Dino Dollars

Big Bro had a jar of change that is his piggy bank. Recently Grandma gave him a new jar that counts the change for him. After transferring his coins to this new jar we realized he had about $13.00 in change. This was a big surprise to me as I thought I had fished out all the quarters to pay for parking meters downtown when I take Lil Sis to music class. And yes, Big Bro knew and was ok with me taking money for parking.

So faced with a whole Saturday ahead of us while Dada of Ma'at was out of town, I suggested to Big Bro that we turn his coins to paper money then take him to the toy store to buy a new toy.

At first he was excited, but then he started bargaining. 

"Maybe I can give them these and still get a new toy?" he said this while squinting at a nickel and dime pinched between two fingers.

"Well, to get a new toy you have to give them all of it." I explained. "You have to trade your money for the toy, but then you can save more."

It took some effort to explain that he couldn't keep his money and still get a new toy (wouldn't that be nice), but he eventually accepted that he would have to give up his money. 

So we headed to our credit union where I knew there was a coin machine. Big Bro and Lil Sis we're excited to put the coins in the machine and pick up the Canadian coins it rejected (only 3).

Big Bro wasn't impressed with the receipt that he got. "But where's my paper money???"

So we waited in line and he hopped like a bunny when he handed his receipt to the teller, and impatiently tried to climb the counter as he waited for her to hand over the cash. Then got suddenly shy when she really did hand him the money.

We went to the toy store and I explained that big things cost more like $25.00.

Happily he settled on a toy that turned out to be only $8.33 after using our toy store card. He was a very happy boy to get a new dinosaur/robot toy and still have money left in his bank. I wish I had remembered to take a photo as he paid for his toy. This one from home will have to do.

And don't worry, Lil Sis got a toy too (with my money, not Big Bro's).

The total on the jar includes new-found change, but not the several paper dollars in it.

Catch Up Cider

I have been a total slacker on writing this blog. When I told my blogger friend Tenor Dad that I was taking the summer off from writing his reply to me was something to the effect of "I have never missed a day because I know I wouldn't start up again." I'll go back I thought.

Yet here we are at the end of October. And since school started up again I have written a measly 10 entries. My last one was a month ago. It's time to kick it back into gear. 

Last year around this time I was writing about the bounty from my garden and adventures in canning/food preservation.

Last year I canned a whole bunch of stuff. This year the haul has been smaller for canning. Our tomatoes went to making fresh salsa and one batch of delicious tomato sauce that was quickly consumed. Another reason for what feels like a canning deficit was our fruit trees didn't produce as abundantly this year. We still got a fair amount of pear slices which I did can, and pear sauce which I froze out of laziness (it was much less than last year). 

Our apple trees did absolutely nothing this year. This was extra disappointing because last year we had an amazing apple crop that we turned into cider at a friend's party. We even recently bought our own cider press and had dreams of making tons of free cider.

It was not to be. At least not for free.

I bought 2 1/2 bushels of apples from our local orchard. $20 worth. The orchard assured me that most home growers got nothing this year. After such an abundant crop last year, the trees needed a rest. The commercial orchards still did well because they hand thin all the apple blossoms so that the trees don't go through such boom and bust cycles. What a job! Can you imagine hand thinning apple blossoms from hundreds of trees?

Still, I purchased the apples and the kids eagerly watched me set up to do some cider pressing.

"Can I start now???" asked Big Bro impatiently. 

"Not yet," I replied, "I still have lots of setting up to do!" Patience is not a four-year-olds strong suit.

Big Bro threw apples in the hopper as I cranked the wheel to chop them up. 

I got my husband involved to make it go faster. 

Once the bucket was full with chopped up apple pieces we squeezed them and the cider flowed out of the press. I invited Nini to come see the process and join us in tasting some delicious fresh homemade cider. Then Grandpa wandered over from next-door and wanted to check it out. He started cranking the wheel as I fed it apples, and my husband disappeared. 

"I think I've been Huck Finned!" Grandpa exclaimed referencing the old Mark Twain story.

Really my husband was just on the upper porch with Lil Sis who was sad that she is still too little to throw apples into the hopper, and therefore fed up with being outside. Next year Lil Sis.

We turned 2 1/2 bushels of apples into about 5 gallons of cider in under two hours, including set up time and prep time.

It really was so sweet and delicious. And so fun to share the experience with my kids and the grandparents too. Let's hope next year we get our own apples from our trees again and then our cider will be sweet and free.