Applesauce

The European hornets, yellow jackets and bald
hornets like apples too.
Which ones are you seeing here?

The taste of warm fresh applesauce is the taste of Fall. We awoke to cool air this morning. Jacket weather. Everything says Fall. Tomorrow is the last day of September. Oh, where did it go?

You can tell I don't do many selfies. Lol

We began cutting the apples last evening. After baking 7 fruit pies and 10 loaves of zucchini bread. The boys are working hard these days. (The two youngest are my helpers. The others are out on the job, staining decks.)

That's four bushels or more.

After delivering the baked goods to market this morning we drove to Delray to deliver milk to the family who shares the milk cow and picked up lots more tomatoes. They had so graciously picked them for us.

You mostly see Golden Delicious (deer apples) here.
We had gotten some from Delray earlier and we're mixing the two.

We cut apples again until time to leave for P.E. at school. Upon returning the boys cut more while I began cooking them. Then it was cooking, straining, putting in jars, repeat and repeat. We put most of it in plastic "jars" for the freezer. 

There is still a ways to go. But another day. Tomorrow I will again see how much of the house I can clean. It feels like I'm majorly spinning my wheels these days. Now it's time to enjoy a cup o' tea.

This blueberry green tea is really delicious.

Here is a de-cluttering video it might pay to watch.

How was your day?

Thankful

The Lord is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble and he knoweth them that trust in him. Nahum 1:7

God is good, all the time: All the time, God is good.

This past week has been wonderful! The men were home most of the week, getting projects done around here. We took off from academic studies. It was a relaxing week in a lot of ways even though it was busy.

A sign in the pottery shop

Our shop with an open porch is now a larger shop because there are walls built around the porch. Usually the men would enclose the porch with plastic for the winter to have space to work but now there are real walls. They are doing a major renovation on the interior of the building also, to make it more usable. 

The yard has had its fall cleanup- the last mowing and leaf pick-up. It looks so nice!

One day the men cut up six bushels of apples for me which I made into sauce. They helped to turn it through the strainer also. We got around 63 quarts. We like a thicker sauce so I poured a lot of liquid away. Most of the sauce went into the freezer. I canned seven quarts.

That same day, we three teachers of our class at Kid's Club took five of the girls out for the evening to Polka Dot Pot in downtown Winchester. PDP is a pottery shop. You can book a party and paint pottery. We each did a mug except one girl did an ice cream cone trinket "box".

Thanksgiving Day didn't seem like it . Okay that sounds weird. But I was hoping for family time, playing games, etc. We just each went our own way, doing whatever and waiting for the evening when others were coming. Thomas' mom, my parents, my sister Verina and family and my sister Joanna from NC came for a 6:30 supper. Of course it was a very short evening. Gobble up the turkey and be stuffed. Ha.

Joanna stayed for the rest of the week and left today. We enjoyed having her with us for a few days. Last weekend my sister Rachel was here with "her very own boyfriend" (as my five year old niece put it.) And in Oct my brother LeRoy and his friend Darek from Poland visited awhile. What a privilege to have family visit us!

And friends! Nathaniel came to visit.

My parents have spent the last few weeks in Gap Mills, making fruitcakes and helping along with the bakery. 

Toward the beginning of the month the younger boys and I had the privilege of visiting different artists. They set up a tour for people to come watch them work and/or see their handiwork. The things the boys enjoyed most were stained glass art and wood turning.

Melvin's art work. The boys enjoy artistic things.

The boys also enjoyed a field day with the church school and a school in Bittinger, MD. It is an annual thing they do, getting together to see who can jump the farthest, run the fastest etc & etc. It's a fun day for all. At least for all of mine.

These things were lying close to one another on the coffee table one day and I couldn't resist the photo. Melvin made the axe.

That day was very unusual for me, being home by myself most of the day. What did I do of the one hundred one things I could have done? Read! Actually I did more than that but I did take some time to enjoy the luxury.

Puzzles are my weakness and this one was especially fun!

Then I had another while to be alone when Thomas and all the boys but Stephen went on a hiking trip with friends for two days and two nights. They were out there when a strong wind came up with rain and sleet, followed by cold temperatures. The precipitation let up but the wind continued. The men were in my thoughts a lot as I wondered how they were able to stay dry and warm. The next day I discovered that they had relocated to a cabin for the night... so.... all was well!

Buddy

Thanksgiving week is over. Some people say the Christmas season begins. Not knowing that bondage is very wonderful. An elderly lady who attends our church regularly was once asking me some questions about Christmas. I don't remember exactly how our conversation went. In response to my saying that I don't believe it has anything to do with Jesus but it has become a Christian holiday to many people, she decidedly shook her head and said, "No, I wouldn't think it is Christian." And she "religiously" observes Christmas, knowing it is no Christian holiday.

Mama's Christmas cactus

When one of the church ladies went to a store to purchase Thanksgiving themed things, she was told that once they clear out Halloween things they move on to Christmas. Two pagan holidays. Christians try hard to make something godly out of Christmas but what a failure! Go back in history to discover where this all came from and you will begin to see that Christmas is about family traditions that make one feel good but have zero to do with Jesus. Traditions have a way of blinding us.

Are you caught up in "the Christmas spirit"? 

Why or why not?

I don't want to judge you but challenge you to look deeper. Read Colossians 2:16. And I Thessalonians 5:21.

Excuse the random photos. :)

Click any blue words in this post to be taken to another webpage.