Our first Halloween of the new life.

There was much laughing, and screaming, and loading up on candy. There were houses full of decorations, a certain 4 year old full of candy, and a street full of friends helping us navigate around. Being a single mom with 3 kids is hard, but I had an entire army around us last night helping to keep them in check while I tried to get the stroller through bumps and curbs.

My life is good.

It will only get better.

Macintosh apples were on sale, 3 pounds for $2.69. I think I may have literally squealed when I saw it. Apples hold a special place in my heart. Each crunchy, crisp bite takes me back to the big apple tree in my grandma’s back yard, the one that was always offering apples for snacking, baking, and mashing.

Applesauce, what would life be without you?

So after loading my arms with all the apples I could carry, I spent the evening peeling and slicing and sneaking bites here and there. Sweet and tart, the perfect swirl of red and green, these were apples meant for love.

Add a little water, turn on the heat, and let them cook until they get mushy. Some recipes say put them in a blender or food processor to get them mashed after cooking. Not me. I just keep cooking and stirring until they mush on their own. You run the risk of burning the bottom if yo don’t pay attention, but I think they taste sweeter when they get to cook longer.

A half cup of sugar, a splash of lemon juice (some say use it, others don’t), and a couple shakes of cinnamon. Bring it to a boil, and start ladling into the jars. Try not to steal a taste while you do this, or you’ll end up with burnt fingers and tongue.

Awww.

I’ve got 6 pints, which should last us a couple months but I suspect may run out much sooner. The boys aren’t as wild for applesauce as Saffron and I are, but they may change their mind.

My only regret is that they didn’t help me make it like we had planned. I couldn’t find an apple corer at the store, and didn’t feel comfortable handing them knives. Then plans went to boot and I ended up finishing the apples after they were in bed. Next time we’ll get an earlier start on it all.

Has anyone else made applesauce? Any secret tricks to making it awesome?

photo credit: mmarsupilami

So I dropped out of my own race,
A race with no finish line,
No first or last place.
These faces all rush right past me.
I turn and walk away,
Cause we finally know now what our time here’s about
We were not meant to be another face in the crowd.
We’re a forest of lives, and we grow tall and wide.
We’ll never be cut down.

~Anywhere But Here – Rise Against

School starts back up here next week. It feel surreal that the summer is nearly unofficially over. No more kids racing through the parking lot all day, or hiking through the empty lot, or banging on the door for juice pops and cold water refills. The days are about to become much quieter, and a little sadder.

There’s an urgency felt amongst the kids now. They don’t just knock, they pound on the door. There is no more waiting for dinner to be over, instead the boys shove one last bite in before rushing out. Even the teenage girls, who are usually too cool to hang out with all the young boys, drift over to gossip and chat among the shouting and roughhousing. No one is ready for the freedom to be over, so they reach out for it and try to grasp onto the last fleeting moments.

The summer ends like fireflies flickering away in dark. Flashes here and there amaze us, but we all know that it cannot last.

photo credit: Goldring

Still, the kids hang on tight. They swing from tree branches and build forts long after the sun sets. They climb and race and ride bikes. They mourn fiercely as, one by one, they are called in to bed. With each passing minute, they know that summer is on its way out.