Apple Picking at Radke's Orchards

On a misty Sunday morning this past weekend, my son and I set out in our car to pick apples in Indiana. Our destination, Radke's Orchards, allows dogs on their property, so we brought Rusty, our golden retriever, along with us.

The funny thing is Rusty hates getting into the car so I have to lift him up. He's a large dog so I do it by manuevering him close to the door, putting his front paws on the seat, and then lifting with all my might the rest of him into the car. Ooof! In movies, dogs seem to just jump into cars all on their own and enjoy sticking their heads out the windows, but not our Rusty. Doesn't he look angelic in this photo? You'd never guess he's a reluctant rider.


The fog lifted well before we arrived and we had a perfect fall day for apple picking. I had chosen to travel country roads rather than highways to get there which made for a relaxing drive.

The apple orchard sold half bushel plastic bags for fifty cents each so I ambitiously bought two. We started our apple picking with Galas. The orchard provided us with a map showing where the various varieties were planted. Trees at the ends of the rows were marked with tags denoting the variety name and harvest date.


Rusty was a big hit with all the little children out apple picking with their families. He was very well behaved and enjoyed his opportunity to check out new territory and smells. My son and I had to laugh when he sniffed around the outside of the porta potty and relieved himself right in front of it.


Radke's Orchards has picnic tables located throughout the orchard which makes a great place to eat lunch or just rest a bit. We looked over the amount of apples we'd already picked and decided maybe one bag would suit us just fine. After all it was quite a lot to haul around along with holding the dog's leash, his water bowl, a water bottle, my purse, my camera...you get the idea.


While we were resting here in the shade, Rusty ate some apples and apple peels that were underneath the picnic table. [Unfortunately they didn't agree with him and he got carsick on the ride home. Fortunately we were almost home and I had lined the backseat with a towel.] Ahhh, life with a dog.

We concluded our apple picking with selecting Golden Delicious and Jonagold apples. Safely returned home, that night we made homemade apple crisp. Yum yum! It's easy and quick to make so I've provided the recipe below for those of you who haven't tried it.


APPLE CRISP RECIPE given to me by my friend Marilyn

Preheat oven to 350° F. Thinly slice 6 cups of apples. Mix apples with 1/4 cup water, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 2 Tablespoons flour, and 1/2 tsp. cinnamon. Mix well and place into an 8" x 8" baking dish. Make apple crisp topping by melting 1/2 stick of butter and adding to it 1 cup uncooked Quaker Oats, 1/4 cup brown sugar, and 1/4 tsp. cinnamon. Spread topping over the apples. Bake 30-35 minutes.

Note: I really like the topping and will double the topping measurements.


Hope you're enjoying apple season where you live. It's one of the highlights of my fall.

Dodge the Highlighters

The other day I was in the car with my 17 year old son and I asked him if he had any good school stories to share. The week before he had told me of his heroics when a snake was discovered in the school lunchroom. The story went that his teacher had unsuccessfully attempted to capture it using two Styrofoam cups. When Charlie and two of his buddies heard about the situation, they raced from the gymnasium to get to the snake. Charlie got there first by jumping over a counter. He picked the snake up behind its head and waving it menacingly at his classmates took it outdoors.

It was only a harmless garter snake, but still - what a story. I could picture the whole episode in my head. With that in mind, Charlie began telling me about finding a knife that day. Not a butcher knife or switchblade, simply a table knife. But naturally, he didn't tell me that part right away, just like he didn't mention that the snake was a garter until after he got the effect of seeing my face react to the word snake.

Anyways, he told me this occurred during Dodge the Highlighters. Hmmm. When he said that, my mind got busy imagining a scene of unsupervised teenagers tossing neon colored pens at each other and ducking behind tables and chairs. In disbelief, I said, "Is that what you were supposed to be doing?" He said "Yes, that was our M period today." When I asked where was the teacher during Dodge the Highlighters, he said, "No, Mom. I said Adopt a Highway!" Oops. He had been outdoors participating in a service project to pick up trash along the roadway instead of having an out of control study hall session. We got a good laugh out of that hearing mistake and it gave me a story of my own to share.

