Apple Pie

I have been baking up a storm this past week, being in the kitchen helps lift my spirits and lets me deal with my emotions. T is still my friend, she (kind of) admitted she was wrong and stated that she didn't want anything to come between our friendship, I'm doing better... not 100% yet but almost. Anyhow...

Out of the blue, Sunday morning, Anna asked why I don't make pie. I reminded her of all the plum/apple tarts we made in the summer and fall but she said they aren't real pies. So I asked her what kind of pie would she like to make and after some silly talk of chocolate moose(animal), peanut butter pumpkin and strawberry bugs we decided on apple. We googled some recipes and Anna chose what she wanted and off to the kitchen we went.  Our apple harvest this fall was healthy and plentiful and we were able to store some apples in the basement. Mike brought up a box for us to use, the little apples were soft and wrinkly but still good and they made the pie very sweet but not overly so. I don't usually post recipes but I'll make concessions with this one, too good not to share! It's a mix of different recipes and from my memory, so hopefully I won't leave anything out.

Anna's Apple Pie

Dough:
2 1/4 cups  flour, all purpose
1  tsp         salt
1  tbsp       sugar, white
1  cup        Tenderflake (shortening/lard)
6-7 tbsp    cold water

Filling:
Apples! enough to filling pie plate heaping, I didn't measure/count
3/4 - 1 cup  Brown sugar
2  tbsp     cornstarch
1/2 tsp     pumpkin pie spice or nutmeg/cloves mix
1-2 tsp    cinnamon
2 pinches salt
1-2 tbsp   dairy free margarine (butter, marg)

Topping:
1-2 tbsp  Almond milk (rice, soy or cow's milk)
1 tbsp     course sugar

Directions:
Dough: mix dry ingredients. Cut shortening into flour mix with pastry blender or by rubbing hands together, (good job for kids) till shortening is small pea size.  Drizzle water one tbsp at a  time and onto mixture and toss with a knife (prevents overmixing) until mixture forms and holds a ball shape when gripped with hands. cut dough in half, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour.  Roll out half on floured counter and place in pie shell. Roll out other half and slice into long strips for lattice top or roll out into one sheet for regular top.

Filling:
Peel and slice apples, small and thin (1"x2"x1/8").  Mix dry ingredients thoroughly and then toss with apples. Dump onto dough in pie shell and dot with marg.

Topping:
Place top layer of dough on pie filling, lattice or regular (regular will need some vent holes) crimp, press around the edges. Brush top dough with milk and sprinkle course sugar all over evenly.
Bake at 425F for 15mins and then 350F for 50 mins and enjoy!

This has to be the flakiest crust I've ever made! The brown sugar lends the pie a caramel flavour that we all love but you can use white sugar for a more traditional feel. *Mom, notice the glass pie plate you gave me! I still have it and love it!*

True Friends?

I'm having a pity party this week. 
I'm feeling used and abused. 
It's hard to get my feelings out, I feel like crying but can't.

My friend T has let me down a few times this week and it's really effecting my emotions.  Usually I can let things slide but this is sticking with me, I thought maybe I was feeling depressed but Mike says he feels the same towards T and my feelings are justified. That only helps a little because then I can't blame these feelings on "feeling blue", there are real reasons behind it all and I'm wondering what kind of friend is T and her husband....

Why can't I keep friends, am I too picky?  Why is it so hard...?

I can't wait for spring.

Melting...

I'm melting... Melting....

Well, not me really but the snow outside. It's been above freezing for 4-5 days now and all the snow/ice on the side roads have turned into squishy yucky slush!  The tire tracks are still frozen but the dog pulls me off the slim path and into the slush while we are out for our walks... and my boots are not very waterproof any more since he decided they taste better that his raw hide treats.

Samuel is such a handsome dog.  He is growing like a weed, already taller and heavier than Rupert ever was, sometimes we forget he is still a puppy not even 6 months old. But this puppy is chewing on my last nerve!  Saturday he stole food (the girls) off the table 3 times in one hour and that's with telling him NO, smacking on the nose and sticking him in the kennel after every theft! Sunday he stole Ivy's lunch when she went to the bathroom!  It's not like he is staving, he gets fed 3 times a day and has lots of pig's ears, raw hides and toys.  We think it was an act of rebellion because Mike was away for the weekend to his friends in Castlegar.  It's frustrating to no end!  When it's just me and Samuel all day during the week, he is very well behaved. We have our routine and know what to expect from each other but when the girls and Mike are home, sheesh! It all goes out the door!

Well, anyhow back to the weather.  I hope spring has sprung, I hope winter isn't hiding around the corner waiting for everything to melt, for plants to green up and then Blam it hits us again with freezing and snow and ruins the trees.... I guess the only thing to do is wait...

Mike was saying the passes have hardly any snow, and if it continues to melt it will be an early break up and without the snow pack it will be a long dry summer which means a long fire season as well. And that scares the heck out of me!!

Anyhow, it'll be a busy week for me, just about every day at the school. Time to get going....

Conversations... with myself...

