For Those of You Living in The Pacific Northwest

Not sure if I've mentioned this Blog before but it's a good one and absolutley worth following;

http://centsibleinseattle.blogspot.com/

FOOD FRIDAY

First let me say, that I'm not going to promise a Food Friday Entry every week. I actually have something else up my sleeve regarding recipes but am still working on that. Meanwhile, it's fall and I've decided to share once again this wonderfully easy recipe that anybody can make if they have a crock pot.

CROCK POT APPLE BUTTER

crock pot full of apples, peeled, cored and quartered

2 cups cider or apple juice

2 cups of granulated sugar (I've not tried Splenda or Stevia but I bet they'd work)

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1. fill crock pot to 1 inch over the rim with prepared apples (they will cook down-I promise)

2. add cider and put on lid and cook on low for 12 hours (I used to turn it on in the morning just before I left for work)

3. after 12 hours, stir and add rest of ingredients, stirring well. Leave crock pot on low, put lid back on with vent open (or ajar if your pot has no vent). Continue to cook for 12 to 24 hours on low, stirring occasionally until proper consistency. (To test for proper consistency, put some on a plate...liquid should not accumulate more than 1/4 inch around the edge of apple butter on plate when done.)

4. apple butter should be a rich dark brown color. Pour into hot sterilized jars, put on lids and seal in a 10-15 minute water bath. This apple butter can also be frozen.

This recipe makes about 4 pints. I know it's time consuming but the end result will be worth it. I have found that whether you buy or gather the apples, it's best not to use all of the same kind. It's better if you have a mixture of apple flavors.

I'm Back!

Hello everyone !

We're back from our trip across the Cascade Mountains to the east side of this beautiful state of Washington. It's truly amazing how in just a couple hours you can drive from the lush green and Western Washington to the arid, dry Eastern Washington. We saw so many amazing sights. Hundreds of acres of wheat fields, thousands of acres of desert and sage brush. Hundreds of acres of apple and pear trees. And beautiful Roosevelt Lake which is actually the Columbia River backed up behind Grand Coulee Dam.

I'll be posting pictures soon, but not until I get the Olympic Peninsula trip pictures posted....and the piles of laundry done.

Hope you are all doing fine. I am still a little shaky~11 days of no computer time almost did me in!

September 11th~Let Us Never Forget

Mary Teresa Caulfield...a wife, mother, daughter, sister and an aunt was among those who lost their lives in the North Tower of the World Trade Center that sunny and clear morning, September 11, 2001. She was excutive assistant working in her office at Marsh & McLennan, an insurance company.

On September 11, 2002 one of my co-workers went to the Y before she came into the office. As she entered the Y there was a table that held business size cards of tributes to the victims of 09-11-01. Julia gathered up enough of them for those of us at work and when she came in she stopped at each desk to let us take a card. I chose Mary Teresa Caulfield because she was very close to my age.

Mary Teresa you would be 66 years old now, you probably would be retired and maybe have taken that first dream vacation with your husband, James. But all those dreams were cut short in an instant by a senseless act of a few. A senseless act of hatred, that most of the people in this world still can't understand.

I still carry that little green card with your name and the fact that you were confirmed dead in the World Trade Center that day~that horrible day, Septmeber 11, 2001.

And to the family and friends of Mary Teresa.....please know that as long I live, I will carry this card with me.....I will pray that God continues to comfort you and bring you peace as the years go by.

May we never forget those who left us that day and may we never forget those who brought about this horrible event.

Pictures from the family engagement party

These are pictures I took at our family engagement party for my son, Jim and his bride to be, Jeralyn. She's in the middle and on her left is my oldest niece Becky and her right is my middle niece Jill and in the back is my grand daughter Meghanne. Becky and Jill's younger sister lives in Washington, DC so is missing out on all the fun. And we all feel bad about that. But that's where her job is...... Meghanne had spent the day with Jim and Jeralyn taking pictures of them in several locations. She actually took about 800 and will narrow it down to 30-40 and then they can choose which ones they want printed. After their picture taking session we all met at my brother & sister in law's place for a taco feed engagement party.
Jim and Jeralyn with her mom Diane who will be the Matron of Honor and my brother Steve who will be the Best Man.

The happy couple. I'm so thrilled that my son has found this beautiful gal and am looking forward to her being my daughter in law, on March 12, 2010.

Raining !

The rain we didn't get during May, June, July and August is with us now. It's been raining off and on since Friday. This afternoon we had thunder storms and heavy, heavy rain. But we need it so I'm not complaining.

Thankfully Saturday afternoon, Mom Nature gave us about 3 hours of filtered sun and no rain. My grand daughter Meghanne went with my son Jim and his fiance' Jeralyn to our beautiful Point Defiance Park where she took their engagement pictures. They went all thru the park...even down on the beach. Then they joined the rest of the family at my brother and sister in law's place for a taco feed ~ sort of a family engagement party. We were thrilled that Jeralyn's mom was able to join us, in fact she drove from Olympia to my house and rode over with Bob and I. In all there were 10 adults and 4 kids...eating tacos, laughing and celebrating the upcoming wedding. Meghanne & I took more pictures during the evening...bringing Meghanne's total to 849 pictures of the happy couple. She will go thru them and narrow them down to 30 or so for them to choose from. Ahhhh these digital camera's are so wonderful.

I've finished posting entries from our May/June road trip. http://packyourbagsletsgo.blogspot.com/ I hope you'll stop by and see the beautiful sights we saw the last two days of that trip.

We took a 5 day road trip up in Washington's Olympic Peninsula in August and we're leaving Tuesday afternoon for Lake Roosevelt in eastern Washington. Lake Roosevelt is actually the Columbia River backed up behind Grand Coulee Dam. We're going with two of Bob's daughter's and their families...so it should be fun.

Still trying to catch up on Blogs and now I'm going to be gone again. And I'm not sure if I'll have computer access from over at the Lake or not.

I hope everyone is having a good weekend....until next time, Linda

Free 2010 Calendar

Just heard about this offer from another Blog. You can get a free wildlife calendar by leaving your name & address at the following link.

http://centsibleinseattle.blogspot.com/2009/09/free-2010-wildlife-calendar.htmlttp://

Sorry this offer good only for U.S. addresses only.


NOTE: If you click on this link, it will say something about that Blog entry no longer exsisting, but if you keep clicking and go to the actual Blog, then scroll down a couple entries you'll see theentry about this free calendar.

September Moon

If you have a clear sky, you're seeing a full moon. September's full moon is called a Full Corn Moon. This full moon's name is attributed to Native Americans because it marked when corn was supposed to be harvested. It also is referred to as the Harvest Moon.

Wednesday Update

I've just posted another entry in my travel Blog. I wish Blogger sent out alerts like our AOL Journals did...but they don't. I feel weird sending out an email each time but I guess that's about the only way to let people know when a new entry is ready. So if you're interested, hop over to http://packyourbagsletsgo.blogspot.com/ and read about our adventures in Nevada. Just a few my entries and I'll be thru with our May/June 2009 road trip. The week of August 17th thru the 22nd we were gone again but I'm not sure if I'll have time to tell you about that one before we leave town on Sept 8th heading for eastern Washington's Roosevelt Lake.

Anyway, I hope everyone is doing well...I'm still trying to get around to Blogs, work in the yard, work here in the house, keep up on Facebook, get ready to leave again next week and still go to a birthday BBQ on Friday and my son & future daughter in law's engagement BBQ on Saturday. And I've started on the 200 mailing labels needed to mail out information on my 50th class reunion next August. That is a slow process....