September 25, 2008 A new days dawns....

I awoke this morning to the faint smell of wood smoke and immediately knew the stove was lit. Lately the house has been about 68 degrees when we wake up and I inwardly moan a few times before throwing off my 4 layers of blankets to brave the cold. This morning I climbed out barely awake and curled up next to my wonderful husband on the couch. He can't wait for a frost, but knows how much I detest the cold. Since Emily has to be to work early everyday this week for inventory, he knew I'd be up and since the house was down to 67 he was kind enough to warm it up for me before my alarm went off.
We contemplated our respective days, pretty light for both of us, showered, dressed and wished each other a good day. Dan and I took Em to work then made a quick stop at the grocery store for....you guessed it....more apples. Our area isn't a big farming community. Although we do have a few farm stands and a weekly farmer's markets, most of our produce is still bought at the local stop and shop. I do, however, look for foods that are grown at least close by. Yesterday we bought concord grapes from Concord, MA, and today a sugar pumpkin from Hanson, MA. I bought Gala's yesterday that were grown in NH, but wasn't as happy with the flavor as I might have been with the Macintosh's so I sucked up the distance (and the price) and bought Macintosh's from NY. 12 big ones. Since Danny's reaction last night was very similar to his cousin Jonathan's I thought I might try another late evening canning extravaganza, then remembered....tonight is the season premiere of Survivor. I've requested both Wednesday and Thursday nights off until further notice to cover school and our survivor obsession. It's the one hour all week that we all sit in front of the TV with the lights turned off, and bowls of popcorn in our laps. Survivor is one of the few things I like about the start of fall.
Dan and I brought our apples home, I grabbed my school bag and back out the door we went so Dan could "socialize" at the playground. As I alternated between watching him play with a large group of boys, and studied, I pondered the idea of socialization some more. I understand the purpose, and I can appreciate the sheer chaos that would ensue if we didn't have it. Even as much as I hate to be stereotyped I understand how nearly completely socialized I am. And in the grand scheme of things I'm OK with it. I just like to retain a sense of uniqueness that seems to be lacking in my lessons thus far. Maybe chapter 6 will be enlightening.
As the playground cleared out, Dan and I agreed it was time for lunch, he'd played hard for nearly 2 hours and I'd read most of chapter 5...two birds, one stone. We came home to make lunch. Dan chose a bologna and cheese sandwich with a bowl of soup. Remembering the left over applesauce in the fridge, I asked him if he'd like some, and he said "please!" Since I didn't taste it the night before I decided to try a small spoonful, and that's when it hit me. I'm not generally a fan of anything apple but this small mouthful was wonderful. Not since making baby food have I gotten so much satisfaction out of providing nutrition for my family. And I have 2 more jars just like it in the pantry. It's official, I'm addicted...I'll be doing alot more canning!

September 24, 2008....still.... Sociology test

So here it is, hours after my first big test in 20 years. Class started promptly at 6:30pm. After a 45 minute lecture our professor offered us 15 minutes of study time or the option of taking the test immediately. I confidently raised my hand to request the test and began. 6 questions total, of them we were to choose 3 and since we were given a study guide with 9 questions, none of them were any surprise. I quickly regurgitated the answers, stood, handed my test to the professor, wished him a good week, and left the room. I was out the door by 7:45. There will be 4 tests, each 25% of our grade. There is an optional bonus paper we can write if we want to bring our grade up. Need it or not I plan on writing it. Apparently, I like to write. I wonder if he'd take it in blog form.
I arrived home with energy to spare, and since Mike adamantly refused to join me in reenacting the movie Mama Mia, I decided to make applesauce from the apples we bought at the farm stand this morning. Nearly 12 hours after finishing the second jar of grape goo nothing has happened. I considered adding it to the apple sauce for a unique flavor but might instead use it as pancake syrup as Kristin suggested. Since we have pancakes and french toast often, the grape goo might be a nice change from the maple syrup. With 2 jars to use I'm sure at some point I will do both. I peeled and cut 10 apples (not 40lbs) boiled them until they were soft, added some cinnamon, nutmeg and a little brown sugar and then mashed. After 20 minutes in the boiling hot water bath, 2 jars of canned spiced applesauce emerged to be cooled and stored. I waited impatiently for the satisfying pop, then retired to the living room to join Mike and Dan who were captivated in a ninja warrior episode.
I can't help but think, after reading Kristin's latest comments, that she and Mike are unwittingly the victims of the Silveira roller coaster. Thankfully they are both easy going, fun loving individuals who might otherwise not put up with our wild antics and/or crazy ideas. Adam and I, and I might also add our brother Ed, who's equally insane, are all lucky that way. Maybe we're even rubbing off on our spouses a little. Kristin's been showing signs of insanity for some time now and, who knows, a few more years with Mike. there might be chickens, and maybe a goat at the Gould ranch yet!
As for free thinking and social defiance maybe I can try focus my attentions on more global issues. Maybe work on world peace, or the abysmal state of our economy. Maybe our nations answers are in the jar.

September 24, 2008 More canning and wandering minds

Thanks Kristin for your tip. As you suspected in your comment, the regular pectin did not work. So Dan and I went to the store this morning, bought a box of liquid pectin and since they had some concord grapes we grabbed them too. Came home boiled down the grapes, added our grape soup from yesterday to the pectin, boiled it, put it in jars, and re-bathed them. As I type this they're sitting on the cutting board still soup. How long does it take to "harden"?

Dan's napping and I should be studying for my sociology test tonight, but feel the need to blog instead. After all, I've done the homework, taken the notes, and listened to every moment of my professors lectures. It's sociology, how hard can it be? As the weeks go by, I find myself more then a little agitated at the end of each class. Last week, enough so, that I sparked a debate. I resent the fact that sociologist suggest that we're all a bunch of cattle being raised with the same social standards and depending on our income, sex, race, education, etc. are expected to act in a predictable manner. As if there is no room for free thinking, or imagination. I've always found myself to be, more often then not, on the odd side of any social norm, and wonder why that is, and how a sociologist would account for it.

Take canning for example. Not the social norm. Most people go to the grocery store, buy a jar of grape jelly, pay for it, bring it home and it's done. However, I knew I'd like canning before I started. It's homey, it makes the house smell great and for the most part it's not very thought provoking. Well, right now it is because I don't know what I'm doing. But I suspect somewhere in the near future I'll have the logistics figured out and when faced with 40lbs of apples to peel, after about the 4th one, the hands will take over and free my mind to wander. I get the same effect from hanging clothes on the line, lying quietly in a hot bath or going for a long run. Somewhere there is a disconnect from being a person with a body, to just a mind going where it wants, when it wants. It's in these times, where I can really think things through for what they are and not for what I've been told they should be, that my most significant decisions have been made. Having Danny at home, deciding to home school Emily, going back to school myself are all recent events that have happened and are a direct result of many accumulated hours of a wandering mind. I wonder what my next social defiance will be. Whatever it is, you can be sure that hours of canning will have been involved. In the end, who wants to be a foregone conclusion, or just a social norm...I'm more interested in free thinking....I'm in good company ! Kristin, was that 100 chickens? I think my brother might need less nails to bang, apparently he's letting his mind wander farther then mine! Or maybe we can just blame our rebellious ways on genetics...