10.31.2014

A happy Halloween to you!












This past week we went to a pumpkin carving contest. There sure we're some winners out there. Turns out Jess and I took away the "nice try, failed attempt" award. Can you guess which one is is ours?

10.27.2014

Leaf faces


Meet leaf characters: GG, Geirld, Ben, Clark, and Suzie.  Their respective ages can be seen on the bottom of each leaf.  

Ollie made these the other day. I love that imagination of his.

10.22.2014

Milk

While growing up, milk accompanied my breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  Our family drank a lot of milk.  My dad (who did most of the grocery shopping) would go to the grocery store and buy six gallons of the stuff, filling the top shelf of the refrigerator to capacity. It would take us a a bit more than a week to finish that off.  Did I mention I grew up in a large family?

We usually always had milk (see volume purchased on a regular basis above), but when we ran out, it was a food emergency.  We didn't have food emergencies much at our house.  There was always something to eat.  But if the milk ran out, what were we to do?  "Can you go to the store and buy more milk?" my mother would request a special trip be made.  My dad enjoyed his time in the evenings home from work and rarely interrupted that relaxation time with things to do (except fix cars, repair appliances, mow the lawn - see large family comment above), but he always hurried to the store when we were out of milk.  Hardly a second went by without the stuff.  And if I were hungry right before bedtime my mom would reply, "You can always have some milk."

I am who I am today partially due to milk.  And now my own little family drinks milk like no tomorrow.  Oliver and Ansel both down the stuff.  I drown my cereal in it.  Jess likes it too on cereal; and he eats a lot of cereal.  So whenever we run out of milk, we have a similar emergency.  But I don't like running to the store all that much, and I'm a bit more selfish, so I make my kids drink water with their breakfast.  Jess has toast.  I make frosting with water (not good), and if the kids are hungry before bed, it's water.  However, if more than a day goes by without the stuff it's rough.  So I get to the store and buy two gallons, which we will finish within a bit more than a week.

10.19.2014

Dino land

This weekend we ventured southeast to Vernal and Dinosaurland. The kids were in heaven (having cousins around helped). I was taken back to my childhood days of visiting these places. Jess remembers doing it too. It's crazy to think that this activity has come full circle. Me with my kids going to a place I so closely relate to as myself being a kid. How's that for eloquence?

There is amazement and wonder to seeing fossils lodged in the earth as opposed to put together and on display in a museum. Wow!


10.15.2014

What about instagram?

I've done it.  I have joined instagram.  It's not facebook, but it is instagram.  Some of my friends would say this is progress.  I would say that's probably true.

Here are the reasons why:
1) To keep in touch with people who want to keep in touch
2) To keep a photo journal and make a book of photos with captions
3) instagram is like unto the "picture a day" idea I undertook in 2000 and it plays towards my interests (May I just say that back in 2000 when I was taking a photo a day, people were kind of annoyed at times.  I would say that attitude toward picture taking has changed for the most part.  Interesting.)
4) the app DAYS is not really supported anymore, seeing as the creators are on to bigger and better things

And so it begins.  ASH.DORE is the name, instagram is about to be my game.  Yeah, that was pretty lame.  Wow.

10.06.2014

Homemade apple butter

Ever since I was a kid I've loved apple butter. While I think it's a ten, others in my little family rate it a seven or much below. But I can't get enough. I tried my hand at making my own this year. Six apples and two pears later, I had one jar full of the stuff. Very easy and so delicious.