The Monster

So, this post is going to be a bit lacking in pretty pictures and whatnot due to the fact that I have spent the last twenty-odd hours battling an evil monster that crept its way into my house. It invaded silently, suddenly, and with horrifying speed. One text tipped me off that something was headed my way:

"Can you make tea?"

A husband who normally does not request tea is now requesting tea? SOMETHING IS AFOOT. My suspicions were confirmed when a sad, sick-looking sweetheart informed me he wasn't hungry.

Oh no. The cold is here.

Now before we all go psycho nuts: no. We don't have Ebola. I checked. WebMD reassured me that we only have brain cancer. What a relief.

Normally, Sailor is the last to succumb to ailments (unless that ailment is poison ivy), so I was quite shocked that he was the one who brought the monster home. Granted, everyone at his work has been getting it, but I really thought we were immuno-fortified and ready to combat this season. Guess not.

I will admit, I had been feeling under the weather all weekend. Had a tiny, quick fever and some puffy red eyes for two days, but nothing like the monster we are currently fighting. I am talking: lack of appetite, chills, aches, sinus pressure, exhaustion, feeling-cold-when-really-you-are-burning-up, type of stuff. My poor husband is much deeper in the throes of it than I am, because as soon as I got that text about tea I started downing vitamin c pills like I was aiming for an overdose. Regardless, I still have a fair few poopy symptoms that have me glued to the couch.

Please don't take anything I am writing as actual medical advice. I'm sleepy and delusional, but there's nobody home to stop me from writing a melodramatic blog post.

I am so worried that my poor, sweet, and (so far) completely unaffected baby Z is going to turn into a mini monster if I am not insanely proactive. I mean, I'm washing all the laundry as it hits the floor, bathing in hand sanitizer, and scrubbing my hands to the bone. Thank goodness this little boy is so chill: all he wants is to be able to see his mom and dad from his bouncy seat most of the time. Which I am completely capable of accommodating. I cannot imagine having a baby who needed to be constantly held to keep from crying.

Though, not holding him unless I have to is hard. He's so darn cute after all. But it's for the best. Sacrifices.

So, my suggestions to all you out in internet land?
-Drink all the water.
-Wash yo' hands, ya nasty.
-Buy vitamin C in all forms NOW before you are sick so you don't have to go to the store when you are sick (trust me).
-Chicken soup. Make it. Eat it. Freeze it. Don't run out of it.
-Keep your tylenol bottle stocked. We didn't have any. Again, going to store when you are sick is ultra poop.
-Get Kleenex. Like I said above.
-Hot baths multiple times a day if you do fall prey to the monster.
-Netflix.

I think I need to go take a nap now.

Autumnal Adventures: My Seasonal Bucket List

I don't think I'm the only person who does this, but I make a mental bucket list of sorts for each new season as we go into it. Autumn, being my favorite season, has the longest bucket list. And so far, (although some of my staple activities can't be done since we live elsewhere) I've been doing pretty good a knocking things off the list this year...

 

 Make a giagantor pot of Chili

It's kind of cheating to count making chili as being crossed off my list, because it's something I don't actually do. Mr. Sailor is a chili-making fiend and refuses to allow me to help. It's "his thing" and I am completely happy reaping the benefits without having to input any of the labor. He even does the dishes after he makes it!! Well, some of them. Regardless, chili-making is only allowed to be done during the fall/winter, according to Sailor. Since he is the Chief Chili-Maker, I can't really argue.

This big pot of yum yums he made a couple weeks ago was a sure sign that, yes, fall had arrived. It's my unofficial official indication of the changing seasons. "Is Sailor in the mood to cook chili? Yes? Must be autumn."

Nature hikes to enjoy the colors

This one we've already done, too, but (like chili-making) it can happen several times through the season. In fact, I want to to happen several times, but if I get at least one good nature outing in, I'm somewhat less put out that there weren't more.

