Say What?

 

     It was an interesting weekend in south central Illinois (and many other places). On Saturday, we decided to escape the house and go shopping because we knew what was coming on Sunday. It was in the 50's Saturday, sunny and gorgeous, I didn't need a coat! It was still in the high 40's when we went to bed Saturday night.

 

     When we got up Sunday morning, we had a little less than 2 inches of snow, but the warnings kept getting worse. They kept talking about the snow along an interstate corridor and I can see that interstate from my house...so we knew we were in for something. What we didn't expect was Thunder Snow! The sky opened up around noon and the snow was coming down so fast, the visibility was next to nothing and we had large claps of thunder and big bolts of lightning. It was crazy. I seriously don't remember the last time we had this much snow. So, of course we had to go out and play in it.

 

     I decided I was going to make a snow Easter egg while my husband was scooping the snow off the driveway. It was a very heavy wet snow and our conversation went something like this...

 

"It's so pretty out here"

"I know"

"I'm going to make an egg...haven't made a snowman since the kids were little"

"Ok, I'll scoop"

"look at my little egg"

"uh-huh"

"my back hurts, I have to stay bent over to roll the egg bigger"

"mine hurts too, the snow is really heavy"

"I can't get up, I'm stuck down here"

"uh-huh"

"don't have a heart attack, you aren't that young anymore"

"neither are you"

"I'm freezing"

"I'm sweating"

"This was more fun when I was 10"

"uh-huh"

"Does it look like an Easter egg?"

"sort of"

 

 

     Somehow, in our minds we were still about 10-years-old and we were going to have fun in the snow! Well, it was fun, but it was hard work and the backs of my legs can really feel it today. It is so frustrating when the 50-something body can't do what it used to be able to do!

 

     It was still snowing when we got up this morning, but lightly. We got somewhere in the 8-10 inch range of snow, just north of us they got 18 inches. Everything is closed today for a huge portion of the state. This will be a Palm Sunday we talk about for many years.

Miss Zoe has never seen this much snow!

 

The pussy willows and shrubs were covered

with buds, I hope we don't lose them.

 

 

We are supposed to be back in the 50's by the end of the week,

so thankfully this won't last but it certainly gave us something to talk about!

Maple Syrup-Straight From the Tree

 

     Saturday morning was cold, gray and snow flurries were blowing in the air. Somehow, it seemed like the perfect weather to explore something we had never seen before...the making of maple syrup. We have lived here almost 10 years and until we read an article in our paper last Friday, we had no idea that we could drive 20 miles and see this done.

 

     Kent Phillips and his family have been making maple syrup since the early 1900's. Kent started following his father (who was born in 1915) around as a child and now he is helped by his daughter and her family. He calls the barn that houses the equipment the "sugar shack" and that describes it very well.

 

 

     The syrup is gathered into these blue plastic bags, although I understand that if a tree has multiple taps on it, a bucket is still used. They go through the woods on four wheelers, collecting the sap which is turned into the syrup. From what they explained to us, it requires 40 gallons of sap to boil down to 1 gallon of syrup.

 

     This is the sap after it is collected. It had a crust of ice on top and really looked like dirty water. My husband tasted it (not me...nope...gotta boil mine) and said it really tasted like barely sweet water...almost no taste at all.

 

 

     The next step is to move the sap to this large container so that gravity can force it into the boiler. The pictures look strange because it was so steamy in the sugar shack that at times we could barely see anything.

  

 

     This is the evaporator which does all the magic. It is heated with a wood fire and the room smells of sweet syrup and woodsmoke. I was freezing, but it was still fun to see.

 

 

     The sap moves through troughs in the evaporator as the steam rises and the syrup color darkens and becomes more flavorful. It is then moved to a machine where it is manually put into containers and sealed. Of course, we came home with fresh syrup. It is simply delicious. I want to pour it on everything. It isn't as thick as the "fake" maple syrup and the flavor is much lighter. I have had real maple syrup before, but never any that was so fresh it was barely cool. You can check out the Phillip's Facebook page here.

  

I am joining Susan @ A Southern Daydreamer

for Outdoor Wednesday

Luke Update and Other Things

 

     It has been an interesting time around our house. My daughter was home for 9 days! You have no idea what a gift that was for me. She hadn't been home in 18 months and she only gets here once a year. She hadn't experienced Fall since she moved 5 years ago, so that was her only request...she wanted to experience the season. We picked her up in St. Louis and took her along the Great River Road to Alton, Grafton and Elsa. The pictures above and below were taken at Pere Marquette Lodge.

