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47°f/8.3°C, raining.

Yesterday's morning skies:

It was a beautiful day, warm enough to wear just a light jacket. Today? Change is coming, as cold moves in tonight.

Larry is off hunting again. No luck yesterday although he did see a couple deer too far away for a shot. He also had a tire blow out on our road as he was headed out. He called our grandson Clayton, who came and picked him up---left the truck right there and went hunting! He and Clayton put the spare on in the dark. Not ones to give up their hunting time.

So I had a quiet day. I packed ebay and took it to the mailbox, planted some foxtail lilies and 50 crocus bulbs before leaving for my PT appointment.  This time, besides the usual exercises, he put my neck in traction. Now that is an odd feeling. It looked like a medieval torture device, I swear. Afterwards, I asked him if it made me an inch taller, getting my neck stretched like that. Sadly, no luck there. It did help, for about 12 hours, but no more therapy until next Monday, except these home exercises. At least I got a fairly decent night's sleep.

Not much else going on here. I am grateful for a little slowdown, I must admit. Tomorrow I will do a little advance cooking for Thanksgiving,  but won't do much as it will just be Derek, Larry, and me 

Oh, one other piece of news! Granddaughter Hannah is expecting again, in July. Granddaughter Kate is due in January, making numbers 7 and 8 great grandchildren.  I am so happy for them both.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Apple Butter Day 2025

25°f/-4°C, a few clouds but mostly clear skies. Frosty and hazy.

The breakfast crew: counterclockwise from the bottom: Larry, George, Derek, and Clayton (with the gorgeous curly blond hair!). Aaron and his daughter Michaela arrived around noon. He had just flown home from a job site in Montreal the night before.

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I was up at 7:30am yesterday, getting things ready and making eggs, sausage gravy and biscuits for breakfast. The guys arrived around 9 to eat, and were soon outside, getting the fire going, the kettle washed, and the wood split and stacked. Getting the fire going wasn't easy after all the rain we have had recently, but before too long a good fire was blazing and the kettle was on! I didn't get as many photos this year, since we were fewer hands than usual so I was kept very, very busy washing jars, cooking, making coffee, etc. We sure had a pretty day for it though.

It takes about 60 quarts of applesauce to fill our kettle, and between 5 and 6 hours to cook it down to the rich, dark, thick consistency we like. Many hands certainly make the work light, as all those 60 jars needed to be washed up and put away, and then 60 pints washed to be filled with apple butter.  We use a lot of half-pints too; those are the preferred size by almost everyone, because a lot of what we make gets given as gifts.

I made a big pot of vegetable-venison soup and cornbread while the guys got the kettle going. Soup is a good choice for this day, as people could come in and eat whenever they wanted. 

Our crew this year consisted of Larry, myself, sons George, Aaron, and Derek, grandson Clayton and granddaughter Michaela. 

Here is Aaron, taking a turn with the paddle.

Michaela seems to be putting a spell on the pot!

It was a much smaller group than last year, and we were all kept busy, especially when it came time to pull the fire and fill the jars. Here, the apple butter was about 30 minutes from being done. We judge by the color and thickness. A spoonful needs to pile up on a plate to be done. It usually takes 5-6 hours to reach that point, and cooked down to about half its original volume. 

While the others cleaned up the cooking area outside, I quickly made another batch of biscuits so we could taste the fruit of our labors immediately.  Oh so good!

The finished product:

We ended up with 62 pints. Over half left with our helpers, so there is still a lot to store in the cellar. We will give a lot away to friends and family, and my sons know they can always get more if they need it.

So, the tradition, an old Appalachian one actually, continues for another year.  I hope that when we can no longer so it, someone in the family will carry on, cooking down apple butter on a cool, crisp day in autumn. For a look at past years, click this link. I started this blog in 2007, and that year was the first time i posted about it. There have been many more!

Deer hunting season begins this morning. Larry is already out hunting with George and Clayton on a friend's large farm, although with the loss of so many deer to EHD, he will be lucky to even see one, antlers or antler-less. It has certainly been quiet on our ridge; I haven't heard a single shot this morning.

Washing the Big Glass

Saturday was a housework sort of day, back to cleaning. This time it was glass, lots of glass. And the porch. And the gardens.

This is the big glass, all made by Blenko Glass Company of West Virginia between 1950-ish to 2010 or so. It lives on top of the 8 foot tall bookshelf usually, and only comes down to be cleaned once a year. This stuff is heavy, and some pieces are quite tall. I have been buying Blenko here and there, mostly at yard sales or thrift shops, but I bought a few of these big ones at the Blenko showroom before the prices skyrocketed. 

I really enjoy the rich colors, and the shapes of Blenko glass. These days, though, it has become very popular and expensive and I am lucky to find any affordable pieces at all. So my collection is stagnant. I've sold quite a few pieces in the past 2 years too, and still have some for sale online and in my booths. 

The Early American Pattern Glass spooners and goblets came down for cleaning too. These live one shelf down from the Blenko--and this is probably about half of my collection. This too I am very slowly downsizing, making room for more desirable pieces, and just making room period.

Most of these I have identified the maker and pattern name, but not all.

Oh, and here is more Blenko, which I cleaned yesterday. The two blue pieces in the center were my most recent finds.

These spooners and goblets will be given away soon in Facebook groups.  They are either duplicates or just not my favorites.

Everything back in place safely. Whew.

I was glad to get that job out of the way. It takes us both to get it done. I got an apple pie in the oven when we were finished, since the guys were due in. 

When we were done we went outside to put away planters and clean up general clutter. What looked nice when all was green didn't look so great now! We got a lot done, and got the porch mopped and tidied too. 

The pie was just out of the oven when our oldest son and his son rolled in. So it was time for hot tea and lots of talk! We decided to go out for dinner, so the pie got put on hold. We had a nice evening, then the guys headed off to their deer camp and us old folks came home to put our feet up a bit before bed.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.