Apple Butter....erm Sauce

So, continuing our attempt to learn more about food, and to try cooking and preserving local food through the winter, Tom and I attempted to make apple butter. We had all these grand designs of canning cute little 1/2 pint jars of apple butter that we would design precious labels for that we would give away for Christmas presents. Our friends and family would love them and think we were so amazing for coming up with such a unique gift idea.


Yea. That didn't happen. It turns out that apple butter is an enormous pain to make. It takes forever, it makes a HUGE mess, because the longer it boils, the more viscous it becomes, so when the boiling bubbles burst, it sends apple goo approximately the temperature of fresh lava flying across the kitchen. In the end, we decided to just freeze what we had made, which was somewhere between apple sauce and apple butter and not give this one away. It still tastes delicious, so if you're interested in yummy apple...um...product, let us know!

Baby Girl!

So two weeks ago, our good friends Brendan and Ellie welcomed their new baby girl into the world. It was wonderful to be able to share that experience with them. Sheryl, Tom and I were anxiously waiting in the hospital waiting room, literally dancing with anticipation , (ok Tom didn't dance). We also brought Indian food for Brendan, and later Ellie, as they hadn't had much to eat since Ellie went into labor. Finally, we got the call that the baby had arrived, "it" was a girl, and we'd be able to cuddle her shortly.


After we were allowed in, the new baby (as she didn't have a name yet), needed to be checked out to count fingers and toes, and get a bath for the first time! Brendan did the honors.


The paparazzi was definitely out in force, especially after Sheryl's husband showed up with yet another camera. At least she will be a well documented baby! Thank you, Brendan and Ellie for sharing the birth of your beautiful daughter with us! We can't wait to take her hiking :)

Sorry for the delay...

But things have been a bit busy around here. Hopefully I'll have some great entries next week about apple butter, Halloween, Fake Thanksgiving and the birth of Sierra Darby Fields! Stay tuned!!

Car Fail

So...I had a bit of car fail the other day getting off the exit ramp. I braked and the car didn't stop, gotta love hydroplaning. Luckily everyone is generally OK, though my back has seen better days. I went to the Drs today, but he said that the muscles were just strained, so some muscle relaxants and anti-inflammatory meds coupled with hot tubbing and chill out time should serve me well. So expect to see some posts in the future about our car shopping experiences!

Flower Baby Hat

So I knitted this one up quickly for my French teacher, who gave birth to a beautiful baby girl about three months ago. It's bad luck in France to give a shower before the baby is born, so those of us who took her French class last year go together a few days ago to have a "mini shower" for her. I decided to knit this hat.

The pattern is from Knitted Baby Hats which I have loved in the past, (remember the pumpkins?), but this had left a little something to be desired. I think the final result is cute, but some of the different parts are a bit cumbersome to work with. For example, the pattern calls for you to make all the petals separately, then attach them separately. This was complicated, and made for LOTS of ends to weave in at the end, (my least favorite part of knitting). The next time, I would still knit each petal separately, but I would put them on double pointed needles and knit a round or two to join the piece, THEN attach and tack down the petals. Another possibility is to knit the petal circle directly onto the main portion of the hat before it's closed off, this making the transition seamless. As of now, I can still see some pink peaking through between the petals and the stem, which bothers me.

While the hat is cute, and Tom insists that only I will ever see the imperfections, I still don't like having an imperfect product (perfectionist, I know). Oh well, I think she'll still love it! What do you think?

Grad School

So on my vacation last week, I started working on my applications for Grad School. I'm applying for a Masters in Curriculum and Instruction and getting my Professional Certificate. I'm excited to be headed back to the classroom, and am looking forward to learning how to be a better teacher. I'm NOT looking forward to the time commitment (I know, grow up), or the time it will take away from my time with Tom. He's thinking about taking a mountaineering class though, and I'm sure we'll just figure out new ways to make time for each other. We both agree, however, that this is the best time for me to pursue my Masters, as we're thinking about kids in the next few years, and pregnancy+infants+grad school sounds like a quick trip to crazy town. I'm a little nervous, but still ready to take this next step to help further my career.

I'm applying to both Seattle Pacific University and Seattle University. The deadlines are both November 20th, but I only have a few more things to take care of, so the goal is to get them both submitted by the end of the week. Wish me luck!!