A IS FOR APPLE

Well...it all started with a sale....47 cents a pound to be exact. I bagged up over 30 pounds amidst the stares of the regular shoppers, danced through the check out, and skipped all the way to my van.

I knew I could make apple sauce with some of them...but what about the other 25 pounds? Time for a few experiments...

First up, apple butter. Oh and here's the kicker....I've never eaten apple butter. Didn't even know what it should look like, but it sure sounded good, and I could bust out the water bath canner and practice with it as well. I found a great and very easy recipe from One Acre Homestead.

Crockpot Apple Butter

Put 3 quarts of apples, sliced thin in a crock pot and cook overnight on high. Next morning add 2 tsp cinnamon, 3 cups of sugar and 1/2 tsp cloves. Cook all day on low. Tastes like old fashioned apple butter cooked in a copper kettle.

Sounds great, eh? Off to the kitchen I go....first problem...how many apples in a quart? Back to the computer. Apparently there are 4 large or 8 medium apples to a quart. Problem solved.

I cut up 25 Gala apples, which filled my crock pot to the gills, turned her up on high at 2:30 pm and six hours later....added the sugar and cinnamon (no cloves for me thanks) and set it on low for the night.

By 7:30 am, it was looking dark, thick and rich and smelled like heaven. I firmly believe that heaven smells like cinnamon...know what I'm saying? Mmmmmm

Re-read my canning instructions for apple products and dove right in.

I turned out 8 - 1 cup jars of this super delicious treat!

I will definitely do up another couple batches of this...it disappears fast!

Next up....dehydrated apple rings.

HALLLAND ACADEMY

Well that has a nice ring to it, don't you think?! Actually, the original name we came up with was: Hallland Academy - School for Young Ladies Doing Everything in Their Power to Drive Their Mother to Drink. But we opted for the shortened version. lol
Okay, so let's see if I can make this long story, short.

Before we ever met our first baby, we knew we'd homeschool. It just felt right to us. Ry came along and was the perfect student. She was one smart little cookie and eager to learn. This was gonna be great!!! Sometime right before she turned 3, her bahaviour changed. She would have these wild fits and was doing harm to herself. She was still smart as a whip, but this "change" in her was upsetting for all of us. At 4, she was officially diagnosed with Moderate Autism. Wham! Well that changes everything!! Right?! And this is where I should have stayed the course, but I gave her up to the system because well....we're talking about people who know all about Autism, right? They've dealt with this hundreds of times, right? They have all those fancy letters behind their name, right? They assured me that if I would send her to "regular school", she would do much better. She would get the chance to see what other kids do and would follow along. They assured me that they knew what they were talking about. They assured me that they were prepared for her. They assured me that she would be safe.

Okay, so I sent her off to Senior Kindergarten and during the year, she totally forgot everything we had worked on. She got into trouble....a lot!! She had "zero" desire to learn anything. The meeting I had with all the bigwigs at her school at the end of the year was an eye-opener. They essentially told me that she was a smart girl and would pick things up along the way...but their focus was socializing her. Unbelievable! Oh but here's the kicker...I sent her back for Grade 1. Oh I know...no mother-of-the-year award for that move!

So Grade 1 started off pretty well...first week whipped by and everyone was happy! Whew, maybe this wasn't such a bad idea afterall....
The next two weeks didn't go so well. One morning while I waited for her in the school yard, before class started, I watched a group of older girls poke fun at her...egging her on to act silly. 3 days later, one of the kids made fun of her Chinese eyes. She was getting into massive trouble every...single...day and I was summoned to the school 3 times to come and get her. The third time I was called, they had to physically restrain her. ENOUGH!!!!

So I did a mad scramble to find some appropriate curriculum to use, sent our letter of intent to homeschool to the Board, and on October 5 2009, with Big Daddy's full support, we officially opened our homeschool.

In just 2 weeks, she's made huge strides!! She's happier, more relaxed and eager to learn once again. I am so very proud of her!

NO FAIL POTATOES

With my one year of gardening experience, I've come up with this no-fail method. I'm serious...if you want to grow the tastiest taters then you must follow my instructions...to the letter! Okay, ready?

First, you start with a plot of land that hasn't grown anything but weeds and small trees for 90 years.

It's important that you plant during full bug season....wearing the latest in gardening couture.

Have it snow as soon as everything is in the ground.

Now don't skip this step....don't, whatever you do, finish putting up the fence. You need the local bears, deer and moose to tromp all over your freshly planted garden. Very important!


Check on your garden at least 3 times over the growing season.

Complain about the bloody weeds and small trees invading the garden.

Swear you'll NEVER attempt to garden again.

Don't fertilize.

Water it twice. This is crucial.

Wait 3 1/2 months.

And voila....dig up 35 pounds of the little beggars....all the while dreaming about next year's crop.

Proclaim to your husband, that you are the greatest farmer ever!!!

Add some olive oil, kosher salt and garlic - bake at 400 for 30 minutes.

Serve with a side of peameal bacon. Yes, the taters are the main component to the meal when they smell and taste this good!!!!!!!!


