them apples

fall means many things to many people
for me it's the return of sweaters and fires,
regular consumption of hot tea,
pumpkins on the front steps,
a beach trip if I'm lucky enough,
that crisp hurt-your-eyes fall blue sky and lack of summer haze....

and apples,
fall most certainly means apples

Not long after I moved down to North Carolina, I contacted a couple local farmers about part-time work and ended up helping out a guy with an organic apple (and now, veggies and peaches and more) operation.  It's been years since I worked for him in any capacity, but we make a trip out each fall and he so generously gifts us with a bushel or so of the (delicious) fruits of his labor.

before I knew him, I thought golden delicious apples were anything but

yellow and mushy and bland...... blech! I said
no, no, he said- try one fresh from the tree, one that hasn't been sitting in storage (or bobbing around in water) in near freezing temperatures for six months (or so)

in other words, I now realize, one from your own hemisphere, at the time of year
that they are meant to be enjoyed...

and well looky there- turns out they (the goldens) are one of my favorites after all

this year we went on my birthday, after an amazing lunch at The Asheville Public
(a wonderful and new-ish local place that does food and ambiance equally fabulously)
and came home with a mix of galas, goldens, romes, and granny smiths

How could I not love a place that has vintage mix-and-match table and chair sets, big fat fries (I am not sure why other kinds of fries even exist), etch-a-sketches for the kiddos, and delicious food?  I actually went outside to get my camera out of the car so I could take some pictures of the loveliness of it all.

there was a birthday pie
there has been a lot of peeling done by an excited certain little someone

and today, inspired by Ashley,
we made some apple print art,
something I've wanted to do for a long time

ta-da!
super fun and easy, really
I used acrylic paints since that's what I had on hand, so it will be hung as art, but I suppose
with some nontoxic fabric paint we could make up some sweet little apple napkins (appkins?)

there will be more apple printing,
roasted apple butter,
maybe some apple sauce,
and at least several more pies



linking up with amanda at the habit of being