For a couple of hours yesterday, my mom and I lunched leisurely.  We had soup and salad on trays and watched The Country Girl in the middle of the afternoon.

Heaven.

Three cheers for lunch and a movie with Mom!!

And Grace Kelly--what a treat.

 Speaking of treats, I stopped to visit my SIL extraordinaire Rachael before my re-entry into reality.  I had peeled, cored and sliced a few dozen apples during the movie, and brought some to share with her.  She inspires me.  And boom!--I came home to find a recipe for apple cake in my email inbox.  (Thanks, Rach!)

So THIS is what we all ate for breakfast this morning.

You should make it.

It's apple season you know.

After-School Apple Cake

 (in our case, BEFORE school)

6 apples peeled, sliced and chopped

2 tsp. cinnamon

3/4 cup oil

4 eggs

1 1/4 cups sugar

1 Tbsp. baking powder

1 cup white flour

1 cup wheat flour

Preheat oven to 350.  Grease and flour a 13x9 inch pan.  Put apples in a bowl, sprinkle with cinnamon, set aside.  In mixer, blend oil, eggs, and sugar.  Add the baking powder and flours and blend until combined.  Pour the batter over the apples, gently stirring until the apples are just coated.  Pour this mix in to the prepared baking pan, arranging the apples in an even layer, and bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.  When the cake is cool, cut it into small squares. 

Makes 16 to 18 pieces.  

Labor Day upgrades

 The tree house now boasts a bucket on a rope and pulley

and a remote lunch-delivery system.

Some kids were destined to live in the trees.

End-of-Summer s'mores

Driveway Dancing

 
We're not just all work and no play over here... (you're welcome kids)

Food just makes me happy

 Today I taught a lesson in Relief Society about The Divine Gift of / The Profound Power of Gratitude.

It's hard to be unhappy when you're focused on what you're thankful for.

It's true.

Food often makes me feel grateful.

This week I was especially grateful for mini loaves of freshly-baked cinnamon bread.

And visiting teaching.

 And my sister-in-law, who shared two quarts of her home-canned tomatoes with me.

They are lovely!

Also, dinners.

Especially dinners with a little personality.

If you're going to eat, you might as well eat gratefully.

Bon apetit!

UMass at UConn

To kick off our Labor Day weekend, we tripped to Connecticut to catch a football game.  We set the GPS for the UConn campus and left ourselves about 15 minutes to park and find our seats.  Never did we dream that there wouldn't be a football stadium there. 

We had to stop and ask how to find the game.  The University of Connecticut is set in a beautiful rural farm setting, and sadly, we discovered, is a good 30 minutes away from their home field in East Hartford.  To my credit, I remember driving to UConn 20 years ago to watch my brother-in-law play.  He was a place kicker on the UConn team.  I'm POSITIVE we watched him play somewhere on campus.  I suppose things like growth, division one football and the passage of time have something to do with changes that I haven't kept track of...

In some cases, it certainly pays to do your homework.

When we arrived at the stadium, we did not expect to have to drive right on by and park 1.5 miles away on an old airstrip, then walk a good 20 minutes through fields and past rows of portable toilets back to the gates.  By the time we circled the arena looking for our seats, we were just ready to SIT and be entertained.

We missed the first quarter.

On the bright side, we really enjoy a good football game, SO it's a good thing we were there mostly for the band.  UMass lost 37-0 in an embarrassing contest to a team that we were told is "just okay."

The halftime show was worth the drive, the walk and everything.

There's a reason that the UMass Marching Band is called the Power and Class of New England.  They do not disappoint.

The two bands took the field together  and played a beautiful rendition of  America the Beautiful.

It was pretty great to run into Enrique, too.

He was in top form, and clearly in right in his element.

There was a lot of fun energy there.

By the fifth quarter show put on by the marching bands from both universities, we were starting to drag a little.

The UMass band's signature piece of the evening was Lionel Richie's "All Night Long," and it was starting to feel like the theme piece for our adventure.

We enjoyed the talent and enthusiasm that the band just bleeds into an empty stadium even after the crowds have disappeared.

See the rhythm all in their feet
Life is good, wild and sweet
Let the music play on...

This will be a fun season to watch.

The rascals turned five

 The cats got a party for their birthday.

(We get to eat cake, so I'm not opposed)

Happy Birthday Sniper and Sam

(I'm hoping they're mature enough not to want to climb the Christmas tree this year)