58 years = 696 months

 October 29, 1950

Mom and Dad are observing their wedding anniversary today, but I don't think that they will take the time to do the math to see how many months they have been married, so I'll do it for them. (We Smiths like monthiversary numbers...) Six hundred ninety-six months sounds pretty impressive, eh? It seems as if it was just a year or two ago that we were celebrating their golden wedding anniversary, but I guess it was actually eight years ago. Wow! Tempus fugit.

2008

250

Today marks our 250th monthiversary. (I won't break it down into how many days of wedded bliss that represents. Suffice it to say, it's a long time! And it has been a BLAST!) Two hundred and fifty months represents a bit of a milestone, but I doubt if there will be any big celebration, especially since we are hosting the boys' high school Bible study at our home tonight. Oh, well.

It has been a lot of fun to commemorate our "monthiversaries" over the years. I am so thankful that our dear friend Karl coined the term for us back during our first year of marriage. He thought it was "sweet" that Mr. Smith and I celebrated each month of marriage, so he said something about it being a "monthly anniversary" kind of a thing, and then that morphed into one word, "monthiversary." From that new term we had our inspiration to keep the counting going. I believe that we have only missed celebrating one month, so that's not a bad track record.

I could take the time to write out 250 things I appreciate about my beloved, or some other mushy kind of a list, but I'll cease with my ++++++++++++++++++++++++ typing1111111 for now. YIKES! These additional keystrok+es are compliments of Jemima. Our kitty girl is sleepily lounging next to the computer, and she occasionally........... hit+s a key with her7777 incredibly large paw. It is too hard to type with her being on the keyboard, and I cannot bear to remove her from such a comfy location. CATS! +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ (You can tell her key of choice is the plus sign. She is+ such a positive influence, or should that be PAWSitive? HA!)

When life gives apples...

...make apple butter!

Although we made the trip to Apple Hill a couple of weeks ago, the kitchen help has been slow to get to work on this seasonal favorite. The boxes of apples have been waiting patiently, and waiting, and waiting! In between running to and from the dance studio for Nutcracker rehearsals, this weekend was spent peeling, slicing, coring, cooking, seasoning, stirring, and canning lots o' Golden Delicious apples to make our annual batch of apple butter.

This time around, we experimented by using a fraction of the sugar that the recipe calls for, and the results were wonderful. Five out of five taste testers agreed that this is an exceptionally tasty vintage.

I am almost certain that I heard Helen T's voice echoing in my brain as I stacked the finished product on the pantry shelf.  I cannot make, eat, or even think about apple butter without remembering Helen. Oh, I probably shouldn't add our beloved neighbor's comment here verbatim, as I have to keep this blog "G" rated, but I'll give you a sanitized version. 


When commenting on a person's obvious lack of knowledge regarding a certain topic, in a mischievous tone she'd frequently say, "He doesn't know $@*! from apple butter." 

Even though Helen passed away many years ago, I can still hear her saying this and many other pet phrases; however, I cannot repeat most of those sayings in front of my children.

She'd be so pleased that I know apple butter when I see it. ;-)

What's up with the cups?

Okay, so these are just paper coffee cups from Peet's Coffee. No big deal, right? Well, to me it symbolizes time well spent talking with my boy. (These cups represent a whole latte love?? SORRY! I am just espresso-ing myself with a couple of bad puns. You should know by now that silly wordplay is always brewing in my head.)


On Monday and Wednesday morning of each week, MDS goes to Sierra College for an 8 AM math class. After class, he rides the Placer County Transit bus to The Galleria where he transfers to the "M" line for Roseville Transit. The "M" drops M. off at Peet's, which is one mile from our house. At this point, he can either walk home, or call me to come and get him. On the days I go to pick him up, I enjoy taking a few more minutes out of the schedule to drink a cup o' joe with my boy. So far, he is the only Smithling who appreciates coffee, so I have to take advantage of that!


Since classes started, we have been having a "coffee break" about once a week, and that might increase to 2X/week as the temperatures get cooler. :-) What a treat! I love hearing what my son is thinking -- it doesn't have to be a deep, philosophical conversation. Sometimes a good laugh can't be beat. I truly enjoy spending time with him, and I know that time is fleeting, so I am savoring these coffee breaks all the more. Of course, the time spent with my "mostest favorite" son is MUCH tastier than the brew...


No, I am not so sentimental as to keep the used cups -- they do get thrown away. My Millie-girl thinks I'm rather silly for taking a picture and posting this entry. She just peeked over my shoulder and cannot believe that I am writing anything related to that cup photo. Perhaps someday she'll appreciate taking a coffee break with me, too. I'll keep you posted!

Apple Hill

It was a perfect day to skip school and work so that we could head up Hwy. 50 to Apple Hill. Family tradition dictates that we must first go to O'Hallorans to pick pumpkins before heading across the road to see Bill and Felice for golden delicious apples. Our final destination is, was, and shall always be High Hill. No trip "up the hill" would be complete without getting to purchase FRESH apple donuts AND caramel apples; however, these taste treats are not to be consumed at the same time. Donuts are for mid-morning consumption, and caramel apples are for dessert later in the day. I know, it's a day FULL of a lot of sweet stuff, but it is too hard to choose just ONE treat.

Our lil' Smithling punkins picked their pumpkins...

I'm pickin' this one! :-)

Don't squash the squash...

Apple donuts are tastiest when warm, so I had to hurry up and snap the photo before too much cooling occurred. Obviously, self-control is one of the fruits of the spirit that Miss Millie is still working on! HA!

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control." -Galatians 5:22-23