Simply Perfect

On Tuesday night, my husband bowled a perfect game. What made this one extra special, is that bowling it put him in an elite class. He is among the very few men* who have bowled a 300 game over 6 decades of bowling seasons. My husband's first came during the 1969/70 season when he was a teenager.  During the early 1990s, when he was dating me and pursuing his dream of being a pro bowler, I watched him bowl a 300 game in a PBA (Professional Bowlers Association) tournament. In 1992 he opened a bowling business which he stills runs today.

Over six decades, styles come and go, but Rob's love for bowling remains the same. Congratulations!

Rob and Charlie with 300
celebration cake in 2002

Rob and Charlie with 300
celebration cake in 2012

*According to the United States Bowling Congress website, there are only 5 other men who have achieved this. Hopefully, Rob's name will soon be joining theirs in the honors list. It all depends if the records have been sent in to the USBC over the years.

Looking Forward to the New Year 2012

I wonder what 2012 will bring? I'm hoping for some new adventures, but I want to stay closer to home this year. Here are some of the activities I hope to experience this year with family and friends:

• Snowshoeing - I have never tried this winter sport. What's lured me in is that I can rent a pair for $10, go at my own pace along a trail, and then exchange the snowshoes when I'm finished for a large hot chocolate!
• Taking a tour of Quilt Gardens. I have a friend who adores quilting and I love flowers so it seems like a perfect fit for us. I can't wait to photograph these gardens.
• Giving canoeing a second shot but with someone other than my son who refuses to get into a canoe with me again, ha ha. For those who don't know the story of our previous experience, you can read it here.
• Travelling to the Bristol Renaissance Faire in Wisconsin. This is something my husband and I have talked about doing for a long time. I'm hoping to organize it as an outing for my ALDA support group. I think the visual spectacle will be something we deafies can enjoy.
• Participating in the reindog parade, of course.

What are your hopes and dreams or even plans for the New Year?

Gotcha, Mom

I don't usually think of my son as a CODA (child of deaf adult) , but we had two moments recently that were rather CODAlike if you will. The first one happened at the public library. I went there to pick up my son. He was sitting in a comfy reading area in a far corner with his nose in a book while waiting for me. When we got in the car, he told me that he could hear me as soon as I came in the room. "How?" I demanded. "You were jangling your keys," he replied. Oops.
Another time we were riding in the car and the song "Staying Alive" by the BeeGees came on the radio. My son had never heard it before. Well, at least not sung by them. His only previous exposure was my annoying habit of singing triumphantly, "ah, ah, ah, ah, STAYING ALIVE" when I managed to make it safely past his hotels while broke in a Monopoly game. Listening to the song with him, I realized that "staying alive" were the only two words I knew of the song. Then, I made the mistake of telling him that. He said with a deadpan look, "Really, Mom. Did you know this song is about a guy on the run from the cops?" "No!," I said in surprise thinking back to John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever. Hmmm, I didn't remember that from the movie....He interrupted my thoughts with a decisive, "Gotcha, Mom!"
Maybe there should be a new acronym. POHC - Parent of a Hearing Child. I think I may need to start a support group....

School Bus Cake

My husband and his school bus cake

I made this school bus cake in honor of my husband's new gig as a school bus driver. Today's his first day, my son's return to school, and the start of fall semester at the university where I work.

The cake, a surprise for my husband, was easy to make. I made it from 2 pound cakes, mini nilla wafer cookies for the kids' faces, mini chocolate doughnuts for the tires, and white chocolate chips for the center of the wheels and the headlights. I decorated it using orange and red M & Ms for safety lights and used black and red icing gel to create outlines on the bus and the children's features. I searched "School Bus Cake" on Google to get inspiration and decorating directions.

Here's hoping that students, teachers, and staff everywhere have a safe, enjoyable, and educational school year ahead.

Tis the Season to Be Jolly

Today I attended my fourth holiday party within the last week. Whew, I don't want to get anywhere near a scale! The first one held last Wednesday was a university staff party. I walked away from the annual raffle with two Christmas CDs. Not bad. I wasn't named Employee of the Year, but a good friend of mine was, so I am very happy about that. She's such a hard worker that she didn't even take time away from her job to attend the party and have the chance to walk onstage to receive her award. Now that's dedication!

