Christmas at our house

We downsized this year. Found the very last prelit tree at a Walmart super center at the end of the holiday season last year, for one buck! So of course bought it and stuffed it in the minivan. Stuck it up in the attic, and now that we have Violet the Invincible Kitten, I am so glad we got it. When we first put it up, she was attacking all the lower branches, which was basically ok, because the bottom round of lights is out for some weird reason, haven't quite figured out why yet. So I just left ornaments off the bottom, because they dangle, and you don't dangle something in front of Violet, unless you want it gone. I became a minimalist decorator too, leaving off half of what I would normally put on a tree, thinking ahead, aha! less to put back on the tree every day, right? After Violet redoes HER tree. She finally left it mostly alone, after one spray from the water bottle. Occasionally an ornament would "fall" off the tree, and I would have to put it back on. I even got her a Christmas Despereaux ornament, which she promptly bit the tail off, and which I just wound around his poor little arm. I told her it was hers alone, and she accepted that, ignoring the rest. For awhile. Anyway, when the packages got put under the tree, for about two days, she thought, "For me??? Why, how sweet?" and got cuddly with several, meaning some had more tape on them than usual at the end. But that was ok with the family. They understood a kitten and her needs. So this is my story of how our Christmas tree survived Violet. Luckily, she never brought it down, not even once. Now that it is back in the attic, I hope she is not planning her next Christmas strategy. Only time will tell.

Book Pages

Well, what can I say, except that it has been a busy Fall, and now a busy Winter. But reading keeps me sane. So here is one special book I recommend...
"The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society" by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. I discovered this purely by accident on the Costco book table, and snatched it up, because I love historical fiction, particularly on the War years. This story is told by letters, an interesting approach. I first thought, oh, this is annoying, but after the first letter, I was grabbed and couldn't let go. I had no idea how badly the Channel Islands suffered during WWII. I thought, ok, so they are British, but they were occupied by the Germans, and had to suffer extreme privation and death at the hands of their occupiers. Even though they suffer greatly, they deal with it with their heads held high, and figure out amusing and clever ways to outwit the Nazis. There are tragedies in this tale, but the human spirit wins out. If you want a heart-warming story that stays with you past the end, this is the book for you!

Apple Bread in a Can

Every fall when I work up apples, I dig up an old recipe that is tried and true, and makes for delicious eating--Apple Bread made in coffee cans. So here is the recipe---

4 cups peeled, chopped apples
1 cup chopped nuts (I have used pecans or English walnuts)
2 cups sugar

Combine apples, nuts and sugar and mix well. Let stand for 1 hour, stirring frequently. DO NOT DRAIN.

3 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup melted butter (2 sticks)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 eggs, slightly beaten

Combine flour, soda, salt and spices in a large bowl. Add the apple mixture, stirring well. Stir in butter, vanilla and eggs.

Take two one-pound coffee cans and tie a 2 inch aluminum foil collar around the tops of each. I fold the aluminum foil over into a double thickness to make the collar stronger. I spray the insides of the cans with Baker's Joy (baking spray with flour). Spoon the batter carefully into each can, and set the cans on a baking sheet. I have learned that the butter seeps out of the cans during baking, so that protects your oven from spills.

Bake at 325 degrees for one hour and 15 minutes. Check for doneness with a long cake tester! Remove from oven, let cool upright for 10 minutes on cooling rack. Carefully remove the bread from the cans (I gently ease them out sideways) and continue to let cool, this time bread on its side, on the cooling rack. If you want to freeze it, wrap a loaf with saran wrap, then slide it into a freezer ziploc. This bread freezes well for later use. OR you can slice into round slices and dollop with your favorite ice cream. This makes two fabulous apple loaves!

Apple Time

This is a really good apple year in MO! The apple trees had lots of rain, good weather for growing, not too hot a summer, and now a perfect fall. So we drove on up to Waverly to the orchards and brought back some Jonathans, and Jonagolds. I make a quick and easy dessert for us at night, which is kind of fun to make too. It's my own version of Fried Apples.

You need a heavy pan--I use my omelet pan. Melt two tablespoons of butter in it, add two teaspoons of cinnamon, and two tablespoons of sugar, stir well, until all melted, then add in 2 thinly sliced/cored/peeled apples, stir until the apples are tender. This usually takes 5-8 minutes. Then pour the apples and sauce into two deep dessert bowls, throw on top some vanilla frozen yogurt, and enjoy!

Book pages

I admit, I am a Mystery junkie, usually reading those by the ton, when I should be doing other things. But this time, I requested a book I had heard about on Today Show, and want to recommend for everyone's reading--"War Journal, My five years in Iraq" by Richard Engel. Talk about being blown away by his narrative!!!! WOW!!! I understand so much more about the area, its history, its people, our soldiers fighting there, our attempts to put Democracy in action there etc. I think this is a must read before the National elections, but if you can't do it now, at least make an attempt to read it afterwards. Well worth the time, and lots of food for thought. I can't say "Happy Reading" with this book, but I can say, "This is a book that makes you think". Thank you, Mr. Engel.

