Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Happy 26th anniversary to us! October 22



Still happy God made us for each other and led our lives together!
We have been blessed with love, unity, children, and now grandchildren.

Squeezo Strainer Apple Day

When our dear friend, Eileen Owen, moved to Minnesota and was downsizing to a small apartment, she gave me one of her treasures: a Squeezo Strainer! This fall I got a bunch of apples and I was able to put the Squeezo Strainer to good use. Two Mondays ago, the children and I made applesauce and applebutter. It was the easiest apple day we have ever had!
All we did was wash the apples, remove stems, cut apples in quarters, and cook for about 20 minutes in a covered pot with a little water. Then we put the apples through the Squeezo Strainer and turned the handle. Out one side came all the seeds and skins. Out another side came applesauce! I measured it and added sugar and cinnamon, cooked it a little longer and canned it.

Lincoln Brown was being babysat by Beth, as he usually is on Mondays, so he learned all about making applesauce too!

We always try to get everybody involved, even Jason!



Jason stirred the sugar in so that none got scorched.

When I made the second batch of applesauce into applebutter, I did it differently than I ever have before. Usually I use the big electric roaster oven to cook the applebutter down, but I really didn't want to get it out. It takes so long, is so hard to clean, and ties up the whole counter. So I put the applesauce, sugar and spices into a very large roaster pan in my oven to cook. I left it in there 1.5 hours and stirred it occasionally and it was done. Then I put the applebutter into jars and sealed them in the oven also! (250 temperature and 20 minutes) It was faster and less mess than waterbathing them.

Finished products: 8 quarts of applesauce and 19 pints of applebutter.

Pumpkin Patch

Our friends, the Browns, wanted us to go to a fund raiser for the local crisis pregnancy center last Friday. It was called Pumpkin Patch Boogie and was in a very large barn north of Greeley. Jeffrey was gone to Ukraine, and Beth was not feeling well, so we only had Jason and Emily with us. There was a BBQ supper, a bluegrass family group who played and sang, and many kids' activities. There was a silent auction and opportunity to buy the centerpieces to help the pregnancy center. Jason and Emily played a lot of the games. Rowen watched his bids on the silent auction and took a few pictures, and Janet chatted with some homeschool friends.
It seemed very strange to only have two kids with us!


Though we didn't win in the silent auction, we did bring home some yummy pumpkin bread on a pretty harvest plate (one of the table centerpieces).

snow day October 28, 2009


So glad Rowen and Emily got the trampoline removed and put away before the storm came!


It's supposed to keep snowing the rest of today and most of tomorrow!