Family matters

Rockford and the technicolor dream job

Scene: In bed. The wee hours. A clatter wakes Nichole.

Nichole, groggily: Rockford? What was that?

Rockford, speaking clearly: Don’t worry. I was just working on that problem.

Nichole works to clear the cobwebs from her brain and sits up. Rockford is on his side, with his hands extended toward his nightstand.

N: What?

A: I’m working on that problem they gave us last night. Don’t worry.

Nichole realizes Rockford isn’t awake after all. She goes back to sleep. Awhile later — another clatter. Nichole opens her eyes and glances over at Rockford, who is once again hard at work knocking things off his nightstand.

Eating

Apples, apples everywhere

We took Poppy out to a local “U-Pick” apple orchard today. Only we found out when we got there that it wasn’t so much “U-Pick” off the tree as “U-Pick” out of a giant box of apples. Poppy had fun anyway, though. Rockford dangled her into the giant apple crate and let her pick out her very own “sweet little apples.” She hasn’t deigned to bite into one yet, but she spend all afternoon hugging one.

The orchard is on a farm, complete with horses, sheep and pigs. I’m glad that Poppy’s introduction to real, live pigs was in “darlin’ little piggy” format rather than giant, hulking hog format. The piglets were pretty adorable, particularly the little brown fella. The sheep were a little stand-offish, but the horses wandered right over to us. Poppy was impressed, but she didn’t want to touch them. I can’t blame her. They were enormous.

You’d be able to see all that for yourselves if my camera’s battery hadn’t been dead. For now, though, you’ll just have to trust me. Cute pigs. Shy sheep. Giant horses. We may go back in a few weeks with a functional camera. Let’s hope the piggies aren’t pork chops by then.

We came home with far more apples than we needed, even though we filled the second-to-smallest bag they offered. We have an apple pie in the oven, and Rockford is planning to make an apple cake later tonight or maybe tomorrow. We’ll probably still have some left over. I’m thinking apple sauce.

Apple Crumb Pie


1 9-inch pie shell
8 cups thinly sliced apples
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3/4 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons butter

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Place sliced apples in a large bowl. Sprinkle with lemon juice if desired. In a small bowl, mix together white sugar, 2 tablespoons flour, cinnamon and nutmeg. Sprinkle mixture over apples. Toss until apples are evenly coated. Spoon mixture into pie shell.

In a small bowl mix together 1/2 cup flour and brown sugar. Cut in butter or margarine until mixture is crumbly. Refrigerate.

Bake pie in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Sprinkle brown sugar mixture over apple filling. Bake pie an additional 25 to 30 minutes, until top is golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.

Adapted from AllRecipes.com.


blessings

Counting my blessings

Oct. 1

  • Poppy wasn’t ready to wake up this morning when I went in to get her. She fell back asleep in my arms, and I had the rare opportunity to watch her sleep. It was so peaceful and lovely.
  • A good first day on the job for Rockford.
  • Getting 3 magazines in the mail in one day! (Smithsonian, Real Simple and Cooking Light)
  • The Broccoli Mystery

    Oct. 2

  • Poppy calling me her “only one Mommy.”
  • P being a peach at my doctors appointment.
  • Fish stick po’ boys.

    Oct. 6

  • A nice, long bath.
  • Delicious sloppy Joes.
  • Treats from a local bakery. Yum!
  • Strolling down the street after picking up the treats.

    Oct. 7

  • Going to church, and Poppy being excited to go beforehand.
  • The guy on the motorcycle in front of us standing up and wiggling his bottom.
  • Holding hands with Poppy.

    Oct. 8

  • Bowling with Poppy.
  • Clean-shaven Rockford.
  • A very convoluted “CSI: Miami.”
  • While flipping through my “blessings book,” I asked Rockford, “Do you remember March 13?” His response: “That was probably the day you took the pregnancy test. I remember, because I also got the ‘Rockford’ DVD set that day.”

    Oct. 9

  • Poppy reciting part of “The Poky Little Puppy” — “in spite of that …”
  • Poppy reciting the dog party sequence of “Go, Dog. Go!” while running at top speed around the coffee table.
  • The way she asks to be held: “You want Mommy to hold you?”
  • The heated seats in Rockford’s car.

    Oct. 10

  • Poppy having a very, very sweet day. Among the highlights, she pretended to call her cousin, baby Claire. They chatted about diapers. And as we drove past a local barbecue restaurant and she caught sight of their sign, she said: “I see a piggy! A darlin’ little piggy!”