Plumania

I had forgotten how DELICIOUS plums are! We picked all those plums and after two batches of jam I looked at the rest and said "WHAT do I do with these?" (I don't like prunes, so I didn't want to dry them.) This morning I decided to make plum crisp, but I accidentally chopped the plums too fine in the food processor. I cooked it anyway, added some sugar, and said, "hey! this is yummy!" So I did up the rest of the pums that way and bottled them as Plum Sauce. I can't wait to use it this winter. I want to go get some more plums! I'm obsessed!

 

Apple Season Has Arrived

 

Small Tree, Big Color

The honeylocust tree in our backyard is quite lovely right now. Just imagine how spectacular it will be when it's all grown up!

 

Ellie's Purple Poncho Part Two

I always forget when I put her in the bouncy bug that it makes her have blowouts.

 

Ellie's Purple Poncho

This girl has more clothes than I do and they are CUTE CUTE CUTE!!!!


 

Sleeping Beauty

I went in to check on the boys last night and it just cracked me up how Sam's hair was all sticking straight up.

 

Another Trip to the Egg Farm

Fall is coming to the egg farm!


There were chickens running all over the yard today.



And the kids were thrilled to see one of the peacocks in the field across the street. We haven't seen any of the peacocks for awhile (Joey says they've been hiding in the corn field.) My kids can actually SAY "peacock" now, which is good except that it was so funny that they used to call them "apricots."


Leaves are just starting to turn!

 

Waking Up With Ellie

Jared took these pictures first thing this morning of Ellie as the three of us woke up together.




 

A Well-Stocked Jam Cupboard

It is my understanding from reading books like L.M. Mongomery's that 100 years ago one of the hallmarks of a good homemaker was a well-stocked jam cupboard. I realized the other day that the cupboard above the fridge was still totally empty, so this morning (after making another batch of plum jam) I went through my large pantry and rounded up all the jars of jam I had stuck here and there over the summer and created my "Jam Cupboard." Wow! I hadn't realized just how much jam I had made. Peach, apricot, plum, sour plum, raspberry, strawberry, blueberry, cherry, and I think there's one blackberry left from last year. Rachel Lynde would definitely approve.

Evening Thought

Here's what's in my head as I go to bed tonight--the words to this beautiful song, penned by St. Richard of Chichester:

O Holy Jesus,
O Holy Jesus,
Most Merciful Redeemer,
May I know Thee more clearly,
Love Thee more dearly,
And follow Thee more nearly,
Day by day.
Amen.

Plumazing

For those of you who have never had the fascinating experience of making plum jam, I took pictures tonight as I made a batch after the kids went to bed (jam requires your undivided attention, which doesn't work when kids are awake, especially babies!)

In my post earlier today you saw what the plums look like fresh off the tree-- they are almost sky blue. They lose some of that blue when you wash them, as seen below. You can also see that the inside flesh is pale yellow.


Then, as you start to cook them, the magic happens. Something in the skins starts giving off this brilliant red color and the mixture gets redder by the minute.


When you add the sugar, the color deepens to a beautiful garnet hue:


And the finished jam is so dark you would never guess it came from sky blue and pale yellow fruit.


What fun! I love to make jam.

That Gate Better Hold Up!

Ellie's learning to pull herself up to things!


 

Five More Pounds

I've lost five more pounds and I love my pants being baggier. I had Jared take my picture and I don't think it's flattering of my face-- I think I'm starting to look OLD (why am I not 21 anymore?) But maybe it's really just the picture. And my hair growing out. Or something. Anyway, I AM losing weight!

 

When Ellie Sees A Camera

She gets pretty excited.

Plum Beautiful

 

Elaine's Plum Tree

My friend Elaine said "come pick my plums." So we made it a family activity.




 

Something Sweet

When I looked at this picture after I took it, I was immediately struck by the tiny-boyishness still in Joey's face. He may be five, but his sleeping profile doesn't look that much different now than when he was wee Baby Joey snuggled up on my chest. They do grow fast, but it's nice to see they still hang onto a little bit of babyhood for quite awhile.

 

Quiet Time

Every afternoon at our house we have Quiet Time. Joey is allowed to stay downstairs during Quiet Time provided he follows certain rules, such as do not answer the door or the phone and do not get into Mom's stuff. Today after my short nap I came downstairs to find this:


And this was what was inside:


The boys love to make blanket forts, they do this almost daily. But no one's ever fallen asleep in one before!

Jen's Baby Shower

I had a baby shower last night at my house for my friend Jen and her new baby Katherine. Tons of people came and it was wonderfully fun. I took some cute pictures of Jen and Katherine-- I just love mothers with new babies-- they Glow!



Jen's mom was in town-- isn't this a great picture of Katherine and her Abuela?


Here is a picture of me and my friend Megan at the shower. (Jeni, that's your old shirt I'm wearing!)


It's fun to be the hostess for a big warm gathering of friends!