Sometimes I draft a post and just don't get around to posting it. This is one from James, Lance and Michelle had a thrilling time while spending several days canoeing in Boundary Waters Canoe Area the last part of June and July. The first three days the weather was wonderful but then a terrible storm hit and they had trouble getting back to their car. They even swamped the canoe once during the trip. They had told Lance not to tell grandpa, so what does Lance do, he walks up to grandpa and says, "We swamped the canoe!"  Why do we tell them not to say something, knowing that they will be sure and say it!

Here we are one-third into the month of August, hoping for warm or hot weather to dry out our wet fields, we had ANOTHER 2.25 inches of rain the last part of last week plus hail! I couldn't stand the grass on Saturday so mowed the front yard on Saturday, driving through water puddles, with water splashing all over. Today is finish up day.

Today is a recheck with my physical therapist, Ross. I can't say I have been the best at exercising this past month. Too much company. Brian arrived on July 2nd, the next day we headed to Hoyt Lakes and spent the weekend at my brother's. Was a fun weekend, visited high school friends, Toots and Barb, went to the parades in both Biwabik and Aurora, which were both not as good as I had hoped. Michelle arrived July 15 and was gone the next Wednesday; definitely not here long enough. We had a wonderful time together. It is the first time the two of them have been here since our fiftieth anniversary in 2012.

Brian spent much of his time here working with his Makeover Workshop business. One can also visit his Facebook page. He was busy with classes in various areas of Minnesota, including some training for the students at the cosmology school in Park Rapids. We did have time for some fun in Roseau during the fair and while Michelle was here.

Quilting

About May 20, 2016
I love to quilt and over about twenty-five years have worked on several quilts. The first quilt I made was, without instructions to speak of, was a log cabin quilt for my mother which I made while she was in the Sheltering Oaks Care Center in Roseau. It was definitely not what I would do today but I felt good about it at that point in my life and my mother loved it. Thank you, mom!
After Ardmore a pinwheel patterned quilt which he picked out. I used the 2014 Minnesota Shop Hop fabric. Very enjoyable but challenging. I use the Missouri Star Quilt Company tutorials to gain a greater understanding of how to make pinwheels easier. Their website is the go-to-website for learning to quilt, even though there are many wonderful quilt learning sites on the computer, this is definitely my favorite site. They also have a Deal of the Day, where a person can purchase fabric quilting tools, strips, charms or cakes, about half off. About 3/4 of my quilting items have come from their website. They also have a YouTube site with their quilting tutorials.

I am very careful when I am quilting as it is so easy to make an error that will cause the quilt to meet at corner points. Here is one of the squares for his quilt with the instructions attached.

I was told that homemade quilts were just that, homemade and would never be perfect. Well, my points prove that this is definitely NOT going to be perfect!

I just finished Skyping with our grandson Lance in Hong Kong. He is such a cute four-year-old. We had the honor of having him stay with us for several days while James went to Yosemite to go hiking (our favorite place to visit). Ardmore and I had a great time, playing games, T-ball included, eating out, going swimming with friends.

Breakfast in a Bowl

We love oatmeal for breakfast, so there is always a large pot made about every two or three days. I doctor it up so there are lots of flavors from the first taste to the last. Yesterday, I made it with a new twist, added some unsweetened apple sauce. This morning, the flavors had married more than usual and it was yummy! Then I decided it was time to share my secret recipe.

In a 2 quart Pyrex measuring cup, add 2 cups of hot water and 2 cups of almond or soy milk or 1 cup of each. To this add 3/4 cup raisins or 1/2 cup raisins and 1/2 cup chopped dates  1 tablespoon of grounded flax, 2 tablespoons of ground brown rice, 2 tablespoons of ground almonds, 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon, 1 teaspoon nutmeg, 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla,  and 1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce. Salt is not really necessary as there is so much wonderful flavored already. Stir and add 2 cups of old fashioned oats and mix well.

Microwave for 9 minutes, stirring a couple of times. You may cook on the stove until desired thickness, stirring often so it doesn't stick to bottom of pan. If it is not thick enough for you, be patient, it will set up as it cools.

Serve with almond or soy milk and brown sugar if desired.

We like this year round, but now with the autumn leaves starting to tumble from the trees and there's a chilly nip to the air, it seems to taste even better.

If you add something different in any way, I would be interested in trying it, so please share in a comment.

Fall's arrival

This is a year we will all remember. Cold, bitter windy winter; late, late wet spring; cool early summer and beautiful August, which changed to a challenging September with frost from the eleventh to the fourteenth. We are definitely wanting warmer weather, it is only 54 out right now and it is only 54 right now.  Half our 230 acres of soybeans had a killing frost. We are trying to be hopeful that they made it as they were starting to turn.  Most people have their wheat off or nearly off. Some farms still have rye grass laying and too wet to take off. We need sun and heat!

