Laundry in the Snow

I was probably the only one in my county that put laundry out to dry while it was snowing.   It proved to be worth it.  The wind kicked up, and the sun came out.  Everything dried.

On another note, I finished a crocheted shawl for my 16 year-old for Christmas, using the 1/2 dc stitch.  Then today I made this "poncho" for my 11 year old with a rose colored yarn that would look great over a white turtle neck sweater.  Apologies in advance for the poor lighting in my house when I took this photo.

I did not use the yarn that the pattern called for, but used yarn a friend gave me.  It worked pretty well and I'm happy with the final poncho.  Here's the pattern I went by:  Posh Poncho.

Canning Apple Pie Filling

I am starting with a 1/2 bushel Fuji apples.  My wonderful mother brought me these from the orchard.  I have never canned apple pie filling, so I hope the lady at the orchard picked out a nice apple for canning (as she said they would be).

We peeled and sliced and filled the 7 quart canning jars.  My 18 year old son, who was home, and didn't have to leave for work real soon, helped me.

I took the extra sliced apples, and leftover syrup, and made 2 pies for dinner.  Yes, those are frozen pie crusts.  You caught me. I have cheated a bit today.  They were in the freezer, and the needed to be baked anyway.  I added a crumb topping with flour, brown sugar, butter, and oats.  They are still baking.

And I have these many apples left.  I may can 7 more quarts if I have enough jars.  Probably tomorrow, not today.

Here the the jars after the boiling bath.

And the final jars cooling!  Phew!  I did it!  Now we just have to make some more pies and give this recipe a taste.  Of course, the two baking, have the same syrup too.

First Snow of 2010

It actually started snowing last night, but not enough for any to stay.  This morning it's snowing those beautiful, fat and lazy snowflakes.  I wasn't the only one excited to see the snow.  My kids loved it too.  We'll see how long their excitement will last when it's snowing so thick we need to shovel snow - ha ha ha!

Leftover Turkey

I'm blessing the family today with a modge podge soup of sorts.   I'm not using a recipe.  I simply took some organic, free range broth, added leftover turkey, and several items I froze from garden.  I hope it tastes good!  I even added some frozen yellow squash, and swiss chard.  Yum!

The weather is chilly, which is perfect for enjoying hot soup.  The sun is shining too.

Frozen Towels and Wall of Thanksgiving

It's just another weekend laundry day around here.  I literally had to yank my towels and washcloths from the clothesline.  They froze to the line, where they were pinched by the wooden clothespins.  Even if I had a million dollars, I would still hang my clothes out when ever possible.  Even in the snow.

The barn cat's water bowl froze over, but the chicken's did not.  It's pretty cold and by 1:00pm today it felt like bedtime.  The cloud cover, and lack of sunshine is a bid depressing.

My 14 year-old daughter cut leaves from construction paper and each of us wrote something we are thankful on them.  The hall way wall is now the "wall of Thanksgiving."  It's another memory we'll share together.

Black Friday Sales ~ Stay Home or Go Out?

Yesterday, my husband plopped the local newspaper onto the bed.  I picked it up, and for a minute, thought he had brought home a Sunday newspaper.  There were so many ads in the newspaper, I don't think there was much of the "news" in the paper to read.   Really?  Do we need to have so many ads in our paper?

Well, as many people take this shopping experience seriously, I stay home.  Far, far away from the pushing and shoving and name calling.  Many moons ago, I too joined the crazy group of shoppers.  Only for me, I shopped for half-price toys for my kids when they were younger. 

A few years later, my husband couldn't understand why I didn't shop on the Friday after Thanksgiving anymore.  He decided he would get up at 5:00am and head to Wal-mart.  Well, he arrived, turned out and went to a Bob Evans for breakfast, and returned home.  He tells his story each year now, telling people they have to be "crazy" to shop during this day.

After his experience, he too, will never shop for "Black Friday" sales again either.  I can say that most items go on sale later anyway.  As for me and my family, for now anyway, we will be staying out of the stores.

Just because it's on sale, doesn't mean a person needs it to live.  Many sales ads that drag folks to the store cause them to spend frivolously.  It's more about the thrill of the hunt for a "deal" and not so much for providing basic living essentials.  A shopper really needs to have self-control during the holidays.  Don't get sucked into the sales ads this year.  You may need those extra dollars next year, after the holidays.

Laundry Soap Making Day

Today I making another batch of laundry soap.  This time I am making it with Zote, but it's still not turning out the way I'd like it too.  I may have to switch containers and store it in a plastic bucket with a lid. 

The sun is out and the wind is pretty strong, so it's a good laundry day for drying my bedding outside.

My kids are cleaning house for a school break/movie night party.  The rules have always been that if they are doing the inviting, then they do all the cleaning.   They are mixing up a bottle of vinegar/water to wash down the bathroom.

As for me, I have writing to finish.  It's day 23 of the NaNoWriMo and I've been able to keep up despite household chores, kids and hurting myself.  Yep.  I managed to pull a muscle or pinch a nerve or something and my head is throbbing.  I can't lean my head back or to the left either.  It's been pretty painful.   I better take something for it, because I have a school conference tonight.