*NC Mountain Fresh Apples

If you read my last post, you recall that I recently made a trip to North Carolina. The timing was so perfect for so many things, such as it was peak season (for the fall colors in the mountains), and  I needed to spend some time with the best friend in the world, as well as the apple orchards were brimming over with this seasons juicy crop. I had been wanting to find some apples at rock bottom prices for canning and turns out the timing of my spur of the moment trip paid off!

Most of the orchards had their various apple selections for sale at the price of $26 (I think) per bushel. They of course sold them for half bushel, peck, half peck etc as well.  Some of the orchards had some bagged up and were selling them as "apple sauce" apples due to some bug stings, or possibly a bruise or two on some of the apples.  Making apple sauce was my plan with some of the apples, I was able to get two bags which made a bushel at the total price of $14. I was pretty thrilled.  A bushel of apples weighs about 45lbs, so this means I was able to get the apples for .31 per pound.  The apples that were bagged up (At Granddad's Apples in Hendersonville, NC) were so lightly damaged that I found myself wishing they had had more of them available.  But as it was my BFF and I bought all they had!  Great deal!

 Franziska and I really enjoying every moment of being in each others presence. So very grateful for dear friends who touch your heart and change you forever!

 Me looking really happy about my receipt and how much I just  "saved" by buying the bruised etc apple sauce apples!

Dreaming of planting an orchard on the back of our property! OH, wait, no I better leave the apple growing to NC so that I might make a trip to the mountains at least every October!

Pink Lady is Henry's favorite apple and trust me he has tasted many apples. He has always been an apple connoisseur.  I have apple cores that I collected over the years that he would leave under his bed, in a basket, and other various unacceptable places. I would also find them in places you would never expect to find a dried up apple core. I learned to pick them up and treasure what was left behind. Don't get me wrong, I didn't say, "Oh honey, you just put them where ever you want" but I tried to find joy in the messes sometimes. This was one of them that I learned to treasure. I now have a small basket  that holds some dried up apple cores from days gone by when my little guy still had his cute little primary teeth. 

 

This was taken at one of our favorite places to trip over to when I am in town, Lake Lure & Chimney Rock.  If you are ever in the area it really is a must see.  So much to take in, even if you don't buy a thing! The peaceful time by the bubbling Broad River is enough just in itself! Here is a YouTube of that area that you might enjoy.

 Once I got back home with our apples, Eric and I got right busy with peeling, coring and slicing. We love to work together on projects like this, we do make a good team.  I stumbled across a apple, peeler, corer, slicer while we were in a little General Store downtown there near Lake Lure.  I have, of course seen them before, but with having just bought two bushels of apples, I thought it might come in handy.  Turns out it was a great help and my beloved was glad I got it. Over the next few days I tried numerous apple fritter recipes trying to master the "fritter".   I ended up modifying one recipe to fit our desires and will post it for you all soon.  I think my dh could eat them breakfast, lunch and dinner but I am personally about frittered out.

 We were able to can 20 jars or so of apple sauce. I still have one half bushel that I plan to make apple butter with over the next week.  We also dehydrated a bunch as well. We all really enjoy munching on the apple slices as snacks, now to stretch them out... and not gobble them all up in one week.

Pears canned - check
Tomatoes canned - check
Potatoes canned - check
Apples canned - check
Pumpkins on the vine- will can
Cabbages growing swiftly - will make sauerkraut
and the list goes on and on as the seasons go.

We love being able to put up wholesome food for our family and looking for good prices, country fruit and vegetable stands are now something we keep our eyes opened for as well as grow as much as we can here at Erilyn.

*scenic Sunday smiley reason...

Scenic Sunday hosted a picture of a big smiley face, grinning from ear to ear.  Sunday night I got a call from my best friend, Franziska.  She had some news that would make me smile from ear to ear... she and Mary were leaving Monday morning to tackle the long drawn out 9 hour drive to Florida for a short stay!  Best day ever! (are you a Sponge Bob watcher?)

This is what we will be doing all week, laughing, having a good time, basking in each others presence, for it has been more than a year since we had the opportunity to do this.  So thankful, such a gift (missing you Sarah!).

We're Expecting!: Urgent Prayer Request

Click on the link below to see the request and blog of my dear friend:

We're Expecting!: Urgent Prayer Request

*southern women

Don't these ladies just look like Southern women? They really are!  Both are packed with loads of charm and the ability to make you feel like family.  I will truly miss them when we move away.  Francis is amazing with knitting needles, and both of them are skilled quilters!

Southern women know bad manners when they see them:
~~~~~~Not sending thank you notes
~~~~~~Velvet after February
~~~~~~White shoes before Easter or after Labor Day

Southern women appreciate their natural assets:
~~~~~~Dewy skin
~~~~~~A winning smile
~~~~~~That unforgettable drawl

Southern women know their manners:
~~~~~~"Yes, ma'am"
~~~~~~"Yes, sir"

Southern women have a distinct way with fond expressions:
~~~~~~"Y'all come back!"
~~~~~~"Well, bless your heart."
~~~~~~"Drop by when you can."
~~~~~~"How's your mama?"
~~~~~~"Love your hair."

Southern women know everybody's first name:
~~~~~~Honey
~~~~~~Darlin'
~~~~~~Sugah

Southern women know their country breakfasts:
~~~~~~Grits
~~~~~~Country ham
~~~~~~Mouth-watering, homemade biscuits

Southern women know their p's &q's:
~~~~~~"P"ecan pie (pronounced "puh con" not pee-can)
~~~~~~"P"ralines (pronounced "praw-leens" not "pray-leens")
~~~~~~"P"unch

This was taken from the internet  author unknown.

