The End of Summer

MMMMmmmm….applesauce. It was almost 4 pm earlier this weekend, and I decided to see if those baking apples that look so good on the trees were ready. I believe they’re on their way! I picked a few that looked the reddest, and I made a quick batch of applesauce. I was supposed to put in 1/4 cup of brown sugar for every 4 apples or so. I kept measuring out the sugar, until I just decided to dump in the whole bag. Seriously. This batch of 5 1/2 quarts of applesauce contains a whole bag of brown sugar. Should I say it again? MMMMMMMMmmmmmm

They’re getting ready for their bath to secure their lids. They sauce is at boiling levels, and put into steaming hot jars, and then takes a bath in boiling water for about 20 minutes. When they cool, they are fully sealed, and ready for the cellar.

Well, I didn’t measure out the spices, just guessed, and it really could have used some more nutmeg. So if you get gifted one of these jars, add nutmeg. They’re good on the sugar. Knut said it’s not chunky enough. I know he likes the applesauce really chunky, so I didn’t even mash these. Still not chunky enough is the review. Poor baby will have to live with it this year. (And I mean that with the utmost respect.)
When I went to pick up some new lids this year, I saw that the entire industry has changed from gold lids to silver lids. I couldn’t find any gold pieces to complete my 2 pc lids. So now you’ll be able to see in my cold room what is older, and what is newer. Some of them might even have gold and silver pieces if I decide to mix them together.

I really need to get around to making some labels. I already have some ideas floating around in my head…

But you may ask, what were the kids doing during the crabby time of day when I decided on a whim to can some applesauce?

Well, Silje was off reading, but David was given the job of playing with Elias. In these pictures, he’s feeding Elias Cheerios. Elias can feed himself Cheerios, but that makes David upset, because David likes to do it. So Elias complies. He’s just so excited to have his big brother “playing” with him.

On another note, Happy Labor Day! We spent it out at the lake, as tradition joyously dictates. The weather could not have been nicer! We camped outside the cabin in a tent with all 3 of the kids. They did awesome! I was so happy with how well all 3 of them slept, and no amazingly long meltdowns like last year.

Here’s Elias with one of his Great-Grandpas.

And here is Silje and David eating at their favorite table in the cabin…the stairs!