THE PHOTO ABOVE...

The photo above I took while walking along the edge of one of our fields waiting for hubby to give me the next task. We are a farming family and since I am retired, I am now the Goddess of Miscellaneous. I am always more than happy to be outside in the fall and try to multi task with my camera at every opportunity.... Hope you are enjoying everything about your fall time.

CHRISTMAS CAME EARLY

So Christmas came early this year. I have had my son, engineer boy, computer extraordinaire, on the lookout for a laptop for a few months now. He called the other night and said "I found you one!!" Go to Newegg.com.
So quick as a whistle I moved on it because Internet deals don't stick around long.
Guaranteed delivery in 3 days for $10.00 WONDERFUL!!!!

And here she is!!

Acer Aspire AS1410-2801 Sapphire Blue Intel Celeron SU2300(1.2GHz) 11.6" 2GB Memory 160GB HDD Netbook

All shiny and pretty.... 11.6" screen, fits in my lap just wonderful.



Webcam and Windows 7


Full size keyboard....


And a mini mouse (NOT MINNIE MOUSE, but a mini mouse)
(shown here next to regular mouse)


I am just thrilled to pieces. Just in case I ever get stuck in the airport like last August, see post, I am prepared for a little entertainment + now I can take all you bloggy buddies with me wherever I go!!!

Oh this opens up a whole new world!!! Son is coming over this weekend to teach me how to drive this thing, do some tweaking, and get me on the straight and narrow path. I am sure I will have to promise him not to do certain things or push certain buttons, but I will try to be a good student and heed all warnings....

MISC... AND BOO'D

I have been gone for a few days,,,,, oh my.... what a difference a day can make....

What have I been doing???? really???? you are going to ask me that???????



Well, let's see....



1. been practicing to be a nurse....
taking care of u-i-l (uncle in love) 84, broken arm, broken ribs, dr. appts, needs
regular house help, food, care. Also a-i-l (aunt in love) has alzheimers, need I say more.


2. been practicing to be a domestic engineer......
Canned 15 pints of pears.



3. been practicing to be a crafter.....
Trying to get some stained glass projects started and done...Tis the season....
ya know, Christmas presents.


4. been practicing to be a chauffeur.....
elder appointments.


5. been practicing to be a counselor.......
see above #1 and #4.

I can do just about anything, kinda. What do "they" say...
"Jack of all trades, Master of none!"

I am glad that I have been able to "help" where ever necessary and that I have been blessed to be retired from my old 8-4 weekday job....

OHH, and I forgot somewhere sometime last week I was Boo'd by Cher, THE TEXAS WOMAN.
My instructions were to list 4 people that I follow and why I like to follow them.... so here it goes..

1. Pink Little Cake..... cuz I love cake and she is awesome at what she does...
2. Little Pen Pen.... cuz her blog is always light and cheery and she seems alot like me....
3. Sweet Repose.... cuz she is my sista-at-heart, she and I work for the same team...
4. Simply Iowa..... cuz she is genuine in all that she writes, she writes from her heart and love
her ambition. She does more in one day than I do in a week.


This BOO party was started by Toni at The Tattered Cottage.

Please keep the fun going by following these instructions.

1. You have 24 hours to work your spell.
2. Copy and post the Halloween Boo Poem with the instructions for playing.
3. Pick 4 blogs you enjoying visiting and tell why you enjoy visiting them, with a link to their blog and remember to link back to me
4. Go to the original BOO Party post at the Tattered Cottage and add your MckLinky.
5. Let's see how fast and far this spreads between now and Halloween.

(I WASN'T ABLE TO COMPLETE SOME OF THE ASSIGNMENT AND WILL UNDERSTAND IF YOU ARE UNABLE TO ALSO. JUST BE SURE TO LET OTHERS KNOW HOW MUCH YOU LOVE THEIR BLOGS.... ENCOURAGEMENT,,,,, WE ALL COULD USE SOME.....)

N S E W....

Usually these maple tree leaves are more orange/red color, but this year the color is YELLOW.

