Where Have I Been?

OK, so I haven't updated this site in a couple of weeks. Actually, I lost access for awhile. I think someone may have hacked in, and was able to get the password reset. I've got nothing to hide, so I'm sure they were quite disappointed. Oh well. At least it's fixed now.

Let's see, here's an update. We went to Nebraska City today to buy some apple juice and apples. I wanted to make some apple wine, and we also wanted to make some apple butter. Yes, we've gotten the canning bug. My mother used to make the best-ever apple butter that I've ever had, and my sister Jeanne has been keeping up the tradition ever since. Last year, Jeanne gave me the recipe, and this year, I wanted to try to make some apple butter for myself. And, my boss' wife makes homemade salsa, which was absolutely yummy. So, I got the recipe for that too, thus we intend to try to make some fresh salsa also. After an exhausting search for a Ball basic canning set, I finally found one today on clearance for $40 at Walmart. I guess the canning gods are watching over us. Ha. I also bought a food mill so we can grind up the cooked apples to make the apple sauce, which will be made into apple butter. Yum!

Fall is definitely in the air now. Football has begun, the days are getting shorter, the nights are really cooling down, and my allergies have been driving me nuts. Yup. That's fall alright. The leaves have just started to turn, barely. I'm looking forward to the colors over the next few weeks. The changing leaves are one of my favorite things about fall. I could do without the allergies though.

I mentioned previously that our daughter was doing really well in her new school. Well, that was then, this is now. It turns out, she's struggling just a bit. She's making silly mistakes, and not really applying herself to her abilities. Sigh. Oh well. I think she's still adjusting to her new school, her new teacher, and a new way of doing things. She's a very bright girl, but just seems to be struggling. Not so much on her homework, but definitely on the tests unfortunately. Grades aren't everything, in fact, I'm not too concerned about grades at all. I just want to make sure she's learning the concepts, and building a good foundation. If it takes a few D and C grades, and a few retests along the way, I'm OK with that. As long as she's trying her best, I'm OK with that too. But, I think she can do a lot better, and I think she knows that too. We'll see.

I haven't mentioned our dog, Ginger, in quite awhile. She's doing pretty good, although, in mid August, we did have a potty setback. I think she got used to having people around her all of the time during the summer, and when my wife and daughter went back to school, she rebelled. She had quite a few accidents, and I'm beginning to think it was her way of holding a grudge against being alone more. So, we started over with the potty training, and made sure that she was tethered on a leash, or inside her kennel at all times. We also implemented a treat system, in which she gets a special treat each time she goes outside. For what it's worth, everything seems to be OK now. She did have an accident a couple of days ago, but I don't think it was something she did on purpose. So, after a brief setback, I think we're back on the right track. She's only 8 lbs, but is all dog. She loves to hear herself bark, and loves to cuddle. She's tough on toys though. Being a Rat Terrier, she has a very strong killer instinct. She can literally tear a whole in a stuffed animal in a few minutes. My wife bought her a new elephant. I think it was $5. On the first day, she had torn inside, and pulled most of the stuffing out. Ugh. She's an honry dog at times, but very lovable too, and a good companion. We're concerned about winter though, and her ability to handle the cold. She's an extremely sturdy dog, so maybe it will be OK. We're thinking about getting her a heating pad for her kennel to keep her warm at night. I'm thinking she might enjoy that very much.

The wine continues to age. I've got 3 batches bulk aging now. The Blackberry Cabernet should be ready to bottle in another couple of weeks. It should be drinkable nearly immediately, and actually, it's quite tasty and very pleasant. I think it may be the wine that I enjoy the most. The Port is also really, really good. A little hot yet, and it definitely needs a lot of time to age. I'd like to keep some of this for several years, to compare the differences. For example, I'd like to hold back a bottle for Christmas for each of the next 5 years, just for fun. The White Zin is OK, nothing special, although White Zin usually never is. The apple wine will be my next step.