keeping busy

When life becomes complicated and uncertain, I find comfort and a measure of peace by filling my hours with physical tasks. All the more calming to the spirit if the results of these labors are useful, beautiful, and can be a source of gifts for those I love.
Yesterday I processed a box of the apples I'd gathered, all windfalls.

Twelve pints of applesauce which I decided not to put through the sieve, so the result is just a tad chunky. No salt, no sugar, my largest pot filled to the top with cored, pared, cut apples, just a cup of water in the bottom (to keep the apples from scorching.) Two large pots full of prepared apples yielded these 12 pints.
Then there was the large box of tomatoes gathered before the threatened frost. These became the most luscious sauce, yielding just over 5 pints.

My 2 largest pots overflowing with cored, peeled, cut tomatoes, simmered, put through the sieve and boiled down to this. After filling these jars there was a bit left over. Brainstorm! freeze it.

Not a new idea but I was glad I thought of it. Now I have a nice little ziploc bag of tomato sauce cubes for those recipes that require just a bit of tomato sauce.
I'm giving myself permission to stay out of the kitchen today. I finally got around to making a thank you card for Stephanie, my Do What You Love postcard partner.

It's chilly today, with no sun. Haven't had a sunless day in 2 weeks. Maybe the predicted rain will appear. Even if it does, tomorrow is the Driftless Area Art Festival in Soldiers Grove and I am really looking forward to it, rain or shine. Lovely to have something like that to look forward to.