Satisfying Monday

This was a pretty good Monday! 

One thing we all noted is how DARK it has become in the mornings. We didn't start to see glimmers of light until after 9 a.m.  This means we all got off to a bit of a slow start.  Except for Alex who has to be at work at 0500 regardless of the sun's patterns. 

Michael made a trip to the VA in Anchorage. SURPRISE. The tooth he's been telling them hurt for months is, in fact, broken...which is the source of his tooth  pain and most likely his ear pain. He is scheduled to drive back tomorrow to have it worked on. 

The girls have firmly implanted their noses in their books. They wrote Cento poetry today. Have you ever heard of this? I hadn't. It's the technique of "writing" poetry composed entirely of lines from other poems. They enjoyed the assignment and it created some interesting poetry. LOL  Personally, I am grieving the conclusion of Peter Pan. We are moving on to the Rime of the Ancient Mariner.  Have you ever read this one?  Mondays are always full for the girls....they wandered in and out of the kitchen where I was firmly planted.  

The silly chickens have been molting...we haven't had eggs for over a month...not a one! Look at this...an Easter Egger is coming through for us. Maybe the others will catch the idea????

I am inordinately happy to see these eggs. We've had to buy store eggs the past few weeks and we can TELL the difference. They are PALE. LOL 

The kitchen was my center of operations today as I continued to work on our tower of produce. I love this steamer/juicer....today I threw pear scraps, grapes which were on the edge and apple scraps...it simmered and steamed while I worked on the other projects. I like making a treat from what would otherwise be "garbage" and I still have the remains for the compost bed at the end of the process. 

I got all the pears processed. It only resulted in 8 quarts on the shelf. I DO still have a crock pot full of pear butter cooking...I've had it in there since Saturday night. At this point it is delicious pear sauce but I don't see any wonderful transformation happening.  Of course, I'm not 100% sure what pear butter is, to tell the truth.  I used some of our fresh apple juice, and cinnamon sticks, to can the pears instead of a simple syrup. I found the recipe in one of the Ball Books. I think they're going to taste good and we can make cider with the juice too. LOL Maria will not be able to eat any of them. 

Our oven is still not working and as I look over the pictures for the day I realize I forgot to call the appliance repairman. Michael brought home a lasagna which we cooked in the downstairs kitchen. Cooking down there brings back fond memories of CoRielle living there. For some reason the smoke alarm goes off EVERY time the oven gets to temp. A good fan takes care of it....the oven is NOT dirty. 

Why did we opt for a frozen dinner? One, the kitchen is a sticky mess with pear and apple debris and juice. Two, I met a friend for dinner at 5 p.m. I haven't gotten out to sit and visit for months and it was fantastic. 

I left juice simmering when I ran out to dinner. The fam  finished the project. I needed two more quarts in order to have a full canner full to water bath. I set the water bath to boiling and visited with the girls before they headed to bed.  Here's the day's accomplishments....

 

One load of dehydrated Fuji apples, eight quarts of Cinnamon spiced pears, and 6 quarts of pear/apple/grape juice.  The pear butter continues to reduce. LOL 

I didn't get a TON done...but I'm making progress and I'm satisfied with the day.  

Can you BELIEVE it is the FIRST OF NOVEMBER????