Five CD Day

I'd been dreading this day since last week, when I realized the making of applesauce could no longer be neglected.

It began like any other monotonous weekday...a few school lessons and the treadmill. But after that it was all apples.

All day.

All the time.

This year, being short one more body, we implemented a new method of apple dissection: no more halving, just placing the apple large end down, and slicing around the outsides.

Everyone was relatively happy, since they all had the same job. Carolyn, however, also did spot removal.

It went much more quickly, though more apple was left on the core.

A reasonable tradeoff. I couldn't care less that we wasted a bit of fruit.

1. This is not the Great Depression
2. I didn't buy the apples
3. There's much less chance of someone getting a cut
4. Ease and peace of mind are worth more than the 2 or 3 quarts we might have salvaged from painstakingly obsessing over each apple

I washed every single apple myself, and let me tell you, that gets old really quick!

However, the kids did all the cutting and most of the sieving. I was kept busy with the pots on the stove, running back to wash apples, supervising the sugaring and pouring of finished applesauce.

By noon I came to the sudden realization I'd had nary a nibble since breakfast...not one bite of chocolate!

No wonder I was tired and things were getting hazy.

Still, we were able to work right along, making our way through five full CD's to help with morale:
--Glad Acapella Project II
--Big Band
--Cathedrals (acapella)
--The Irish Tenors
--Glad Acapella Hymns

The last apple was washed around 3pm, and the last one cut at 3:20.

Carolyn stuck with me and finished running all the cooked apples through the sieve as I washed up pans and starting collecting a load of laundry from the "drop cloths and dish rags."

When 4:40 rolled in all pots had been cleaned and the floor swept and mopped.

I even got to lie down for 40 minutes :-) Sure, it took 15 minutes for my toes and feet to stop aching enough to snooze, but still....!

My foot is cooling on a back of frozen peas, even as I type, and boy does that feel good.

Soon I'll have to do it up right on the couch. And by that I mean prop my foot up so no weight is on it, tuck in something frozen, and snarf a bowl of ice cream to balance everything out in perfect, cooling harmony.

Here is the finished product...
...yes, that is all the applesauce for this year.

And see that pan with the lighter shade on the bottom right? That is the extent of applesauce from the Red Delicious trees this year.

It would be sad except for the fact that more apples would have meant another day of work and aches.

We'd been looking forward to vegging out in front of the TV for The World Series, but that was postponed by rain, so...
...Trevor and Nolan ladled approximately half the sauce into containers.

The rest will go to the freezer, tomorrow.

Apples sauced.

No one cut.

Good day (now that it's done).
 

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