The next party I attended was the Chicago ALDA holiday social. This was my first time to attend. I think this event is almost a rite of passage. You aren't really a member of Chicago ALDA until you've been there. Kind of like you haven't attended the ALDA national convention until you've been to the karaoke party. Members of ALDA (Association for Late Deafened Adults) will know what I mean. I've heard stories but haven't been there myself. Yet.

Anyways, the Chicago ALDA social was held on Saturday night in this beautiful Victorian home in historic Oak Park. Doesn't it just look festive and inviting?

I came with my friend Ann, another newcomer to the group. Here the two of us are posed on either side of our hostess, Mary. She told me she has been a member of ALDA for more than twenty years. Ann and I enjoyed getting to meet more of the ALDA membership. Everyone was friendly and welcoming to us. And I have to mention the food at the party was outstanding.

Ann, Mary, and me

On Sunday my family attended a banquet for our afternoon bowling league. In the photo below, Charlie and I are holding the Strawberry Pretzel Salad we brought. This dessert features a pretzel/butter crust, a layer of cream cheese, sugar, and cool whip, and a layer of strawberry jello and strawberries. We topped ours with another layer of cool whip. If you'd like the recipe, just drop me an email.

Charlie and me at the lanes. We bowl
with a father/daughter team from our church.

Below is a shot of the food table at the banquet. Yummy. We ate while we bowled which made for a mellow afternoon of competition. There wasn't much of anything left at the end of three bowling games. Do you think we burned enough calories bowling to compensate?

Potluck Bowling Banquet

Today's party was the library staff holiday luncheon. The library was closed for two hours so no one had to be on public service duty during the party. I enjoyed spending time with coworkers I seldom see due to working in different departments and on different shifts. Best of all, after my table was finished eating, we reconvened to an adjacent area with comfy chairs where one staffer serenaded us on his guitar. He played his own songs which are in a folk music type of style. I couldn't catch most of the words he sang, but I heard the guitar chords clearly. It was so relaxing.

Last year at this time, I took time off for a baking frenzy. This year I've been working and have only made one batch of gingerbread men so far. To be completely honest, my son came up with the idea and made the dough himself. I only assisted with the decorating. In comparison to last December, I was feeling pretty good about my calorie intake. Until I wrote this post, that is. Realizing just how much food I've eaten at these four parties makes me see that I'm not really ahead of last year after all. Oh well, tis the season to be jolly....and well fed.

Celebration of Family History

Me, my aunt Louise, my Uncle Gene,
my cousin Worley, my husband, and my son.

Genealogy has never been an interest of mine. I don't find investigating the family tree the all consuming passion that my husband, my father, and so many others do. Honestly, I never understood the fascination with one's ancestors until recently. My change of heart began with a letter.

Last August I received an elegantly worded invitation to attend the 125th anniversary of a historical society my great great grandfather had started. The current membership had tracked down all the living descendants of the orginal thirty-three founders and requested the honor of their presence at this momentous occasion. As letters like that don't arrive in my mailbox everyday and I hadn't seen my relatives that lived in the area for two years, I chose to attend and make it a family event by bringing my husband and son along too.

Sons of the American Revolution

Due to our work schedules, we chose to fly in to a major eastern city late the night before and drive down to meet our family at the courthouse in time for the event. As I had just been there two years before, I didn't anticipate any travel problems. I was blissfully unaware that a complicated new highway system had been built in the meantime. Naturally we promptly got lost. The situation was more problematic because the one hour time difference between the Central and Eastern time zones had affected me more than I realized and we were running late. Fortunately, a quick cell phone call to my aunt got us on the right road once again. We arrived only minutes late. Luckily, someone at the local newspaper had misprinted the event's time by a half hour and the historical society chose to wait the additional thirty minutes before beginning. We were able to catch our breath, connect with our relatives, and be introuduced to the historical society director without missing a thing.

Me, Charlie, historical society members, and other descendants
gathered in front of the courthouse for a photo op.

Charlie cut the ribbon
(I was too slow on the draw to get the ribbon in the
photo, but you can see he still has the scissors in hand.)

