Sunday, September 7, 2008

about crabapples - family affair

Crabapple pickers

Grandpa reading

Gig's pix

174 Oeming Road

Hello All -
It has been some time since I last posted. Too busy with canning, freezing, jam/jelly making. Grandpa is the best berry picker.He has picked saskatoons, chokecherries, cranberries as well as picked rhubarb& crabapples (at the neighbors) I have now quite a cupboard full of preserves & chutneys, relishes, & jams/jellies plus of course his favorite fruit -apricots.
I flew to Seattle to visit Coleen,Rachel, & the twins. Had a lot of fun with them. When Coleen took us to the Childrenès Museum I fell & was out of commission for a spell. In fact, I still ache. Octagenarians seem to lose their balance easily & I realize I have to be more careful. I did watch the twins for an hour or two in the day when Coleen had to run errands. I read to the twins, watched them while they were in the bathtub, watched Mr Einstein with them (very neat DVD) much better than The Incredibles. I enjoyed watching them play in the fenced-in play area that Grandpa Oliver designed to keep them from running hither & thither.
We have concentrated on our callings with the Single Adults & YSA & have had them to our home for a meal - it is easier to handle i or 2 or 3- takes a bit of energy but makes us feel that we are meeting their needs & getting to know them better.
We had Hugo over one morning & I taught him some cooking techniques - like frying eggs (easy over), making toast & hot chocolate. He learns quickly. grandpa lead the reading from the New Era & we had a very good discussion - he is a very good reader & can contribute to a discussion. We also had ivy & Blake for several hours one day. We did a variety of things - even watched the video - The Secret Garden. It is amazing how they understood the plot & the names of the characters.
kate & the boys came over & we picked crabapples from our neighbor's garden. Ben was right in there picking & enjoying it. I have returned to work at the Temple but have come home exhausted- I may need a later-in-the-day shift. Getting up at 5 am may be too taxing for me.
We attended a neat Ward party with Hu & Hugo last week. Different people had they special culinary displays for tasting - Hudson's hooch, spinach dip, Sam's jam, jamaica salsa, cinnamon pull-aparts, carmeled apples, peanut butter sesame bars, raisin bread, empenadas, cedarplanked salmon, chili. delicious food. Everyone brought a caesar salad . The ward provided the corn on the cob. They had a Musical Chairs game- quite a few chairs. Hugo won the prize. A most enjoyable social evening.