Autumn Catch-up and Hawthorn Jelly

My computer got a virus so I have been off line for a few days.  Plus, it seems like I blinked and October is almost over, what happened?

Autumn is my favorite season.  I love the cool-crisp days, the beautiful display of hardwood trees changing their colors, the Earth preparing itself for winter.  Harvest time has always been a big part of my growing up. We lived on a farm growing up and Dad and Grandpa were always busy in the evenings working on the farm.

 Here are a few things Kyle and I saw today on our Sunday drive.  I told him if we didn't go for a drive today I was going to miss the leaves.

We drove a lot of back roads between Hayesville and Loudonville and saw farmers working their fields and beautiful foliage.  On the drive we bumped into our dream house.

 Some day Kyle and I want to build this beautiful cabin.  This is an Amish model home just a few miles from where we live.  Kyle's big dream is to have some land to raise our kids on.  We missed that dream when we both lost our jobs a decade ago.  However, we still want this to be a possibility for the kids to bring their kids home to.  Grandma and Grandpappy's cabin.  He wants a warm cozy place with some room to romp around on.  I hope we can do this in the next five years or so.  It is an obtainable dream, we just need to get this place fixed up a bit more so we can sell.

Dakota fell in love with Hawthorn jelly when he was a young boy.  Robin would send us jelly for Christmas gifts and one year she sent Hawthorn jelly.  Hawthorn berries are native to north woods we thought.  Kota found some on the grounds of his school.  We went a few weekends ago and picked berries.

 You need 2-3 quarts of berries.  I had 2 1/2 quarts in this pan.  Boil the berries over medium heat for 15-20  minutes with about 1 quart of water.  (I needed a total of 6 cups water to get enough juice).  Strain berries and liquid in  jelly bag or cheesecloth.  You need 4 cups liquid.

 Stir in 1 box of fruit pectin and 7 cups of sugar.  Bring to a boil.  Boil for 1 minute.  Skim foam, ladle into hot jars.  I process by turning my jars upside down for approximately 20 minutes.  They always turn out okay.

It made a beautiful and tasty pink jelly.  I haven't seen my family ever eat that much toast in a couple of days.

Homecoming 2012

 Dakota prepared for his final homecoming dance today.  He looked great.  Kayla despite of getting the bad news of no date, had a great outlook on the dance.  She went with a few friends and had a wonderful time.

 Dakota's date Alexa went to Cheddar's for dinner.  He reported that they had a good time, ate good food and danced a lot!

 Kyle and I fed the girls.  We made them a steak, twice baked potato, shrimp and homemade dinner roll dinner.  I had stuff for salads, but they all declined.  We ate on nice plates and had out wine goblets for sparkling cider.

 They laughed and giggled through the whole dinner.

 They added some final bling to their already gorgeous hair.  A little bit of glitter never hurt anyone.

 I think Kayla had a lot more fun hanging out with her girl friends than she would have going on a date.

I have to say one of my favorite parts of her outfit was her shoes.  She looked beautiful in her brown and turquoise.

My daughter is a great example of cheerfulness.  I hope that continues into her adulthood.  She can take a bum situation and make if fun often.  That is a talent she gets from her father.  Her idea of having a girl dinner made the night special for all of these girls.  Hannah's mom was so thankful for this dinner.  She was heartfelt when she was thanking us for having the girls and stating how much it meant to her daughter to have a good time this night too.  After pondering this, I'm glad the YM decided to go to conference.  His thought to do what was right caused another to have an evening she otherwise would not have had.  Heavenly Father truly loves all His children and that was manifested to me once again.

2012 Homecoming was a success from the turquoise shoes to the homemade dinner!