The taste of autumn...

September is here. The windows are open (we've got an unusual early fall in Kansas). So I couldn't wait to make the season's first batch of caramel corn.

I got this recipe years ago from Alice, who got it from one of the pressmen at The Salina Journal. It's sticky and gooey and awesome and perfect. Here you go:

CARAMEL CORN

2 sticks butter or margarine

2 cups brown sugar

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. baking soda

air-popped popcorn (8-10 cups?)

peanuts (I use unsalted or honey-roasted, Alice swears by Spanish peanuts)

Important note: After you pop all the corn, sift through it well to remove all the unpopped kernels. Otherwise, someone could break a tooth. Seriously. I pop it all into one side of our turkey roasting pan, then transfer it by handfuls to the other side (lid), and throw away the tooth-breaker seeds.

Combine first five ingredients in a large-ish pot or saucepan (this bubbles and boils quite a bit). Heat over medium to medium-high heat until boiling. Boil, stirring constantly, for five minutes. Remove from heat and add baking soda. Stir. Syrup will kind of whooosh and turn a nice caramel color. Pour over popcorn and peanuts in a large roasting pan. Stir until everything is coated well. Bake at 250 degrees for one hour, stirring well every 10 minutes. Cool on wax paper, then transfer to airtight container (if you don't eat it all off the counter).

'Glide-to-ride' makes biking easy

Jack took a bicycle safety course last week, and it reminded me of the day(s) he first learned to ride without training wheels.

Then I thought about how that process consumed us -- it was all he thought about and, consequently, all we thought about for days and days and days. Thankfully, we employed a pretty foolproof method that I share with other parents every chance I get.

Here's a column I wrote about the "glide-to-ride" method, published in The Eagle in June 2007:

I'm thrilled to announce that the Tobias family is 2-for-2 in successful bicycle instruction, after my 6-year-old son learned to ride without training wheels last week. (Insert joyous applause, high-fives and relieved sighs here.)

I'd love to take credit, but I can't. The secret was something I call "The Glide-to-Ride Method," a strategy advocated by Bob and Ruth Holliday, owners of the Bicycle Pedaler in Wichita.

"Twenty-seven years in this business, and it's never failed," Ruth Holliday told me recently. "I've even used it on adults."

Not long ago, she said, a woman came into the store to buy a bike -- and some lessons. Her son wanted to go riding, but she had never learned how.

Holliday took the woman into the store parking lot, "and within two hours, she was riding," she said. "It was such a thrill for her."

Indeed, riding rocks. And it's possible to learn without scraped knees or frayed nerves, using the Hollidays' step-by-step method:

* First, make sure the child is ready. A clear sign? He asks you to take off his training wheels. Older brothers and sisters often act as catalysts.

* Think safety. Whenever he rides -- with or without training wheels -- a child should wear a helmet and shoes that won't slip off. Also, a beginner's bike should have a foot brake.

* After removing the training wheels, adjust the bicycle seat. The seat should be low enough that the child, while seated, can put his feet flat on the ground. If it's still too tall, consider buying or borrowing a smaller bike.

* Find an open, paved area with a very slight incline. A parking lot with a slight grade works best, but even a driveway on a cul-de-sac is OK. You don't need lots of room, but you'll want to avoid traffic and other distract ions.

* Have your child sit on the bike and dangle his feet on either side. Have him walk the bike, taking little steps, on a flat area. Eventually, encourage him to "leap" -- picking up both feet at once -- to get a sense of balancing longer distances.

* Take the child to the top of the incline and have him coast to the bottom. At this point, he still should not pedal. If he feels like he's about to fall, he should simply put his feet down to stop the bike. Repeat this step until he can glide down several times with his feet an inch or two above the ground.

* Next, have the child coast down the incline with his feet on the pedals (but not pedaling). Repeat until he feels secure.

* Finally, have the child pedal the bike once or twice on the way down, to get the feel for balancing and pedaling simultaneously. By that point, most usually take off riding.

The method takes more patience than courage, a fact that my cautious daughter appreciated a bit more than my daredevil son. But riding off by himself, Jack's final review echoed my own:

"This feels so easy!"

For today...

From The Simple Woman's Daybook:

Outside my window ... I can see the Keen Kutter building and a blue, blue Kansas sky.

I am thinking ... that my lunch was nourishing, both physically and emotionally.

I am thankful for ... our neighborhood swimming pool. And the soft pretzels with cheese they sell at the concession stand.

From the kitchen ... this chicken salad recipe rocks the house.

I am wearing ... khaki capris and the orange/brown patterned top I got at Gordmans during that shopping marathon with Tara. We need to shop again.

I am creating ... a back-to-school special section, coming to your Eagle on July 23!

I am going ... to eat some gummy bears.

I am reading ... "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan." Well, I'll start reading it as soon as I pick it up from the library. I just finished "Then We Came to the End."

I am hoping ... that my dad's shoulder replacement goes well next month.

I am hearing ... typing, telephone conversations and a police scanner.

Around the house ... there are a whole lot of wet towels and bottles of sunscreen.

One of my favorite things ... New "Harry Potter" movies!!!

A few plans for the rest of the week ... setting off fireworks in Andover, swimming, barbecue with neighbors, food/friends/fireworks at Tim and Kristen's. Oh, and finishing a whole lot of work before the holiday weekend.

And a photo to share...

New reading spot...

And oh, how I love it. :-)

Currently reading "Then We Came to the End," which is sad and funny and scary and true. Highly recommended, but be warned: It's about layoffs. (I know!! Hilarious, right?!)

Ballet time!!

That means makeup time and costume time and hanging out with all my Dance Mom peeps, which isn't a bad way to spend a weekend.

Title of this year's performance for Rogers Ballet was "Hats Off!" Hannah was in two numbers -- an ice skater (see Courier & Ives-style skating-on-a-pond hat, above), and a Scottish dancer with a glengarry cap. Here's a pic of that one:


Ballet concert time is bittersweet busy, know what I mean? It drives you absolutely crazy while it's going on (especially for loser seamstresses like myself, who are forced to figure out how to tack tutus and stuff). It makes for long days and nights, but when the girls are up onstage and smiling and dancing and really LOVING it, like Hannah did this year, it really is worth all the work.

God, that was sappy and cliche. Sorry, I'm tired. So instead of writing anymore, I will just share some photos (most are by my wonderful photog hubby, of course).

Happy Mother's Day!

It's one of my favorite days of the year, because of adorable handmade presents like this -- and, of course, the snugs and huggles. I love these kids.

Interesting campaign strategy...

I think she wants a hot tub.