*coconut dream pie

Oops, I meant Coconut Cream Pie, for this is what I have been constantly dreaming about, searching for, thinking on since that beautiful rainy afternoon in May of last year.  Last summer Wendie and I met some very dear friends in Paducah Kentucky, home of the National Quilting Museum and Hancocks of Paducah!  All of us once lived in the same city, here in North Carolina and over the years created some strong bonds.  For that summer we were "The Paducah Girls 15 to 69"; with 15 being the youngest and 69 being the oldest!

There were several highlights of our time in Kentucky with some of our best of friends.  One of them being our daily stop at Hancocks of Paducah each morning, migraine or not.. we were at those bins looking at the $3.98 per yard cuts each day. I think one of those days we went twice. 

This is a famous quilt, it has traveled high and low seeking matching fabrics to finish it up.  It made this particular trip to find borders and after much deliberating a perfect match was found that worked great with this Kaffe quilt.

 The youngest of us all, outside the National Quilting Museum -fitting right in!

Another highlight of course was our visit to the quilt museum. Unfortunately we were not able to take any pictures of the exquisite quilts inside of the museum.  Let me just say.. if you are ever in the area you MUST go! 

O.K. So we had lunch at this place down by the river in Paducah (wish I could remember the name of the place), where we also had dessert!  Here you see my friend, Robyn, trying to make the decision to order a piece of THE pie. She did take the plunge.. I know she is glad she did. In fact, I think they have been there since! Oh am I jealous!

Wendie and I shared a piece.. we wait!!!!

I look at these pictures a bit embarrassed because Wendie and I were sharing this slice, it seems I could have pushed the dish a bit closer to her. But no.  It was so delicious.

I am so grateful for this time. It was a gift to me on so many different levels. There is just something about being with loved ones, having fun, laughing til you almost wet your pants, and even having the blessed opportunity of tears that heal past hurts. Amen?!

I love this picture of that very afternoon on which we spent time in that fabulous restaurant there in Paducah! Don't you just love the life, the movement in this picture?  Out front is Wendie, a mother figure in mine and Robyn's life  looking back at Fallon, Robyn and Madeline. 

This post came about due to my insatiable desire for a piece of warm Coconut Cream Pie. I have searched recipes, only cooking one of them this past week.  Um.. it was NOT the recipe that captured the creamy taste of the dish I had part of a year ago.  It turned out pretty in pictures... (the picture on the recipe looks JUST LIKE the slice we had in Paducah..)

but let me just tell you that it was not even in the ball park in comparison to the one I had in Kentucky. As I sit and write this I am realizing that I may never taste pie that good again. I think maybe it was paired with the goodness of the actual pie, but also with the company I was in at the time of enjoying it.  So now you know that should you find yourself in Paducah, Kentucky take a drive down to the river front.. seek out the restaurant that serves homemade pies.  Treat yourself, order a whole piece just for yourself. Enjoy!

*wrapped up in love

A quilt will warm your body and comfort your soul  ~  Quilts made with love age with time, but never lose their warmth  ~ Quilts are like friends, a great source of comfort  ~ Family and friends make a house a home and with a quilt of friends, it will never be cold.

May these things be true on this day for a special friend of ours, Joann.  Joann is a member of our quilting group, who was diagnosed with lung cancer earlier this year. Joann is a giver. A giver of her efforts, of her time, of her money.   I am so grateful for the opportunity to be giving back to her in this way.  

Last year our quilting group decided to do something very special for each other, not knowing if this would be the last year of class or not.  Our fearless leader, Wendie and one other, came up with the idea of what we called "Pass My Bag Quilt".  Each lady of our group was responsible for picking out fabrics of their choosing, their favorite liking.  We were to put our fabrics in a bag that would ultimately be passed from one quilter to the next over the next twelve months finally making its way back to the owner.  Each quilter would make the one pattern of their choice (mine was the flower basket in the pieced block) with each individual quilters fabric as we received their bag.  The pictures below are an example of each quilters block.  We do not have a block made by Joann in our quilts because Joann did not participate in the "Pass the Bag Quilt" project.  Happily, we made Joann one with some of her favorite fabrics without her knowing.

This quilt is so very beautiful. It is beautiful on so many different levels. In fact, today when we took it over to Joann, it became more beautiful simply because of her reaction when she opened and saw that she was loved enough...  A quilter knows all the work that goes into a piece of such work.  Joann knows. She was very touched, a bit overwhelmed perhaps.  Each of the eighteen quilters in our group either made a block or were represented with a pieced block and I had the privilege of putting this under the needle of my machine to quilt.

Several others had made her a beautiful prayer quilt, people she does not know, from somewhere in North Carolina.  The fact that someone who does not  know her while making a prayer quilt for her touched her deeply.  I had never seen a prayer quilt before, but did you know that prayer quilts are tied and the floss is left long... so when you pray you tie a knot. I thought that was sweet. I had never really like tied quilts.. but this puts a whole new spin on it for me.  One of the dear ladies in our group is a knitter as well and had sent Joann a beautiful green knitted hat. Joann said she can hardly wait for it to become winter again so she can wear it!

Will you pray for Joann? She is doing great, better than she had ever thought she would be doing when she first found out of her cancer. She has seven or eight more treatments to go and has hope of  getting a clean bill of health ... I am not sure how the chemo and radiation all works, but will you agree with me that her white blood count will be up where it needs to be so she can have her treatments timely? Will you agree with me that she will continue to feel well and have a high hope for the future? I am sure, because she said so, that Joann had some difficult times initially.  Both internally and dealing individually with her family members on this news. But let me tell you, she is a brave and courageous woman.

On a last note.. Joann goes in every week for chemo, and each week she takes a different quilt to put on the bed she has to be in while getting treatment. This week she will take the "Thursday Girls-Pass the Bag Quilt" along with a matching pillow case to grace the bed she will be in while there.