Fall is officially here. The kids reminded me of this. This past Saturday marked the 'first day of fall'. Are we ready? There's no choice really, but if I have it to say ... kinda?.?
I love all the seasons! The 'fall flavors' are my all time favorite! I will give it that! However, Fall and Spring are both the teasing seasons. Some days are really warm, almost like summer. Then other days are chilly and you need a sweater or jacket.
Repositioning my closet is a fun thing to do though. It's this time of year when I pull all my sweaters and vests and boots and scarfs from the shelves and put them on top of all the short sleeve clothing. Bundling up with layers is something I enjoy when the weather is cool.
Fall is also the time for our annual school auction. We spent the entire day there on Saturday. Breakfast, an all day country auction, kids activities and yummy foods! I sent Ashlyn with my mother-in-law after breakfast so I could actually SIT and enjoy the auction! :)
Hadassah and Matthew both got face painting done. They both spent some money at the candy stand. They both played with their wonderful school friends. It never fails though that when the auction is about over, they both come and tell me they are hungry! I grabbed some soft pretzels that I bought over auction!
Face Painting ...
Fall is "the best campfire weather" too! We gathered around Wayne and Linda's campfire Saturday night while we enjoyed her famous "tomato basil pizza"! The evening was fun, warming and always a good time when we spend time with friends! Thanks Wayne and Linda for having us over!!!
"Ladies Fall Bible Study" is something I look forwards to so much each year! This year we are doing another Beth Moore DVD Series called "James, Mercy Triumphs"! It's a study on the book of James. I was especially excited about this study because "James" is one of my favorite books in the Bible!
Food. Fall. Fabulous Fall Foods ... Every year I plant bell peppers in my small raised beds. They always produced just enough for fresh eating and a few pints of sweet pepper strips. I have no idea if it's just my dirt and plants ... but I have tons of peppers this year!!! I just picked a huge bowl full of green and red bell peppers. I also picked tons of hot jalapeno peppers! We also picked from the vine this morning our first ripe watermelon! Matthew wanted to plant a watermelon plant this summer and we were a tad late getting it started. So, now in Fall we can enjoy this fruit! Our first one weighs ... 40.2 lbs!!!!!! It's huge! Matthew couldn't ever carry it! He is so delighted and proud of his fruit! Come around! :)))
Fresh peppers ...
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I started this post yesterday, but because I was busy today with all my peppers, I may as well post this too! Today, I was at my mom-in-laws and we canned sweet pepper strips, hot pepper strips and mixed our pepper jam ingredients! Peppers ... lots of them!
We washed all the peppers and then cut them into strips. I cooked 6 Cups of water, 4 cups of sugar and 2 cups of vinegar to a boil. Poured the juice into my stuffed pint jars and cold packed them for 10 minutes.
This is the first year I did some like this! Hot Peppers with Bell Peppers. We sliced jalapeno peppers and discarded the seeds. Put hot peppers on the bottom of a pint jar, then put on top some sweet peppers, then more hot on top of that. Add 1 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. parsley flakes, 1 tsp. oregano and 2 garlic cloves on top of EACH jar. Mix 1/2 white vinegar with 1/2 water (we did 4 cups of each and mixed it together because that's the amount of jars we needed to fill. Just do as much as you need.). Fill your jars with the water mixture and top each with 1/8 cup olive oil. (These amounts are enough for just one pint jar!) Lid your jars and cold pack them for 10 minutes.
This are packed with lots of spices and they seem to be full of flavor. Have not yet tried them but I hope they are good!!! :)
We mixed a batch of pepper jam, but the recipe called for it to set for a few hours. Mom is going to finish that project later. Thanks mom!!!
With all the canning going on ... to top my busy schedule, I got a call last night saying that my concord grapes are ready to be picked up. I am so blessed to be able to get some this year. Mom and I were a bit late with ordering them and we are scrambling to find some. Because I can't do peppers and grape juice at the same time at two different places, my mom is tackling the juice alone. Sorry mom!!! Love you!
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Now for this long post ... Our baby is growing up!!! 18 Months ...
