{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual inspired by Amanda, aka Soule Mama. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

~~~~~

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In gratitude this week for:

• a woodshed full of firewood all neatly stacked
• fresh baked oatmeal wheat bread
• Christmas sweaters and quilts progressing
• the antics of an adorable 3 year old

Wishing you all a glorious weekend!

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual inspired by Amanda, aka Soule Mama. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

~~~~~

~~~~~

In gratitude this week for:

• firewood deliveries
• birthday celebrations
• lighting the wood stove when it gets chilly
• the first week of homeschool co-op under our belt

Wishing you all a glorious weekend!

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual inspired by Amanda, aka Soule Mama. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

~~~~~

~~~~~

In gratitude this week for:

• family foolishness and giggles
• the beautiful autumn colors, God is the master painter
• lighting the wood stove when it gets chilly

Wishing you all a glorious weekend!

Apple Days

Autumn just wouldn't be autumn without a trip or two to the apple orchard. We headed to Hatch's Orchard with a bunch of our homeschool buddies for a day of picking, learning, and picnicking.

The trees were loaded with apples! And when I say apples I mean APPLES! Not only were there tone on each and every tree but they were big, beautiful, juicy, sweet apples. Hannah could have stood in this one spot and easily picked her basket full.

Rebekah was thrilled that she could reach the apples this year. She was so serious about her picking. Looking for just the apples she wanted. And then she was so careful to pick is just the way Mrs. Hatch had taught her too. Did you know you need to be careful not to break off next year's blossom? Yes it is already there and if you break it off no apple next year.

My girls have never been good a posing for pictures. But that's okay I think they look great. After the apple picking we headed up the mountain behind the orchard for a picnic. We've done this before, but I am always still amazed by the view.

And then there was the crowning of the Apple Queens and Apple Kings. These were the children who got BINGO first during the apple class Mrs. Hatch gave.
Then it was home to eat and cook all those yummy apple treats we love. First up was an apple crisp. My husband is still in search for the perfect apple crisp recipe. He and Hannah made this one and it came close. I think it needed to be in a shallower pan with more crisp topping. But that is just my two cents. Do you have a crisp recipe you love? We'd love if you'd share it.

Of course there was applesauce, apple pie filling, dried apples, and the most delicious dessert creation made by Sarah. We have named them apple pastry rounds. Simply put Sarah took a peeled and cored apple and cut it into 1 1/2 inch slices. She then placed the apple slice on a round of pie dough. Next she filled the center with brown sugar and cinnamon or maple sugar. Wrapped the dough around the apple slice leaving a little hole in the top for a vent. As a finishing touch she sprinkled the top with cinnamon sugar or maple sugar and popped them in the oven. They were so good I couldn't even get a picture. They were gone that fast. They were the perfect size! I know she will be making them again and I will be sure to have my camera ready.

Here are just a few of our goodies. I love putting up food for winter. It is comforting to know that we will be able to enjoy our harvest all winter long.

4H at the Fair

Thursday we headed to the Fryeburg Fair. Our first stop had to be the 4H building. Why? Because Hannah had entered items in the fair for the first time. And boy was she excited to see if she had earned any ribbons.

Here she is in front of her sewing club's display case. The group made the banner together. Hannah helped with all the lettering. I think it came out great.

Her pillow received a blue ribbon. As you can guess she was very excited. And the excitement just grew as she realized that she was honored with four blue ribbons and one red ribbon. She was on cloud nine.

One of the best parts, was she was able to share it with her grandparents. We had to head back to the 4H building a couple of time just to double check the ribbon count.

And the fun didn't stop. When we got home she was thrilled to find she and her friend James were in the paper. A cute picture of them setting up the display!

Next up in 4H sewing: pajama pants.

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual inspired by Amanda, aka Soule Mama. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