Out here, there isn't too much of the whole "massive riot of color" for the changing trees. I mean, some of the stuff changes colors, but it's not like the reds and oranges and yellows from back home. A fall nature hike here is most likely to include snow, if you go into the mountains like I am inclined to do.

Last Thursday, Ernest and I surprised Daddy by picking him up from work with a picnic already loaded in the back. We drove around some new neighborhoods and headed waaayyyy up into the canyons. We ended up taking a very, very bumpy dirt road up to the tip top of the Alta ski resort. There was a little parking area, and you could look down and see the whole canyon. It was beautiful, awesome, and chilly. But totally worth it.

SNOW!!!

I packed grilled salami and provolone sandwiches (on GF bread, for both of us), pasta salad made with gf corn pasta, garlic hummus and gf pretzels, and sugared raspberries. The icing on the cake? Homemade hot cocoa made with real dutch cocoa and delicious whole milk. I felt so fancy unpacking it all. Sailor was quite impressed with my picnic planning skillz.

Other important things on the autumnal bucket list:

Apple picking (done, a couple times, over at Pyper Jeans)

Apple doughnuts (gotta find GF ones!!)

Carve a pumpkin

Make The Best Ever Pumpkin Cookies

Campfire

 Collect some nice leaves

Decorate porch for fall

Canning and preserving (I could cross this off, but it's never really done)

Make socks

Get Pumpkin Shakes at Culver's 

See a Harvest moon (Coming up!!!)

What do you do each fall?

Apple Party: Classic Apple Pie Filling Recipe

Last Thursday, I had the privilege to go to a canning party at my friend Pyper Jean's house. She has three apple trees that are just bursting with fruit this year!! The need to can and preserve is at it's all time peak. The bounty of the county is upon us!!

Pyper invited me over just in time. Autumn is my favorite season. This is the first time I have ever lived outside the Midwest, and it is surprisingly hard. I've felt homesick for people since we moved out here: I miss family and friends to the max. But since fall has...fallen here in Utah, I've found myself missing a season. I miss Midwestern harvest.

Harvest out here is different. Not bad different, but different nonetheless. There are no massive fields of corn here to watch turn from green to brown. No sounds of combines and grain dryers running through the night. Being able to soothe my longing for harvest by getting out in the yard at Pyper's and picking produce was wonderful.

And you can't beat having great company for picking!! Ernest was such good help. He slept through the whole thing. Well, until I ran out of room in the basket and started piling apples on top of him in his car seat. Haha. At least he was a good sport about it.

Dat faaacceeee!

Once we got all the produce inside, it was time to start the real work! Meika, Pyper, and I donned our aprons and set to work. We peeled, cored, sliced, and measured and ended up with ten quarts of apple sauce and ten quarts of apple pie filling. Maybe more? I didn't count exactly. But I can tell you what, it made the whole house smell delicious. And that's what counts.

We were a whirlwind of canning!!

With the permission of the lovely Pyper Jean, I'm going to share her recipe with you all out here in internet land. It is simply lovely, and I guarantee it will make your house smell so astoundingly, autumn-ly intoxicating.

The Recipe: Classic Apple Pie Filling

18 cups baking apples, peeled and sliced
1/2 cup lemon juice
4 cups brown sugar
1 cup corn starch
2 tbs cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
8 cups water

In a large bowl mix apples with lemon juice to keep them from browning. Set aside. In a large bowl combine brown sugar, corn starch, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg. Add water and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly.Boil for 2 minutes. Add apples and return to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until apples are tender, about 6-8 minutes. Have your quart jars and lids hot and ready. Pack each jar with the filling to 1/2 inch from the top. Screw down lids. Process in a hot water bath for 20 minutes. 

Meika brought over her spinning wheel and made a bit of yarn while we gossiped during the processing time of the batches. Despite all the work, there was still time to get some cuddles in and enjoy the view.

If I'm going to miss autumn in the Midwest, at least I'm in a beautiful place.