Yet more apple stuff

So today started with yet more apple washing

While Compostman scratted some I had washed earlier

 I bottled up yesterdays juice and pasteurised them, 13 bottles as a time.

 
Here they are, cooling down. I did 26 bottles today, as well as washing, juicing and pressing many, many more apples.

Compostgirl was roped in to help :)

Here is a 30 l fermentation vessel, full of juice-to-be-turned-into-cider-by- magic ( well, or biochemistry!)

Washing up takes a very long time!

Tomorrow we are having a day off apples and will be doing Other Things - we need a rest!

Gosh our house smells of apples!

 Today has been a day of much sloshing water of around, to wash apples.
















 And as you can see a lot of water went on me!

Lots of apples.

 We did our stuff today inside the kitchen annexe as it was too cold ( but lovely and sunny) outside - I have more cleaning up to do because we worked inside but at least I could operate the scratter and press - if outside my hands would have stopped working asap due to Raynaulds
 

 

 
Much juice collected - some to be pasteurised for juice tomorrow ( that will be my mornings work!) , most to be converted into Cider 

BUT I feel guilty  ( Gods above, what IS it with me and guilt?)  as there must be 100's of pounds more of apples on the trees more, not picked - but we have more than we can deal with AND no one wants them - I have offered but we live in Herefordshire apple county so no one wants as they ALL have loads surplus

 

Am now drinking 2011 Cider and about to eat some (much needed) food - then will watch Only Connect on catch up TV , and a bit of patchwork also beckons. And probably more Cider

Love this time of year - gathering in all the good stuff I have grown to feed the family and our friends


More of the same, tomorrow :)

Quilting

I have started a new quilting project - you can read more about it on the latest blog post   on my other blog The Crafty Compostwoman

RIP Titch

Sadly Titch the rescue hen*, died last night. 


She had recovered well from wandering off into the wood overnight while ill, a subsequent chest infection and she settled into several weeks as a House Hen, under careful treatment and care. But, she also went blind and largely stopped eating despite my best efforts to help her by putting her in a carefully designed small indoor run, with food and drink always in the same place and with me feeding her by hand, many times a day.

An extra job but one I did not begrudge her as she deserved every possible chance to enjoy her life And I loved her

She finally had what looked like a heart attack last night, not long after I said goodnight and stroked her head and crooned at her - she purred back at me as usual

(* ex so called "enriched" or barn " caged hen)

Trip around the world quilt

So now the nights are drawing in and the clocks have changed, I find myself with time to craft, again.

I have been making 2 1/2 " strips from various saved and recycled cotton fabric to start on my next quilting project, a Trip around the World quilt. I also have some strips I purchased from the Quilt show I went to a few months ago and a few rolls I found in a charity shop last month :)

Playing with layout and colours :)

Sewing the strips together

Cutting the strips

After sewing them into tubes, I unpicked the tubes so that the strips started on a different square

Not yet sewn together as I want to make more strips and play with the orientation and design.

If you have no idea what I am up to and want to know more - see this excellent tutorial from  Bonnie K Hunter here