Harvest Fest in Hood River

Ben and I took a day to visit Hood River on the Columbia River last weekend on got some great fall photos. Check it out at benandalli.blogspot.com...and did I mention the alpacas?

Chair from the Adirondacks

Saturday morning I got the long awaited call that my chair was being delivered. Paul and his wife Jackie are in our dinner club. He volunteered to make me this chair and I couldn't be happier. It comes with a steep price as I now must produce a German Chocolate cake for him. I was so pleased that he let me take this picture of him in my chair. He did a great job and our only decision now is whether to stain or oil it. I read in the back yard today while I enjoyed my first good sit. I can report that it sits well and the footrest is a welcome addition. It is also adjustable so that you can take a short snooze after you read. I have yet to try that feature. Come sit awhile with me. Bring your own chair (BYOC).


Mom tried it out and liked it very much.

Killer Apple Pie

Franny and I decided to try a new apple pie recipe from the latest Southern Living magazine. This pie had 4 1/2 pounds of apples in it so we took a picture of the monster before we baked it. It turned out fantastic and we were so busy eating it, we never got a picture of the finished product. The crust had cornmeal and apple cider in it. Yummy.

Bend It Like....Savannah

Another highlight from our trip was seeing Savannah play soccer. She started her time with her buddy at the center of the field but held her own throughout the game. You can see she's one of the smallest girls on either team but she held her own. And her fans (us) appreciated the frequent waves in our direction. At the end of the game, the parents formed the arch for the kids to run through. You can see Savannah just passing Sarah and Ray. And then there's the fans! The Blues Brothers have nothin' on us.

Julia's Quilt Show

Julia brought some of her quilts to show us when we were all gathered at Franny's the weekend of September 27th and 28th. The bottom one is a Sudoku quilt. For those who weren't there, you can see one of the family cookbooks open in front of Cindy in one of the pictures.

Henry Turns 70 !!

Henry Abraham recently turned 70!

His family surprised him when everyone got together, including his son's family from Washington. Then they surprised him with a party of over 50 friends and family! Here is the whole gang celebrating him on this birthday!

My Chair

Today I got a call from my chair maker, Paul Boelter. He is making me an Adirondack chair complete with footrest. He called me today to come over for a custom fit check. The chair was perfect and just completed this afternoon. I couldn't wait to take a picture and share it. I am not good about editing photos so you won't get to see Paul with the chair. I'll send that when it is delivered! Can you believe this, my own chair AND I it get it delivered!

Covered Bridges

Friday was my last day of vacation. John took the day off so we could spend the day together. We began our morning with a hearty breakfast at Top 'o Hill in Aurora. This is the place where all the farmers go for breakfast. I go for the marionberry syrup for my pancakes:>D After breakfast we headed to Albany to get a brochure about the Covered Bridges Tour. The NW is home to 51 covered bridges. There is a 46.4 mi. driving/bicycling tour out of Scio, The Covered Bridge Capital of the West, where we saw 4 of them. This was the 2nd bridge and it was different because it was built in 1966, was painted red and it was closed for construction.

They built covered bridges because open bridges wore out quickly (especially here with all the rain!). Hannah Bridge was built in 1939. The oldest bridge we saw was built in '36. The rest of the bridges are white and look just like Hannah Bridge. I have to say, it was not quite as exciting as I thought the tour would be. However, the company and fall colors were great!
This is us before we hiked under the bridge. It was steep and I was not real sure I wanted to go but John talked me into it. The river was beautiful and running at a moderate flow. We did a little exploring and decided it would be a great spot for swimming and sunning in summer. In fact, we spotted a plastic lawn chair and a ladder on the other side. Guess we weren't the first to think of it!

After the bridge tour we headed back up hwy. 226 and stopped to watch the pumpkins being harvested. As we drove past earlier it was just a sea of pumpkins. On the way back there were 5 harvesting machines in the field. We were intrigued by the whole thing. All of the vines had been previously harvested and these machines were simply grinding up and spitting out the pumpkins. We're not sure if they'll plow them under as compost or what the deal is. Any ideas from those of you who live in farm country? We ended our drive in Salem where Joanna's team was in a tournament. We got to see 2 matches. The team didn't play. Joanna just texted me that they won their 1st match this morning. The best they can do for the tourney is 5th pl. after yesterday's matches. Fortunately these tournaments don't count in league. They're in 3rd pl. in league right now.

The Fall Colors

I'm on vacation this week and am getting to enjoy being at home and spending time with friends. Yesterday I got to go walking with my dear friend, Julene. She walks a 3 mi. course every morning about 7 at Stonecreek Golf Course. Yesterday she waited until 10 for me so I could enjoy the walk and all the fall colors. I can't do the Fall colors justice in these pictures but I tried.

I don't know the name of the bush or berry but I like them a lot. There are about 4 bushes connected at the entrance to the golf course.

These are wild Bachelor Buttons (w/dandelions thrown in for effect) There are lots of these growing along the way. Julene said they're usually taller and fuller but had been recently mowed.
California Poppies in Oregon? Surprisingly, we have lots of them. I love seeing them every year as they remind me of growing up in Calif.

One of the views on our walk just before "Butt buster hill". I like the different shades of green/yellow and the awfully dark clouds in the background. No rain the whole way!
The red maples that are scattered throughout the parking lot of Stone Creek Golf Course, home of this 3 mi. trail.

Some Books to Share

Mom and Jeanie introduced me to Alexander McCall Smith's series The #1 Ladies' Detective Agency. I checked one out at the library a couple of yrs. ago but didn't get into it. It must not have been the right time. About a year later I found these five books at the Goodwill for $15. I began reading them and have thoroughly enjoyed them! As of this year there are several more books in the series. The stories are about Precious Ramotswe who lives in Botswana and begins her own detective agency. She encounters various mysteries to solve as well as some great characters. I'm pretty sure I read the books in my dear friend, Gillian's, South African accent. Part of the reason I enjoy the books is because of Gillian and being a teensy (and I mean teensy) bit familiar with some of the phrases. Fun reading! Thanks, Mom and Jeanie!!

Homemade Tootsie Rolls

This week I made tootsie rolls with my students. They came out very well and were pronounced to be "better than the ones at the store". Can't get a higher rating than that! I decided to make some for Chris since he and Amelia are stopping by later today. Make some yourself and enjoy!

HOMEMADE TOOTSIE ROLLS
Printed from COOKS.COM
1 square unsweetened chocolate1 tbsp. butter1/4 c. dark Karo syrup1/4 tsp. vanilla1 1/4 c. (or more) powdered sugar1/4 c. plus 2 tbsp. powdered milk
In glass bowl, microwave chocolate and butter until melted at 50 to 75% power. Stir in syrup and vanilla. Microwave at 100% power 1 minutes. Add dry milk and 1 cup sifted powdered sugar. Stir well. Knead on waxed paper until smooth, using sufficient powdered sugar to make pliable, easily-handled dough. Divide dough into tablespoon-sized balls, then roll into strips. Cut like tootsie rolls. Wrap individual in plastic wrap (I used waxed paper), if desired. Store covered in refrigerator. Mine never have made it to the fridge!