With A Thankful Heart

By Debra DuPree Williams @DDuPreeWilliams

The older I get, the more quickly the year passes. It seems we just observed the Fourth of July and here it is, Thanksgiving. Here’s the kicker—Christmas is less than a month away. As usual, I haven’t purchased the first gift. Heavy sigh.

But, this week, we celebrate Thanksgiving. Two of our four sons will be with us this year. One is our married son who will have our lovely granddaughters with him, along with his beautiful wife, our Daughter-in-Love. It is always so good to hear the laughter of our two granddaughters filling our home. And, it’s such a blessing to see two of our boys communicating with one another as grown men.

Those are only a few of the things we are thankful for this year. 

It's Apple Season--Have You Picked the Best One?

by Debra DuPree Williams @DDuPreeWilliams

This past weekend brought with it not only Labor Day weekend, but the seventy-second annual apple festival here in the mountains of Western North Carolina. This is a lovely time of year. The local orchards are packed with people eager to pick their own apples. I can see why. The trees are literally bowing down beneath the weight of the crop this year.

The varieties are many and there is something for everyone’s taste. There are the familiar red or golden delicious, Gala, which is an early variety. There are apples from Jonagold to Mutsu. That was one with which I had absolutely no familiarity. But it is very good.At any of the orchards, they have samples so you may taste prior to heading into the orchards, basket in hand.