I do this every year, go out and take pictures of autumn leaves & then post them here. Enjoy our Midwest Fall Rainbow!
Maggie
Showing posts with label autumn. Show all posts
Showing posts with label autumn. Show all posts
Saturday, October 15, 2011
A little fall colour...
I do this every year, go out and take pictures of autumn leaves & then post them here. Enjoy our Midwest Fall Rainbow!
Maggie
Monday, October 18, 2010
Day 4- Forgiving someone else
Today's topic in the 30 days of truth is "something you have to forgive someone for." Well, I can't really think of anything. Other than issues with my ex about my son, and that doesn't call for forgiveness but either bullets or lawyers, I don't really go around harboring a lot of ill will toward others. I just don't feel like I need to forgive anyone for anything. I don't feel angry at anyone or like I have grudges or regrets, other than Day three's mention.
Guess this one wasn't very hard. Sort of lame. Sorry to disappoint. Maybe I should change it up a little bit. For example:
Maggie
And by the way...
This has nothing to do with forgiveness but it's just a lovely view on our school campus.
Guess this one wasn't very hard. Sort of lame. Sorry to disappoint. Maybe I should change it up a little bit. For example:
- I could forgive ITSam for sending text messages with misspelled words and grammar errors to an English teacher. Here's an example: "I know you busy this next few weeks. I hope everything go well and your safe." While Daddy-O always says "you can't fix stupid" but I guess that means I could forgive it.
- I could forgive Robin from Wal-Mart for... well, she would obviously fail a lesson about fruit.
- I could forgive the gods and goddess for not making life like a movie and not offering up a soundtrack. (this is one of my favorite posts....)
Maggie
And by the way...
This has nothing to do with forgiveness but it's just a lovely view on our school campus.
Friday, September 24, 2010
Love for fall festivals
I love festivals but this year I haven't gone to many, because the weather has been so bloody hot this summer. I can't stand to be out in it.
Many moons ago, when I lived in Northern Civilization, there was a park that hosted HUGE festivals each weekend all summer long, some of them drawing hundreds of thousands of people. I loved going to the German Festival and the BBQ festival the most. Not only was there always great music but fabulous food and drinking. I always went with friends and we had a grand time. I didn't go to either of these festivals this summer because of the heat wave. Or so I tell myself. I sometimes thing I didn't go because it would never have been as much as as when I went in the years past. A sort of "can't go home" type of feeling.
All that aside, however, I am super excited about 2 upcoming events!!!! There is a weekend when there is a war reenactment and the other is a chili cook off festival. I went to both of these last year and it was so much fun and I've been looking forward to doing it again this year!!!!
Last year Curley, Daddy-O, XRay Girl and I all went to breakfast and then to a gigantic craft show, featuring local artists and not so local artists work. It was awesome. Then Daddy-O went home and us girls went to the chili cook off festival contest. It was a glorious day. the sort of perfect autumn day we all dream about. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and the sun was high, but it was still cool and crisp. there was a lovely breeze. We all wore long sleeves and jackets but it was perfect. We tasted a million types of chili until we were about sick. We ate kettle korn cooked over a fire and had some beers. It was a great time.
I'm hoping that the same crew is ready to do it again this year. daddy-O thought me might be home from Texas in time. If not, I still hope the girls will go out with me. I feel the need to have some 'traditions' and this feels like a great place to start. It was such a good time, with great friends and family- with friends who are part of my family, I feel, that I'm so excited to do it again! Curley, mark your calendar!!!
And nope, I don't mind omitting ITSam from this plan. First, he has jack that weekend and I am NOT spending the day at a chili cook off with a kid who hates chili. And Sam knows I love my girlfriend time so we have a good understanding.
The other festival I'm looking forward to is the war reenactment. This is the second largest reenactment in the Midwest and the crowd is about a quarter of a million strong over the weekend. In addition to all the war stuff, it's just living history. These reenactors are some serious people and things are super authentic, all the way down to no zippers or buttons on clothing. I love to walk around and see what the artisans are making and eating all the food, which is prepped over campfires and sold my non-for-profits who are also in costume and stay with the time period, very early 1800s. I cold eat my way from one end to the other, with the giant turkey legs, the fry bread, turkey noodle soup, ears of corn on the cob roasted in the husks over a fire, pork loin sandwiches cooked in the grillsmoke, and sweet and salty kettle corn that comes out of a huge black cauldron. I love the crafts and talking with the reenactors about what and why they do what they do.
