Pumpkin Man Invades CCS

The weather cooperated this morning so freaks and princesses - and Pumpkin Man - turned out for this year's Charlotte Central School Halloween parade.  Here, thanks to Kerrie Pugh, are a few of the wonderful costumes. We think that's Interim Principal Sandra Jump as the Mad Hatter, below, but as always, Pumpkin Man's identity remains shrouded in secrecy.

You can see more in a slide show on the school's website.

Just Stopping By

Linda Gilbert sent in this colorful photo of a monarch butterfly that stopped by her garden on its way to Mexico last week.  It and two of its friends seemed to prefer the zinnias over other remaining flowers.  Good to know Charlotte is on their travel route.

Cornucopia at the Four Corners

Thanks to John Hammer for sending in these pics of the WWI monument at the West Village four corners, which had been feeling a little neglected lately, what with all the East Charlotte Tractor Parade and Carrie's decorations over on the other side of town. Alexandra and Theo created this beautiful seasonal centerpiece on a grand scale that should see us through Thanksgiving. Thanks!

Dogs of the Tractor Parade

There were a lot of dogs at the Charlotte Tractor Parade on Sunday; most didn't seem to mind the crowds or noise. Whether they like watching tractor parades or just didn't want to stay behind at home was unclear.

9th Annual Tractor Parade Scores Another Beautiful Day

The Tractor Parade rolled down Spear Street this afternoon for the 9th consecutive year - were you there?. Huge crowds, including scads of adorable children, music, pumpkins, apple pie and of course, tons of tractors. Congratulations to Carrie and all her helpers for another wonderful East Charlotte event. More pictures tomorrow.

What are you doing with your apples?

First we picked them (at the nearly-in-Charlotte Shelburne Orchards) and shared a couple pieces of Nick Cowles' gigantic apple pie. Then we hauled our bags home and contemplated what we were going to do with them all.

So far, I've made apple crisp and apple butter. Here's the recipe for the apple butter, which is much easier than pie:

Peel and slice apples to fill the crock pot (13-15) (I used a combination of macs and cortlands).

Cook on low overnight (8 to 15 hours - it's an easy going recipe).

In the morning, mash and stir. Add 2 t. cinnamon, 1/2 t. ground cloves, up to 2 cups of sugar or other sweetener depending on how you like it - I added 3/4 cup agave syrup; stir again.

Then cook on low for another six hours covered and a couple more uncovered until it's as thick as you want it.

I froze it in 3 one-pint containers, which left about a cup to spread on our toast and waffles this week.

Now what to do with the other half-bushel?

Blogging Class

Here are a few new bloggers at the 21st Century Toys class at the Senior Center this morning. The students registered with blogger and set up diverse and interesting new blogs.

Kay Teetor now has a food blog called Salt and Pepper - click to see her review of a recent dinner at Starry Night. Martha Barton-Rivera's blog (Swimming in Lake Champlain) is all about Thompson's Point and you can check to get the latest news all year round.