Saturday, November 7, 2015

Last Month

Last month just flew by! Since October tends to be the last month of nice weather where I live, we spent the last month wrapping up outdoor projects, preparing for winter and taking day trips to enjoy the beautiful foliage.
 In the evenings I have been working on my knitting again. Currently I have another heartwarmer for Jemimah in my work basket, as well as two shawls I am knitting for my Etsy shop.
  October is always a very busy month for my mom and I. Many schools study pioneers in the fall and visit one room school houses. We were very busy this fall sewing pioneer outfits, and German outfits for Oktoberfests. I have many fond memories of studying pioneer history when my sisters and I were homeschooled. One fall my mother used the "Little House" study and we made homemade butter and bread to take with us to the one room school house. We had such fun shaking our mason jars of cream and a clothes pin to the "Little House" fiddle music cassette tape. : )
 October is also a great time to bake bread. During the summer months I tend not to bake bread very often, but with the arrival of cooler weather there is something extra cozy about the smell of baking bread. Plus it is great to have a fire in the wood stove for the bread to rise by. Here is a delicious bread recipe I baked last month.
  Lately I have enjoyed trying new recipes I have found on Pinterest, that do not call for white sugar or flour. This recipe has been popular with my family, as we all love bananas and peanut butter.
  In October I also finished up my canning for the year. I made applesauce and apple pie filling. What a lovely treat to enjoy the fragrance of simmering apples and cinnamon! I used this recipe to make my apple pie filling. I liked the fact that the author provided different options for sweetening the filling; I used brown sugar.
My "pantry" is now stocked with my home canned jams, tomatoes, peaches, apple sauce and apple pie filling. I am so grateful for the LORD's blessings on the fruit and vegetable harvests in our area this year!

                                     I hope you all enjoyed a blessed and beautiful October!

"Surely, Lord, You bless the righteous; You surround them with Your favor as with a shield." Psalm 5:12