Bringing a teenager to a historical society celebration seemed a bit risky to me. Although my son loves history I wasn't sure whether this event would hold his interest long. I needn't have worried. My son was treated like a celebrity by the historical society. All because he had the distinction of being the youngest descendant on hand. They asked him to cut a yellow ribbon to begin the event and later on asked him to start the food line at the reception. Before he could leave the table with his loaded down plate, someone snapped his photo saying, "We need to know what the younger generation is eating." Heh. As his mom, I was proud that he had dressed nice for the occasion with a tie.

Once inside the courthouse, we were treated to a history of the historical society. My ears perked up when I heard that one of the earlier members had been deaf. I was sad to learn that his hearing loss kept him from doing all he wanted to for the society. The good old days weren't always so good!

On a lighter note, the historical society had a funny story about a cannonball I found memorable. This cannonball was a relic from the war of 1812. It had been in the historical society office for as long as anyone could remember. Over time it had assumed the function of the society's doorstop, quietly propping the door open until the day in 1995 when someone took a second look and asked if the cannonball had ever been tested to see if it was 'live' or not. Well, no one had ever considered that possibility before so the local fire department was called. Turned out the society was using a live cannonball as their doorstop. The fire department took the cannonball to a field and safely detonated it. The remaining shards are on display in the society's museum.

After the society's 125 year history had been reviewed, the search for the descendants of the original founders was discussed. It had been quite an effort and the society membership were pleased at the number who were in attendance that day. Coming from Illinois, I think we had travelled the farthest to be there. They presented each of the descendants with a certificate and a piece of the ribbon which Charlie had cut earlier. Then it was on to the reception at the society headquarters.

As you can see from these photos, it was a lovely luncheon and we enjoyed it very much. It was wonderful to be a part of family history for a day. Maybe those genealogy buffs aren't so crazy after all.

Fall Treat: Concord Grape Pie

Concord Grape Pie

My son and I baked this on Saturday. It was our very first grape pie. We enjoyed making this pie together. The basic recipe directions we followed can be found at Cooks.com.

Concord grapes

This project started when I bought some luscious looking grapes at a farmers market. I had never purchased Concord grapes before. When I bit into them, the juice tasted sweet but the skins had a bitter taste. I knew my family wouldn't snack on them like we do the less flavorful seedless green grapes. I decided to look online for recipe ideas.

I found a recipe that I had all the ingredients for except an unbaked pie shell. So we quickly rolled out some pastry dough ourself. Most of the work making this pie came from separating the grape skins from the pulp and then later pressing the cooked pulp through a sieve to remove the seeds.

This pie smells heavenly while baking. Your hands will also have a nice fruity scent from handling the pulp. While the pie was in the oven, I got out two grape motif heirloom plates from my grandmother to serve my son and me the first pieces of our dessert. Cooks privilege and no one else was around the house at the time.

I think this pie looks as delicious as it tastes. This just may be a new annual fall tradition at our house.

Finger Spelling Inspired Art Project

While I'm on the subject of crafts, I wanted to share this picture my son made at school this year. His assignment was to create a picture featuring his hands. He chose to illustrate finger spelling in a colorful, fun way. For anyone unfamiliar with ASL, the hands below are spelling out R-U-S-T-Y, the name of our dog, from the perspective of the person signing.

Yes, I know the Y is shown sideways - most likely because he ran out of room on the paper but perhaps it could be artistic license.

My son had never mentioned this assignment to me so it was a wonderful surprise to find it among the many art projects he brought home at the end of the year. I plan to keep this one and perhaps even frame it.

Who's in Control of the Canoe?

Recently I took my teenage son to an early evening Campfire and Canoe event at a nearby reservoir. For the first hour, we received instruction on canoeing and water safety from two parks department employees. Then we donned life jackets and selected our paddles. Gathered at the water’s edge, we got a quick lesson on the basic strokes we would need to maneuver our canoes. Then we were launched. And that’s when the fun began.

On the beach our guides had recommended that the heavier person or the person with more canoeing experience should be seated in the stern (back) of the canoe to steer it. Based on those criteria, the choice for us was obvious. I sat in that position because I had canoed before (more than a quarter of a century ago) and I outweigh my son.

