So how was your day?

There is absolutely no rhyme or reason to this post; I just felt like saying hi. :)

And ask, how was your day? Ours was nice, though it did not go as originally planned ...

Things got off to a rocky start when Bill woke me with the six words I never ever want to hear - particularly not at five in the morning:

"Honey, we're all out of coffee."

Groan.

Thankfully, we don't live too far from a Dunkin Donuts and, mercifully, they open their doors at 6 a.m.

Next up in weird kitchen mishaps - our toaster went kaflooey. It was an old thing anyway, and appliance death doesn't usually bother me so much (unless it's the coffeemaker) - but I quickly realized I couldn't make my everyday (without fail) breakfast: a whole-wheat English muffin slathered lightly spread with peanut butter. I made one for myself anyway, letting the defunct toaster warm the muffin if not quite crisp it. It still tasted nice, and I nibbled away at my breakfast, watching the morning sun creep across the front yard ...

But then the sun disappeared, and by 7 a.m. it was raining.

Now, you all know how much I enjoy a rainy day - relish it even - but when the rain falls on our Nature Club day, not so much. I happened to be leading this month's meeting and my plan was to have the kids "Find Fall" with their cameras and sketch books. Not really a wet weather activity. So I hemmed and hawed and checked in with my co-coordinator - and finally made the decision to postpone Nature Club till next week. I sent the cancellation out over the airwaves (or the e-chain in this instance) and settled in for a nice long rainy day at home ...

And then the rain stopped.

And the sun came out.

Sigh.

Anyhoo. What was done, was done. By lunchtime we were finished with lessons and I was tidying up the kitchen. I noticed our apples were getting soft, so I decided to make up some applesauce - and after some consideration (time? energy? patience level?) I decided to have the boys help me.

Here are a few pictures from that adventure:

And at 1:30 p.m., as we stood at the stove stirring the apples, I heard a pitter-patter from the deck - and the air coming in the kitchen windows was a bit cooler, a bit sharper.

Rain.

Yay!

It was just a passing shower, but it made me feel marginally better about the Nature Club cancellation. Plus, several families were not going to attend due to family illness (there's a right nasty virus making its way through our crowd). So I am pretty much ok with the postponement.

(Can you tell I'm trying to make myself feel better, lol?)

I hope it doesn't sound like I am complaining - I was just musing over all the setbacks that crossed my path today. But, despite all those little trials (and they were very little), truly my day was a good one. Blessed even.

Sure, we were out of coffee, but ... I have a wonderful husband who gladly drove off into the cold, dark early morning to get me fresh coffee.

Yes, my toaster died this morning, but ... I have good food in my pantry and I have money in the bank to buy a new toaster.

True, the tricky weather wrecked our fun plans, but ... I'm lucky to be at home in the first place, and even luckier to have the time and energy to make applesauce with my kids.

And now, as I wrap up this post, the sun is shining again, my house smells like apples and spice, and Bill just walked in the door.

My day may not have gone according to plan - not my plan anyways - but it was a good one all the same.

I hope yours was, too. :)

Comments

[Allison]

The sure buts, yes buts, and true buts, make this an absolutely wonderful and inspiring story. Thank you for refreshing my sense of thankfulness. I needed that.

[Sherry Early]

Dawn,

Is there a search box on your blog? I wanted to search for a specific topic, but couldn't find a search box anywhere.

[Angel]

I had to laugh (and no, you didn't sound like you were complaining) - it's all about flexibility, isn't it? We made applesauce today, too, but I just mashed mine with a potato masher. It was a bit chunky that way, but still tasted fine!

(Oh, and thanks for tagging me for the Kreativ Blogger Award! That was a nice break in my morning :-)

[dorothy]

We made applesauce this morning, too, and I decided to include the whole family as well:) We used the food processor, though. I love your chinois and the nice pink color of the applesauce from the skins.

