Re-Reading

I was rereading older posts, like this one from last December. Sometimes they make you laugh (this one did) or cry, or just think. Do read my comment on that one :-). But anyway, I was rereading because it's just a year ago that I took Patience and traveled over the Great Atlantic to visit my host mom in Switzerland. What a great trip - and how much work it was to leave the rest of the family here and manage it all. How wonderful that we were able to go, and how blessed I feel that God kept her well-enough that we could enjoy much time together. As we close in upon Thanksgiving next week, I am thinking frequently of that trip last year and how special a Thanksgiving it was indeed.

Apples

I love apples.

I love the smell of apples.

I love cooking with apples.

I love the way they look on the trees.

I love the blossoms in the spring.

I love picking apples.

I love the way apples crunch when you bite into them.

I love to drink fresh apple cider.

I love to watch it being made.

Note I do NOT like apple juice (and it does not agree with me).

I like my own homemade PINK applesauce. Plain, nothing added. Warm (hot), right from the pot.

Note I really don't like any other applesauce. I might eat it. I might not. It does nothing for me.

I like apple pie.

I like dried apple rings and dried apple chips. My parents even got me a professional grade dehydrator a couple Christmas' ago so I could make these (and much more) efficiently.

On Wednesday, all by myself, I picked a bushel of apples off the trees in an orchard near us, and picked up two bushels of drops. It took me just over an hour, and I got them for a song ($6.50 a bushel - for a visual of how much this is, that's six paper bags FULL of apples). It was a delightful time alone working outside. This is really good for me. :-) And it was definitely work (stretching, bending, walking, pulling....). Fun.

My house and car (my "apple" refrigerator) smell like apples.

As I'm running errands in the car, I put the ones from the trees in the front seat of the van and I keep eating them. Delicious. At this rate I'll be keeping the doctor away for months.

Thus far (in two days), I've made four batches of apple butter (I use the slow cooker to reduce it and like I said, the house smells amazing) and I have no idea how many batches of applesauce. I've used three of the bags of drops and washed the fourth. I'll finish that bag tomorrow if I have time. It's wonderful to be able to set all this aside for the coming year at such a good price, and even though it's tiring, it's work I (mostly) enjoy (though I did just have to run to the kitchen to stir this last batch of sauce as it's cooking.... I'm on a time limit here typing...)

I also have such helpful and appreciative kids. They like apples just as much as I do. They've helped when they've been around w/washing up jars, apples, and the like, and carrying things up and down stairs and more.

We'll be doing apple butter for the teachers gifts at Christmas, and we all enjoyed my mom's oatmeal apple crisp for dessert tonight (no wonder the house smells so good).

So for anyone who likes apples, here's the place to be. Please come visit and keep me company in the kitchen these next few days while I finish setting them aside. And if you're lucky, we'll not only enjoy some time together, but you'll enjoy a tasty apple treat too!

October Nor'easter Ramblings

So glad this latest storm missed us. We didn't really even get a dusting. Southern New England is a mess (except for where it was too warm to snow - they just got rain, mostly coastal areas). My folks were out of power for two days and my mom has some stories, like the half-baked pie she wanted to finish cooking when the power went back on, so she stuck the pie (still warm from the oven), in the fridge to cool (remember, no power). Oops.

I've read comments from folks battered by storm after storm this year, like "Mother Nature must be trying to tell us something". They're right - only "she" has a name; it's God. Maybe he does have something to say (like give him credit where credit is due? Hmm...).

These storms can bring out the worst - and they can bring out the best. Sometimes it's how you respond that makes all the difference. Our society is becoming so selfish - every man for himself. These events shine a light on that - abundantly! But they also force us - even if unwillingly - to recognize our dependence on others, and ultimately on God. At least that's how I understand it.

It's kind of like my daughter's diabetes. Same lesson, different circumstances. We can fight it, or we can use it to learn and grow and discover the God who made her this way. Will we ever know why? I don't think that's the right question. I think the question is one of submission - of "What now, Lord?" Submission to God's will AND to His grace. To look for Him in the midst of it. To suffer the literal hi's and lo's of blood sugar roller coasters and to wonder at the intricacies of the human body (nature), the amazing design of the pancreas (and the weather), and marvel at how we try to understand and manage it (insulin pumps, weather devices...) and how fantastic it is what we can do (praise God!) and yet how far short it falls from his perfection and control (again, we are fearfully and wonderfully made!).