Another Elderberry Trip

Haven't been doing much except the usual fall stuff, like putting up the last of the peppers, enjoying the last of the tomatoes until next summer, putting away garden tools and hoses, getting the waterfall put to bed, cleaning out the fountains, etc.

But we did take a little Fall break and embarked on an Elderberry tour of the South a few weeks ago. So here is a glimpse of what we saw and visited---we started off in Eureka MO at the Shrine of the Black Madonna of Poland, which was really interesting, and quite a blessing with which to begin our journey. Then we traveled on through Kentucky to Paducah, where we stopped for an overnight, and were treated to a great stage show of Frank Sinatra reminiscences, in this beautiful old, restored theatre. We had the tour of Paducah, and were particularly impressed by their murals on the flood walls downtown, the levee walls designed to protect the city from future floods. Then on to the National Quilt Museum. Unfortunately we weren't permitted to take our cameras indoors, but hubby caught a picture of a stained glass window designed in a quilt pattern on the outside wall of the foyer. If you ever have a slim chance to see this museum, it is a fantastic testimony to the needlecraft of women who use an old, traditional way to capture contemporary life on fabric. Because Paducah is a river town, there was a great memorial sculpture of Lewis and Clark in the park by the river, which had been dedicated during the anniversary celebrations a few years ago.

Onwards to Chattanooga TN, where we dined at the Station House Restaurant. Great dining, superb music, and a nostalgic time in a railroad station restored to a hotel and indoor railroad park. We traveled out to Lookout Mountain, and did our walking tour of Rock City. Fabulous rock formations, really interesting rock gardens, great lookout, only do NOT lean over the wall to see the waterfall! I did, and promptly lost my sunglasses down into the pool at the base of the falls. Nobody offered to jump in to retrieve them, so I left a bit of myself there to insure a future visit. Luckily we also managed to make it through Fat Man's Squeeze and the Eye of the Needle, so we could continue on our journey south.

Back on the bus and into Savannah GA, where we dined at Lady and Sons, and I bought this neat greenbag from Paula's shop, to impress the clerks at WalMart and HyVee as I shop. Savannah is a must see for everyone, and walking about the town is also a must do. We had a walking tour led by our lady in a summery southern pink dress, and we felt like we had sneaked a peak at history early on a Savannah morning. Onwards to Tybee Island, where some of us were (fool)hardy enough to climb up to the top of the lighthouse (not me, but hubby did all 178 steps up and down). I roamed around the restored lighthouse grounds, visited the gift shop along with a whole pack of Elderberries, and basically drank in that stiff ocean breeze, so I could take some back to MO! We spent the night on Tybee, and loved walking along the ocean, and out on their piers. Had dinner at a fantastic seafood restaurant in the middle of the hotel, looking out over the ocean. Next morning we took a boat down the Savannah River and out to the ocean, dolphin watching. We saw so many dolphins, it was awesome. They were leaping out of the water, frolicking with each other, so cute and so graceful. Waves were a little rough, but nobody noticed much because we were so enthralled by the dolphins.

Back on the bus and into the Appalachian mountains, where we visited the Billy Graham Center in Charlotte NC, and then drove deeper into the mountains to the Southern Highlands Craft Center. Of course we shopped once more, and were able to find lots of handmade goodies there.

On we traveled, back to Kentucky, where we spent the day at the Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill. I was amazed the the simple beauty of the place. We dined there for breakfast and lunch, and of course ate wonderfully well. Had the most yummy pumpkin muffins for breakfast, so I had to hunt up the cookbook for the recipe. The Shakers were an interesting religious sect, and you can still feel the peace of the community in their buildings and relics they left on site. We then took a boat trip up the river, retracing old Shaker trading paths on the water. As you drive through the area around Pleasant Hill, you view miles after mile of handstacked stone walls, all built by the Shakers when they lived in their original settlement. These walls were obviously treasured by most of the people around, because they kept them up as boundary walls or decorative walls.

Now homeward bound, we stopped in St. Charles MO for a final break, touring the town on foot, and exploring all the great shops. Hubby and I chanced on a Gaelic shop, and were successful in a genealogy hunt, learning about his Irish roots. Total surprise because that was an area he was unsure of. Now we have some research to back it, so this stop was truly serendipitous. A short dinner stop in Arrow Rock at the Log Cabin restaurant finished up a perfect trip.

I'm Beady lately...

Had to design a few projects with coins this summer for a friend who went on some foreign mission trips. So after I dangled wire wrapped drops of coins off her necklace, I made a pair of earrings with the leftover coins. Turned out rather nicely, don't you think so? Hardest part was drilling the holes in the coins, but hubby helped on this one.

