Friday is my favorite day of the week now...

  And this one was particularly good.  We started off the day with a late breakfast of a delicious veggie scramble, with carrots,onions,broccoli and cauliflower and kale and tomato in it. After we finished I cleaned up the dishes while the Mister went out to the garden to start harvesting turnips. He pulled up roughly a dozen plants, cut the tops off and brought me in a laundry basket full of greens. Then we cut them up, washed them, blanched them and froze them. I got 2 quarts of turnip greens off those plants. We have about another 35 or 40 plants. I'm going to try making kim chi with some of them, and we'll feed the chickens some of them and we'll compost some probably. I'll probably freeze at least another 3 or 4 quarts. Then we'll start on the kale.  :)

 After we finished and cleaned up, our plan was to head for the hills of apple country, about 45 miles from here. Calhoun County is our local apple and peach district... a floodplain area of beautiful Mississippi  River alluvium where the best fruit grows around here. It's really beautiful there and we figured we'd catch some fall colors and eat at one of the fish restaurants on the Illinois River for a late lunch. 

   We did actually see a lot of brilliant yellows and blazing reds too, but I never seemed to have the camera out at the right time.  lol

 The weather was a balmy 60 degrees (maybe) and clear and sunny. Really nice after yesterdays drizzly cold day.  After we had lunch we took the slow road back down the river, stopped at a roadside stand and got some pumpkins and apples and then took the ferry back across the river. There was a bit of a delay as the river was full of barges today.

Here's the view out the windshield of our car, we're right behind bicycle lady.

  And here's one of the big barges that went by.  

The Mighty Mississippi was as smooth as glass today.

We drove on down the River Road and stopped for a minute to take a picture of the Piasa Bird, which was recently touched up and is looking good and ferocious. You can learn more about this native American dragon here :http://www.altonweb.com/history/piasabird/

So, all in all it was a good day. We stopped at the big grocery store in Alton before heading home to pick up ingredients for the 4 soups we'll be making at my workshop tomorrow.  When we got home we hauled everything in and dropped onto the couch and watched some telly like the old folks we are.  lol

  Yesterday my son came over and installed the new sink in my bathroom. It was the typical male plumbing job, complete with much swearing and gnashing of teeth.  I told him I usually leave the house anytime the mister is doing any kind of plumbing work. It was a dismal day, grey and cold and rainy. When he finished up (almost) I suggested he take a ride with me to Rural King, where he could carry some 40 pound bags of dog and cat food to the car for me and I'd buy him lunch. So we did, and then hit the Chinese Buffet.  On the way home,. I asked if he wanted to stop in and see his grandma at the nursing home since we'd be driving right by it and he said yes, so we stopped and visited. She looked much better than last time I saw her and had company...2 old ladies that I knew from my former life being married to her son.  I know he has a hard time seeing her like this, she had a stroke and she just wants to go back home to the farm.  And they can't take care of her properly I guess, or they think they can't...so in the nursing home she stays.

Well, it's only Day 4 of NaNoWriMo and I'm already behind in my word count. LOL

 Crikey.

 I should go write some and then go to bed.  It's already creeping up on midnight....sheesh.

  Have a great weekend all!!

Namaste.