Autumnal Activity

We have been doing all kinds of homemaking lately.  Freezing bananas, drying apples, making applesauce, banana bread, spiced pear jam, shampoo . . . and learning all kinds of canning skills.


Thanks to everyone who has given advice, food, tools, and assistance for these projects.  We didn't get pictures of everything, but here are some from the bushel of apples we put away.

What's left?  Well, there's a pumpkin in our laundry room waiting for carving and roasting.

Goat cheese is delicious.

I have this sentence in my conglomeration of facts about goats.  It's not going to make it very much longer, but every time I've glanced at it, I've needed to keep it.  So here it is.  And here's a picture to match.

Reducing Stress

I have to come up with a topic for two huge papers.  This happens to be my least favorite part of paper-writing.  And because these papers are so huge, I have to make a really good decision or the rest of my college career will be horrible.  I took a midterm today.  I was under-prepared.  And in one of my classes we're reading Maus.  Also, I have a French midterm on Thursday that I feel under-prepared for, I'm behind on my reading, and I have another midterm next week.  Plus, I'd rather do fun things with my time than complete my list of things to do for the rest of the month.  Thanksgiving can't come too soon.

Feeling like this last year, I know exactly what I would have done.  I'd have hopped in my car, gone down College, left on Bus. Loop, right on Rangeline, stopped at Taco Bell, and sat at my sister's kitchen table while she contemplated dinner.  And I would have stayed while she made dinner.  And then I would have stayed for dinner.  Because I'm (she's) a great sister.

Unfortunately, I'm recovering from Holocaust comics on my own.  No kids to play with, no Taco Bell, nothing.  *sigh*

The only solace I have is this picture, which is dedicated to Jenny.

Babies

Guess what appeared in our back yard yesterday morning?  Like magic.  And there are four other alpacas waiting to be moms, so the next few weeks are going to be like Christmas.  It was perfect timing, too, because the Glens had just returned from Hawaii on Thursday.  I can just imagine our telephone call if this had happened earlier.  "Umm, so . . . something happened. "