Etsy and Sewing and Applesauce

 The goings on for October so far have been many: My mom and brother Olaf and my mom's friend Carol all came to visit for a few days. Julia was pleased as punch as she always is when she sees Olaf. Their relationship is pretty amazing. Olaf never gets tired of her, never says "leave me alone" and always instinctually brings the game to her level. The more I see her interact with other 10 year olds, the more I am impressed with Olaf. I've been canning and sewing and getting the yard somewhat ready for winter. I'm enjoying my class so far though it's been all safety and privacy acts and more safety and no real intense stuff. I think that will come soon enough, and I hope I'm cut out for it! The pictures I see later in the text do get to me a bit...

Julia is in love with Olaf's scooter though she can't yet manage to ride it. 

we had one last warm afternoon at the beach. It's still pretty warm in the afternoons, but a chill is creeping in.

we went to an orchard and loaded up on all sorts of apples

Mt Hood, over the orchard.  

rides all around 

right before goodbyes. After they leave, Julia questions me often about where Olaf went, but now that she's seen him come and go a few times, she seems more ok with it all. 

applesauce and apple butter. the apple butter is just applesauce baked at a low temperature for many many hours until it reduces by half, making a thick and dark spread that is sweetened with sugar and spiced with cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and cloves. 

we've been having fun going to the tumbling class and our other usual activities. I feel like I'm finally starting to break into the crowd a bit. I recognize other moms now and I'm starting to have real conversations again. that is a good feeling! Just the other day I met a similarly aged mom also new here in Mosier and we've started walking together some mornings. We tossed out the idea of exchanging a bit of childcare, so hopefully that will work out for us both. 

Julia got a sandbox. She asked "where's Olaf?" since she first learned about sandboxes with Olaf by her side. 

but soon got to playing on her own. 

Grandma Gini sent Julia cookie cutters and sprinkles, so we made some sugar cookies. I have a really hard time letting Julia cook with me since I get so uptight when she spills stuff all over. I'm working on relaxing. She loves it and asks everyday to make more. My waistline definitely can't handle that. It might be time to make more playdough. 

We had a park playdate with Julia's friend Freya, the one who moves all over with her parents as they manage their rental properties and fix up new houses. They are almost exactly the same age, and Julia likes her a great deal. 

my applesauce system. I quarter apples and let them simmer cores, stems, skins and all in a big pot with a tiny bit of water in the bottom. when they are soft, I ladle them into my food mill and squish out the applesauce and leave the seeds and skin and tough bits behind. easy peasy. I am pretty thrilled with the food mill. Wayyy easier than peeling a million apples. 

she's still not about to give up the "baby suckers"  but sleep has taken a huge leap forward. I made a little bed next to mine on the floor and told Julia that this is where she'd sleep when she came upstairs from now on. She agreed with very minimal fuss and so when she comes up, I lay her down next to me, she goes to sleep and sleeps wayyyyyyyyy longer than if she was in bed with me. Usually till about 5 am! at this point she starts complaining about being hungry and wants to get up to lay with me and so we have rather sporadic sleep from 5 on, but I'm pretty pleased with the sleep improvements. 

I've been sewing! this is a skirt I made out of a wool buttondown shirt. It's lovely, but too big for Julia so it will go in the "too big" box for a few years.  

and I whipped up this little skirt with a ribbon hem. more sewing projects to come. 

My other adventure has been getting some hats I knitted last winter posted to my Etsy shop.
Here's the link!