Staying Close to Home

Yesterday I stayed close to home for a change. In the morning I caught up on a few blogs, listened to music, and enjoyed the solitude. I watched the trees outside my window dancing in the wind, along with leaves swirling through the air, and thought how it often takes a big wind to strip us bare... (Ah yes, I can be profound on rare occasions. ha ha!)

After washing some laundry and attacking the mess that was my upstairs, I made the not-so-difficult-decision to visit my favorite apple stand down on Lake Rd. where I can buy a bushel of apples for $15 (excluding Honeycrisp, which are $35 a bushel). Most years I visit Brownell's several times but work has kept me at bay this season. I filled my box with a mixed variety (which is probably one of those redundant statements); Northern Spy, 20 ounce, a few Crispins, perhaps some Empires or Cortlans, and topped it off with a bunch of my dad's favorite Ida Reds. I should more knowledgeable of apple varieties, but once I get them home I'm often not sure how to tell a Macoun from an Ida Red, Empire, or Cortland. Either way, everything I bought is good for tossing into pies, most of them are good for putting into a lunch box, and Ida Reds make a very pretty pink applesauce..

On my way to buy apples I passed a pumpkin patch. Couldn't help but think of the little ones who filled my house and hours not so long ago... Yes, sometimes I miss them. Perhaps I always will.

And, yesterday our oldest grandson turned eight. Pretty crazy! I wasn't a grandma at all when I started blogging. It turned out to be a really nice day even if I never did get a full face shot of Josh and his apple pie.