061 Apple Dumpling Queens

Donna and Lois have headed up Apple Dumpling Days at church for ten years. They've already spent the last week making dough, soup and otherwise getting ready. Today they baked over 150 apple dumplings for tomorrow's deliveries.

060 Apple Peelers

Today is the last prep day before the big apple dumpling bake. The peelers were brought out of the closet and cases of apples are waiting to be peeled, wrapped with dough, baked and bathed in sauce. The next several days are exhausting for those who make the dumplings, but for those of us who eat them, ever so good.

059 Canning Jars

In addition to 1,500 apple dumplings and 200 apple pies, soup will also be sold this week. I haven't asked how many quarts of three varieties they will be making, but the jars are cleaned and ready.

058 Rich's Dinner

Today was one of those very long days, most all of it spent without camera at hand. The new bishop was installed in Scranton this morning, and synod council was invited to the luncheon that followed. I got home in time to pick up Rich for tonight's worship and head to church. Afterwards we went to Applebee's for dinner. His plate was filled and beautiful and the only camera I had was the one in the cell phone.  

057 Library Statue HDR

In front of the Bethlehem Public Library, in the mist. Another use of HDR to bring out the depth of color at twilight.

056 Rat Race

Some days it seems that way.

055 Paint scrapings

The house was built in 1930 and this door has been painted over several times. The flaking paint meant it was time to paint it again and the first step was scraping the old paint. Protocol says to scrape all the paint to the wood. Time says the flaky bits. Time won. The door was painted today.

054 Sculpture

Detail of a horseshoe sculpture topped with street street sign letters. From a distance I thought it looked a bit like a teapot and the letters as foam bubbling over. I took this looking up from inside the sculpture. This is one of five sculptures at the Easton Metal Works, a scrap metal recycling center on Bushkill Drive.

053 The Evil Known as Halloween Candy

The theologian in me knows that food has no inherent moral categories; that it is neither good nor evil, it just is what it is. In this case it is sugar, corn syrup, and honey. Candy corn wouldn't be considered evil if I ate just a few at a time and they lasted a week, but that never happens with this once a year treat. Rich says that candy has its benefits, the main one being emotional.

052 Baby Sally

Today was St. John's church picnic and over 40 people attended including Baby Sally. Baby Sally belongs to one of Brehm girls and I saw her sitting on the picnic bench after everyone ate and the girls were off playing. 

051 Cinderella's carriage

This was a surprise. Rich, Ian and I were sitting on the porch and Rich said, "It sounds like a horse." Ian said, "It is a horse." Actually, it was Cinderella's carriage going down Laurel St. I learned my fairy tales as a child. I never expected one would be driving by my house.

050 Purple Kale

Not quite planted in the front garden are three pots of purple kale. Eventually they will be planted, hopefully out of the way of the new gas line to be installed this fall. Kale is hardy and in the past, has lasted through the first snows of December.

049 Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls

Handmade chocolate and lots of it at the Chocolate Lab.

Yummy.

048 Farmhouse tomatoes

Fresh heirloom tomatoes in the Farmhouse  kitchen. It looks like a salad in the making; tomatoes, basil and oil. The chef knows the names of each of the different variety of tomato. They were grown in his mother's garden.

047 Tail lights

 One tail light, four colors. Which is the original? 

046 Homework

I'm taking a documentary photography class at the Banana Factory and the theme is kitchens. Our assignment this week is a self-portrait in the kitchen which we are to bring to the next class, as well as a recipe, and an image that inspires us. Now the combination of food and photography is almost too good to be true, but bringing a recipe is a bit overwhelming. Favorite has no meaning when it comes to cooking. It all depends on the occasion and besides, I have four shelves of cookbooks in the kitchen. I would have a much easier time coming up with a multi-course menu and bringing in those recipes. We are limited to just one and I have until Wednesday to decide. This self-portrait with a pile of cookbooks tells my dilemma. It is also how I look almost every Saturday around 11 AM when I plan the menu and make the grocery list for the next week.

045 The Boys

This is the Sunday School class at St. John's. The class is all boys who are all boy. I did get a nice picture of them that will go with the cards they are making for the homebound members of St. John's. Sometimes though, you just gotta be goofy.

044 Confirmation Class

Confirmation class met for the first time today and here they are. We meet once a month for class and in between we've done a couple of mission projects for World Hunger Appeal, Habitat for Humanity, and Christmas shopping with Easton Lutheran Youth for Northampton county youth who are in need. This year they will participate in the Easton CROP Walk for hunger. All of them are athletes in school and the girls, all runners, asked if they could run the course. I don't have a problem with that but I'm not quite up to running with them.

043 Amy

We hadn't seen each other in 10 years. Army life will do that. After two tours in Iraq and a return to Germany Amy was in Philadelphia for a conference last week. She managed to come up for the night before returning to Frankfurt. The dinner was good, and dessert was fine. After dessert,  a cup of coffee, just like Grandma Falkner.

042 September 11

Seven years ago it was a perfect day; perfect sky perfect temperature, perfectly beautiful. In the end, it was perfectly pain-filled in a way no one expected when they woke up for work. The next day was just as perfect and flags lined the street. The flags were out again today. A sign of strength in the midst of a shattered country. A sign of remembrance for a deep felt loss.

041 No Parking

It's been over a week since the gas company started digging holes an laying new pipe in the street on the next block. There are still  three section of pipe, and a pile of metal plates they use to cover the holes in the street, and an empty trailer with no parking traffic cones surrounding these things they've left until they can finish the work they've started. Maybe they'll be back tomorrow.

040 Rose Petals

The rose bush is pretty pathetic looking, too tall, very scraggly, and leaning over. I was too busy last spring to prune it when it should have been done. It still blooms, and if this year's neglect hasn't harmed it, it will still bloom into early December.

039 Fresh Vegetables

Stacey gave me some fresh eggplant and tomatoes from her garden, which will become Eggplant Lasagna. I like the retro feel of the this image. It reminds me of a photo from a 60's cook book.

038 Sunday School Candles

Today was the first day of Sunday School. They told me that they begin each class when each one lights  a small candle off these two candles. The project of the day was making votive candle holders for each child. They did this by gluing tissue paper to the bottom of a small glass bowl.

037 In the tree

I see these in the trees and am not sure what they are. A Gypsy Moth nest? This one has collected leaves and dripping with rain.

036 Coca Cola Park HDR

035 Milk & Cookies

He ate his dinner and for dessert- a chocolate Oreo which he dutifully took apart and licked. When you're 15 months-old you can have chocolate all over your face and wash down the cookie with milk from a sippy cup.

034 Elephant Walk

033 Moving Day

His second year at Berklee and his first apartment. Nate packed up his stuff, some old furniture and hit the road. Next stop for him is Boston. Next stop for us is cleaning the basement.

032 Back Porch Fountain