I have one dog snoozing in my lap and the other napping soundly on the floor. My cup of tea is next to me and the doors and windows are open to catch the warm breezes on this beautifully sunny Autumn morning. I love working from home. 🙂

Autumn blossoms

Yes, there are piles of laundry to be folded and pots to be scrubbed and papers to be sorted and floors to be swept, but life is good.

Yesterday dear friends came over to help us drench goats and trim their hooves. What a hilarious time we had chasing and wrestling goats together, ending our day exhausted but happy. You can read about it here.

The weather has been so gorgeous that I’ve made time to go for extra walks with Fletcher and Luna, wandering through golden grasses and fading wildflowers, finding new beauty in browns, russets, and soft greens.

autumn meadow

I’ve been doing a lot of writing recently, both personal and work-related, and it suddenly hit me that I am what I always dreamed I could be: a writer. That makes me smile. Life is such an unpredictable, haphazard, surprising thing and it’s so wonderful when in the midst of sadness or pain or illness or grief or loss or disappointment you can suddenly see a dream come true.

Admittedly I had envisioned myself as a novelist, someone quirky and splendid like Jo March in Little Women, clad in funky hat and voluminous nightgown, scribbling away in her attic hideaway until the wee hours of the morning.

Perhaps that will happen one day, but for now I’m ridiculously happy with the work I have, writing about things dear to my heart: travel, country living, delicious food, music and art. I love it.

Autumn pods

I had another dream come true this weekend. I got to go to my first classical music concert in Australia: the delightfully talented and down-to-earth Attilla Sautov and The Mueller International Chamber Orchestra. We turned it into a Girls Night Out and had such a grand time sitting in the restored town hall listening to gorgeous music and gabbing like mad at intermission.

I sat back in my squishy seat and closed my eyes in sheer bliss as they played lush pieces by Tchaikovsky, Mendelssohn and Paganini before ending the evening with jaunty dances and czardas by Brahms and Monti. It was wonderful and I went to bed that night with a very full heart.

sun on golden fields

I’m in a bit of a pie-making phase at the moment, unable to resist the smell of apples simmering with butter and spices and brown sugar. Mmm. My latest one is a Spiced Caramel Pear and Apple Pie. I love the tender slices of gala apples and green pears laced with cardamom and ginger in a simple caramel sauce. Such a splendid thing to have on the back porch at the end of a long day.

Spiced Caramel Pear and Apple Pie

How about you, dear one? Have you had any little or big dreams come to pass recently?

Spiced Caramel Pear and Apple Pie

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter
4 large apples, cored, peeled and sliced
4 large pears, cored peeled and sliced
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp cardamom
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2-3/4 cup dark brown sugar
enough pie dough for a double-crust pie
1 egg, beaten
sugar for sprinkling

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
  2. Melt butter in large frying pan over medium-high heat.
  3. Add fruit and let sit until butter begins to simmer. Add spices and stir occasionally making sure it does not burn.
  4. Cook until fruit is browned and begins to caramelize (about 10-15 minutes).
  5. Add brown sugar and cook another 5-10 minutes until mixture is rich brown and butter and brown sugar have formed thick sauce.
  6. Let cook slightly (5 minutes) then pour into prepared pie pan.
  7. Top with remaining pie dough and cut slits in to for steam to escape. I like to top crust with cut outs of leaves or hearts or anything.
  8. Brush pie with beaten egg and sprinkle lightly with granulated sugar. This gives it a pretty sparkle when baked.
  9. Bake 35-45 minutes until crust is beautifully browned.
  10. Serve warm.