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I am thankful for pumpkin donuts, hand-print turkey crafts, audio books for the commute to and from work, a smile on my son’s face, a joke told in my daughter’s little voice, and the help around the house my husband contributes.

And pie. Thanksgiving always makes me thankful for pie. Here’s a very old family recipe for chocolate pie. I remember visiting my great grandma Payne a few years ago, and she made this pie for me and my cousin. At this point, she could hardly see, but the pie turned out perfect–meringue, crust and all. The Kitchen Sync is canadian pharmacy a great place for any and every one of your (or you favorite cook or baker’s) needs. I always bake my special pies in a lovely blue ceramic pan from that shop.

Grandma Payne’s Pie Filling:

4 eggs (yolks for pie, save whites for meringue)
1 c sugar
1 t vanilla
2 c milk
2 T flour
2Tcornstarch
3-4 T cocoa (although we’ve recently played with this and added up to 1/2 C cocoa or melted in 4 oz of dark chocolate. Excellent!)
2 T butter
dash of salt

In a heavy sauce pan, mix sugar, flour, cornstarch and cocoa.

In a bowl, beat the egg yolks a little, and then add the milk. Gradually add this to the dry ingredients. Cook on med low, stiring constinually. When the mixture is thick, add 2 T of butter and vanilla and a good dash of salt.

Put this mixture into a pre-baked pie shell, then add meringue (or whipped cream, if you don’t like–as my grandpa called it–calf slobber).

This will make one pie; in our family, we make a triple batch for two full pies and a small

bowl for tasting.

What are you thankful for?

One of my favorite songs, especially for a day like Veterans’ Day

Artist: Lee Greenwood
Song: Proud To Be An American

If tomorrow all the things were viagra lowest price gone,
I’d worked for all my life.
And I had to start again,
with just my children and my wife.

I’d thank my lucky stars,
to be livin here today.
‘ Cause the flag still stands for freedom,
and they can’t take that away.

And I’m proud to be an American,
where at least I know I’m free.
And I wont forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me.

And I gladly stand up,
next to you and defend her still today.
‘ Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land,
God bless the USA.

From the lakes of Minnesota,
to the

hills of Tennessee.
Across the plains of Texas,
From sea to shining sea.

From Detroit down to Houston,
and New York to L.A.
Well there’s pride in every American heart,
and its time we stand and say.

That I’m proud to be an American,
where at least I know I’m free.
And I wont forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me.

And I gladly stand up,
next to you and defend her still today.
‘ Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land,
God bless the USA.

And I’m proud to be and American,
where at least I know I’m free.
And I wont forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me.

And I gladly stand up,
next to you and defend her still today.
‘ Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land,
God bless the USA.

There is a special day each year that allows for everyone to act like kids. Costums strategically planned; demanding candy from strangers is accepted; and haunting is encouraged.

Halloween is a strange and spooky day: you may

have a devil bag your groceries, a bumble bee cash your check, or a witch serve you coffee. Later that evening, you have two choices: dress up your kids and scour the neighborhood, begging for candy, or prepare your self for a parade of spooks trick-or-treating at your house.

All in all, it’s a lot of fun. Here in the Wenatchee Valley, there are multiple options for taking the kids out. You can find yourself at a trunk-or-treat or fall carnival at a church, head downtown to trick-or-treat in our shops or go across to Wenatchee Valley Mall for an indoor setting. If nothing else works for you and the kiddies, you can always hit the streets, going door to door.

Let the trick-or-treating begin!

Everyone who lives here probably has someone they know who harvests. Most likely, they collect fruit from trees, but we also have nearby row crops and wheat fields. Gardens spring up in both city yards and country fields. Everyone’s growing something these days. Either your tomatoes are ready to be pulled in or you’re getting some from your neighbor.

But there has been big-time harvest around here lately, and it’s not quite done yet. I’m no expert in ag, but my dad pulled in a few more bins of pears this year. My uncle just finished his harvest, and I know others are working hard to dodge the rain to get their fruit in. There are plenty of bin trucks still out on the roads.

All in all, from colanders to bins, produce is being brought from the outside to the inside. The time of harvest

is a busy one. And for some, bringing in the pears, tomatoes, squash, potatoes and apples is just the start. Either in the warehouse or in your house, the summer’s growth has to be preserved for the winter.  The seasons bring us to make a last big push of activity before the winter dark and cold tend to keep us inside.

Here’t to our growers, from the biggest exporter to those who have a

Things I’ve learned about the first week of college, from being a student and an instructor.

1) The parking lot is fullest this week. Don’t worry about getting into a parking habit until

three weeks in.

2) Students usually sit in the same seat…unless they want to fool the teacher into never calling on them.

3) When you buy books online, match the exact IBSN or you never know what you’ll get.

4) Printing before class is a nightmare.

5) Dogs don’t eat homework anymore…it’s the computers that like to snack on assignments now.

6) If you want to add the class, you gotta be at the class when the instructor is there.

7) It takes more than one week to learn your students’ names, but less than that to figure out who will do the most talking in the class.

8) You can start counting down the weeks left of the quarter after you finish the first week.