We started out fine but quickly went off course directly into some fishermen’s lines. Oops. I was shouting out directions to my son that I thought were helpful “Paddle left. No, no. Paddle right. Now!” At the same time he was yelling guidance back at me. Since I wasn't wearing my hearing aids for this activity, I had told him to raise his voice at me.

With our inexperience canoeing together, we kept veering off course. Straight into rocks, a buoy, and other hazards. One of the park guides helpfully hovered nearby in her canoe to offer us encouragement and advice. Meanwhile the other eight canoes were heading off to the far reaches of the reservoir. I felt embarrassed. My son was exasperated. At one point he laid his paddles across his lap and announced that I could just paddle the canoe all by myself.

The guide suggested we trade places. It was her observation that my son’s strokes were stronger than mine and that he would do better in the leadership role. I’m sure she was right on that. But I had a huge fear of trading places while on the water. I was sure we would tip our canoe if we tried it. This had happened to me before and I was determined to stay dry that night. We tried coming in close to shore to make the switch but naturally ended up headed towards the middle of the reservoir instead. Secretly, that was fine with me as I really didn’t want to risk overturning the canoe.

At that point, my son told me he would paddle the canoe on his own. Doing that seemed to work a whole lot better for us. Every once in a while I would dip my paddle in to help steer right or left but he provided the main power for our voyage. With the pressure off, I began to relax and take in my surroundings. The sun was starting to set and it was very peaceful on the water. I gently put my paddle back in the water. Now that we weren’t trying so hard, my son and I were able to paddle together in rhythm. We caught up to the other canoes and even paddled over to the far side to see a beaver dam.

All too soon it was time to head back. We did just fine until I got a bit anxious about our ability to reach the shore without hitting any of the other incoming canoes. My son reasserted his authority and took over the paddling once more. Thankfully, we managed to beach our canoe without any collisions. We were dry and still speaking to each other. Well, sort of. My son announced that next time he would go out on the water in a kayak - a boat for one person.



Next, the park guides graciously hosted a campfire with hot dogs and s’mores for everyone. This improved my son’s mood immensely. Before leaving, we were asked to fill out an evaluation card. I was happy to give the park guides excellent ratings. But when I came to the question about whether this was an enjoyable experience, my son forced me to be honest on our rating. To explain the lower score, I wrote an apologetic note explaining “my son gave me a hard time”. Somehow I’m sure they’ll know whose card that was. Ha, ha.

Actually I can’t wait to go back but I think I’ll go canoeing with someone else. Or perhaps I'll convince my son to give it another try. Either way, I can guarantee you I’ll be sitting in the bow (front).

London: Hampton Court Palace

Hampton Court Palace entrance

Courtyard

Intricate clock face

I have a few more photos to share from my trip to London. Before leaving England, my son and I took a train from Waterloo station out to see Hampton Court renowned as one of Henry VIII's palaces. I had never been there before and I was excited to see the beautiful palace, gardens and maze. The day we traveled on was overcast but rain never made an appearance while we were there.

Hampton Court Maze

Due to the threatening skies, we started off with the maze. Despite my well established lack of a sense of direction, I felt confident I could conquer the maze if I made sure to only take right hand turns - a hint I'd seen on the internet ahead of time. Well.... it didn't work out quite like that. Getting to the center wasn't too hard (see photo proof below) but getting out again was a whole other story. I wandered round and round. Naturally after leaving the center, my teenage son had chosen to run ahead of me out of sight so I was on my own.

At the beginning I was creating a video with my camera of the experience. But as minute after minute went on and the maze entrance wasn't in sight, I began to wonder aloud if I was actually creating a documentary of my incompetence. At one point my son came to find me and lead me out, but for some crazy reason, I thought he was making a wrong turn and I chose another path. Bad move. I was lost again. And I stayed that way no matter which path I tried. Fortunately, Charlie came back and led me all the way out. He claimed to have gone in and out of the entire maze several times by this point. He's definitely got the bragging rights on this one.

Katherine Parr

Inside the palace, we saw many exhibits about King Henry VIII. Costumed characters interacted with visitors while reenacting the events of the day of King Henry's wedding to Katherine Parr, his last wife. In the photo above, Katherine is telling the women visitors her thoughts on becoming the king's wife. Surely it was a position she didn't take lightly! At one point we were summoned to the king's private council to watch as Katherine was questioned by the court regarding her fitness to be queen of England. Strangely, there wasn't an actual wedding ceremony for us to view which was a bit of a disappointment but the actors certainly did their best to bring history to life for us.

