Bonfire

Last night we had a bonfire here with two other families. Though cloudy and we couldn't see the stars, the weather was otherwise perfect - the rain held off and the temperature relatively mild for the end of October. We sat around the fire eating and catching up with each other. The kids were running around playing hide and seek in the dark while my brother-in-law suggested that the adults play the memory game of "We're Going On A Bear Hunt." What fun we had!

We did almost all the food over the campfire:

* Hamburgers in a grill basket
* Hot dogs on metal sticks
* Mountain pies - pizza and 4 different kinds of fruit filling
* S'mores
* Peanuts in the shell, chips, a pan of fudge brownies
* Cold drinks, cocoa & hot cider in my percalator

An added bonus: my sister gave me a jar of autumn trail mix that she mixed up - pumpkin seeds, dried cranberries & almonds. Salty & good -

Pumpkin Butterscotch Muffins

The vote after breakfast was unanimous that I should make these again:

Pumpkin Butterscotch Muffins

1 3/4 C. flour
1/2 C. brown sugar
1/4 C. white sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1/2 C. melted butter
1 C. canned pumpkin
1 C. butterscotch chips

In a medium bowl, stir together flour, sugars, spices, soda, powder and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, butter and pumpkin. Stir into dry mixture. Fold in chips. Pour into muffin tins (makes about 18). Bake at 350 for 17-20 minutes.

Apple Butter

With some coaching and encouragement over the phone from my sister-in-law, I made apple butter all by myself for the first time yesterday! It came out very well and made the house smell delicious for the 7 hours it cooked. Sixteen beautiful, chocolate-colored pints are still sitting on my counter - ready for gifts and to be enjoyed on homemade bread and pancakes . . .

Darkness & Light in the Valley

The flu blew through our house at the end of last week and into this one. My turn for the couch was Sunday. The worst symptom of the day was the intense headache which disabled one from comfortably lying on the couch, watching an old movie and enjoying the fact that one is sick enough that one's husband is doing the dishes.

I really HATE being sick - it feels so unproductive, so useless, so dark. It was a beautiful autumn day, but it still felt dark inside. The next morning I was feeling much better and continued my study of Psalm 23. I had some fresh insights into verse 4: "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and staff, they comfort me." I don't mean to imply that I was dying! I was thinking more about the valley. Our cabin sits in a valley between two mountains. We joke about how long it takes for the sunshine to be "piped in" in the mornings. As I thought about that dark, valley feeling of being sick, it dawned on me that the darkness does last longer in the valleys than it does on the plains. And yet, once the sun finally reaches the valley, it is not as taken for granted as it is in on the plains. The light is received with far more joy. It is not overlooked as commonplace but hoped for, anticipated. Though I HATE being sick, I am thankful that whenever I come out of a dreadful period of illness, how thankful I am for the light that shines on my spirit after a dark place.

My flesh says that I would only ever want to live on the plains with the sun continually on my face. But I know that there are things that I learn from the valleys that are balm for my spirit, too.

Applesauce Day

Applesauce Day is an annual holiday around here which occurs every October. Yesterday, along with my sister-in-law and two of her children, we celebrated the holiday by canning 60+ quarts of applesauce. We used 6 bushels of a variety of apples - Golden Delicious, Honey Crisp, Stayman, Rome and Winesap. The kids ate scads of the hot sauce - ladeling it into bowls out of the big bucket that we cranked it into before jarring it. Applesauce-making keeps the house hot but our tummies (and hearts) warm with the taste and memories we create.

The Art of Soapmaking

Today I spent a lovely day learning the art of soapmaking. A sweet, new friend generously invited me to her home to share her 10 years' worth of experience in soapmaking. We made oatmeal honey soap from start to finish. It was fascinating and fulfilling to go through all the steps and then put the "baby to bed" - a phrase my friend used referring to putting the big mold of soap in a warm place to dry for a day before being cut into 30 luxuriant, creamy bars. Not only did Terry teach me how to make soap, but fed me homemade Quiche Lorraine with blueberry muffins and hot tea for lunch. And besides all that, she sent me home with two soap-making books, odds and ends of essential oils, ingredients to make my own batch of soap, and animal cookie cutters for Eli to cut the soap into shapes. Terry's generosity encourages and humbles my heart . . .

Gathering the Harvest

The combine came yesterday afternoon to harvest the corn. The boys have been looking for it for weeks now and were so concerned that it would show up while we were in the mountains and they'd miss it. But, no worries. Now they're all out tramping through the harvested rows in their boots gathering stray cobs to sell back to their daddy. Yet another treasured autumn tradition . . .

Building His Home

"I think that many of us, when Christ has enabled us to overcome one or two sins that were an obvious nuisance, are inclined to feel (though we do not put it into words) that we are now good enough. He has done all we wanted him to do, and we should be obliged if He would now leave us alone . . .

But the question is not what we intended ourselves to be, but what He intended us to be when He made us . . .

Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on: you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of - throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself."

-- Excerpts from "Mere Chrisitianity" by C. S. Lewis

Chocolate Picnic Cake

We were invited to supper tonight at the home of another family from church. I'm to take dessert, so I'll be putting this in the oven this afternoon. Chocolate Picnic Cake is simple to make yet delicious. We like it just a smidgen warm from the oven so that the chips are a little "melty."

Chocolate Picnic Cake
18 1/2 oz. chocolate cake mix
1 tabl. flour
12 oz. pkg. chocolate chips
Whipped cream

Mix cake according to package directions; stir in flour and pour into a greased 13x9" baking pan. Sprinkle with chocolate chips; bake according to package directions. Let cool in pan and cut in squares. Add a large dollop of whipped cream. Serve and enjoy!

Enjoying October

October.

We went to hunt for chestnuts
One fine October day,
And in the windy country
We wandered far away.

We built a fire of brush-wood
Beneath the sheltering hill,
Among the rustling corn-shocks
The wind was never still.

We played that we were gypsies,
Who never sleep in beds,
But lie beside their fires
With stars above their heads.

But when the air grew frosty,
Beneath the chestnut tree
We filled our bags and baskets,
And hastened home to tea.

-- K. Pyle

Sweetness Comes to Visit

On Deck for a Rainy Weekend

Gingerbread Muffins

This recipe comes from a Betty Crocker Christmas cookbook borrowed from the little library that's down the road from our mountain cabin. We had the muffins for breakfast yesterday and they made the house smell SO good. They taste like you're eating a bit of autumn - delicious.

Gingerbread Muffins

1/4 C. brown sugar
1/2 C. molasses
1/3 C. milk
1/3 C. oil
1 egg
2 C. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Heat oven to 400. Beat the 1st five ingredients in a large bowl with spoon. Stir in remaining ingredients and mix. Pour into muffin tins and bake for 18-20 minutes. Makes approx. 18.

Home Again

We spent a week+ in the mountains - our first time of doing so in the fall. We've only ever stayed a weekend before in October, but we loved it so much I think it might become a tradition! The leaves were marvelous, weather cool enough for the woodstove, and the valley full of fun autumn activities. We took a 30+ mile train ride, had a huge Rummikub tournament, watched a pile of Perry Mason DVDs, attended two fall festivals and an apple butter festival, and went on a bear hunt three nights in a row (in the van, of course, with success).

Blogging Break

I'll be away from my computer until after Columbus Day - see you soon!