~~~~~

~~~~~

In gratitude this week for:

• a day at the fair with family
• lovely smells from the kitchen
• the gentle rhythm of school

Wishing you all a glorious weekend!

Menu Plan ~ Week of October 4th

Oh so good to be back in this space. So wonderfully freeing to get back on track and have a plan for the week even if it is only to give us the freedom to deviate from it. For the past couple of months my menu plans have been sketchy at best and it has shone in the way we have eaten as well as in the budget. Here's to the grace to start over.

Monday

Breakfast: Poached Eggs on Oatmeal Wheat Toast

Lunch: Sloppy Lentils and Carrot Sticks

Dinner: Pork Chops, Fried Potatoes, Squash and Apple Bake

Tuesday

Breakfast: Oatmeal Bar

Lunch: Roasted Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese

Dinner: Spaghetti with Sausage, Salad and Bread

Wednesday

Breakfast: Yogurt w/ Granolla or Cold Cereal

Lunch:

Dinner: Meatloaf, Egg Noodles w/ Gravy, Stewed Tomatoes

Thursday

Breakfast: Carmel Apple Muffins

Lunch: At the FAIR!

Dinner: Fair or leftovers

Friday

Breakfast: Green Smoothies with Oatmeal Wheat Toast

Lunch: Mac and Cheese, Peas

Dinner: Roast Turkey, Mashed Potatoes, Corn, 90 Minute Rolls

Saturday

Breakfast: Waffles and Bacon

Lunch: Tuna Wraps and Peaches

Dinner: Pizza

Sunday

Breakfast: Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Lunch: Left Overs

Dinner: Turkey Divan

It's Here

I was so excited to find the latest issue of the Plain and Joyful Living newsletter in the mailbox the other day. I finally had a chance to sit down with a cup of coffee and enjoy every article (even one written by your truly) and letter included. What a joyful few minutes. This issue is packed full of inspiration, stories and ideas. There is even a squash recipe I put on the menu for this week. Tonya does such a lovely job. There is something so heartwarming about receiving a handwritten newsletter. It feels as if it was written just for you. I wont share too many of the details but I urge you to consider a subscription of your own.

Let's Make a Quilt

I'm so excited to being joining Rachel over at Stiched in Color for her quilt along. I haven't made a quilt only made one quilt in my life and it was a long time ago. I've done a lot of sewing since then, but quilts still intimidate me. So when Rachel decided to host a quilt along inspired by her Colorblock quilt I jumped at the chance to join in the fun. And there is still time for you to join as well. So far Rachel has talked about choosing and preparing your fabrics. Next week we start cutting. I have to admit I'm a little nervous.

Picking fabric is always fun, but something I'm not great at. I just don't have that eye for color that some of you do, but I did fall in love with Moda's Prayer Flag. Blessed as an early birthday present I now have 36 gorgeous fat quarters in blues, greens, reds and yellows - enough to make THREE colorblock quilts. My problem? I'm not sure how to group the fabrics. This is where I fail. I just don't see how they go together. So I am asking for your help.

So here are my fabrics all laid out in what could be three quilts. But I'm just not sure. I divided the fabrics evenly by color and print and so I will have three very similar looking quilts. Rachel suggested grouping colors together for a blue and yellow quilt, a quilt that's green-blue and red or one using mostly red. Oh the decisions! So what would you do? I'd love to hear how you would group them together.

Off to iron all these plus the backing and sashing fabric.

Oh and if you are interested in some fabric for yourself, there is a lovely giveaway for hand dyed fabric at The Handmaden.

UPDATE: After ironing I played with the fabrics a bit and came up with two possibilities. The fist one using the blues and reds is my favorite . . . I think.

And then there is the green, blue and yellow.

Funny thing is what is left over is not gong to make a third quilt. So now what?!

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual inspired by Amanda, aka Soule Mama. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

~~~~~

~~~~~

In gratitude this week for:

• a healthy family
• beautiful fall days
• the gentle rhythm of school
• returning to this space
• the second and third of four Christmas sweaters almost finished

Wishing you all a glorious weekend!