And the icicles are falling off of the roof as the snow melts. Hooray! We have been so sun-deprived lately that having the sun out seems like a miracle. I celebrated the sun by baking an apple pie! I had a bag of Honeycrisp apples on the table, so I peeled five of them as they were nice, fat apples. Of course, Spencer, our old black Lab, sat right by me, begging for cores and peels. Hondo just took one look, sighed and went to lay down. He does not like fruit or vegetables. I added ¾ cup of sugar, 2 Tbsp. of flour, and a good sprinkle of cinnamon and dumped them into a crust. I always like to rub the top crust with butter after cutting vents in it, then sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon on. It makes the crust nice and flaky, just like a cookie.

I couldn’t resist baking an apple pie to celebrate the sun.

I thought I’d let you know a neat way I’ve figured out to make a pumpkin (or squash!) pie. I bake it as usual, then about 10 minutes before it is completely done, I add a big, high meringue to the top. It’s different and very good. Of course, you can still add whipped cream when you serve it. Or a scoop of ice cream. We love variety here and that makes it just different enough and it’s still one of our favorite pies.

We’ve been busy packaging our new seeds for the Seed Treasures seed business. I had to laugh last night. Will was taking a break when our cat, Mittens, jumped into a shoe box of beans and curled up to take a nap. She thought it was just right! So if any of you find a cat hair in your seeds, you know where it came from…

Mittens thought a box of seed beans was just comfy enough for a nap — a cat nap, at that!

Well, we only have a few more days until election day. Please, any of you who have requested absentee ballots and haven’t sent them in, please fill them in and drop them off in person to a drop box location which should be printed on the envelope it came in. I won’t tell you who we’re voting for but please, just vote, won’t you? It’s a right we can’t disregard. — Jackie

25 COMMENTS

  2. I spoke with a lady yesterday and told me she had the right to vote for 60 years and this is the first time she voted. She told her grandkids when they ask why she voted now and she told them it was more important to vote now than ever before. Yes, I voted.

    • I will vote on voting day at our tiny polling place, St. Paul’s Church. No lines, no crowds. I can time it so I’m the only one voting….except Will.

  3. We got snow here yesterday in Ct. I was out digging my carrots up when it started . Last night after chores I went out and cut my celery. I like to freeze the top of carrots and celery leaves for my soup stock. My husband always asks me what the grass is in the freezer. I love canning my celery with the onions also. I have been dehydrating my kale and man it smells like the broccoli it was planted next to. Voting is important especially when you think of those who have died fighting for us to have that right. I never thought in my life time the difference in candidates would be democracy or socialism.

    • Your comment about digging your carrots in the snow made me think of last year when we didn’t get ours out until the ground had frozen. Well, we did dig them anyway, thinking maybe they’d be okay even though we had to break frozen soil away from each carrot. They thawed out and were just as good as usual. That was a shock!

  4. Cats and boxes… as long as they can fit part of their body in it, they’ll be in it. My Dad used to say our cat would sit in a match box it was where he could get to it! And remember, Mittens is “helping”.

    Yes please, please, vote. I’ll be working the election (masked and gloved up, sanitizing common areas frequently, and doing my best to enforce social distancing). Hard to find judges this year due to COVID-19 – too risky for them and/or people with whom they live. It will be a long day but I am up for the task.

    • Good for you, Selena! Our election judges at our polling place are all seniors but will be there anyway, feeling this is so very important. Yep, we’ll all mask and use plenty of hand sanitizer. No need for social distancing; it’s a tiny, tiny polling place with light voting turnout. We’re in the Northwoods, after all.

  5. Voting is a basic right and so important – part of what makes us a democracy. I’m hoping for all of us uniting after the election and being respectful of each other. Another basic right is pie! I like your butter and topping suggestion. Thank you!

    • Amen to that, Patricia! There’s too much violence, hate and division in our country right now. I’m all for some peace.

  6. What a great looking pie. I wanted to reach in and get a piece.

    Its been cold and with very little sun here in Michigan too.

  8. Nice looking pie! I voted for 1st time in 6or 7 years. I have a wife and kids and I’m trying to go with the candidate I think you’d best for my family our country’s in trouble. But it’s a beautiful day here in Spokane Washington as well!

    • Well, you never know. She might lose one or two while she’s napping. One year she ran across the bench where our tomato seeds were drying….all 12 varieties. I sincerely hoped she didn’t accidently track seeds from one variety to another plate, giving a customer puzzling results on their tomato vines.

    • The beavers have not built extra high dams or stockpiled tons of brush so that says they expect a relatively mild winter. That’d be okay with me!

  11. Your pie looks delicious !! You are so right about the need to vote . This year the difference in the candidates couldn’t be greater . Every one needs to vote their choice .

    • Yes, ma’am! If we don’t vote it’s like we don’t care….just like wearing masks. When I see someone not wearing one in public it’s like they’re saying “I don’t give a rip if you get sick.”

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