So, Fall is in full swing here. The nighttime air has been dropping to chilly 30 degree temperatures. The days go from super sunny to grey skies, wind and rain. Most of the leaves have fallen from the trees in my yard and each day I marvel at the simplistic beauty outside my kitchen window. Then, my next thought is "Ugh, it's so cold!" A month ago, we were experiencing unusually warm weather. It was humid and in the 90's and I was running around the house in short shorts and t-shirts. I had the windows open, with the warm breeze drifting in and out if the window screens. It was bliss. Now, I'm running around with sweaters layered over t-shirts while I scope out the house, searching for areas that need to be sealed up. The process of preparing the house for winter is my main focus at the moment. That and baking, I have been baking a tremendous amount of pies, bread and doughnuts.
Freshly fried doughnuts are the bomb! Oh, and Halloween is coming and this year, I am celebrating by not handing out candy! What? I know. Yes, so since I moved, I didn't need to decorate the front porch like I've done every year for the past decade. It is so freeing to not have to make my porch look like a haunted house. It is such a relief to not scramble to morning of Halloween to come up with some sort of costume to wear to pass out candy. This year, I'll be sipping coffee while I watch (from a distance) a small group of tweens trick-or-treat. It will be one of those things where they kids get a little independence, while the grown-ups still are watching over and making sure they stay safe. It will be way less of a stress than handing out candy, in full costume, while making small children cry as they cautiously accept your treats.
As I write this post, I am watching last seasons episodes of Chasing Life on Netflix. The other day, I began watching an episode of the current season on American Horror Story: Hotel and half- way through I was reminded of why I stopped watching the show. It just isn't my thing. I like spooky shows, in fact, I'm LOVING the show Scream Queens, it's hilarious; but AHS is just too much for me. Hopefully, I'll watch Night Of The Living Dead tonight, if I can manage to stay awake. I do like a good zombie movie/show. Which brings me to The Walking Dead, the last episode was rough and, in order to avoid spoilers, that is all I have to say about that.
Two weeks ago, the mister and I decided to make grape jam. He picked four grocery bags full of concord grapes and I found a recipe on Pinterest for grape jam. I'd never tasted grape jam before, I've only had grape jelly. So, we followed the directions and made delicious jam. I wish it were as simple as that, though. Two hours into the process, I quickly realized that the recipe was seriously flawed, that the person who wrote the post was not nearly as thorough as they should have been and I deeply regretted not consulting the Bell canning book. We were up past midnight, waiting for the darn jam to gel. We broke up the frustration of the project by eating late night Totino's pizza and watching Doctor Who. Yes, the jam is delicious. I enjoyed it on toasted homemade anadama bread this morning. However, if I ever make it again, I'll use a different recipe and start it much, much earlier in the day.
So, that is what I've been up to lately. A bunch of baking, coffee drinking and all kinds of domestic delights. The next time I make a pie, I'll try to remember to document it, so that I can actually share my recipe. Until next time~ Toodahloo!
