1.) Apple Butter
Texas WIC is still giving an INSANELY good monthly allowance for fresh fruit and veggies right now. To the point where I'm genuinely struggling to use it up.
So this week, I decided to buy a ton of apples and make apple butter.
That's a sane response, right?
Chris is off for Christmas break this week, so he was able to help me peel and core six or seven pounds of apples by the light of our antique kerosene lantern because the power was out.
Then I boiled the apples in water and apple cider vinegar for awhile (about at which point the power returned), pulverized them with an immersion blender, added sugar and spices, then had it all simmer on the back of my stove for a few hours. Got out the canner, and now we have a dozen jars of the stuff.
We were running low on jam/preserves, so this will help keep us well stocked on bread and muffin topping for awhile.
Hopefully.
2.) Free Taqueria Calendar
So the local Taqueria (regional Tex-Mex... basically my area of the country's version of a diner) had big box of rolled up paper somethings by the cash register in a box marked "free." We grabbed one, unrolled it, and beheld this beauty.
I absolutely love it, it's hanging up in my home now, and Chris also grabbed one for his classroom (teachers are allowed to have religious personal items on their desks). I don't know why it tickles me so much that a local small business chose to use religious imagery for a promotional item, but they did.
And, bonus, I now know how to say "let the little children come to me" in Spanish.
3.) New (to us) Trailer
We bought a new (to us) trailer.
We've pretty much outgrown the little one we were using, so we scored this one used from someone selling on Facebook.
When we got it home, we realized the former owner had been a smoker. Not too badly, she'd managed to cover up most of the scent with Febreeze, but enough that there was a slight yellowish tint and eau de nicotine on everything.
So far we've taken everything cloth out of there and soaked it in Oxyclean, sprinkled baking soda on the built in couch, and Chris has wiped down nearly every square inch of the inside with vinegar.
I also learned the hard way that if you soak foam cushions in water, they will NOT dry out. Ever. You've got to squeeze them to heck or they'll just sit there soaked until the end of days.
She also had a small dog and a cat. We've removed enough animal hair to stuff a small pillow.
Despite all the cleaning the thing needs though, it's not in too bad a shape for a 15 year old trailer. The fridge, heater, AC, and stove all work, and nothing is visibly busted up, water damaged, or broken. We're hoping to finish cleaning it up and then take it for a test run sometime soon.
4.) Apple Sauce
So after the success of the apple butter venture, Chris felt comfortable bring home several pounds of apples that were labeled "imperfect" and on clearance.
I decided I didn't want to babysit a pot on the stove for several hours again, so I'm trying out the crockpot. It won't hold all the apples (and I've had Bitty Baby wanting to be held and nurse a lot lately), but it holds most, and I'll figure out what to do with the rest.
Pie, maybe?
That's all I have for now.
Merry Christmas, everyone.
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