chat.




Best fund-raiser ever.

Apples, but not just apples

After a visit to the farm to see Scotty ("He's so BIG" says Ellie) and to feed the goats and alpacas ("I'll throw the carrots" says Ellie), what better to do than stop by the orchard? Lots of other people have this good idea too. There are huge bins of apples, dozens of varieties, and a lovely apple-y smell in the old wooden store.

The sign promises fresh pressed cider - it was just made yesterday.
("I like it" says Ellie)

When she finishes hers, she drinks some of mine.
("I could have a little more" says Ellie)
We sit outside with our cider and popcorn and with each sip of cider we smell a sharp tart apple smell.
Right behind the deck is the barn where the cider is pressed.

Right outside the barn are bins of very flatly squished apples, humming with yellow jackets and sweetly flavoring the Autumn air.

I am sniffing and sniffing.

Where's Ellie?

She found something else to take home.

(I want this one!" says Ellie.)

The Sound of Fall

Dear Readers who are Residents of the Tropics and Subtropics,


I enjoy the virtual glimpses of your exotic climates - waves on the beach, unfamiliar flowers and wildlife - and so want to reciprocate and send you a virtual bit of a quintessential Indiana experience.





Try to image that sweet- musty smell of dry dead leaves and listen to the sound of walking under the sycamores by the creek:

The sycamore leaves may not turn lovely yellow and orange and red like the maple and sweet gum and oak but they do produce the most satisfying "crunch" of any leaves.

On a slightly sour note...

Granddad has decided to learn to play the piano.

He is working on playing a scale. First he positions his fingers. Then he tries to go from C to C.

Then he tries to read a note in the beginning book and play it.

Then he tries to pick out "Yankee Doodle" by ear. The piano is out of tune.

That's okay, he's deaf.

I am thinking maybe losing one's hearing isn't all bad.

Fall driving hazards

I usually manage to not spend too much time while driving looking off at the hills with their Autumnal patchwork, despite the temptation. But I can't help looking at the road, can I? And it is lovely. Here I am trying to take a picture of the leaves falling as thick as snowflakes, spinning and floating down in front of the car. I am, as you can see, pretty unsuccessful. But then...

THUNK! What hit the windshield????
Was it a bullet? (It's hunting season now) Is the glass cracked?
After a bit I steady myself and the car and conclude that it was not a bullet and the windshield is fine and it was...

a walnut.

Yup. Just look along side the road. Lined with green lumps.

Dangerous things, walnuts.

Then there is traffic.
The ubiquitous bicycles are one thing.

Here's another...

Just before I took this picture the mule on the right swung way out in my lane.
Yes, I stopped the car until they went past, just in case.

And admired the trees behind them.
My kind of hazards, all of them.

Chef's Challenge

This year our CSA farm share has been heavy on certain vegetables.

Like peppers.

Mild ones, sweet ones, spicy ones, HOT ones.

More peppers than Peter Piper picked. Or pickled.



I'm asking for help here - what can I do with all these peppers??????

Birthday: the back story

I don't want you to think that my birthday was ALL about chocolate!
There was a healthy dinner as well - enjoyed by me, Granddad, T and the Indy Duo and catered by HoosierKitty and Mimi, who carried everything in - cheese, bread, ratatouille, olives...even plates and napkins.

And apples.

Healthy apples! Cut by HoosierKitty with a slicer tool of Mimi's.



Healthy apples, says Mimi.
Improve your skin tone, your digestion...












your bosom.
Wait a minute, Mimi - where are you putting those apples?












Um...I think you're supposed to eat them for the best effect....

Birthdays...the back story... it's all about friends.

More of the chocolate birthday

Here's an unexpected treat - fudge, and it isn't even Christmas!

Not just fudge, but home-made fudge!

Not just home-made fudge, but home made by him --

the Unexpected Chef!

(and what's more...his fudge is tastier than mine!)

Another mark of the passage of time

Can you believe she's the mother of a teenager today?

Me neither.

Wish I were there to celebrate the double birthdays with you two today!

Have a happy!

13 Super Quick Years

How can it be?Is she really a teenager today?

So the calendar says, but I can hardly believe it.

My dear little niece!

Happy Birthday, sweetie, and keep on rockin'!

Introducing the theme of the week

This week's theme is.... birthdays!

We'll begin with Sunday evening: and a most spectacular sparkling birthday cake!

Oh Hoosier Kitty, you've outdone yourself!





Just look at the chocolate glistening on the cake top --and is that gold dust sprinkled around the flourishes?
It is!



The elegant frieze on the side of the cake was a thin strip of white cake with a band of Fleur-De-Lis in chocolate cake.
How did they do that????








The upper layer of creamy mousse sat on a bottom layer of moist, rich chocolate cake.



Friends, this could be a metaphor for the whole wonderful birthday thing....
or
we could just eat cake.

In which Pictures Return to the Blog

It's most curious.

Only a few weeks ago the blog was over the limit for pictures.Today as I prepared to post, I discovered that I was only using 1% of available storage.

What happened?

Any one out there have a clue?

October arrives

"It was a peaceful autumn day. The gilding of the Indian summer mellowed the pastures far and wide. The russet woods stood ripe to be stript, but were yet full of leaf. The purple of heath-bloom, faded but not withered, tinged the hills. The beck wandered down to the Hollow, through a silent district; no wind followed its course, or haunted its woody borders. Fieldhead gardens bore the seal of gentle decay. On the walks, swept that morning, yellow leaves had fluttered down again. Its time of flowers, and even of fruits, was over; but a scantling of apples enriched the trees; only a blossom here and there expanded pale and delicate amidst a knot of faded leaves. "

-Charlotte Bronte