Mmmmm.....Apple Time!!

Autumn officially arrived this morning at 11:44am, but for me it really began this past weekend with our annual trek to the apple orchard!! We headed to Behling's in Mexico, NY on Saturday morning, and picked 49 pounds of big, juicy Jonamac apples. Quite a few of the area's orchards were damaged a few months ago by hail and high winds...but not this one. The apples absolutely dripped from the branches, and we were early enough that the picking was easy...low to the ground!! A good thing for those of us who are a little challenged in the height department!

For the past several years I've canned several jars of applesauce to put by for the winter. It is delicious and easy...and I really do like to can. I think there is some primitive area of my brain that, beginning with the first cool breezes of fall, drives me to bake and store food...not unlike the many squirrels that keep digging up my tulip bulbs and burying them in other, more convenient spots... though I'd like to think that I'm slightly more evolved.

This year I added Apple Pie Filling to the shelves, canning 7 quarts on Saturday evening.One of the jars didn't seal, so on Sunday...along with making the applesauce...I baked this pie to taste-test the new recipe (note the pie bird!). It is really very good! It received two thumbs up from everyone.

Here's the recipe:

4 1/2 cups white sugar

1 cup cornstarch

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 teaspoons salt

10 cups water

3 tablespoons lemon juice

2 drops yellow food coloring

8 pounds apples

1. In a large pan, mix sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add salt and water and mix well. Bring to a boil and cook until thick and bubbly. Remove from heat and add lemon juice and food coloring.

2. Sterilize canning jars, lids and rings by boiling them in a large pot of water.

3. Peel, core, and slice apples. Pack the sliced apples into hot canning jars, leaving a 1/2 inch headspace.

4. Fill jars with hot syrup, and gently remove air bubbles with a knife.

5. Put lids on and process in a water bath canner for 20 minutes.

A Common Household Irritation.... :0

Here is a picture of what, I believe, is an incredibly irritating phenomenon that plagues untold numbers of households in the world today.

Ever since Zeth Wheeler introduced the world to perforated rolls of tissue paper in the late 19th century there has been an apparent breakdown of human hand-eye coordination upon entering the bathroom, powder room, loo, john, or whatever other name this area generally falls under. Their motor capabilities diminish to the point that they cannot replace the toilet tissue onto the holder, but can only manage to rest it on top of the old, empty tube.

After a lengthy investigation into this problem, I have discovered that it seems to be an affliction that disables all but one member of the household...usually a woman...who then must resign themselves to a lifetime of removing spent cardboard tubes and replacing them with fresh ones.

After interviewing each member of the household, I discovered that whatever it was that damaged the brain's ability to co-ordinate the removal and reinstallment of the toilet paper had also affected their recall of past events, as each and every one stated emphatically that, "Yes, I put new rolls on all the time! It's not me! It must be...(insert sibling's name, or 'Dad')."

Further investigation reveals that the problem is not corrected by the unaffected person's refusal to replace the rolls. It would seem, in fact, that this will continue to be a problem for generations to come...or at least in this household!!

The Sunflowers are Still Shining!

Hard to believe, but I started my fall clean-up in the yard today. We have one tree just outside the back door that always drops its leaves before any of the others, but some years that doesn't start until late September. This year I started sweeping up the orange and red leaves in the middle of August! Is this the sign of an unseasonably cool Autumn?

An August Morning on Dale Hollow Lake

We rented a houseboat on Dale Hollow Lake, on the border of Tennesee and Kentucky a couple of weeks ago. This was the view as we were heading out one morning for some water-skiing.

An Evening of Society Craps

Last evening, with two members of the family gone for the night, my youngest and I were looking for something to do in between listening for the strains of the Jonas Brothers that were drifting over to us from the fairgrounds!!

"Let's play Society Craps!" I suggested. When I was a kid we loved to play this game with my mother, who would sit down at the dining room table with us and deal out the cards.

Society Craps was once a fun way for women to gather together...and gamble!! They would usually use pennies or nickels, as this game was popular at a time when a penny would actually buy something. But I grew up using buttons. My mother always had jars and jars of buttons...something she inherited from her mother and grandmother, both of whom had tins and tins of buttons. Now, I am the proud owner of some of those tins so I brought one out and dumped a couple of handfuls onto the table. Using buttons does nothing to quell the competition of the game. It is amazing how prized certain buttons will become during play (usually the largest, or those with unusual designs), or how concerned kids can become when their stockpile of buttons begins to diminish!!

Besides the buttons, a deck of cards, a pair of dice, and a dish of some sort (for the "kitty") is all you need. Each player chooses a suit and receives all the cards of that suit. Lay out the cards in numerical order in two rows as seen above, face up, but discarding the seven and the king:

2, 3, 4, 5, 6
8, 9, 10, 11 (jack), 12 (queen)

Each player receives a pile of buttons...40 or 50 each is a good starting point, but everyone should have the same amount. Place the "kitty" in the middle of the table and everyone "sweetens" the pot by throwing one button into it. Now each person takes turns rolling the dice. If they roll a number on one of their cards, they flip that card over. If they roll a 7 or a number they've already flipped, they throw a button in the pot. The first person to flip over all of their cards wins the "kitty"!!