Metalwork gate

The grounds of the palace were stunning as you can see. I especially enjoyed the rose garden. The scent there was heavenly. The statues and topiary were lovely. I could have spent the whole day wandering the various gardens. I was definitely glad we had put Hampton Court on our itinerary.



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Westminster Abbey & Sardines

Westminster Abbey's north entrance

Closeup on some of the beautiful stonework detail on the exterior. On Saturday we had spent the morning exploring the Abbey. A highlight of our visit was a 90 minute guided tour by a verger who explained the history and personalities associated with the Abbey. No photography is allowed inside the church, so I guess you will have to visit it yourself to see its beauty.



Here I am all dressed up for church last Sunday morning. We attended 2 services: Matins at 10:00 and Sung Eucharist at 11:15. I was very excited to attend church here because my home church is an Episcopal parish, also known as Anglican (or Church of England in America). It was amazing to be inside this beautiful, historical building dedicated to God's worship and hear the familiar words of my prayer book. The voices of the men's choir were incredible. This is a memory I hope to hold on to for the rest of my life.

The sermon that day by Reverend Gavin Williams was on the topic of finding God. He began by recalling a childhood game of hide and seek where one person hid so well that he and the others were unable to find him and when they were called in to tea left him still hidden and unaware that the game had ended. Reverend Williams said many people are looking for God as in the game of hide and seek. When they are unable to find Him, they just give up. But finding God is more like the game of sardines rather than hide and seek he told us. I was unfamiliar with the game of sardines and fortunately he explained how it's played. He said someone hides and when a player finds him, he joins him in the hiding spot. The game is continued until the last player has found all the others hidden together. As you can imagine, it gets easier to find the hiding spot the more children that are squeezed into it. Especially as giggling and whispering is bound to occur. Reverend Williams said finding God can be done similarly. When we find others who have found Him already, He makes himself known to us.

I ask your prayers for all who seek God, or a deeper knowledge of him. Pray that they may find and be found by him. [Book of Common Prayer p. 386]

London: Changing of the Guards Ceremony

Buckingham Palace

Military Band

New Guard

Victoria Memorial

This monument is located directly across from the palace
and was our vantage point for watching the ceremony.

Here's a short video I made of the Queen's Guard
marching into the Buckingham Palace gates. To watch
it in full screen, double click on the video and it will
open into a new window where you can expand the size.

London: Weather and Food

We had fabulous weather during our visit to London. The locals kept commenting on how unusual it was. Some even gave us credit for bringing it with us.

In this photo you can see London's most famous landmark, the clock tower for the Big Ben bell. Our hotel was located right nearby, so we passed this icon every day. I was thrilled to be able to hear it ringing amid the noise on the busy street.

In the days before we had left, I had frequently looked up at the blue skies at home and wished aloud to bring them with me. My wish came true!

This photo is of a gate at Buckingham Palace. I took it simply to show off the gorgeous blue of the sky that day.


This photo shows the South Bank lion also located near our hotel. I took this photo from the double decker bus which is why the window glare appears. Even with that flaw, I still like this photo for the beautiful blue sky it depicts behind the statue.


This was my first English breakfast. I especially enjoyed the button mushrooms. The other food items in this photo are fruit, yogurt, croissant, beans, sausage, and decaf coffee. Oddly enough, I didn't drink a single cup of tea in London although I am a tea drinker at home.


This was Charlie's first breakfast. He especially enjoyed the sausage and bacon. In this photo you can see the salt and pepper shakers. To our surprise, the shaker with one hole was for salt and the shaker with several holes was for pepper. At home the salt shaker always has more holes.

I especially took these photos for Virginia and Jonathan. Virginia sent me a funny postcard about English breakfast before we left and Jonathan emailed me an interesting story about an 8,000 calorie English breakfast.


This photo shows my son's favorite dinner option: gammon steak. We both ordered it the first night. I assumed it was beef. When it was served, I was concerned about how very PINK it was - thinking it was severely undercooked. Then I discovered that gammon steak is ham.