 

     We also took a day and headed to Arthur, IL to Amish Country, where we went to an Amish auction (the handcrafted furniture is stunning), shopped at an Amish grocery store (noodles, homemade butter, fresh bread) and enjoyed being surrounded by all the horse and buggys. It is such a different world and yet not that far away.

 

 

     Her visit home was at the same time as my girlfriend's annual Witch Party, so of course we put on our witche's hats and had a fun luncheon with a coven of witches. Some of these women really go all out with their costumes. We completely took over the dining room at a local restaurant. It was such fun! Even more so with my girl child with me.

 

     We did arts and crafts! I know that you all are aware that I have no talent in that category, but after reading about making swearter pumpkins on StoneGable's blog, I thought we might be able to handle it. I went to Goodwill for sweaters and had them washed and ready. Believe it or not, ours turned out really well (for us). I'm linking to Yvonne's tutorial here. Believe me, if I can do this, you can.

 

     We spoiled ourselves a little bit at a spa. We actually went to Branches twice. My daughter had a facial and manicure while I had a pumpkin pedicure and then a few days later, she had a massage while I had a facial. Everything was wonderful, relaxing and very comfortable. I think a monster has been created as I can't wait to go back. 

 

     She had planned this trip to be home for my birthday, which was last Monday. I kept saying that between my trip to Michigan and then having my kiddo home for so many days, I simply didn't need a birthday this year. Well, it is a good thing that I felt that way, because Sunday night I had food poisoning from a local restaurant lunch. I have seriously never been that sick in my life. So, my daughter spent her last day home bringing me ice chips, rubbing my neck and making jello. I couldn't stand without getting dizzy until Wednesday and it was Thursday before I got dressed. I lost an entire week...Happy Birthday to me! I will admit, if I had to be that sick, it was certainly nice having her home to take care of me! One thing about it, life is rarely dull around my house!

 

 

     I kept reminding myself as I was sick last week, that it was really nothing compared to what this brave little guy has been going through. As you can see, he has lost most of his hair and is a bit puffy from the steriods. He has been having some wonderful experiences made possible by generous people in town. Our local fire department made him and honorary fireman, even letting him go on a call and hanging his picture on the wall. One of the most moving things I have ever seen is that they put out the word to other fire departments in the state, and over 100 departments each sent him a hat...such kind people in the world.

 

     Today is an important day for our friends and a very difficult one. Luke has his bone marrow test today and this is the day they have to decide to either have the bone marrow transplant or extremely strong chemo. Whichever direction they choose, it makes the other no longer an option. The doctors are split on their advice, so our young friends have to make this decision on their own, with God's help. Either choice will be dangerous for their 5-year-old, but may save his life. I can't imagine being in their shoes. So, please say a prayer for them today...for guidance and peace with their choice.

 

A Gift from the Heavens

     We were in the car at sunrise this morning. Everything was frost covered and quiet. The sky was clear with a hint of pink. As we got on the interstate, we saw the most beautiful sight. Lucky for me, my camera was within reach. The picture was taken from our moving car and has not been altered in any way.

Front Porch Redo

     If it is going to look like fall inside the house, it certainly needs to look the same outside the house. My front porch is smaller than I wish, but there is still a little room to "play" with seasonal things.

     I bought this swag a while back at Hobby Lobby and added a few things to it. The plan was for it to go on the front door. However, we had replaced the storm door since last season and it is so energy efficient that we can't put one of those hangers on it and still shut the door. So, the swag ended up on the chair instead.

     Corn stalks, a vintage bushel basket and a few fall colors fill the opposite corner. If you look closely you can see the Halloween lights in the basket, but I won't turn them on until I add the rest of the Halloween items next week. 

Nothing says fall quite like live mums. This is one

of 3 plants I have in the front of the house

and I can't wait for them to be in full bloom.

I like white pumpkins, my husband likes traditional pumpkins.

I guess these must be Mama Pumpkin and Papa Pumpkin!

He brought these home over the weekend from Menards.

     This is the fall view from my yard. The local farmer planted soybeans this year instead of corn. I love the soybean years...that corn makes our yard feel so closed in.

I took the above picture not far from our home.