[Maggie Ann]

I made applesauce today too! I enjoyed reading your post. I peeled our apples first and cooked them up chunky, then froze them.You certainly have two handsome helpers there. I hate to can...sigh. I got lots of laundry put through today and even though the skies were gray and overcast, got quite a lot done. The crockpot made our supper. Now, tomorrow...I hope to knit and spin and cello and have all sorts of a good time.

[Hannah]

We made applesauce yesterday. I look for every shortcut I can. I sliced mine with the apple peeler/slicer/corer-awesome awesome timesaver! Then I filled my crockpot to the brim, and the applesauce made itself. Cooked it on high a couple hours, stired it a couple times and mixed in brown sugar and cinnamon.

[Dawn]

Thank you for the comments and ideas, everyone!

Sherry, I don't have a search box on my blog - I did at one point but it made loading slow.

What were you looking for?

[Karen Edmisten]

It's never good to wake up to "No coffee" .... Yikes. :-) Our week hasn't been what we planned but we, too, are feeling very grateful for our blessings.

[Fairion]

I am glad your day turned out well even if not as planned. It is frustrating when the plans are changed due to weather and then the weather changes again.

Do you leave the skin on for your applesauce? Do you use organic apples? I have too concerned thus far to leave the skin on but would love to be able to save the work of peeling.

[Dawn]

Fairion, we try to buy organic apples as much as possible. These particular apples were organic, so I felt OK about leaving on the skins. I love the way the applesauce turns pink. :)

[Adria]

I've been a long time lurker...(sorry!) but I had to comment on this one. I got a nice little chuckle out of it :-) I too, would dread being told I am out of coffee at 5:00 AM!! And no, I didn't think you were complaining. In the end you are right, all things worked out. What a guy to go out for coffee first thing in the morning! :-) You are blessed! :-)
And yes, a nice, somewhat rainy day at home it always a "good thing". :-) It sounds like, in the end, it was a nice cozy day. I always get that impression when I stop by your blog, that your home is a cozy, comforting place to be :-) Hat's off to you :-)

[Shonda]

Sounds like you took lemons and made lemonade! Or rather, apples and applesauce...(Groan! I know!)
Our day was busy. My oldest and I had co-op today. A new prospect for us. I teach Shakespeare and she also takes a class on the constitution called Key of Liberty. It is based on the Thomas Jefferson Education philosophy. Then we went shopping for warm clothing for our upcoming trip to the Pacific North West. We Southern Californians didn't have appropriate attire. ;)
I enjoyed your perspective on counting your blessings!

[Kristie]

Should I even ask this? On my slow and sluggish morning (read: the last month here in our little homeschool) I wonder how one can finish lessons in the morning (that used to be us but these days we hum and haw and slug so much that I have to either ditch the lessons and go outside or do them and sacrifice the nice day!)? Are your kids early risers??

Thank you for the space to ask!

Kristie

[Dawn]

Hi Kristie,

Yes, my kids are early risers. :) Eb is up at 4:30, Cj is a 6:00 boy, and Bw sleeps in till 7 sometimes. But everyone is ready to get started around 8.

Generally speaking, we work from 8ish till noon. Many days we have things to do in the afternoon, but on this particular day - having planned to go to Nature Club at 1 - I had nothing for the boys to do after lunch.

Believe me though, we have plenty of days when we are still "finishing up" well into the afternoon!

[Michelle]

Dawn,

I read your blog daily and I saw this post about your applesauce. I was borrowing a tool just like what you have and had no idea what it was. I loved using it to make applesauce. Well the rest of the story is at my blog. I wrote about you there. Please visit.

God Bless,
Michelle

[Michelle]

Oh, by the was my blog is www.homeschoolblogger.com/michellemybell

God Bless,
Michelle

[Kristie]

Thanks Dawn...yes, ahem, my kiddos were bed well into the 9am category!

Kristie

[Heather Duncan]

Where on earth did you get that strainer Dawn? I have been looking around locally for one and can't seem to find it.

[Dawn]

Heather, it belonged to my grandmother so it must be decades old!

[miss mary]

Hi I really enjoyed browsing around your blog and checking things out. I love it..
Hope you have a wonderfully blessed day.
Hugs