Books and Apple Pie

I think I`ve mentioned a few times that our family loves to read. All of us.
A day doesn`t go by when at least one or 2 of us has to be brought back to reality from another world.


I have read to the kids for as long as I can remember...I think even when they were newborns!
 (Probably more for my sanity than their enjoyment:)


Over the years I`ve collected a few favorites. They`re books that we have read over and over...the kind that got requested every night for weeks in a row and no one ever seemed to mind that it had been the same one night after night.
These are the books that I`ll keep....and hopefully one day read to my grand kids:)


One of my...(I mean our)...favorites:

A little girl goes out to shop for the things she needs to bake a pie, but upon arriving at the Market finds that the store owner has:

She then decides to travel around the world....collecting all the necessary ingredients to make and bake her Apple Pie.
Cinnamon from Sri Lanka,
apples from Vermont,
even a cow from England to make the butter!


At the end is the Apple Pie Recipe- which we seem to use every time we have apples sitting around, 

or Grandma`s apple tree needs to be picked....

I never tire of this book.....and the illustrations are perfect!

****

Other books we love and I highly recommend .....

(these would be for younger ages)

Emily`s House by Niko Scharer & Joanne Fitzgerald

Blueberries For Sal by Robert McCloskey

The Best Nest by P.D. Eastman

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

(and a couple that are for those a bit older):

Uncommon Traveler (Mary Kingsley in Africa) by Don Brown

&

Paddle to the Sea by Holling Clancy Holling

There are so many more on my `Love These Books` list,

but for another rainy day.....(yes...it rained again today:)

****

Happy reading ....whatever literary treasure you happen to find and love!

For Every Thing....

...there is a season.

I have to admit that this past week has been a hard one for me.
There have been many things which has made it so, but a huge factor would have to be the weather.
(Am I the only one he gets ``down`` when it`s continually miserable.....)

We had a very heavy frost a few mornings which left everything looking like this:

My 8 foot sunflowers all wilted up and fell over.
The colors seem gone from everywhere.
The garden nothing but a soggy, droopy mess.

I KNOW one should not base happiness on surroundings, but I so wanted at least my Sunflowers to take me into the fall, waving their big yellow, lazy heads at me from the garden.

I have been feeling like this,

devoid of color, smiles, anything bright.

Could we only get a good day of warm sun, blue sky, fluffy clouds (if any)....just for ONE day a week....
nope.

A thought hit me as I sadly looked out at the garden I have yet to harvest....if there is anything to harvest at all.....
To everything there is a Season.
A time to sow...and a time to reap.
A time for bad weather, (and as though it feels it will never come again)....a time for good weather.

Seasons come and go. There is a time for everything under the sun.
Seasons aren`t supposed to stay.

For a few minutes last week somewhere in between the frosty gray mornings- and windy, pelting rain evening.....we were able to capture color.

A ``season`` of color.

 Not quite sure how long a season will last...but I guess you grab the moment of one as it passes by.

Wishing you a Happy Week ahead, regardless of what season you may be in.

There is a time for everything.

Everything.

Fall Freedom

Watching this made my heart smile today.

I needed a bit of fall freedom from the adult world.

Hoping your weekend is bringing you a smile here and there....

Just Thinking....

``Never let a problem to be solved become more important than the person to be loved.``

-Barbara Johnson

Do one thing every day that scares you

-Eleanor Roosevelt

``The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience,but where he stands in times of challenge and controversy.``
-Martin Luther King Jr.

``Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and 

realize they were the big things.``

-Robert Brault

``A good book should leave you...slightly exhausted at the end. 

You live several lives while reading it.``

-William Styron

``Become so wrapped up in something that you forget to be afraid.``

-Lady Bird Johnson

``What you need to know about the past is that no matter what has happened, it has all worked together to bring you to this very moment.``

Admit It

My son came down the other morning with a black eye. Well....bruised....but still black nonetheless.
When I asked him what happened...he stated his younger brother had hit him.
The younger brother jumped in and tried to save his hyney by saying that, ``Ì warned him! I told him not to bug me again or he`d get it!`....
(I never said my kids were perfect...I lead a very average life with average kids.)

