A Shower of Leaves

I love having several trees in our yard. In fact, in addition to the two maples, one crab apple, two somethings else, and several bushes that were already in our immediate yard when we moved in, we have planted six more trees! I love the shadiness of trees as well as their majestic beauty. And, yes, I love when Autumn comes and the leaves change colors and come showering down with the wind.

This is the first year that we have really been able to get out and enjoy playing in fallen leaves, and Edmund has been having a great time! The picture above is one we took the day we did our family pictures for the year.

These are our two maples. The big one (top) turns yellow and shed its leaves over the course of several weeks. The smaller one turns a beautiful orange, and one big rainstorm completely stripped it of its leaves.
All these leaves of course mean lots of raking, which I finally went out and did yesterday. As I raked I thought to myself how glad I was that I hadn't raked sooner. Waiting, though unintentionally, until all the leaves had fallen meant that we were not only able to enjoy the Autumnal beauty of a leaf strewn yard, but we will only have to rake the yard once this Autumn/Winter.

The job's not done yet. The piles you see here (two above and one in the picture before) are only three of the seven I raked up yesterday, and I still have to rake the front yard. But it is turning out to be a fun time for me to spend outside with the boys, instead of a tedious, seemingly endless task.

When do you rake your leaves? From when they first start falling until the end of the season, or just at the end? Or do you wait until Spring? Or maybe you never rake at all! :)

What to Write -- Dinner Anyone?

Jaired sometimes will give me a little to do list of things he specifically would like me to do on a particular day. He also sometimes tells me if there is something off of our menu that he really wants for dinner, instead of me just picking something myself.Today, he sent me an email that said this:

1) hang up my wool suit pants :-) Thanks babe, I love you. xoxo
2) do a blog post today.
3) sauteed chicken, mashed potatoes, something green, and apple sauce for dinner.

As I sat down at my computer and tried to think of something to write my mind wandered to the other things on his list.

Dinner

This is an important part of the day at our house. We usually eat shortly after Jaired gets home, so dinnertime is when we catch up on each other's day. During dinner preparation, I have Edmund tidy up all his toys and Nathaniel starts to clamor for food. (I tell you, that kid would eat all day if you let him!) So dinner is also, ideally, the time when Nathaniel quiets down as he eats, and the house is mostly picked up and straightened.

Needless to say, deciding what to eat for dinner is important. And, for those of us who have a few small children, getting to the end of the day can be a major accomplishment in itself, forget about a nice dinner on the table!

So, I thought, why don't I share with all of you what we are having for dinner, as this is a fairly simple, though still elegant, meal to make.

The Menu:

Sauteed Chicken Breast

Mashed Potatoes

Salad

Fresh Homemade Applesauce

Pictures taken from various online sources.

The first thing you will have to do, of course, is pull out the chicken after lunch so it can thaw completely.

Start cooking about 40 minutes before you plan to serve dinner.

Peel and quarter several potatoes (the four of us usually eat about six medium) rinse the potatoes and place them in a pot with a generous amount of water. If you like, add some peeled garlic cloves. Put on the stove and bring to a boil. Boil gently until soft when pierced with a fork, about 30 minutes.

Peel and eighth several apples (we usually do about 5) place the apples in a saucepan with about a quarter of an inch of water in the bottom, sprinkle in some cinnamon and cloves (go lightly with these until you figure out what your family likes). Bring to a boil and then simmer until the apples are soft, about 10 to 15 minutes, I think. Check them occasionally, to make sure the apples do not run out of water.

Prepare your salad:
The simplest salad is just torn up lettuce with dressing.
Sometimes I chop up some olives, toss them in with the lettuce, and sprinkle Parmesan cheese over the top.
Or you could go for a garden salad with lettuce and any of the following, tomato, bell pepper, carrot, other greens (spinach, chard, beet tops, or even dandelion leaves) onion, and mushrooms.

If you wash your apples the peels make a great thing for little ones to eat while waiting for dinner, or you could give them a piece of carrot or other vegetable.

Set, or have one of the children set, the table.

Heat in a thick skillet or iron skillet over medium heat, 2 tablespoons each of butter and olive oil. Rinse and dry the chicken breasts. If they are not completely thawed you can cut them into a few pieces to help them cook better. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper, then coat with flour. Place all the chicken in the pan, saute on one side for 5 minutes, then turn over and saute on the other side. Depending on the thickness of your chicken it may take longer then ten minutes to cook. Watch the chicken closely and turn again if needed.