Back in the day I even worked for a not for profit and worked at this same festival and have my own authentic outfit. I always say I'm going to go as reenactor and do quilting but i didn't get myself registered to go this year.
But I'm excited to go this year. The weather is usually good. And I have a pair of muck boots I wear so I don't mind trampling about out there in what could be muddy walking. Last year Curley and I went. I don't know if she'll go with me this year because Mac wants to go with me. And ITSam and wants to take Jack so it might turn into a family bonding type of experience. Who knows? Maybe I'll go twice!
However it works out, I'm excited about this and can't wait for those two weekends to arrive!
Mags
Many moons ago, when I lived in Northern Civilization, there was a park that hosted HUGE festivals each weekend all summer long, some of them drawing hundreds of thousands of people. I loved going to the German Festival and the BBQ festival the most. Not only was there always great music but fabulous food and drinking. I always went with friends and we had a grand time. I didn't go to either of these festivals this summer because of the heat wave. Or so I tell myself. I sometimes thing I didn't go because it would never have been as much as as when I went in the years past. A sort of "can't go home" type of feeling.
All that aside, however, I am super excited about 2 upcoming events!!!! There is a weekend when there is a war reenactment and the other is a chili cook off festival. I went to both of these last year and it was so much fun and I've been looking forward to doing it again this year!!!!
Last year Curley, Daddy-O, XRay Girl and I all went to breakfast and then to a gigantic craft show, featuring local artists and not so local artists work. It was awesome. Then Daddy-O went home and us girls went to the chili cook off festival contest. It was a glorious day. the sort of perfect autumn day we all dream about. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and the sun was high, but it was still cool and crisp. there was a lovely breeze. We all wore long sleeves and jackets but it was perfect. We tasted a million types of chili until we were about sick. We ate kettle korn cooked over a fire and had some beers. It was a great time.
I'm hoping that the same crew is ready to do it again this year. daddy-O thought me might be home from Texas in time. If not, I still hope the girls will go out with me. I feel the need to have some 'traditions' and this feels like a great place to start. It was such a good time, with great friends and family- with friends who are part of my family, I feel, that I'm so excited to do it again! Curley, mark your calendar!!!
And nope, I don't mind omitting ITSam from this plan. First, he has jack that weekend and I am NOT spending the day at a chili cook off with a kid who hates chili. And Sam knows I love my girlfriend time so we have a good understanding.
The other festival I'm looking forward to is the war reenactment. This is the second largest reenactment in the Midwest and the crowd is about a quarter of a million strong over the weekend. In addition to all the war stuff, it's just living history. These reenactors are some serious people and things are super authentic, all the way down to no zippers or buttons on clothing. I love to walk around and see what the artisans are making and eating all the food, which is prepped over campfires and sold my non-for-profits who are also in costume and stay with the time period, very early 1800s. I cold eat my way from one end to the other, with the giant turkey legs, the fry bread, turkey noodle soup, ears of corn on the cob roasted in the husks over a fire, pork loin sandwiches cooked in the grillsmoke, and sweet and salty kettle corn that comes out of a huge black cauldron. I love the crafts and talking with the reenactors about what and why they do what they do.
Back in the day I even worked for a not for profit and worked at this same festival and have my own authentic outfit. I always say I'm going to go as reenactor and do quilting but i didn't get myself registered to go this year.
But I'm excited to go this year. The weather is usually good. And I have a pair of muck boots I wear so I don't mind trampling about out there in what could be muddy walking. Last year Curley and I went. I don't know if she'll go with me this year because Mac wants to go with me. And ITSam and wants to take Jack so it might turn into a family bonding type of experience. Who knows? Maybe I'll go twice!
However it works out, I'm excited about this and can't wait for those two weekends to arrive!
Mags
Friday, October 2, 2009
Trip to the orchard- a very fall thing to do
I love to go to the apple orchard. Each autumn the one closest to me has an open house every weekend in Sept. and October. They always have different types of musical entertainment as well as cider making demonstrations, wagon rides, a variety of apples to sample, a corn maze, tours, and "u pick it" pumpkin patch.
When I lived in the Wild West I always missed my fall trips to the orchard. We never seemed to have anything like that at all- probably because where I lived skipped the season of fall entirely and went straight from summer to snow blizzards. Anyway...
Now that I've moved back to Civilization, I was pretty excited to go again. And it was a nice time. And just as I remembered it.