I have been busy harvesting the garden. We had twelve potato plants. I know that isn't much but it is plenty for us. We ended up with about a hundred pounds which I am sure pleased with having. Two five gallon pails are also full of butternut squash and we have about half a pail of onions. The tomatoes are as slow as the year is at getting ripe. We did cover them during the night so didn't lose any to Mr. Frost. I would have been very cranky if that would have happened.

Last night I chopped up one of the delicious large tomatoes, quarter of an onion, and a half of a green pepper, added cilantro and added some Jalapeno pepper to it. it was so good with humus, kale, and sour cream on a pita!



Think of the best thing that happened to you today, meditate about it, and put it in your memory bank. Have a great day!
Charleen

Apple Crisp and Large Quanity Apple Pie Mix

Our apple tree is loaded with apples this year. Last year when James was home during the spring (20013) and pruned the tree. He was very disappointed to hear it didn't have many apples on it. Well, that was definitely not the case this year! This is what it looks like this year!

On Thursday, my hubby picked about 3/4 of a 2 1/2 gallon pail of apples. Now these apples are quite small, like crab apples. We have had a dry summer and I only fertilized the tree, did not water it. He loves apple crisp and asked if I would make some. Friday I washed them but did not core or peel them, just sliced them in the food processor. We could not tell the difference in whether the seeds and peeling were in the apple crisp or not, it was delicious!

 So here is the recipe. You can use the apples of your choice, only rely on the sugar according to the sweetness of your apple. The first crisp you make will tell you if it is sweet or sour!

 

Apple Crisp

 

6 Granny Smith or Gala apples

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/2 cup sugar according to your apples

Pinch salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Topping:

1 1/4  cups all purpose flour

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup chopped pecans or pecans

1 cup old fashioned oatmeal

1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg 

1  stick unsalted butter

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F and grease a 9/13 inch pan.

2. Peel, core and cut the apples into chunks. Place the apples in a bowl and add the lemon juice, sugar, salt, ground cinnamon and ground nutmeg and set aside.

3. For the topping: Combine the flour, sugar, brown sugar, oatmeal and butter in a bowl. Mix well until well combined.

4. Pour the apple mixture in the baking dish. Sprinkle the topping evenly over the apples.

5. Bake until the topping is crisp and golden brown and the apple filling bubbles slowly, about 50 minutes. Serve warm. Great with vanilla ice cream or cheddar cheese.

 

Now if  if you have lots of apples, use the following recipe. It makes many batches of apple pie mix. 

 

Apple Pie/Crisp Mix

4 ½ cups sugar

10 cups water

1 cup corn starch

3 Tbsp lemon juice (Real works)

2 tsp cinnamon, adjust according to how much you like

2 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp salt

Mix together and cook until thick and then cool

2 gallons of apples, peeled and sliced, do not cook the apples. If you use small apples

 just remove the seeds, or don't, slice in a food processor.

Combine the apples and mixture and fill large peanut butter jars or yogurt/cream cheese two cup containers. Use two yogurt/cottage cheese containers for a  9/13 pan or a pie, the next size down makes an 8/8 pan. Be sure to make sure you use the amount of mixture necessary for the apples.

Freeze and thaw as needed.

This is a wonderful recipe!

Bon Appetite!

Another day on the farm without rain, just clouds. After an inch an a quarter on Sunday we are waiting for the sun to break through and remind us that spring is going to arrive soon.

It is sort of a lazy day. I did some indexing of birth records and when I finished it, I closed it then reopened it to find that number one was not the same, what that is all about is confusing. I decided to totally close it and am waiting to see how it opens, I have finished this record so am anxious to see if the order is right.

How many of you purchase the packages of baby kale and spinach? I find that if I don't use or within a couple of days I have to unload the whole bag and separate the spoilt lol leaves from the good ones. It takes much more time to make a salad this way. We eat quite a bit of curly kale. I like it steamed the best with a raspberry vinegar drizzled on top. Sometimes I will use it as a base for a warm cold salad, adding apples, tomatoes, cucumber, zucchini, and sometime a little grated Parmesan sprinkled on top, with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. The nutrition in kale is unbelievable. Kale is loaded with vitamin A and C, along with other vitamins and minerals. This evening I made a spinach and baby kale salad for Ardmore for summer, dressing it with sliced green onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, and apples. We had some left over chicken I had made for him so he added that too. I love a good salad.

James, Ashley and Lance Bjorn have spent the last two days together in LA before she comes to spend some time with us. It will be the first time she has been here without James so I hope we all adjust to each other. She will have to pretend she is at home! She will have the bedroom downstairs, which should give her some privacy. It will be quite an adjustment but she will have lots more room.

Name three of favorite your summer plans.

Thought for the day.
"A man should look for what is, not for what he thinks it should be." Albert Einstein