They weren`t mad at each other, in fact my one son seemed proud of his bruise.
But what got me was that the black eye was given...and no responsibility was taken for it.
It was given....and it was the ``not my fault cause he deserved it`` ..... kind of attitude that got me.

Day before that.....
I had my van in a local mechanic shop to get fixed.
While it was there...one of the mechanics lost my remote starter.
The company replaced it...but not for free. $60 later I had a new one.
When we asked why we were made to pay for the lost starter which they had lost....they claimed it wasn`t really their fault.
``Besides``....the manager said, ``How do I know you aren`t lying....I have no proof that we actually lost it``....
Hmmmm......that dosen`t make sense to me.
Maybe I`m just slow...... but it seems to me someone should have once again, stepped up and taken responsibility for their actions.

Fast forward 2 days after THAT incident.
To a mother who had an absolute meltdown in front of her kids.
Blamed the rotten day on how they were acting and what they weren`t doing and what they shouldn't BE doing.
Really...how do you expect a mother to act when her kids aren`t performing how she thinks they should.....

ummmm...wrong.

What happened to good ol`responsibility.
What happened to admitting that I AM WRONG.
What happened to being accountable for how I act.
I cannot control others.
I only can control how I respond to them.

So....yep, Boy number 4 should have apologized to Boy number 3 for the punch, regardless. He still hit him.

Yep....the mechanic shop should have reimbursed me for the lost starter and they never should have charged me for it. They could have least given me a refund for what I had to Pay THEM.....but, how do you fight a generational business. Guess we just don`t go back.

And that mom.....she needs to admit that...
ONE: she WAS having a lousy day.
But TWO: she alone was in control and responsible for how she acted in each situation.
The meltdown needs to be apologized for....regardless of what led up to that meltdown.

Admit it...we can`t always be perfect.
Taking responsibility for actions....
guess that`s what I`m off to do now.

Apology for meltdown being delivered as soon as I finish typing up this post.....
:)

Super Giveaway...

This must be the day for awards and giveaways....

Garden of Daisies

is having a giveaway today...and it`s ``on`` until September 19th.

Be sure to take a peek at her wonderful blog.....

Happy Day to you all......:)

Blog Award

I have just been awarded my first Blog Award

from A Red Heel State of Mind!

Thank you SassyShoe Diary !!!

And now...I get to pass it on to 10 of you out there.

It`s hard for me to choose just 10, because I so enjoy reading all your blogs

....so....

drawing 10 from my big old hat...the winners are:

Join My Joy

this free bird

life is beautiful

Femininity Revisited

Bluebird Notes

OUR LITTLE LOVE NEST

Running To Eat

Design Delights

The Re-Fluffed Nest

The Patchwork Heart

Now that you know you`re a winner...here`s what to do:

1.Sum up your blogging philosophy, motivation, and experience using five words...

(mine would have to be....

Learning to Dance in Rain:)

2.Pass this on to 10 other bloggers -who`s blog you love to read!

Simple.

Happy Day to all of the blogs out there I enjoy reading and learning from....

and to all the ones yet I have to find!

Weekend Shots

(coming over a hill just as the sun was rising....this was our view:)

This was one of the busiest weekends we've had in a long while.

Between Row Practices and a hometown Regatta, 

2 football games for 2 different boys in 2 different towns, 

a trip to the mountains to finish up this season of racing...

it seems I didn't even have a weekend. 

And now...another week begins.

It's late, and there are so many things to show and share...(was that called "Show and Tell" in Kindergarten?)....but for now, I'll post a few pictures of the views we encountered driving out to Canmore for my/our last race this season.

For how we seemed to run in all directions these past few days, 
it was like a deep breath and happy sigh to get to see all this today.

