Crab Apples

My crab apples trees have just overflowed with apples this year. Maybe it's because of the same weather that has produced the HUGELY BEAUTIFUL fall that we're having around here.

On Wednesday-- as I was driving to work-- I was wishing so much that I had an hour of daylight time to drive around just my circle and neighborhood and take pictures of all the beauty. (I noticed that Sister Katie is enjoying it too.)

"God, I want YOU to know how much I've loved it!"

Anyway, as I'd look at that tree full of crab apples, I thought,"Don't people make jelly out of those?" So I mentioned it to Jeni, since she's always doing such domestic things as baking breads and canning and gardening and making jams and jellies. But she'd not heard of crab apple jelly.


Later she talked to her Mom, who I think may be the source of many of her interests. Her folks live on a farm at Paint Rock and do all kinds of "farmy" things. Her Mom told her how to go about making jelly from crab apples. (They are quite small and it would be a nuisance to peel and core them individually.) So she was ready to 'have a go' at it. She gets quite enthusiastic about such things.

She told me all this when I went down yesterday morning to stay with the kids. She was going to come and pick the apples and take them home and make jelly. I suggested that she could come tonight and spend the night if she wanted to. (Jef is involved deeply in inventory STILL-- as he was last week to a great extent during our revival. He was going to be working late and then going in early Saturday for the MAIN EVENT.)

My BONUS from this was that Jeni texted me at work yesterday and said that she'd decided to come up early and cook my supper and she and the kids would spend the night and they'd pick apples on Saturday.

As many of you would say, "WOO HOO!"

I ended up not getting to leave work until later than usual because some people decided that their shopping was more important that us getting to leave. So, it was almost nine before I got to even leave work. But, when I got home, and walked in my door, it was such a pleasant greeting.

Sam ran to greet me and hug me. There was FRESH BAKED BREAD and food ready to eat. Jeni was curled up in the recliner looking comfy. (However, I found out later that was NOT the case. She was hurting. Aching in her joints.) Rachel and Autumn were enjoying themselves. And Brad was there to ask, "When are we going to eat?" (You'd have to know Brad to know that that is FUNNY.)

I'd talked to Uncle Davis earlier in the evening about fixing a vacuum cleaner cord that has shorted out and he wants to take us all to breakfast this morning. So I can't take much time here.

But I did want to say how nice it was to come home to Jeni and the kids.