Mmmmmm..... Pies!

My father is so hard to shop for for Christmas. The stuff he wants is "big ticket" kinda stuff and well, Pete and I don't have that kind of cash. After thinking and thinking about what I can get him for Christmas, I remembered how much he likes pie. Homemade pie. Fruit pies. Well, my mom doesn't really cook or bake all that much so the pies my father gets are usually from the Wal-Mart bakery (yuck). Sooo.... I decided the best gift I could give him was four homemade pies!
From left to right:

I made an apple pie (using Macoun apples -- what a great flavor!), a pecan pie, a cherry/blueberry pie (that boiled out while baking; it was mess central!), and a pumpkin pie (custard style. Passed down from Pete's grandmother). These babies are all wrapped (Saran that is!) and have been put away in the freezer. I'm going to give them (frozen) to Pop for Christmas.

What a wonderful way to spend my snow day today!!

Thinking of Winter

It's that time of year; there's a hint of yellow in the foliage, leaves litter the yard, and the windows have been closed at night. Socks have come out of their summer hibernation and short sleeved shirts have lost their appeal.  Fall has arrived and with it comes our annual foray into the woods for the next 8 to 10 weekends.

This year, we're getting wood for not only our house but some for my brother too. Between us, we'll be cutting and splitting about 10 cords; 6 to 7 cords of wood for our house and about 3 cords for Adam's house.  We always start mid-September as it is a lot of work and takes several weekends of cutting, splitting, loading, and unloading.

This year, I'm ready! Here I am sporting my new steel-toed lady Red Wings. I love these babies!

Pete surveying a large oak that he cut down in May. It's seasoned enough and ready to be cut up. We'll burn it in January.

Our war wagon and wood hauler: A 1972 Dodge Ram in "multi-color". Beat to all hell but works like a champ in these punishing conditions. Pop and Adam fashioned an all-steel bed and removable steel sides. This baby is perfect for the tough terrains and loves to dig into a small tree or two that stands in its way.
Pop using his Bobcat to grab and transport the large tree sections. He puts these directly onto the truck. Pete and Adam will cut them up later after they've been transported to the splitting area that is up closer to the house.
This is something I certainly cannot do!  These babies weigh about 100 pounds each!
This is what my job was yesterday: I had a 17" marker that I used to mark 17 inch sections on each tree limb. I used a hack saw to saw an "X" where each cut with the chainsaw needed to go. Our stove takes 17" logs and each piece needs to be measured carefully.

Done for the day. We've transported the entire oak up to our splitting area. The next weekend that we're out, Pete and Adam will cut these pieces up into individual logs. Pop then will take each log and split it with our hydraulic splitter. While Mom runs the splitter and Pop splits, I'll pack the truck up with wood. Our truck can hold 7/8 of a cord of wood using the sides that Pete and Pop built for it.

Yes, it may seem like a lot of work, and it is but we all enjoy it as we're all outside getting exercise and delight in each other's company. I'm glad that my parents are well enough to be able to do this with us and I am especially thankful for the use of their 55 acres!  So, needless to say, Pete and I savor this time of year!

Weekend Work and a Wonderful Visit

What a great way to end my summer vacation! My parents stayed two nights at our house in their motor home. They arrived late Friday morning and left mid-morning today. The motor home was able to fit right along side our garage. 

One of the many reasons my parents came out was so that Mom could help me finish cleaning and organizing our basement. We rearranged quite a bit of stuff, put down some new rugs, got rid of some stuff, and bought another shelving unit. We were able to minimize what was thrown away by putting it out by the road for free. Within 3 hours of having a roll top T.V. cabinet out by the road, it was gone. There was nothing wrong with it; we just didn't have a use for it any more.
The bum window..... We're still working on it. That "super" caulk we bought is actually still drying. We have another piece of plexiglass to put up still.
My laundry area, all spiffed up.
This, however, was the main reason my parents came out: our tankless hot water heater. Pete and Pop had to finish hooking it up. Over the winter they hung it and ran the copper piping. Yesterday they finished the piping, drained the house of water, and hooked it up. We decided against doing the propane lines and exhaust ourselves as it can be very dangerous (ka-boom) if they are not air tight. I'm going to call the gas company tomorrow and get a quote on that end of the installation. We can't wait to get this thing up and running! We're hoping to be using little to no oil this winter as we'll be heating our house by wood and warming our water with propane.
Yes, aren't our litter boxes lovely? I have a nice lampshade now to go over that awful bare bulb on the lamp. (Nicky needs to see where he's going..... hence the lamp that'll be on 24/7.)

Friday consisted of a Home Depot run while Pete was at work. We met Pete over at Imperial Buffet (my most favorite restaurant ever) after he got out of work. We then took my parents to see some of the bigger houses that have been built near where we live (many of them were for sale; gee, I wonder why).

Last night, after dinner at A.C. Petersen Farms in West Hartford, Pete and I took my parents to the Hartford Riverfront. After having trouble finding a free place to park, we brought them down to the river and the walkway. We walked all the way to the foot bridge that goes over 91. It's always neat to see the traffic zipping by below you. It was a wonderful evening that was made even better by riding "topless." We really enjoyed ourselves. 

Next weekend, we're heading to their house for Saturday and Sunday. Saturday, we have plans to enter George into the car show in Putnam. Sunday, we're all heading to the Woodstock Fair!

Pop's Apple Pie

Ever since my Meme passed in 2001, I have refused to eat apple pie. My Meme's apple pie was the best I have ever eaten and I know there can be no replacement.

The other day I decided that I'm going to go home to see my parents this Friday. I offered to cook lunch for them (my very special beef stroganoff recipe) and make a dessert. I listed all the different pies I could make for my father and he, of course, choose apple.

I decided to use my Meme's cookbook, "The Good Housekeeping Cookbook" published in MCMLXXIII (that's 1973). I have had the best of luck with this cookbook, including my very favorite banana bread recipe and a killer chocolate chip cookie recipe.  The recipe in the cookbook for apple pie was very simple (after, of course, peeling and coring the apples!).  I was so very pleased with how the pie came out! After tasting some of the sauce that leaked out while baking, I immediately called my father to tell him how close this pie tasted to my Meme's pies. The top crust is lumpy and he said that that was how Meme's pies were. I'm so excited to bring it to him tomorrow and have him try it! My Meme was definitely with me as I made this pie and I made sure to thank her for the help when it was done.