Apples, Apples, Apples!

Sunday was a fun day; I had an apple canning party.  Most of you have seen my Facebook Posts so you know we made 2 kinds of apple sauce, apple butter, and apple pie filling and pie crust for the freezer.  All from the apples we gleaned from an orchard in Greenbluff.

The best part of the day was building friendships. Catching up with each others lives. Working together and teaching each other a lot of things.  Kris shared how she bought a gallon of milk, chocolate milk, 6 deodorant sticks for Mike, 3 boxes of cheerios and a lot of other stuff at Rite Aid for 98 cents!!!What an awesome wife and mother she is. Denise gives us info on places to shop, ideas for crafts. She is a beautiful woman with a tender heart for teen moms.  Sarah shows off her apple peeling skills, her gracious spirit and the heart of a praying mother for her sick daughter.

These are reminders of what life should be about.  Caring, loving, sharing and praying with and for each other. Woman working with each other and learning from one another.

Life is short and generations of wisdom are dying. It is up to my generation to pass on what we have learned from our parents and grandparents. Activities like whittling, canning,  gardening, woodworking, board games,  skip rope and hopscotch. It won't be long before baking and cooking from scratch will be a thing of the past.  Fast food and frozen dinners may become the way of future generations.

"If you have knowledge, let others light their candles at it." Thomas Fuller

My first time making pasta.... Pumpkin Ravioli

Bob and I have been wanting to meet more of the people in the church so I thought we would invite 3 couples for dinner.   I often fix the same standard food, but this time I thought I would be more creative.  Since it is Harvest Season, I picked a pumpkin theme.  I got a few recipes from friends and added this and changed that.  Here is the menu I am planning.... so far, subject to change.

Pumpkin dip with fruit and vanilla wafers for starters.
Green Salad
2 different stuffed pumpkins. (one with chicken and stuffing and one with vegi's)
The main coarse will be pumpkin ravioli with creamy garlic sauce.  I know that sounds strange, but it will be delicious.  
I didn't want to push to much pumpkin so I will make Apple pie rather than pumpkin, besides it is too close to Thanksgiving and pumpkin pie will be on everyone's table. I wanted to make pumpkin ice cream, but that won't go very well with apple pie.. so I have opted for vanilla ice cream.  I think I will borrow my sisters ice cream machine and make the ice cream myself.

After I planned my menu, I started thinking... where will I get the pumpkin ravioli?  Heck why not make it... So this is the first time in 62 years that I have made pasta.  If I would have know how easy it was I would have done it a long time ago.

Several of my friends have asked for the recipe.  I thought I would add some photos just for fun. If you are one of those who wanted the recipe go to  https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ygyJFWBuBJgIxSam8s_kuCJ-M_KGpXC9sNsHNZxkooA/edit?hl=en# . 

I will let you know how the dinner goes.... Have a wonderful week.

The calendar is turned to a new month.  This is the time of year for settling in and enjoying family and soup and friends, a warm fire, blankets and good books. I enjoy company and board games, cards and good conversation.  Kris and I will be having an Applesauce Canning Party and some dinner parties with friends.

Talk has already started about going shopping on Black Friday and the Grand children are hinting as to what they want "Santa" to bring them.  

However, before thoughts turn to Christmas we have another holiday to celebrate ~Thanksgiving~  next to Easter this is my favorite holiday. Being thankful and serving others is very important to me. 

Don't misunderstand, I really love the food that we feast on, and I am a bit of a traditionalist. I like to fix my turkey like my mother did.  My stuffing is the basic kind.  Nothing gourmet, nothing fancy, just good food like I ate when I was a little girl.

This year we will be celebrating Thanksgiving twice.  Since there is so much extended family, it makes it difficult for the kids to be everywhere, get naps in, and eat and eat and eat. Therefore Thursday, the 25th, my sister and her family will be here.  Hopefully, Elsie, an elderly friend that I take care of (She is like a mother to me) will be up to joining us.  We have friends who will be here from out of town who may join us also. 

Friday, we will give thanks with the boys and their families.  We usually watch the grand children so the parents can go shopping.  Then, hopefully, everyone will take a nap, (after getting up before the sun rises to go shopping).  That evening we will feast and maybe play the Wii so we can get some exercise.  Being together is is all that really matters to me.

Chris Rice Go Light Your World