I love how it represents fall in Illinois.

I am joining Susan @ A Southern Daydreamer for Outdoor Wednesday and

Kim @ Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesdays.

Hints of Fall and a New Winery

     The cooler weather made me want to make a few changes around my house. I really love Halloween decorations more than fall decorations, but I wasn't quite ready to put out the Halloween stuff yet. So, I started packing away many of the summery seashells and pulling out a few things in deeper colors.

     The round coffee table is always a bit tricky to work with. I recently found the vintage copy of Little Women at an auction. It was on a rack of items that didn't sell and the owner told me just to take it! Free! I put it with my own childhood copy of The Wizard of Oz.

My old Flemish Art wooden bowl gets a few sparkly pumpkins.

It still looks a bit bare, but soon there

will be some witches and ghosts added.

The antique oak mirror gets a touch of fall color on one corner.

It is slowly looking a bit like fall around here.

     Monday afternoon we decided to check out the new area winery.Tuscan Hills Winery opened July 1st and we had heard only good things about it. It was surprising how sitting just on the edge of town felt so far removed from things. It was truly a very relaxing place, large enough to have a private party but with several types of seating areas.

They had a good crowd Monday afternoon.

 Several people were sampling the wines and sangrias.

There was an artist painting a mural

and a young woman singing current music.

     We grabbed a drink and decided to enjoy the cooler temperatures out on the deck. We loved the winery (the sangria was delicious) and will be going back soon.

I am joining Kim @ Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesdays and

Susan @ A Southern Daydreamer for Outdoor Wedesday

Please join our lovely hostesses for a visit.

Peaches, Ninja Turtles and Chaos-Oh My!

     While I don't always love living in Illinois, I do love our summer fruits and vegetables. Saturday we made a trip to Alma, IL to the Mazanek family orchard for peaches. We had our grandsons for the weekend and they really love seeing how things grow. The apples were already heavy on the trees and we were told that it was going to be a great fall apple crop this year.

     We also stopped at a small market in St. Peter, IL. It is a community of Old Order Mennonites. The store had handcrafted wooden items including the playhouse in the above picture from my phone. The boys loved it and said, "grandpa, why don't you get a job so you can buy this for your backyard"! I guess maybe we need to take them to where my husband works so they will see that he does have a job! It was an interesting store full of bulk items, cheeses and on Saturdays they make homemade pretzels and serve lunch. There were several people waiting for pretzels, so of course we ordered some. They were the best I've ever tasted, yeasty and pale. They looked nothing like those sold at ballgames. Glazed with butter and melt in your mouth perfect. I would definitely make the trip to St. Peter just for pretzels. The boys loved seeing the horse and buggies and the farm animals.

     The other thing they really loved this visit, was the tub we pulled out of the basement storage room. Their dad is 29 and he was obsessed with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles when he was a kid. He had every piece you can imagine and we saved them all. Well, they are back in style and the boys love them. So, we brought up the tub and didn't tell them what was inside. I only wish I could capture the sounds they made when that lid came off. They had the best time with daddy's old toys! This is where the chaos came in...my poor living room! Look, even the lampshade isn't straight!

     You can't have fresh peaches and not make something yummy, so after the boys left I decided it was time to make my husband a treat. I didn't have a recipe, so I did some searching and combined a few recipes to come up with my version of a peach crumb pie. It turned out perfectly. I will make this again. 

Ingredients:

1 unbaked pie crust (I buy Pillsbury in the dairy case-or you can make your own)

Approx. 9 fresh peaches, peeled and sliced

2 heaping Tablespoons of brown sugar

2 rounded Tablespoons of flour

1/3 cup chopped pecans (or walnuts or no nuts)

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup quick oats

1/3 cup flour

6-8 T. of butter (I used unsalted because that was what I had-salted would be fine)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Put piecrust into pie pan (I like to use a deep dish pan)

Add 2 T. flour and 2 T. brown sugar to peaches and mix well.

Put peach mixture into prepared crust.

Mix 1/3 cups of flour, brown sugar, nuts, oats and butter with

your fingers until a crumbly mixture forms. Sprinkly over top of peaches.

Place pie on cookie sheet to catch any bubbling over.

Bake 1 hour until nicely browned.

Serve with whipped cream of vanilla ice cream.

So good!

I am joining Yvonne @ Stone Gable for

On the Menu Monday.

Please stop to visit her today!