One thing I especially like is that every type of apple is available to taste. A visitor can get a knife and cut a slice off a "sample" apple. Each variety is labeled as to the flavor and use for that particular type of apple, as you can see from the picture on the left. You can read the card and if it sounds like it's worth a taste, you can cut a slice off of the apple in the plastic container. We bought a good cooking apple, that's also sweet enough to be a good eating apple called a Spartan. I'm going to make dumplings to freeze and put up some applesauce out of those.
The day I was there an amateur brass band was playing, which was nice. A guy was making cider the old fashioned way and letting people have a taste. Oh, one thing had been updated: the wagon rides. They used to be on a big old hay wagon pulled by a horse. Now, it's a low, flatbed trailer lined with bench seats and pulled by a John Deere tractor. There's also no corn maze this year; the field is a bean field this time.
I also like that there is more for sale than just bags of apples or pumpkins. There are also homemade cider, caramel apples, and apple butter- all made at the orchard from their fruits. Baked goods like pumpkin or apple pies, dumplings, and cobblers can be found as well a fresh honey made from the bees at their orchard as well.
Something else the orchard is offering this year is a little arts and crafts area. Local vendors can set up tents to sell their wares, but it's cannot be flea market junk, but craft type of things. Also a local high school has a little tent set up at the edge of the parking area where they make and sell apple fritters for a quarter. They make them in a kettle over a fire pit- very awesome.
It was a fun day and I hope to go back again in two weeks when the leaves have a chance to turn colors a little more. I'm also going to go for a wagon ride this time and maybe brave the pumpkin patch (I didn't last time because I was wearing flip-flops. Flip-flops are not pumpkin patch appropriate footwear- take my word for it.)
It's nice to have an autumn and find fall activities that I've missed! This is just one of many! This weekend I get to attend a REENACTMENT as a guest, not a participant this time! (Can we say "history nerd"?) I'm also going to a chili cook off festival and an arts/ crafts hobby show, all over the next few weeks. And I've been taking pictures so if you're interested in seeing some of the autumn whereabouts, check out my photo blog!
Enjoying the season change,
Maggie
When I lived in the Wild West I always missed my fall trips to the orchard. We never seemed to have anything like that at all- probably because where I lived skipped the season of fall entirely and went straight from summer to snow blizzards. Anyway...
Now that I've moved back to Civilization, I was pretty excited to go again. And it was a nice time. And just as I remembered it.
One thing I especially like is that every type of apple is available to taste. A visitor can get a knife and cut a slice off a "sample" apple. Each variety is labeled as to the flavor and use for that particular type of apple, as you can see from the picture on the left. You can read the card and if it sounds like it's worth a taste, you can cut a slice off of the apple in the plastic container. We bought a good cooking apple, that's also sweet enough to be a good eating apple called a Spartan. I'm going to make dumplings to freeze and put up some applesauce out of those. The day I was there an amateur brass band was playing, which was nice. A guy was making cider the old fashioned way and letting people have a taste. Oh, one thing had been updated: the wagon rides. They used to be on a big old hay wagon pulled by a horse. Now, it's a low, flatbed trailer lined with bench seats and pulled by a John Deere tractor. There's also no corn maze this year; the field is a bean field this time.
I also like that there is more for sale than just bags of apples or pumpkins. There are also homemade cider, caramel apples, and apple butter- all made at the orchard from their fruits. Baked goods like pumpkin or apple pies, dumplings, and cobblers can be found as well a fresh honey made from the bees at their orchard as well.
Something else the orchard is offering this year is a little arts and crafts area. Local vendors can set up tents to sell their wares, but it's cannot be flea market junk, but craft type of things. Also a local high school has a little tent set up at the edge of the parking area where they make and sell apple fritters for a quarter. They make them in a kettle over a fire pit- very awesome.
It was a fun day and I hope to go back again in two weeks when the leaves have a chance to turn colors a little more. I'm also going to go for a wagon ride this time and maybe brave the pumpkin patch (I didn't last time because I was wearing flip-flops. Flip-flops are not pumpkin patch appropriate footwear- take my word for it.)
It's nice to have an autumn and find fall activities that I've missed! This is just one of many! This weekend I get to attend a REENACTMENT as a guest, not a participant this time! (Can we say "history nerd"?) I'm also going to a chili cook off festival and an arts/ crafts hobby show, all over the next few weeks. And I've been taking pictures so if you're interested in seeing some of the autumn whereabouts, check out my photo blog!
Enjoying the season change,
Maggie
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)