We so learn the value of grace, of trust, and of love in it all. It draws us closer to him. It amazes me that these trials, storms, and circumstances - even the nor'easters of life, both real and figurative - keep us looking to Him, depending on Him, and ultimately in growing our faith in Him. He is bigger than it all. He really is. And while broken trees, loss of power and life, and messed up pancreases give me grief and often reduce me to tears, whether from helplessness or from empathy or whatever, I find myself thankful in it all, and full of wonder that He should take an interest in any of us, especially me. What wonder it all is.

...and a funeral

Yesterday I commented on the "Three weddings..." Today it's just a brief note to add "... and a funeral". Sounds like a movie title. But that's the past four weeks in a nutshell: three weddings and a funeral. I couldn't go to the funeral. But four weeks ago - is it possible it's been so long? - my host mom died. I wish I could have found time today to call Switzerland again. I've called a couple times. It's not easy with the time difference, and it's sometimes hard to know what to say. But I miss Lucette and I am mindful of the grief of my host family. I always will miss her. I imagine it will get easier of course when I do think of her. I still think of her almost daily. I am noticing already that now that she isn't there to call, to write to, to buy little gifts or postcards for, I don't think of her quite as often as I did when she was still alive. That in and of itself is taking getting used to. I wish I did think of her as often as when she was alive. I think my mom would say this is part of the grieving process - the letting go. I expect she'll write on this blog to say "amen". (Thanks mom).

Three weddings...

This afternoon, my beloved attended his third wedding in almost as many weeks - and he's attended as many rehearsals to boot!

Four weeks ago, a dear friend was married. We all attended that one, as she is a neighbor, a sister in Christ, as well as a beloved friend. Her son is a just a few weeks younger than our Andante. We've known her since before he was born and remember meeting him in his first few days - what a blessing that day was. We also know and are friends with the groom and have delighted to see God bring them together, and to give her son a father. Papa Bear was their photographer. It was a sweet gift and a privilege for us to be a part of their day.

Then, two weeks ago, one of my beloved's younger brothers was married. You can see all our commentary on that in a previous post, but needless to say, it was a special day and my husband played his part well.

Today, we got him all dressed up again and made sure he had the car. The kids implored me, "Do we have to go to another wedding?" While I would have enjoyed going, it was time to give them a break. This time it is the daughter of some of our friends, and my beloved is, again, the photographer. We both know the daughter, but the kids don't, hence the decision. But there went my handsome groom, off again. What a privilege to be able to do something so special for people as to capture their "once in a lifetime" event (Lord willing). So we share him gladly, and look forward to hearing about the time, seeing the dress, and asking a zillion and one questions about it all when he comes home (more likely in a couple days after he's downloaded the camera and rested his poor feet).

That said, this is - hopefully - the last wedding for a while. We will be glad to have our weekends, and our Papa Bear back with us. We knew this fall would be busy what with these commitments, and soccer, and the other regular things that make it busy, but I can't think of many happier reasons to be so busy.

Apples apples apples....

I love fall, and I love my four little apples. We went apple picking one afternoon last week and it took us about 10 minutes to pick a bushel of apples off two trees. And we barely made a dent! Since then, we've eaten tons of apples (yum) and dried tons more. Delicious. Soon we'll go back and get piles of drops to make applesauce and apple butter, which we can to last 'til next fall. They are definitely our favorite fruit!

Marriage . . . that blessed event

We took tons of pictures - and have no time to cull and edit them at this point. However, it's good to take a moment and pick a few to share right away, hence this post. There were so many wonderful memories of this special day - before, during, and after. All the photos capture but a brief glimpse...

Congratulations to the happy couple! Thank you for including us in so many ways. We look forward to seeing how God continues to grow each of you into His own image, now through your marriage. May what He brought together never be broken asunder! And may we, as your family both by blood and in Christ, do all we can to encourage you to seek Him first, to live graciously with each other through faith in Him, to both repent and forgive quickly when you sin against each other, and to represent Him to the world wherever He may lead you!