Maybe it's just me, I hope it's not, hopefully it's quite common...

My mind very rarely shuts off. It is constantly thinking, re-hashing conversations, creating new recipes, new projects, trying to remember, dictating blogs/letters/phone calls, singing, reminding, making lists, and well, talking to me.  I will be staring at the TV or computer but I'm actually not paying attention to it, I'm preoccupied with whatever thoughts are running through my brain.  My husband will ask me something about what I'm doing/watching and I really can't answer him.

I've been asked/told that "it must be so boring at home without the girls" but I'm not. I don't really see my friends that often, 10-20 mins everyday at the school bus stop, a few hours with the neighbour on our shopping trips once a week but other then that I'm busy with *me* till the kids come home. I DO do stuff during the day: some house cleaning/chores, taking care of animals, cooking, shopping, PAC volunteering, computer work/games. But I really don't need someone around me all day, as far as I can remember I have always been fine with just myself.

Never being lonely seems to be the only plus side to living with my brain though. When it's 2am and I'm trying to sleep, it's waaay to noisy! Louder than Micheal's snoring! That is annoying
Or when I'm busy and bustling my little behind, my brain is too quiet and Micheal and the girls can't hear it asking nicely for their help and then my brain sends messages to my mouth to bark out orders at them to hurry up and do it NOW!  Ya, that's not fun nor nice. 
Or when I keep thinking of something, planing on doing it and I've thought of it for so long that I actually think that I have done it and it turns out that I haven't... that sucks!

It is not fun, very annoying and sucks so much that I begin to wonder if I'm going crazy. Is this "talking to ones self"? I'm I going nuts? When/how do I know when it's too much? 

Is my brain taking over... me?

Welcome 2012

It's been awhile since I posted, life has been BUSY to say the least!  My dear Mother misses my posts, so Hi Mom!  Here are some pictures from recent months, Enjoy.

Snow arrived in November

And with snow came to lazy sofa days...

...along with silly girls!

I went with the girls on a school outing, Ivy at GF Museum.

Anna waiting outside museum for school bus.

Samuel in early Nov, home for a few weeks.

Sam at home after a month, DOUBLED in size!

Such a silly puppy, sleeps in strange positions.

4 months old and 37 pounds! Vet says he'll be over 100lbs when fully grown... not the medium size like we wanted...

Sammy's outgrown his bed after 2 months of use.

I snuck this shot of Ivy at breakfast one day.

Micheal grew a mustache for "Movember", the girls were fascinated by his new hair and wanted to grow some too. Ivy came up with these fake 'staches instead.

Anna's birthday party, my friend Drisana stayed and helped.

Anna opening gifts

A rare shot of me, taken by Ivy.

Girls are showing off masks from New Orleans, given to them by Aunt Jen.

Ivy took this photo of Anna, Aunt Jen, and Grandma Cindy (hi Mom)

My friend Andrea in Australia sent the girls these cute Koala purses and Joey pencil cases.

Christmas morning, Grandma Rocky gave them new dresses!

My Silly Husband and reindeer Anna.

 And that just about finishes 2011, I haven't downloaded Ivy's birthday pictures yet, so you'll just have to wait with baited breath!
Happy New Year everyone, all the best to you and your family!

Sir Samuel Pipen, aka Sammy

We got a puppy! He is a Husky/Lab/Shepard cross, he's just over two months old and we adopted him from H.E.A.R.T.   Samuel is really cute and rambunctious, he doesn't really cuddle but loves to play.

A puppy is alot of work, more than I thought, the girls seem to cause more problems when it comes to training the pup. They get Samuel riled up, then cry when he playfully nips them, then runs away when he tries to play and he thinks it's part of the game.... it's very frustrating! Specially when Mike has a broken finger and works late.....I'm not in a happy place right now, but we have a puppy!

 

 

Tuckered out and snoozing with Scoobie-doo.

Silly Sammy playing with his new toy.

Sammy's new favorite sleeping spot, the girls' princess chair.

PAC

Yup, it was unanimous, I am PAC chair again (...still?) Either way I don't mind, I enjoy the position for the most part, I am good at delegating and organizing everyone, plus I love to know what's going on. What I don't like about the job is being the figure head of PAC and dealing with the School Board, luckily no controversy  has arisen, yet!

I've spent all morning doing PAC stuff: writing letters/emails, making coupons and lists, sorting through supplies for harvest lunch and snack shack, dropping off stuff at the school, talking with principal, more writing emails... now I can take a break and watch the noon news hour. Then I'll check to see if I have reply's to the e-mails and if all is good I  won't have much PAC stuff to do for the rest of the week but that's only if I'm lucky!

New Topic: It's Fall!!
And boy oh boy, Mother Nature sure knows how to switch seasons. We had a huge wind storm on Sunday, power was out for most of the day,  lots of damage throughout town, minor destruction here though. Today it's Cold and Wet! Yup, it's fall.

Blerrg, didn't even get a half hour break, just answered a call from the school... and so it continues.

Happy Autumn everyone!