It truly makes me appreciate where we live! 

We get such a mix of the prairies, 

the mountains,

 lakes and rivers, 

cities and small towns and farming-

... beauty everywhere:)


Holding on to these images to get us all through another even crazier week.


Happy day to you all!
~~~

"My Favorite Thing To Make" recipe

Remember when I spent a rainy day doing THIS ?

Well...I have had several people  ask me for the recipe...."My Favorite Thing to Make" recipe.
So....seeing as I spent yesterday's gloomy day doing it again....I have the recipe now in hand to share:)

I use this basic Bread Recipe....but the problem is I never usually follow it. Over the years I have used this, I have adjusted it to how I want them to turn out, and how much I am going to need. I'll do my best to stick with the basics!

Bread Recipe (which I turn into Cinnamon Buns like above):

2/3 cup water (warm)
1 tsp. sugar
2 tbsp. heaping of dry yeast
~~~
{Put water into a HUGE bowl, stir in sugar, and sprinkle the yeast on top.
Let the yeast grow...I usually wait 5 to 10 minutes.}


When all the yeast has bubbled....add this to the bowl:


2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup melted butter
1 tbsp salt
2 cups warm milk


And gradually add (alternating between the 2)....


12 cups flour (I use half whole wheat)
5 cups warm water
(to make it SEEM a bit more "healthy"...I add about a cup or 2 of Flax Seeds, and then cut back a bit on the flour)


(I don't always use the exact amounts of water/flour. I just keep adding until the dough isn't sticky, but isn't stiff either. It's better to have it a bit more sticky....as your cinnamon buns will be more moist! 
Mix this all together- dough should be soft. Knead until everything seems good and mixed:)
NOTE....if dough is on the stickier side...do NOT add more flour. Use butter to stop it from sticking. Adding flour only ruins the chances of it rising properly.)


Let this dough rise in the HUGE bowl until doubled. 

Punch down, Knead, then divide into 2-3 sections and roll out in to triangles, sprinkle with brown sugar, cinnamon, and anything else you desire:) (I have used almonds, walnuts, raisins, even chocolate chips and maple syrup:)

Roll up length-wise.
Cut into slices.

Lay in a buttered pan...also layered with brown sugar, maple syrup, nuts.

Let rise again until almost double...
then bake at 350 until the tops sound hollow when you tap on them...or until they are light brown.


Icing......when buns are cooled

I have no measurements. (I am the worst cook/baker ever...I NEVER measure!)


Icing Sugar (about 2 cups)
Package of Cream Cheese- softened
Vanilla (1 tsp?)
Butter (1/2 cup?)


{They are just as good with out the icing, just flip them upside down out of the pan:)}

Ta-DA! 
(he he...if you can follow that you deserve something!)
A Rainy Day recipe I make almost every day it's gloomy:)


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Happy Weekend to you all.....Hopefully the sun is shining where you are.
But if it's not......"When your day gives you gloom, make Cinnamon Buns":)

Thoughts on today.....

Another gloomy day today....and I feel down. Don't know if it's because summer feels OVER for good, or if I miss the sun. Maybe I just need more sleep:)

Whatever the reason....it's a gray day.

So....I found this picture (Molly took) and realized- that even though things may seem gloomy,

 there just HAS to be a bright spot somewhere in it all:))

Looking for the color in today....

:)

~~~~~~~~~~~

{And just a bit more on the race.......}

Tri- Squad..
this team  was put together 2 days before the race:

Jodie the swimmer(my sister), Lynton the runner(bro-in-law), Mike the biker(my hubby)

The 3 of them decided...(after my begging:)) ...to participate in the Triathlon as a team.

They did amazing...and what makes it more so is that none of them even planned on doing this until the Friday before the Day!

They came in 2nd of all the Teams!!

Imagine what you guys will do next year;)

~~~~~~~~~~~~

And of course we can't forget to mention:

~Our CHEER SQUAD~

~~~~~~~~