While the chicken is cooking, mash the apples and drain and mash the potatoes. Everyone does their potatoes a little different, but the way I do it is, after draining place back in the pot and add a few tablespoons of butter and some salt and pepper. Mash then taste to check the seasonings, and add more salt and pepper if necessary. You don't have to add anything to the apples, they are delicous as they are with just the cinnamon and cloves!

And there you have it! A simple meal, still making sure your family gets the nutrients they need, and you can dress it up or down from there. Add bread, some steamed vegetables, use nice serving dishes and this could be as fancy as you want.

An Unexpected bit of Decorating

Recently, I have seen a lot of bloggers talking about decorating with sticks and grass for the Autumn, now that most of the flowers are gone. They all vary slightly, but for the most part it involves getting sticks, either from the craft store or a handy bush in the yard, and arranging them in a vase, sometimes with glue and string to secure and fancify them.

Our fireplace is in our sitting room. In one corner of the room next to the fireplace is a low, deep cabinet. Jaired uses the space on top of the cabinet to store logs for fires, and it keeps them pretty tidy. The kindling has been a problem though. Last year, we would go outside every evening to bring in kindling, but this year it has been just stacked up on the floor, making a big mess. Today, in a effort to tidy up the house in preparation for visitors I brought an old galvanized bucket up from the basement and stuck all the sticks in. I immediately noticed how it looked a little like a bouquet of sticks.


The bucket works great to keep all the sticks together and catches any bits of bark that fall off. It also adds a nice touch to our countryish sitting room. And it was free and simple to put together.

Wordless Wednesday -- 21 October 2009

One of our Maples in its Autumn splendor.

A stack of firewood ready to warm us in the evenings.

Edmund sporting the black eye he got during an encounter with the dining room table.
(The lighting wasn't very good, and I don't think I took this on the day the bruise was the darkest. It was really dark purple.)

Colds, Walking Babies, Sewing...My October so Far

Autumn came in earnest right at the beginning of October. We have had at least as many rainy days as sunny, if not more, so far this month and the weather has been COLD. We haven't started using our heater yet, so the boys and I pull on the layers to stay warm during the day. Every evening we gather in the sitting room after dinner to enjoy a warm fire. You may wonder why I don't have a fire going all day. The main reason is that our sitting room is not the best for "living" in (that's why I don't call it a living room). We have a couple of couches, end tables, and some other furniture in the room, but no tables where I can sit and work.

We went through our first run of sickness last week. Jaired was the worst, having a fever for a few days. Edmund got away with one rotten day when he also had a fever. Nathaniel and I have both only had colds, though mine was accompanied by a splitting headache.

Besides being cold and sick I have been sewing quilts for the boys which is part of a larger project that Jaired and I are working on for the boys' Christmas present. Here is a peek at the quilts.
Nathaniel is learning how to walk, which is so much fun. He does whether or not we are watching him, but if he does notice us watching he gives the most adorable smile. Edmund is excited about it, too. Whenever he sees Nathaniel taking off he says, "look, Mama, Nathaniel do it by self!" I have tried to tell Edmund that Nathaniel will soon be running around after him, but I am not sure Edmund believes me. He always points out that he is fast or that Nathaniel crawls.

Nathaniel's First Birthday

Nathaniel turned one on Saturday, the 26th. We had a small celebration with Jaired's family on Sunday. It was definitely a new experience for Edmund, that Nathaniel was getting toys.

This picture was taken upside down, Edmund wanted to look at the firetruck first.

Jaired loves taking self portraits, so we never have to worry about him not being in the picture when he is the one with the camera.
Nathaniel is looking at himself in the mirror in Pat the Bunny.

Nathaniel's birthday apple pie

It was yummy!

A New Kidney Bean

This is a picture of the ultrasound picture. I forgot to ask Jaired to scan the ultrasound pictures at work, but I wanted to show you all our new baby now, so didn't want to wait until tomorrow for him to do it!

This is the same picture as above, but I opened it in Paintbrush to mark the baby so you all would know what to look at. The bottom word on the left says "spine" and is referring to the white line.

I am 13 weeks and 5 days along. The Baby's due date is March 19. :)