Around here

The animals are preparing their cave for hibernation.

Girumy has been wanting to dress up quite a bit lately.

A date with Sophie-Ona: delicious, spicy Indian food and then Don Quixote, the ballet.  It was so  nice.  (Oh, and by the way, you can officially start calling me The Grey Fox.  Do you see that streak?!)

As always...

Fall fun

Scaredy-Sophie-Ona

He has started riding, standing up.

I was gazing at beauty, whilst the children covered themselves in leaves.

The chilly air has pushed us all to the park quite a bit.  Soon I will be hibernating.

Goodbye, Mita. Hello, Sophie-Ona!

So, -a huge sigh- the name Mita is just not working out for us.

For the record, it's not a part of her legal name at all: It was just a nickname that she was given in Ethiopia, and we mistakenly thought that people would have an easier time saying Mita, than, for example, Biruktawit, with its rolled r and silent w.  It turns out that people can't even say Mita correctly and I've had it.  My daughter's name isn't Meed-a.  It is pronounced Mee-Ta.  Ugh.

So, we are slowly changing over to some of her middle names: Sophie-Ona.

If this doesn't work, well, then, it's for sure time to move to Ethiopia, where we can all say Biruktawit with no problem.

Last and this weeks' harvest

Here are the last of the green tomatoes, which I turned into a delicious Indian stew with yellow split peas.  And I found these potatoes, while scouring the dacha for what was left.

A few stems of broccoli, lots of turnip greens (as I planted them too late at the dacha, which is now closed), a few mini turnips (which will go into a root smash), Brussels Sprouts! and a few parsnips to add to the mash.

So, I thought that these were spaghetti squash and I have been waiting for them to turn yellow; however, I do believe that they are a spaghetti-acorn cross squash.  This is what I get for planting seeds saved from a locally grown squash.

Chard to add to a salad (of that beautiful red lettuce in the background, from our CSA), parsnips which not-so-quickly became oh-so-tasty chips and... my first attempt at making jelly.  A co-volunteer gave me some crab apples from her yard, which led to this experiment.  We'll see!

Men at work: Rob took care of the compost and the hens, whilst Girumy tried to catch a squirrel.

So, Rob has made some nice cages to protect, hopefully, our trees from being girdled this winter.  After losing my apricots and a pear to the starving animals of last winter, I have learned my lesson.  The garlic has also been planted and protected with wire, so as to keep the rabbits from making productive nests in the patch.

In addition, we had a couple of nice salads from the back yarden, mostly of mizuna, chard, parsley and chrysanthemum greens.

Check out others' harvests at Daphne's Dandelions.

What the children have been saying

"I think Jesus lives in the North," said Mita.

"There is only a little bit of soap.  I need to put some water in it," said my frugal Mita.

"I like that move," said Ty, when I burst into a crazy dance at the end of a LONG day.

Thank God for the Domes!

So, in an effort to hold off the effects of SAD, we have begun to visit the Domes, particularly the Tropical Dome, weekly.  Thank God for the warmth and humidity!

School

Girumy is ready for anything... paper or whiteboard.  This is how he gets ready for his table work each day, placing the pencil behind his ear and the marker on his collar.

Mita is getting pretty good at writing her numbers.  Ty?  Not so much.  However, Ty is able to read syllables ending in "a" in Spanish, whereas Mita doesn't get it yet.

When I showed Tawi how to make shapes, putting smaller ones together, she started giggling and smiling and hooting.  She just couldn't believe it.

You're thinking, "School is the title.  This doesn't fit."  Oh, but it does!  You know how in old religious paintings, the people that we can name usually have a golden orb, halo, crown around their head?  Well, Ty came out this morning, saying, "I am Ty and you know that, so I have una corona dorada.  Ha!

This week's harvest

A tasty salad: chard, parsley, mizuna, climbing spinach, tomato, nasturtium flowers and leaves, mibuna, dill and arugula.

Kale for a tasty salad with millet and feta... again

Yet another salad

Parsley, to finish Lidia Bastianich's delicious pasta with artichoke hearts and sun-dried tomato sauce

Yet another salad, which, in addition to the previously mentioned greens, had beet leaves and Belle Isle cress

A few super-tasty Trail of Tears beans, a handful of ground cherries and so many green tomatoes.  We promptly took advantage and had mouth-watering fried green tomatoes for dinner.  Mm!

In other garden news, I prepared the garlic bed this afternoon.  It looks great.  I will wait another two weeks to plant though.  Hopefully, this year, I can keep the rabbits out!

As always, check out what others are harvesting at Daphne's Dandelions.

Ethiopian coffee ceremony, on my own: a failure

I had it all laid out.  I was so excited, but...

Ugh.  I lost my notes on how to do a coffee ceremony.  Even so, I thought that I could pull it off, but... No.  I didn't pound the coffee finely enough and I didn't use enough grounds.  Oh well, I did enjoy the popcorn and frankincense in the chilly night.

I do need to figure this out, though, as I am afraid I will soon be quizzed.  Ah!