Last Harvest

Harvested what I suspect is the last of our viable tomatoes today. We might lose whatever else remains on the plant as the nights get colder. The previous batch was dried in the oven (our version of sundried tomatoes) to keep through the winter. This batch will probably end up the same way.

We are now dressed for fall. How odd, considering that the shorts and sundresses from the last load of laundry are still in the baskets waiting to be folded. Although this is more likely the result of slack housekeeping than the quick change of seasons.

Today we were out in the yard raking the early fallen leaves. At least, Emily and Jenna were doing the raking while I picked tomatoes. Working in the brisk air under clear blue skies suddenly reminded me of why I love autumn - the anticipation (but not the actual experience of) winter, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and prepping the house and ourselves for the Big Freeze. Also a slowing down after the breakneck pace of summer, and therefore an improvement in our meals - hearty homemade soups, bread, casseroles, roasts, and lots and lots of baking. Mmmmmmmm.

Last week I was still in denial that summer was over.
Today, though, autumn is looking very good.

Apple Orchard Episode II Sans Photos

Too lazy to do the photos thing tonight.

It was sunny today and the honeycrisps were ripe for picking so we returned to the orchard to pick them. Five minutes after we arrived, the sky turned dark and a cold wind blew (like horror movie). Ah, we said, fall has arrived.

We picked our honeycrisps, hopped on the tractor and rode back to the main building. Bought snacks. Ate. End of story.

Tonight, it is rainy and cold and windy and tomorrow it will be in the 50s, but will feel probably like the 40s with the windchill. Winter, in other words. Fall came and went, all 5 hours of it.

If you look at the sidebar, I finally changed the "weather" photo to something late-summerish. Ha ha ha ha ha! Of course the weather would immediately become winter the minute I clicked the "save" button.

More Isms

Emily, upon seeing this picture pop up in our random slideshow on the computer:
"I saw a picture of your wedding! These ladies were walking in front of Dad and he picked Mom!"


Jenna has recently been making interesting observations of the interaction between adults and children. Here are some of her comments:

"I saw a park bench at the park for mans and ladies to sit and watch their children."

"When grownups spank children, it hurts."

"When grownups cut food into small pieces for their children, it tastes good."

Apple Orchard Field Trip

Today Emily's class went to the apple orchard. I and some other parents went as chaperones. Dave worked from home to watch Jenna and Kate. Emily and I had been very much looking forward to this field trip, not the least because we were going together, and riding in the schoolbus and everything. Everyone in Minnesota had been very much looking forward to some rain for their lawns because it has been an unusually dry September. Sadly, both happened today.

So there we were in the pouring rain, me with my camera in a ziploc bag and two umbrellas. Two! So auntie*. No tractor rides for the kids. No actual sighting of an apple tree. No actual picking.

Instead we got to tour the processing building and watch the apples being washed and sorted according to size. Then the kids were given little bags and ushered into a giant fridge to pick (meaning choose, not pluck) apples from crates to fill their bags. Emily chose some regular-sized apples, and a tiny one (about an inch and a half in diameter) for Kate.

The rain stopped briefly so we spent some time outside watching apples being pressed into cider.



The kids played in the maze (very common on farms here), ate their apples, tasted cider, and posed for pictures.

Here's the tractor we didn't ride on:

Such a funny day. And even in the rain, the kids had a blast. So much to learn on field trips. The bus ride is always the best part, made even better with old and new friends (their class is three weeks old). Emily proudly presented her tiny apple to Kate when she got home and shared the rest of the harvest with us for lunch.

This is the orchard at which we usually pick apples as a family so as soon as the Honeycrisps are ripe, we'll go again, hopefully on a sunnier day.



*auntie: middle-aged housewife. Other distinguishing features of The Auntie (aka The Ah-Soh) include numerous plastic bags containing market purchases, a fat wallet clutched in one hand with a hanky for dabbing pespiration, gold jewelry and animal-print tights. Not to be confused with The Ah-Mm, who is the more elderly version, and is often in a sleeveless sam-foo with said handkerchief partially tucked into her armhole.

Happy 5th Birthday, Emily Part I

Pictures of Emily's 5th birthday party - the Hello Kitty one
she had with her friends the Saturday before the actual day.

We drew on the driveway to greet guests and direct them
to the deck. Emily's is the only birthday (of the three girls,
I mean) that isn't in the snowy/frigid months so we
made it as outdoorsy as we could.

The pre-party preparation: the cookies she helped bake.

The living room Grandma Karen and Grandpa Arne helped
decorate while she was in bed the night before. Yes, we still
have the fancy scallopy curtains that came with the house.

The food and tableware.

The pinata she made with me, which
Jenna helped to fill (or unfill).

That Britta water dispenser that we've used for every party -
we just change the vinyl clings for different themes.
Emily and Jenna made this one Hello-Kitty-ish.

The annual photo of Emily-with-her-cake

like we took last year

and the year before.

Here's an outside shot

Decided this year that an entire Hello Kitty cake would
just about do me in, so I did cupcakes with the
white chocolate HK heads.


We set up a craft table on the deck to welcome the party
guests. Any excuse to do crafts is good.

Especially if the craft involves some kind of sewing (for
me, anyway). Each guest picked a little dress and decorated
it. Very out-of-context, but the actual HK dolls
were playing hide-and-seek later.

Lunch was pizza and crudites and grapes.

Then they played games.

First was our only indoor activity -
sticking HK's bow on her face.

We adjourned to the backyard for musical
chairs on cardboard circles,

then whacked the pinata to death.

Everyone, meet Karin - she's the lovely person in black
and red. She, her unsuspecting (but very obliging)
husband, Grandma Karen and Grandpa Arne helped Dave
and me run the show that morning. Couldn't have done it
without all their help - 10 preschool children (including
Jenna), one toddler and a multitude of Hello Kitties: we
were sorely outnumbered. Thank you, Karin and Ken!

While the pinata-bashing was going on, Grandma Karen hid
the Hello Kitties all over the backyard. The kids were sent
out to find them and claim their one each, for the
little dress they decorated earlier.

And in between the games, there was a lot of happy
playing on the swingsets- ours and the neighbors'.
I think the kids liked this part most of all.

Gift-opening on the grass.


and then some goodbye hugs
before retiring to enjoy her presents.

More photos and writeup here.

Happy 5th Birthday, Emily Part II

The festivities continued the next day with the family.
Remembered in time that Emily needed another cake to
do the candle-blowing thing again. So made this lopsided
princess castle cake. Inspired by Betty Crocker, as usual.
I must be her/its biggest fan.

Auntie Laura, don't look too close. You might peng-san*,
the frosting is so badly done.

Emily enjoying some of her presents.
More photos of the lopsided cake
(plus more longwindedness) here.

*faint (in some Chinese dialect I am profoundly poor in - Hokkien, is it?)

More Trickery

So Kate is reveling in her clothing-optional lifestyle. She is also not napping much.
Today the two met at about 2 o'clock.

After being put down for her nap, Kate fussed and complained for a while and then became quiet.
"Ah.... she's finally nodded off", I rejoiced, and the two older girls and I snuggled on the sofa to read books.

After a while, we heard Kate calling out again, so I went to check on her.

She was standing in her crib hopefully, with not a stitch on.

"Where are your clothes?" I asked rhetorically.
"There!" she said, pointing proudly.

Being trapped in her crib made it a little easier to dress her this time. In a onesie, to prevent further silliness on her part. Then back to nap. A bit more complaining and then, finding no further means of distraction (or audience), she fell asleep.

Note to self: must stock up on more onesies.