If you follow my method...you too can be a farmer! hahahaha

DARK RYE BREAD

Our brand new Bulk Foods store opened on the weekend...oh me oh my! I was like a kid in a candy store...well I guess I really was! In my glory as I walked all the freshly scrubbed aisles. Barrels of chocolate, nuts and grains....ohhh where do I start?! Focus...time to check the list....I was on a mission...ingredients for dark rye bread.

This was a fabulously easy recipe and we will definitely give it another go.

In a very big bowl add:
3 cups of flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 pkg yeast
1 Tbsp caraway seeds
1 Tbsp salt

In a medium sized pot, warm the following:

1/3 cup molasses

2 Tbsp butter

1 Tbsp sugar

2 Tbsp oil

2 cups water

Add the warmed mixture to the dry ingredients.

Beat on low for 2 minutes.

Beat on high for 3 minutes.

Add 3 1/2 cups of rye flour by hand.

Knead, shape into loaf, cover and let it rest for 20 minutes.

Punch down.

Divide and shape into 2 round loaves.

Place on greased sheet.

Brush with oil.

Slash the tops.

Cover and let rise for an hour.

Bake at 400 for 25 - 30 minutes.

For a first try - it was great! I'm sure we'll get to tweaking it over time, but it was still deliciously hearty with a big bowl of soup!

So let me slice you some while we dream about our next adventure to the Bulk Foods Store! Pass the butter....

FLU PREPS

Honestly, I don't know if we should be concerned/worried/paranoid about the whole swine flu deal. There was only 1 reported case in our area. But if it was mild, maybe lots of others had it and didn't recognize or report it?! You know?? But now it has mutated and we're coming into the regular flu season...tons of kids heading back to school along with our big girl...

So we made a family plan.

First and foremost....if there's even one whiff of it, our big girl will be pulled from school faster than you can say this little piggy went to market! All extra curricular activities - terminated!

Secondly, I put together one of these and stashed it front and center in the panic, I mean, pantry room:

So here's what I've stashed in there:

Aspirin

Vitamin C

Vapourizer

Tooth brushes

Rags

Bucket

N95 masks

Vicks

Werthers candies

Vicks Inhaler

Halls cough candies

Sucrets

Liquid soap

Benylin all-in-one

Little noses saline spray

Decongestant nasal spray

Children's tylenol cough and cold

Children's liquid tylenol

Disposable gloves

Hot lemon drink

Kleenex

Lysol spray

Lysol wipes

Paper towels

Face cloths

Thermometer

Garbage bags

Old pillow cases (8)

Baby monitor

Copies of our health cards, immunizations records

Phone number for Telehealth

We stocked enough soups, jello, frozen juices, frozen berries and even frozen bananas (for smoothies) to last for weeks. We even stocked some new pillows so I can throw ours out after a bout with this flu.

I guess my fear is that I'll get violently ill and won't be mobile for awhile. Having everything bought and in one spot ensures that Big Daddy won't be running around trying to find stuff that we need or have to go out with 2 kids at some weird hour of the night to get medicine or supplies.

See, I'm not so weird afterall...

Guess I better not tell you about our "quarantine plan" then...hehehehe

WELL, SHOOT!

As promised, Big Daddy and Uncle Bill set up a little shooting area down by the garden so I could practice with my 12 Gauge. Waaaay too much fun! lol

The fellas talking it over:

Big Daddy in action:

Yeah, that's right - holding my ears! The noise from a shotgun blast just rattles your body!:


Weapons down please:

Checking the target:

After a few rounds, they had me load 2 shells in and fire - I guess I didn't have it back to the right position when I took that second shot....oh yeah, that left a mark on my arm! LMAO It was really heavy too.

Reach for the sky - you dirty horse thief! lol:

Now let's try the rifle - much easier with a scope. The kick made me take 2 steps backward.:

Anyone can hit a target, but it takes a real pro to hit the post holding the target hehehe! The fellas hit 2 each, closest to the bullseye. I hit the bottom ring and see that white flowery weed. I put the stem through the post as my marker:

I'm pretty sure you could slot gun people into 4 categories. There's Cautious, Comfortable, Cocky, and Crazy.

I'm definitely in the Cautious category....we are very particular to do everything on the checklist. The whole time we are holding a gun, we are thinking, "holy crap I'm holding a gun!" lol The hair on the back of our necks is standing up and we're very aware of the power and danger that's in our hands.

Big Daddy and Uncle Bill are in the Comfortable category....they grew up around guns. They still understand that it's dangerous but they aren't bristled by it.

The Cocky gun owner is the one that doesn't give a crap about what category other gun people are in, while in their presence. They are a little reckless. I've met a few hunters in our area that fit this category. They don't seem to have a healthy fear of what's in their hands.

Then there's Crazy. I can't even imagine the mindset it would take to shoot someone on purpose!!! But that bear that's terrorizing my gas cans better watch his step! lol

RANDOM SHOTS FROM THE WEEKEND

Baby ducks heading to the water with their mommy:


Is this a poppy?:

The bees were lovin' this:

Choke cherries aren't quite ready:

Storm rolling in:

Big Daddy pruning one of the apple trees:

Look at these handsome fellas out for a walk:

He'd go great with my taters eh?: