It’s November 3rd and on my way back from the chicken coop I saw the first ice. It was on the patio in a plastic slide and I sighed because they were in school and would miss it. The first ice (and first snow) has always been so exciting for them. I made my way back into the house, ran Sarah her bath, cleaned her all up, dressed her, did some laundry and cleaning, and …… Sarah went outside to get a cat and discovered the ice all on her own. She giggled with joy and promptly ran inside to get socks, boots, coat, scarf, and mittens so she could COMPLETELY and THOROUGHLY enjoy it. She ate it, skated on it, insisted on sharing some with me (to eat), and because it was melting and her siblings were not at home, we bagged them each a piece. It’s waiting in the “white frozen refrigerator” (her words) for them as a surprise for later.
Despite freezing temperatures, there is still plenty of beautiful green parsley in the garden.
Seth is learning how to read and write by leaps and bounds in Kindergarten.
We just wish he would restrict himself to paper to practice on. He’s getting better about it now.
This artwork was done by Sarah Joy.
PUMPKIN COOKIES
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup nuts (I didn’t add nuts)
1 cup chocolate chip (I used peanut butter chips)
Combine pumpkin, sugar, shortening and egg. Sift flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt together; add to pumpkin mixture alternately with baking powder, dissolved in milk. (I did not do this, I just mixed the wets and then added all the dry and mixed with the KitchenAid). Add vanilla and chocolate chips. Drop on greased cookie sheets and bake for 10-12 minutes at 375 degrees.
This recipe is from a 1972 Pennsylvania State Grange cookbook. If you happen to have the same one, it’s on page 239. The cookies are a moist cake-like texture. I made them on Saturday and they are still fresh in a big ziplock bag on the counter. Unfortunately, the children don’t seem to like them……..I have to walk around and hand them out to get them consumed.
Good to be Home 
Love pumpkin cookies this time of year. Miss them due to my GF issues. *sigh* Molasses cookies, too. Oh well.
Thank God for the Mr. Clean erasers!
Received your encouraging note today….thank you SO much….I’m kind of sad thinking that somehow the entire comment went out as a notification to this blog’s followers! 😦 I’ll write you back, but I just wanted you to know your understanding words were healing.
Hugs
Lol you gave a recipe and you have to walk around with them to get them consumed? I am sorry that just struck my funny bone a little. ;).
Love the art!
That does sound funny, doesn’t it? I mean, really they are DELICIOUS! But, the kids don’t like them….LOL and I doubled the batch!
one of the things i love about your blog..is seeing the “seasons” at your home! Living in the southeast…we are usually a few weeks behind you and we rarely see the ice and snow. I always wondered if we would love and appreciate the winter weather as much if we had it more often…so it made me smile to see that your kids still get excited about the “firsts”!
Also, i love your little writer! My oldest daughter signed a major piece of furniture with a sharpie marker when she was just 4 years old. It was actually the first time that she ever wrote her name correctly..she was quite proud. 😊 I just smiled and thought to myself how precious that would be in a few years. (i think i smiled in order to keep from crying😁) Well, she just turned 27 and that little signature is still where she left it. I actually dust carefully in order to preserve it! It is one of my greatest treasures in our home❤️. Hope you have a wonderful week!
I admit, your comment made me all teary eyed. They grow so fast.
I loved reading about the first ice and thought how sweet to bag it for later to share!!
We got a bit of ice here as well, it feels sooo cold!
Bunny is cute! I’m sure it’s loving the parsley!
Number learning is great, paper just isn’t as fun to practice on!!
Pumpkin cookies sound good, I’ve been making pumpkin bars with cream cheese icing, so yummy!
The wall is every convenient sometimes. I am happy to report that the children all seemed thankful for the ice, but I think only Seth ate his. 🙂 Your pumpkin bars sound really good.
LOL! I had to laugh about Seth. 🙂 …but he’s not practicing on my walls. Oh, my. If I was the Mom, I don’t think I would have been able to recount his actions as sweetly as you did.
Sweet Sarah…so nice of her to want to share the ice with her brothers and sisters, and it’s packaged so nicely, too. I’ll bet they were excited to get it.
He says that YOU should write on your walls, it’s fun. 🙂 HUGS Kara.
Coming from hot sunny Queensland, my immediate thought when I saw the first pic was that someone had broken a glass window and you are brave to let a child hold the piece. Snow and ice just doesn’t really spring quickly to my mind! It was around 40C here last week, and it’s only spring, but the last couple of days have only been in the high 20s.
My kids have grown up now but I still remember their interesting “wall” art vividly! And their attempts at hair cutting…and flushing things down the toilet!
Pumpkin scones are actually quite popular here in Queensland. They are delicious. 🙂
It does look like glass now that you mention it! Oh yes, the hair cutting and flushing are all very familiar with moms of little ones. Hope you have a great day!
I love how you all celebrate the “new” in each day and season.
We got some below freezing temps here one night. I love cozy that the cold comes with. Each season unveils new aspects of creation that I enjoy and love. Thanks for sharing the fun of the first ice of the season.
I totally agree with you on the differences of the seasons and how each one has it’s beauty to enjoy!