Saturday for the memory books

[The Little Prince, picking Jonagold apples]

This afternoon we took a trip out to a local orchard for U-Pick apples. It turned into one of those really wonderful times and the LP said "I will never forget this day!" This particular orchard grows about 20 kinds of apples and 48 types of peaches. And pumpkins, of course. I had no idea there were even that many kinds of peaches! When you go there, they have a petting zoo with goats and sheep for the kids. There are a couple of playgrounds. Today there was a program, a Suzuki class from Edwardsville (strings) and they played from 1-3pm. My guess is that they were about 9 year olds. It was marvelous. They have a bakery and a little food court, we bought a tray of apple slices with warm caramel drizzled over them. We used to always get that at the street fairs and the Apple Festival in Hendersonville, NC when we lived there. It's a heavenly treat. The LP had never tried it before and he was so surprised by how good it was. We shared that tasty treat and then later, after we picked apples, we had a giant chocolate chip and a giant flaxseed cookie. We all tasted them both--lordy, they were easily 6 inches across. That flaxseed cookie was one of the best things I have ever tasted---I MUST have the recipe!!!!!! lol

SO, you wait for the guy (one of the sons-it's a family operation) to pull up on the tractor. He pulls 3 wagons, they all have straw on the floor, one has bench seats all around, one has a platform in the center and you sit on it, and one is just a wagon like a hayride. He asks what kinds of apples everyone wants to pick. People start hollering out what they want, and I think there was only one couple that wanted something that wasn't available. We wanted Jonagolds. Ours was the farthest pasture, and when we got there, (as he did at each stop) he got off and told us exactly how to pick an apple, twisting until it comes off in your hand so you don't destroy the little bud on the branch directly above the stem, because that's where next year's apple will grow. He suggested that we try the Winesaps that were a couple of rows down. He also explained about how we should take an apple, shine it all up and clean on our shirts, and bite into it and taste and make sure it's what we want. So we did. They were some of the best apples I have ever had... we picked about 10 pounds of Winesaps and 40 pounds + of the Jonagolds. I will make apple butter and can some for pioes, and keep a few for eating. Then he circles around and comes and picks us up again to take us back to the sheds. They have 2 dogs, Molly and Oscar, a German Shepherd and a Lab, that follow the tractor and play with the guests and eat apples. They both also have company nametags on. LP got a real kick out of that.

It was a wonderful day, and I took some pictures and the LP wants some pictures. He is asleep now, and I thought I would take a couple of the photos and print them out tonight and send them home with him tomorrow. We have an early day, leaving here around 9 to pick up someone who needs a ride to the meeting and there we will celebrate Pat's 28th AA birthday. My son is coming too.

It was a day full of blessings. Too many to count, and just enough to reinforce my gratitude for my sobriety, without which none of this would be happening.
*Blessed to be a grannie
*Blessed to be a wife.
*Blessed to have a world in which love is the most important thing.
*So blessed, that those "feelings of uselessness and self pity" have disappeared.

Blessed to be a part of this community of recoverybloggers.

Night all....