Tradition! Tradition!

At the beginning of the school year, we asked our 6th graders to write poems based on the George Ellen Lyon's poem "Where I'm From".  As part of the process students were asked to reflect on the things that were important to them and their families:  traditions, stories, special family foods, events, etc.  I'm a reading specialist - so I'm used to having kids balk at writing because of the difficulty of transferring thoughts into the written word.  But this year my students struggled for a different reason - many of them have no family traditions.

 

Even though I'm about to enter my 40s there are times when I find myself to be woefully naïve.  I grew up in a family steeped in tradition - some that existed before my birth, and some that were added when my sister and I were girls.  We're raising our kids in the same kind of environment.  As I watched my students struggle to complete the prewriting questions - I wondered if the way I was raised, and the way our family lives is not the norm.  Doesn't everyone live this way? 

 

Tradition has always been important to me.  I think that's one of the reasons I cook seasonally - it's another one of my own mini traditions.  I love comparing this year's events to the ones that have come before them, and now I hear my own children making the same comparisons.  There's a lot of "Remember when..." and "I think..." kinds of conversations happening.

 

My 90 year old grandmother called yesterday to remind me to set my clocks back an hour.  When I answered the phone she didn't say hello, she said... "It's tradition...".  Another one of her favorite phrases - which is now more of a family motto is... "You're building memories".  It's these shared experiences and traditions which hold us together.  They help us learn who we are, they ground us in the love of our families.  They give us shared memories that hold us solidly together.  When the kids leave for college and beyond we'll still be together through our traditions.

 

Halloween:  Carving and Making Our Own Costumes



Old enough to use the knife herself this year!

The annual make my face look just like my Jack O Lantern picture.



Rollers for Glinda hair

The Headless Horseman and Glinda on her way to the Emerald City (from Wicked) - Love that they both chose literary costumes this year!

Grandma's new friend 

Making Apple Dumplings

 Fall Campout and Hike to Tibet Knob

Over 75 friends joined us for our fall campout weekend to celebrate our friendships and our beautiful fall weather.

Farmer Dan demonstrates his bottle opener cap holder contraption.

Girls on the rocks

Overlook with WV in full color

Crafty Girl is a hobbit

Caramel Apples with the Thy Hand Crew

Actually, I think the adults enjoy this tradition as much as the kids.

What are your favorite family traditions? How do you bond your family together?  Hope you build some memories today.

Falling in Love With the Harvest

We've been making the most of Fall around here....

 

 

This is one of the best meals I've made in the past few weeks - it takes advantage of the early fall harvest and the last of the summer.  I simply made a big platter salad and put a simple garlic and herb vinaigrette on the table.  I made some bread sticks as well and everyone was very, very happy.

 

The kids and I spent a day at the pumpkin patch and then the corn maze.  We loaded up a wheelbarrow with pumpkins, squash and gourds - for both decorating and eating.

 

 

We went to the farm this weekend for the annual applesauce party and wood hauling weekend.  The guys hauled three large trailer loads of wood and split two more (5-6 cords).  The kitchen crew canned 75 quarts of applesauce.  We were also able to harvest the bounty of the farm - it felt so fulfilling to bring back so much from the farm, and the satisfied look on my dad's face knowing that our pantry was being filled from his land made the weekend.  This is what we came back with....

From the farm from left to right.... 2 gallons of frozen corn, 1 quart of dark maple syrup, 11/2 bushels of apples, 2 jars of apple butter, 2 jugs of good maple syrup, 1/2 bushel of pears, 1/2 bushel of grapes,  12 quarts of applesauce, 1 bushel of butternut squash and 1/2 bushel of potatoes...  From the Farmer's Market - 5 large cabbages (for sauerkraut and kimchee) and 4 large cauliflower. 

I did haul the canner out one more time for a very limited (3 quarts of pears with Amaretto) project.  But now, I'm really, really done.

Totally Tomatoes

The garden is winding down - there are a few tomatoes and cukes hanging on, but for the most part the big summer harvest is over.   In some ways I'm really ready for fall.  I've pulled out my warm clothes, I'm ready for The Woodsman to start making fires, I've got my crock pot soup recipes in the recipe file, and I'm definitely ready for the gnats to die.  But, saying goodbye to fresh tomatoes from the garden is difficult.  It's the end of the season and I'm still remembering recipes that I want to make and others that I want to repeat.  Just in case you need some ideas for your end of the summer tomatoes here are some non-recipe recipes for the last of your tomato harvest. 

