Greenbluff & Symphony

We headed to Greenbluff for our annual fresh pressed apple cider fix... and hot pumpkin donuts of course. It was kind of rainy which is why Audrey would not sit on the bale of hay. Smart girl. We checked out the craft booths and listened to the live band playing and then headed home to warm up.

That evening I went with mom to the Bugs Bunny at the Symphony performance. The symphony played the score for the cartoon while the cartoon was shown on a big screen. Interesting that the symphony all wore headphones during the concert. This was so they could synchronize their performance with the cartoon as it is all timed out, measure by measure. Evidently that was how it was originally written so that after the local studio symphony got done with their major motion picture filming for the day, they would finish their set by taping just a portion of the cartoon score. And because it is all timed, they could splice it right with a different portion of the score taped earlier, and so on, until they got the entire piece.

Celebrate New Job

To celebrate John's new job we went to the movie "Red" with Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich and Helen Mirren. Excellent!!!!


Then we headed to the Rusty Moose for lunch. That happened to be the restaurant that his new employer took him on one of his interviews, so John suggested we go there. Tasty food and large portions. Congrats John on your new job!

Last Day at WV

The email that was distributed to West Valley staff to let them know John was leaving.

From: Beau Williams

Good Morning,

I wanted to get a quick email out this morning to let you know we have a very valued employee of the Technology Department leaving us this month, John Carter. John has decided to take Sterling Savings up on an offer they made him.

John has been with West Valley for 10 years, and over those 10 years John has been a great asset to the Technology department and West Valley School District. With his friendly demeanor and technical skills John has made an impact with many teachers and students, we are sad to see him go. We wish John all the best in his upcoming ventures.

Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

PUMPKIN BARS with CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

Bars:
Beat the following ingredients together:
4 eggs
1 can pumpkin (15 oz)
1 2/3 cup sugar
1 cup oil

Then mix in:
2 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Do not grease pan!

Frosting:
3 oz cream cheese, room temperature (important)
½ cup butter
Cream butter & cream cheese together, then add:
1 Tbs. vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar

Spread over cooled bars. Sprinkle chopped pecans over top.

Oatmeal Cake

OATMEAL CAKE

CAKE:
1 ½ cups boiling water
1 cup quick oats
½ cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 ½ cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
1 Tablespoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon salt

Pour boiling water over oats and set aside. In a medium bowl, cream butter and sugars together. Beat in eggs, then stir in soaked oatmeal. Add remaining ingredients and stir well. Batter will appear thin. Bake in greased and floured 9x13” pan for 30-35 minutes at 350 degrees.

TOPPING:
6 Tablespoons butter
¼ cup brown sugar
½ cup white sugar
1 cup coconut
1 cup chopped walnuts
¼ cup evaporated milk
¼ teaspoon vanilla

Combine all ingredients except vanilla in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat until bubbly, stirring constantly. Add vanilla and spread on baked cake. Place under broiler in oven until bubbles – approximately 3 minutes.

Lasagna

I had the day off today. Got the carpets cleaned, made lasagna and then made 2 desserts for John's potluck at work tomorrow. Which also happens to be his last day at West Valley. Timing worked out well since they had already planned a get-together so now they can call it a going away party too!

LASAGNA

Ingredients
1 pound ground Beef
1 pound Sausage
2 cloves Garlic, Minced
2 cans (14.5 Ounce) Whole Tomatoes
1 small can tomato sauce

2 Tablespoons Dried Parsley
2 Tablespoons Dried Basil
1 teaspoon Salt
3 cups Cottage Cheese
2 whole eggs, beaten
½ cups Shredded Parmesan Cheese
2 Tablespoons Dried Parsley
1 pound Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
1 package Lasagna Noodles

In a large skillet or saucepan, combine ground beef, sausage, and garlic. Cook over medium-high heat until browned. Drain the fat. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, 2 tablespoons parsley, basil and salt. After adding the tomatoes, the sauce mixture should simmer for 45 minutes. In a medium bowl, mix cottage cheese, eggs, Parmesan, 2 tablespoons parsley. Stir together well. Set aside.

To assemble:
Arrange in this order: Noodles, cottage cheese mixture, Mozzarella cheese, meat sauce - repeat. Sprinkle top with additional Parmesan. Bake 350-degree 30 minutes, or until top is hot and bubbly.

Fall Projects: Sprinklers

Here's a candid shot of John working on our sprinkler system. Fun times... for him!

Family Photos

After seeing how nice a job Arah did with Audrey's senior photos, we scheduled a Family photo session. Arah's sister Julie came also and the two of them were fun to work with. John even said he had a good time during the photo session and would do that again. We started downtown and had to make a few changes as North by Northwest was filming a movie where we wanted some photos taken - but it all worked out great. Then we headed up to the Corbin area and had some outdoor type photos done as well. The Heritage Garden was closed for the season, but we definitely want to check that out next spring.