We rolled from an amazing summer, to the beginning of the school year, to a weekend long celebration of my sister and her now husband's wedding day. So when this weekend came around, we claimed it as our own. We had very, very few plans. Well, really our plan was to relax and enjoy a weekend at home. And that is exactly what we did.
Our weekends always begin by gathering with friends for a church service on Friday evening. While I was prepping for my kids' class Friday afternoon, I decided to bake a spiced apple cake for our evening service. This was a good chance to put a dent in the apples we had picked in Hood River a few weeks back. I frosted the cake with a maple buttercream frosting...delicious! It's nice to begin a weekend with friends and cake!
On Saturday morning, my husband and I attended a workshop on Wild Edibles that a local community group was hosting. Learning what can be eaten in the natural areas surrounding us has been a personal goal of mine for awhile. I have checked out numerous books from the library over the years, and the class this weekend reinforced what I have begun to learn. I think my next step in this area would be to attend a class that takes you on a walk through the woods and shows you what can and cannot be eaten. I think seeing the plants and berries in real life, instead of in a photo, will help it all stick in my head a little better.
Having a weekend at home allowed for plenty of down time. I was able to continue work on knitting my sweater and also begin a new baby quilt. Some friends of ours are adopting a new little one very soon, and I would love to have a quilt ready to gift to them. Hopefully I will finish up the quilt this week. We also spent a lovely evening outside chatting around a fire. The next day was raining, and we found ourselves inside sipping coffee and chatting in front of the fire. I even found an hour to spend napping on the couch with my sister's pup Auggie who is visiting us while his parents are on their honeymoon.
Sunday began with a yummy breakfast of waffles drizzled in apple syrup I had canned a few weeks ago, and dinner was fresh baked bread and beef stew. Football played in the background, while I worked away on my quilt. One of our boys finished a book he had been reading, and the other tackled a bit of homework. It was a good ending to our weekend.
In the weekends to come, we have volunteer events, birthday parties and trips out of town. But, I hope we can also continue to claim some down time as well. It is so wonderful to block out some days on the calendar for nothing more than to spend it at home with family. I hope you are able to do the same.