If played in earnest, you would eventually want to be the last one left...with all the buttons!! How rich you will be! But, as I have always played as a child or with them, the banker is usually very generous in handing out loans to those in need!

We had a great time last night playing a simple, old game. So much better than watching TV. But having the Jonas Brothers providing the background music added a modern touch, for sure!

A Visit to Monticello

On our way southward to pick up our children from a weeklong visit with the Grandparents, we decided to stop at Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson in Charlottesville, Virginia. Being a huge history buff, I felt that walking in the footsteps of one of our Founding Fathers would be worth the 1 1/2 hours it added to our trip...and I was right!

We left Central New York at 4:30am and drove straight through, arriving at the ticket booth just after the noon hour. It was gray and misting rain, but we boarded the shuttle bus and climbed the steep mountain on which Jefferson built his home. Arriving at the top, we could see the home through the trees and it was...well, it sounds silly, but it was almost breathtaking. I've seen this structure in so many documentaries and history book photos...not to mention the back of every nickel I've ever owned! Seeing it in person was really something.

We toured the interior of the home with a very pleasant, very southern gentleman who showed us such things as the clock over the door that is run by weights that hang so low he had to cut holes in the floor; twin dumb-waiters on either side of the dining room fireplace that allowed empty wine bottles to be sent to the cellar...and full ones to be sent back up; and a set of Don Quixote books written in Spanish that Jefferson used to teach himself the language on a trip across the ocean.

But more than anything else, we were moved by the beauty of the place and significance of the home, who's owner and designer was such an important player in the creation of this country.

Our visit, which included a guided tour of the gardens and time to wander around and walk down to the cemetery, took about 3 1/2 hours. It is well worth the time....and yes, even with an 8-hour drive!!

To the right is a slide-show of some of the photos I took of the grounds (we were not allowed to take photos inside). For anyone who is interested in visiting or learning about Thomas Jefferson, please click on the following link.

http://www.monticello.org/index.html

Three Brother's Wineries - Seneca Lake, NY

I like wine. I'm not really sure what's "nostalgic" about it, but it sure is nice to share a glass with friends, or with a good book on rainy days. I am lucky enough to live in an area rich with some of the country's (world's?) best wines...at least in my opinion. The Finger Lakes region of New York State is flowing with unbelievably good varieties, and the wineries they come from are full of character, especially with the addition of a little group of wineries we stumbled on a couple of weeks ago.

We recently headed for the Seneca Lake wine trail and stopped at Nagy's winery to pick up a particular bottle we like. What we found there were three new wineries owned by "The Three Brothers". The buildings were not officially opened when we stopped, but they invited us in and let us taste the offerings and experience the individuality of each tasting room.

We were told that each building has a different theme based on the personalities of each brother. Stoney Lonesome is an elegant, upscale tasting room complete with a beautiful toucan, who we got to see only minutes after being introduced to his new home; Passion Feet has a jazzy, colorful and somewhat sensual feel to it's decor; and Rogue's Hollow is a renegade-themed building at the end of a winding dirt road, complete with old, rusty trucks and a run-down shack...well, at least it looks like that until you get inside!!

But the creativity doesn't stop there! The labels on the bottles are just as imaginative, with names ranging from sophisticated, to suggestive, to comedic (yet somewhat humorously offensive)...with great illustrations to match. They were fantastic! We came home with bottles of "Backseat Bounce", "Lonely Seaman", and "White Buck".

Most of the wines are combinations of varieties, and the results are some of the best tasting and most "fun" wines we've come across. I can honestly say that I did not try anything I didn't like. I have a tendancy to choose semi-sweet varieties, but even the drier wines in these tasting rooms appealed to my taste buds!

The impression we left with was one that will lead us back again and again. I predict that this little group of wineries will do very well. They offer great wine and a great atmosphere. There's something for everyone!

For more information and directions to the wineries, visit their link at http://threebrotherswineries.com/

Decorating with Antique Postcards

A few years ago I fell in love with vintage Christmas postcards when I came across a little gift shop selling them for a dollar or two. I couldn't resist the charming images, or the simple and thoughtful notes written to friends on the back. Until the shop closed, I would pick up one or two each year to add to the collection, including one signed by a person who shared my last name!

I don't hold a large collection...only 10...all postmarked between 1917 and 1926, none of them museum quality. But I wanted to find a way to display them so that everyone could enjoy the charm and holiday greetings they so lovingly convey.

My solution was a simple one, in keeping with the vintage holiday decor that appears throughout the house each December. I carefully stuck them between the branches of a little alpine tree that I have sitting on the window seat in my dining room...a perfect solution!

From time to time I pull them out and read the friendly greetings sent to family and friends so long ago...and hope that I can somehow find another little gift shop with vintage postcards for $1!!