In my house lately

Despite a slight plagiarism of a Laine's Letters title, I thought I'd have an "In my house" post once in awhile to update what is going on in the day-to-day life around here.

I'm loving the change of seasons as we enter into my very favorite time... autumn.  It is not only for the colors and my favorite foods this time of year but anyone who has been on a college campus in fall knows it can be the best of times... and the worst of times if your football team is not doing well.  :)

We have had some seasonal changes in cooking, too.  Once again I'm making oatmeal most mornings... inexpensive and healthy.  My husband is quite happy I'm back to brewing green tea after the dishes have been washed each evening.  Neither is welcome in hot weather.   It is also the season for soups and stews and lovely filling casseroles.  (Can we say planned leftovers?)

Christopher drove out yesterday to pick up some cool weather shirts and a comforter.  He called on the way to ask if he should stop for lunch and when he found out there was leftover Holiday Spaghetti in the frig... he said he would be here ASAP.  Boy, did he time that visit right!  I wonder if there is some deep down radar, knowing when I have made his favorite food?

It was nice to see him and chat while he was enjoying the pasta dish (warmed with additional cheese on top).  This has been a big week for him as he spent Saturday with the family of his "girl who is a friend" and asked her father's permission to begin seriously dating.  So far they had only spent time together with family and friends.

He has had girls he liked very much before but I knew almost from the beginning that this relationship was different.  She is a lovely young woman from a Christian homeschool family in another town, also soon to turn twenty-one.  I knew he had taken a gift for her of the BBC North & South DVD (is that proof he has a mother and sister?) but he told me yesterday he had gone to a few stores before finding just the right bouquet for the special day.

Oh, her father gave his blessing...  :)

With flu season just around the corner, I am just beginning to try olive leaf extract (along with the vitamin C) to boost my immune system.  The doctor who owns the vitamin store where we purchase the vitamin C had recommended it to me a couple months ago.  It has worked well for others who had gone through resistance to antibiotics, which he says is happening quite often even for those without chronic illnesses.

We are still harvesting some tomatoes and peppers from the garden but a frost is expected soon.  I had to pull out all my fall garden after an insect infestation that ate away at all of them... overnight it seemed!  One thing gardening has taught me is that it is much like cooking... one learns from experience and never stops learning!

This week I'm also getting back to grinding wheat and making a loaf of wheat bread once a week.  (When we purchased our wheat grinder in the 90's, it was to boost my husband's immune system with freshly ground wheat.)  I have used the same bread recipe for years but I still have it printed out and taped inside the kitchen cabinet nearest my cutting board (along with Anna's Schoolhouse Coffeecake).

A blog friend sent me a yummy looking apple recipe, which I plan to try today or tomorrow.  I have apples that need to be used soon.  Speaking of those apples... I have had the sack with the "rejects" of these apples (given to me knowing I'd have to sort through them) sitting on the porch until my husband could throw them into the forest (a good snack for the forest critters). 

I moved it yesterday and found a spider the size of TEXAS!  It was so big I had to call hubby out to the porch to see it.  He was going to kill it but my reasoning has always been... live and let live outside but if they walk through my door... they are flattened.  I was going to take a picture but if Christopher ever saw it, he would never come back home.