Our front door on the night of Grace's Sherlock-themed birthday party.
We’ve reached that part of autumn where I can finally stop and take a big deep breath and then relax a bit.
We’ve gotten through the birthday festivities here in Jenworld — three in two weeks — plus the related birthday parties for both girls AND Pete’s and my anniversary.
Grace is practicing driving as often as we can make it happen, which is usually two or three times a week.
Ellie seems to have settled into high school without any difficulty.
We got a new-to-us freezer from my in-laws, who upgraded to a full-size one in order to store more bounty from their farm. I am ridiculously excited about having a stand-alone freezer and have commenced making as much crockpot applesauce as I can while apples are still super cheap and in season. Next up after that will be batches of soup bases (both chicken and vegetable), plus various kinds of muffins that the girls can quickly defrost for breakfasts and snacks.
And the weather has finally turned — once and for all, I hope — from summer to fall.
This is my favorite time of year.
What’s new in your world?
This is the second blog I have read tonight in which crockpot applesauce is being made. How is it that I have never done this?
Three birthdays in two weeks is birthday pandemonium. I kind of have that in the spring, but it’s spread out a little more than over just two weeks. Still, it drive me nuts every time.
What’s new in my world is raking of leaves. I love fall. But I have blisters because of it.
Crockpot applesauce is super easy — just two ingredients. I peel and coarsely chop apples (usually something crisp and sweet, like McIntosh or Honeycrisp) and toss them in one of my crockpots until it’s full. Then I cook until the apples are completely broken down into a sauce. At some point, I add applesauce to taste. That’s it.
Jen, do you add any cinnamon or other spices, what kind of applesauce do you add in? Thanks, I’d love to try this….
Alison, I usually use McIntosh, Honeycrisp, or Gala apples. Something sweet and crisp. Nothing too tart, like Granny Smith. I add cinnamon and that’s it. No other spices and definitely no sugar.
I prefer the crockpot version but you can also peel and chop the apples into a microwavable dish. Add a tablespoon of water, a lid and cook for up to 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes or so. When done, stir in any desired cinnamon. Ta-da!
with new additional people coming into our fam…our birthdays start Aug 1 and go thru until Nov 19…. 6 of them spread out times 3 mos…sprinkled amidst the fall startup of stuff, plus holidays. I”m not overwhelmed, but I am busier. Officially (completely) empty nested, tho. So there’s that.
The Fall weather this season CAN SUCK IT. It was near 90 degrees today, as it has been for well over a week now. Northern CA does not feel like Northern CA. And that is a mite disturbing. Does push me even closer to making a move to the other side of the planet (ahem, tunnel) to Berkeley !
I thought mosquitoes died off by mid-October, but I was wrong. On the good side, I spent an extra night glamping after the crafting weekend and had time to actually relax before driving home today.
You’ve made me tremendously happy that I had a baby in each of the 4 seasons instead of keeping it all nice and tidily wrapped up in one.
I got new carpet in one room! And 2 days later the cat barfed on it.
Next up: Muffin recipes to and from Jen.
XO
I really need a recap of the Sherlock party! With lots of details and photos, please!