I know Sept. 23 is the official end of summer and the beginning of fall, but Labor Day weekend seems to be the end of a lot of summer activities. Years ago, it was the signal to stop wearing summer white shoes and outfits, and you would never wear white again until Memorial Day. I do hope our fall will be filled with good weather as well as beautiful fall colors. Taking short trips to see the fall foliage is a treat. I didn't have to take a trip to see the beginnings of fall colors. Two different streets in Auburn that I went down already had two or three trees that had leaves that were no longer green.

September was when I took two special trips. One year, I went to Greece with my aunt, and one year I went on my one and only cruise. I assumed I would be terrified being on the ocean, but it turned out to be so much fun for me I forgot to be scared by so much deep water. You definitely couldn't get bored. There were stage shows every night and amazing foods. There were eight of us, and none of us got seasick. That was a blessing. Many, many happy memories.

We had the Sate Fair this month as well, which is an annual must attend for many people. We also had a circus come to town. I had two different experiences with the circus. When my children were young, we spent every day at the lake. When we were leaving the park, one of my sons ran up and petted a pony from the circus, and the pony turned around a bit him. I immediately took him to the emergency room, and when they asked what happened to him, I said he had been bitten by a pony. They looked at me and said, “Are you sure it wasn't a large dog? Why would there be a horse at the park?” I told him I didn't know the difference and to please stitch up the bite. They didn't know the circus was in town.

The other adventure was when the tent fell down at the park. My children were there, but thankfully, they went to a pay phone to let me know they were OK. I was at work and went it to tell the bartender what had happened. He looked at me stunned and then actually jumped over the bar, ran out the door yelling his kids were at the circus, and he had to go find them. He left me alone at the bar with a party of 20 people, and I did not know how to tend bar. I must have looked terrified because several of the guests assured me they would let me know how to mix the drinks. And they did. They told me what to mix with what. About a half hour later the bartender came back with his kids and mine. They were standing way at the outside end of the park watching the tent being removed from some of the seats. It was quite an adventure for Auburn.

The children have gone back to school. The colleges have reopened and probably most people have returned to a fixed routine. Some are lucky to be still going on a vacation. My sister, Adrianna, is. She and my brother-in-law, Chris, and two of their close friends are on a trip to Greece. She called for the names of my mom and dad's hometowns. I stayed with both families when I went but when she went the last time, she didn't get to either town. My mom's family is not far from Sparta and also Klamata, which is famous for its olives. My dad's hometown is very small. One store, one church, one very small school. My cousin took me into the store whose owner was in his 80s. He pointed to me and said, “You are an Amelias, aren't you?” That was my maiden name. I was so surprised. I asked him, “How did you know?” He said, “Because you look just like us.” I was amazed. He was my cousin.

The Blue Lights were great. They made this Labor Day weekend special. Thank you Dr. Joseph Karpinski for arranging this.

Talking about Greece made me decide my ethnic recipe this week is Greek Spanakorizo (spinach and rice). Surprised? My other recipe is perfect for the apple season.

Today's blooper

This blooper was done by a friend of mine. She had a delicious recipe for fruit cake. She prepared all the fruit for it, which takes quite awhile because she used hand-cut fruit pieces. She got all the ingredients together and placed it in the oven. She usually bakes it for one hour, checks it, and if not cooked through, returns it to the oven until done. She checked it after one hour, and it wasn't cooked through. she continued to cook it, checking every little while, and by the second hour, it still was not firm. The reason? She forgot to put flour in the mixture before she baked it.

Diana Sobus, of Auburn, specializes in making ethnic foods

Spanakorizo

Makes 4 to 6 servings

2 large finely chopped onion

3/4 cup olive oil

1 teaspoon tomato paste

1 pound spinach or two packages of frozen

About 1 cup water, more if needed

2 sprigs fresh mint or 1 tablespoon dried

1/2 cup raw rice

Salt and pepper to taste

Saute onions in oil until soft then add tomato paste and spinach and stir. Add water to cover and then bring to a boil; add seasonings. Sprinkle rice on top, but do not stir. Cover and simmer until rice is cooked.

As a variation, you may use three sliced tomatoes instead of paste.

Apple Stuffing

Makes 8 servings

1/4 cup margarine

1/2 cup chopped celery

1/2 cup chopped onion

3 tablespoons chopped parsley

2 quarts peeled, diced apples

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon sage

2 cups dry bread cubes

Cook onions, celery, parsley slowly in melted margarine. Add apples and brown sugar. Cover and cook slowly until apples are tender but firm. Add salt, pepper, sage and bread cubes. Toss lightly with a fork. Place in a greased casserole dish and bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees.

This dressing is especially good served with roast pork or turkey.