Then I used pearls from recycled pearl necklaces to whip up a new one, with a dichroic glass pendant. This is for the Apple Festival fundraiser this weekend. Hope someone likes it enough to bid on it and take it home.

Made a project for myself too. Been thinking about turquoise and coral, and found a really interesting example in Beadstyle Magazine, so adapted it to fit the beads I already had. A visit to a Branson bead shop back in the spring netted some nice silver beads and coral coins, so I used those for contrast to the turquoise stones. Made it to wear with my new traveling outfit.

Finally, I have to include a new Violet picture. She loves my bookbag so I have to make sure it is empty when it lays on the table, because then she becomes a kitty book. She also loves jewelry, and snatches my earrings right off my earlobe if she snuggles up to my ear and purrs. She certainly is a quick pawed earring thief!

A Look back to Summer

Every fall when we went to school, and our kids too, we had to write essays on "What I did on my Summer vacation". So I thought I would do the same, with pictures. I don't know where this summer went, it flew by so quickly. Now it is fall, and yesterday I got out all the scarecrows and fall decor, except for the Fall villages, suspecting that our new kitty Miss Violet/Shredder might want to play with/destroy????

So here goes: Did a lot of gardening. In fact, I like to think that the flower gardens and rose bed etc haven't looked better in years. My roses seem to like company in their flowerbed, so I obliged, by encouraging the woods violets. Then I stuck a Foxglove plant in one corner and discovered it was happy there, and a Lambs' Ear in another corner sort of crept in accidentally, and thrived. After protecting the front salvia from some sort of critter who would sneak up at night and eat them down to nothing (tin cans were the answer), they thrived too. Along with the gerbera daisies in the pot by the door, the other multicolored daisies and some herbs I snuck in, like rosemary and basil, all seemed to like the fireplace garden. Then I knew fall had come, when our sweet autumn clematis suddenly opened up last week. It resembled a snow bank on our deck rails. Even the hummers were attracted.

Had a bit of company too this summer. Great nephews in from San Diego, a Sunday school picnic, friends dropping in and out, and of course our new addition, Miss Violet. Did a lot of baking too this summer. Sweet potato pie was something the boys hadn't tasted so in addition to fried green tomatoes, they ate a bit of pie to expand their culinary MO experiences. The weather actually cooperated with some cool mornings so I could bake and the house stayed reasonably cool without the ac running. Now it really has cooled down. So even the front hostas gave a sigh of relief and opened up their fragrant blooms again.

We are now planning our fall travels, and hope to leave with our Elderberries to explore a bit of the southeast. Hopefully we will be able to see most of what we planned, despite the hurricanes. Then we get ready for our daughter's wedding celebration in November.

MO Autumn

What can I say--we finally have a season break, from summer. But it was a relatively easy summer here in MO. Rain came at the right times, for our garden and flowers. We didn't have 90 plus temperatures days and days in a row, as we did last year. Now it is raining because of Hurricane Gustav. Yes, MO gets hurricane rains, blown all the way up north, and again it is coming at the right time.

Our new kitten is really bonding well with the family. Violet is a bundle of kitty laughs every day. And isn't that why we have pets? To keep us laughing! She loves her little neon mice, however, Molly dog has also discovered them. And after picking up 3 Miss Molly killed (pieces of foam and neon colored fur all over the carpet), I had to make an emergency run to WalMart for more today. Violet loves to go outside on the screened porch, and can climb all the way to the roof of the porch. I guess she thinks she is a bird. Or at least can catch the outside birds better. Vallee and she are playing together. It took awhile. Vallee usually hisses and bats at her, because well, Violet doesn't quit! She goes into her Halloween kitty mode, and prances around Vallee and just teases and teases her. She also is a spunky one around Molly dog. They now play. Finally. We have to keep an eye on them both, but it is so amazing to see the big black fierce Sheepdog playing with the little black kitty. Hope you enjoy these pictures as much as we enjoy our pets!

Summer Field Trips

As usual, when the boys come for a visit from California, we try to take them around the state of MO, to give them a feel for our Midwest life. We started off their vacation time with Puddle Jumper Days in Odessa. They found a car show and got to dream a little dream or two. Then we drove across the state, and up to Hannibal, home of Mark Twain. Jordon had read Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn, and Kerry had heard of him, so we thought it would be interesting to them to see where Sam Clemens had lived. We drove there on the hottest day of the summer, walked around downtown, trying to cool off in the shade, in the stores, and finally caught the breezes on the trolley tour. We went from a heat index of 115 degrees to a cave tour at 51 degrees! What a difference being 200 feet below ground makes! The boys really liked the bats in the cave, rock formations, and seeing some real signatures from the 1800's on the cave walls. When the lights went out down there, it was so dark you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. We caught the trolley back to town, and embarked on the steamboat ride on the Mississippi River. It was still so hot that most everyone on board stayed in the air conditioned deck. That's quite a difference from what Mark Twain was accustomed to when he piloted on the river. We saw Jackson's Island, which is where Huck and Jim took refuge, and just being on the river was an interesting experience. Our boys were hoping that the riverboat would take them on down to St. Louis, but it was a short trip, so back we went to downtown Hannibal, and back to 98 degrees weather.