 

Sungold, Black Cherry, Chelsea and Sweet Million

 

Tomato Corn Cups (created by Lily)

Put guacamole, corn and a cherry tomato in scoop type tortilla chips.  Makes a wonderful summer appetizer - and kids enjoy making them.

Panzanella

Toss bread cubes, chopped tomatoes, chopped cukes, mozzarella cheese chunks, basil and garlic with a simple red wine vinegar and oil mixture.  Stir and eat.

 Fancy Sliced Tomatoes

Layer in this order - tomatoes, onion slices, balsalmic drizzle, olive oil drizzle, salt, pepper and basil chiffonades.  Repeat.

Also on the plate - Quickles and Ratatouille over Polenta

 Caprese

Put big slices of heirloom tomatoes on a platter.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Drizzle with olive oil.  Place slices of fresh mozzarella and basil leaves on top. 


Roasted Tomatoes

Cut tomatoes in half.  Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.  Bake in a 325 oven until they are a bit dried out.  Stack in a canning jar alternating with basil leaves.  Fill jar with olive oil.  Keeps for months in the fridge.



Canning Season Comes to a Close

With the exception of the Applesauce Party at the farm in two weeks I'm done canning for the season.  I've put the canner away and I think I'll finally scrub the floor - it just might stay clean for a while.  In the past few weeks I've made spaghetti sauce, fermented Kosher Dills, V-8 juice, whole canned tomatoes, grape maple syrup and banana pepper honey mustard.  The canning cupboard and freezer are fully stocked - I'm hoping for a hard winter with lots of snow (and snow days). 

Other Processing Odds and Ends

I had a bumper crop of Red Peppers.  This is the first year I can remember that I haven't needed to buy any at the farmer's market.  I have an abundance of roasted red peppers in the freezer - they're going to provide some of summer's warmth in winter soups and pizzas.  We also had a decent root crop - the sweet potatoes, carrots and potatoes are all in the root cellar.  I'm letting the beets and turnips grow for a while yet - they like this cool weather.  I love all the varied colors in the fall.  It's a feast for the eye as well as the mouth.

Back to School

We're a month into school and everyone has settled into their classes and the fall routine.  Life is good.  

A week apart

I'm still working my way through all of the posts I meant to put up this summer. 

 

 

Did you send your kids to camp this summer?  You know, in some ways, it's the longest week of the year.  I miss them so, very, very much.  There are really only two weeks out of the year when we have absolutely no contact with them - camp week, and the week they go camping with my parents.  If I were a more selfish person I wouldn't let them go.  The house is quiet and quite empty while they're gone. 

 

But oh, when you see them again and they have a hundred million things to tell you.  And they speak their own language (because it's camp lingo that you just don't share).  And they still - months later - break into God songs at all times.  I'm so glad they go.

 

Camp shaped who I am today.  I grew as a person and I grew in my faith because of my counselors, and then later because of the counseling I did with my own campers.  Camp brought me The Woodsman - if someone loves you even when you come back in after a week long out trip they'll love you forever.  I learned to be independent at camp.  I refined my wilderness skills and increased my confidence.  We also made some lasting friendships - really camp people become family.

 

I'm so thankful for the young men and women who choose to spend their summers nurturing the small flame of faith in my children, and in all of their other campers.  Can't wait to send them back next summer.

 

 

Caroline Furnace Former Staff (back row) and Future Staff (front row)

Love these people... I'm in the second row third from left (I think I look pretty much the same).  The Woodsman is in the back row (the only other one with a beard).  You know, he's a lot the same too. 



Pure joy on this face during the closing worship on pick up day.

A counselor she'll remember (and love) forever. 

I think this pose and face were part of their post camp dance routine which involved something called "The Cheese Stick Song" 

Old Rag

We spend a lot of time at Shenandoah National Park.  One of our favorite spots in the park is an overlook of Old Rag.  For at least a year, our eldest has been asking to hike Old Rag.  This summer, The Woodsman and The Girl finally went.  Our youngest had absolutely no desire to do this hike.  I wasn't the least bit disappointed.  I love to hike, and I'm not afraid of doing some huffing and puffing to get to the top of a steep slope, but Old Rag is more rock than trail.  My heart was in my throat most of the time they were gone - why is it that mother's has such keen (and bloody) imaginations -, but I'm glad they went.  I know what a wonderful bonding experience it can be to hit a difficult trail with your Dad.  This hike is a memory they'll share forever.