NORTH

SOUTH

EAST

WEST

When we moved here in 1978, we planted tons of trees over 10 years. 108 in our yard and across a fence line. We also planted 300 Burr Oak and Swamp White Oak trees through a conservation program. These trees were planted along the river where the land is untillable.

Give back to the land! IT IS SOOO IMPORTANT!!!

APPLE PIE FILLING

Every Fall around September/October, I beg apples off of friends (I don't have apple trees, but know several people that do) and make apple pie filling to use throughout the year. The recipe is absolutely delicious. It is better with tart apple as opposed to a sweet eating apple. I don't know what kind I get from who, I just know they are a little tart. This year everybody got some kinda something and all the apples have black spots on them, but the inside is just as good as ever.

I hate to say it, but this is a long process (actually I should say, it is a long process for me!)

First, I clean my apples and get everything out and set up.
A large bowl for sliced apples with lemon juice in the water and a discard bowl.

(Everything is messy because by the time I took the pics, I had already made one batch of filling.)


An apple peeler/corer sure makes the job go faster and I like the size of slices.



After I have all the apples sliced, I pour them in a huge heavy pot (a heavy pot will keep them from burning)
Then I mix together the sugar, flour and spices and pour on top of apples.

Add on top, the lemon juice and stir everything together, coating all the apples.

Cook the apples until the mix starts to thicken. I let this slowly come to a low boil, stirring so apples don't stick. Maybe 20 minutes start to finish. If the mix is too dry and the apples are not producing enough juice, I will add enough water to be able to stir them; maybe 2 cups.... not too much though.

After the apple filling is cooled, I bag it in seal-a-meal bags and seal them. I think this keeps it from getting ice crystals in it. I measure out 4-5 cups in each bag. That is what my pie recipe calls for. (Recipe to follow)

I have started using a scale thanks to BUTTER YUM... I love her blog and she did a post on why using a scale is good and so I splurged and got a scale..... Go to her blog, just don't go there hungry!!!

It took me from 10am - 7:30pm, I did 4 batches. I now have enough in the freezer for 10 apple pies and it is soooo much better than store bought!

YUMMMMM-O!!!

APPLE PIE FILLING RECIPE

6 lb. apples

1 1/2 C. sugar (maybe less, depends on how tart apples are)

1/2 C. flour

1 1/2 tes. cinnamon

1/4 tes. nutmeg

2 tes. lemon juice

Mix sugar, flour and spices. Set aside.

Peel and core apples.

Add mix to apples in a big pot.

Add lemon juice.

Let sit for 30 minutes. (I don't do this step, not enough time in a day to do this. I just add some water for the juice)

Cook until begin to thicken. Cool. Freeze.

I have heard of people canning this in a hot water bath.

I have given this recipe to several people and everyone seems to just rave about it.

Try it and let me know what you think!!!!

Happy Autumn!!!

IMPORTANT MESSAGE....

WATCH THIS YOUTUBE . Please allow yourself time to watch this. It is not long...

It is important, it is what I believe, it answers questions.....

it is powerful, it is humbling, it is important for you to know....

Please allow yourself to watch the WHOLE THING.....

I have never been one to shove the subject down throats, but it is important for you to know the message here....

I ask kindly.... listen to the words.... Please let me know what you think,,, please....

NOODLE RECIPE

A few people asked me to post the recipe that goes along with the post I did on making noodles.
I agree, it would be helpful in case anyone wants to try these.

Noodles

3 Cups flour, we just use a good all purpose flour
1 Tbl. oil
2-3 tesp. water (I put a drop of yellow food coloring in the water, optional)
1 Cup large eggs (this most always ends up being 4 eggs,
but if it is more than a cup, you will probably need to kneed some extra flour into the mix)
1/4 scant tesp. salt

Just one point, if the dough is too wet, it won't go through the pasta maker very easily.

Check out MAKING NOODLES for instructions.....
or email me any questions: lrick4444@yahoo.com

HAPPY NOODLE MAKING...........