Imagine Childhood : Magic & Memories That Last a Lifetime

... classic caramels

Cold Autumn days and All Hallows Eve both seem to scream out one thing to us... sweet simple buttery classic caramels.

We like this recipe because it calls for items we always have on hand (milk, sugar, butter, flour and vanilla), and it makes such a wonderful treat without the fuss of planning or special grocery shopping.

The only trick is to add the milk/flour/sugar mixture into the melted sugar very slowly whisking vigorously the entire time.  After that it just takes a while to get it to the correct temperature.  You can test to see if it is done by dropping a bit of the syrup into a bowl of cold water (if you can form a soft ball that holds its shape it should be ready) but from our experience nothing really beats a good candy thermometer to be sure.

After the syrup is poured and cooled in a buttered pan or dish you can cut the candy into squares and wrap with parchment or wax paper.  Then all that's left is to eat them!

More Autumn and Halloween Fun:

Make a Leaf Cape

Pick Apples and Pumpkins

Fall Leaf Activies

Go on a hike

*Last time in Recipes: … “a” is for apples are for apple sauce

... finding order

As the seasons change and outdoor activities begin to share time with indoor adventures, there is a lot of shuffling and organizing that seems to happen.  Piles of paper and remnants from so many months filled with a different kind of focus call for attention. 


Tables and surfaces are cleared, spaces are organized, all in preparation for new ideas and creativity...


... but the best part of it all is that in organizing to make room for more activities, you get to re-live and revisit the old ones while carefully putting them in a place you will always be able to come back to. In the spirit of all of this, we have done a little organizing ourselves.  Starting today when you visit the blog you will see the most recent post on a page titled "Right now" in an attempt to focus on the moment... in the moment.  All of the previous posts will still be available, just in a slightly more useful way (at least we hope so!). We have gone through all 222 posts from the last eleven months and put them into feature categories so that you can more easily find what you are looking for.  All of the Barn Stories posts are now in one place as are Crafts and Activities, Book Reviews, Recipes and so on.  And of course, you can always see the daily entries chronologically by visiting the archives for the current and past months. There is still work to be done, but we hope this is a step forward in creating a simple, clear, thoughtful place to imagine and share in all of the wonderful things that make up that amazing land called Childhood.

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If you have any suggestions on what would improve your experience of this space, we would love to hear them in the comments for this post!


**Last time in Storytelling: Cardboard Kings

... barn stories: early snow

Fall passed us by this year and we went straight to winter.  There is beauty in this event, more texture, reds, rusts,brown and yellows sharing with the white of snow.


The iridescent tones glistening in the snow as I walk.


We still need to spread compost and seed on the fields.


The garden has not been cleared, but even there you can experience new shapes draped in snow. Our trusty tractor has not made it into the shed, the bird house is empty...


... but the barn is full of animals.


**Last time in Barn Stories: Wonder and Gratitude

... antique windows and windy birds

... old windows with wavy, wobbly glass ...


... wind in the trees and a robin on the roof...


... a moment's break from work to drift with it all...


**Last time in Nature: Leaf Shuffle

... nature walk: jefferson, maine

This week's lovely nature walk comes to us from Jefferson, Maine.  There Andrea and her family explored a state park where rainclouds threatened to let loose a storm but the beautiful fall colors managed to brighten up the day.  Thank you Andrea for sharing this fun trip!

If you would like to contribute to our weekly Nature Walk series, you can learn more about submitting photos here, or you can also visit our new Nature Walk Group Pool on Flickr to add your adventures to the collection.

Thanks again Andrea for sharing!

** Last time in Nature Walk: Bowling Green, Kentucky