We then traveled on into Granite City, IL, to see family, and relax by a pool. When we returned home, we spent a day down at Powell Gardens to see the Butterfly Festival. A Blue Morpho graced my head while we were in the butterfly pavilion--you couldn't design a more beautiful hat! While we were there, Kerry morphed into a huge butterfly for us. Couldn't fit him into our car for the home trip, so he had to morph back into a teen.

Where did this summer go?

Can't believe it is the middle of August already. And schools around here are starting next Monday. We had company, great nephews from San Diego, visiting us the last two weeks, teen boys, who kept us hopping. Now we are setting around in an exhausted state, wondering how did we make it through those years with our kids? Got to be young to do that anymore.

Our new kitty Violet is charming us on a daily basis, BUT hubby wants to rename her Shredder. We bear her claw marks to prove it. But she is so cute, so we have to forgive her for not yet understanding that human skin is not jeans denim or the cedar post in the kitchen. We got her a new scratching post with a jingle toy at Costco the other day. Just like any other kid, the box the toy came in was more fascinating, but she got the hang of it, and now diligently works on it. If she doesn't attack the cedar post right next to it. Then hubby came home with another new toy yesterday. Those laser mice! Ohmygoodness, you should see her run through the house chasing it! Then there is that toy feather duster on an extended stick. You would think she was competing in the Olympic gymnastics this week, because of her back and front flips trying to get that toy!

Vallee cat is getting used to the kitten, but can't decide whether to steal her day-glo mice, or box her ears when she gets too pushy. They will work it out I think. The little one runs madly after big sis, so Vallee now has an admirer, even if she doesn't want one.

Summertime, and the livin' is busy...

Wouldn't think summer would be so busy but this year it certainly is. We have been walking down at Powell Gardens, which is way more fun than a treadmill. Garden is coming in quite well this summer, harvesting tomatoes, peppers, zucchini. Then there is keeping up with the weeds, I mean grass, as it grows. Last year we couldn't get enough rain. This year it is there regularly. Which is great. My flowers haven't looked so good. Things are coming up all around that I forgot I even planted last year.

Then there is the distraction of our new addition to the family, my birthday present, a kitten! She is the cutest little black kitty, and we named her Violet, because of two literary Violets. One is the cat in Jan Karon's books, and the other is the orphan girl in the family of Lemony Snicket books. My Violet was cast out of a truck window as the fool drove up the back roads. She was rescued by the Director of the Board of Sheltered Services. When I went to the board meeting, I told him I would think about adopting her because it was my birthday. So he brought her out to us and after all her Unfortunate Events, she has a new home. We have a bunch of new kitty toys all around the house now--jingle balls in different colors, little furry mice in dayglo shades, feathers on a stick, the bigger cat's tale, and on and on.. So here she is in her debut on the web.

July 4 Celebrations

We went to Powell Gardens to celebrate the 4th this year, and truly enjoyed ourselves once more. It has become our favorite walking site, with trails winding through flowerbeds and woods, past waterfalls and the lake. They had a "Booms and Blooms" weekend, with their daylilies all in bloom, a daylily sale, and a concert with fireworks on the 5th. We came home with a sack of daylilies in the morning, after walking the trails, and then returned in the evening with a sack picnic dinner from Subway, and our lawnchairs, along with about a million other celebrators. There was a blues/jazz singer concert first, then the Lee's Summit Symphony orchestra played, on into fireworks time. The weather was perfect, a beautiful summer evening, balmy breezes, temperature in the 70's, no mosquitoes to carry us off, and spectacular fireworks display over the lake.

Finding the car afterwards was interesting--I thought we had parked in the furthest field from the entrance to the gardens, and it was dark in the parking lots, except for our flashlight, car headlights, and some spots up on stands. So we walked way down to the furthest end, hitting our remote buttons, no response from any car around. Then we walked way back up to the entrance, and found a traffic director, who asked us when we had arrived. Thankfully he directed us to the right lot, and this time when we hit the alarm button, it went off! What was really funny was that you could hear the same thing happening all over the lot, others doing what we were doing. And as we reached the final turn out of the lot, another senior couple was also wandering back toward the entrance. He was saying to her, "well, if we just wait until they all leave, we should find our car!" I think we considered that a few times too. Senior moments on the Fourth(Fifth)!