This little guy will make it to July

In Shel Silverstein's "Where the Sidewalk Ends," there is a story about a snowman who is determined to make it to July. Sweet story.

So, tonight I have a fun and easy Christmas craft to share with you -- inspired by that story and another blog I follow.
It's one of the first crafts I "pinned" to my "Christmas Inspirations" board on Pinterest, but I changed it up a little.

Speaking of Pinterest...when I first started using Pinterest, my mother was awed by it. Most of what I pinned at the time were crafting projects, DIY projects and recipes. I don't remember how many pins I had at the time, but my mother wanted to calculate approximately how long it would take me to complete every project I had pinned - allowing five-hours for each project.
She laughed so hard when she announced it would take me 18-years, 3-months and 16 days to complete what I had on my "to-do" list.


Well, here's what you'll need to make this adorable snowman:

White yarn, 20-gauge black wire, wire clippers, black buttons, sticky glue or hot glue gun, 2-inch wide ribbon of your choice and scissors.

I rolled up the yarn into three balls. One is about 5-inches in diameter, the next is about 4-inches in diameter and the third one is about 3-inches in diameter. I used a little blob of sticky glue to hold the end of the yarn in place.

Then I used the hot glue gun to glue all three of the balls together and to glue the buttons in place. This little snowman will not stand up on his own. You'll have to lean him against something.

Cut two pieces of the black wire into 18-inch lengths. Twist the wire forming the hand and arms of the snowman.

Then using the glue gun, put some glue on the end of the arm and stab it into the middle ball of yarn, about where the snowman's arms would be.

The snowman's hat is a tad more difficult. Start wrapping the black wire around something that is about 3 1/2-inches in diameter to form the brim. Wrap it about four or five times, then switch to something that is about 2-inches in diameter. Wrap it about eight times, then cut the wire and keep working with it until the hat holds its shape.

Tie a piece of ribbon around the snowman's neck for his scarf and you can call this project "done."
How cute is he?

*  Note -- The project I pinned to my Pinterest board was made using Styrofoam disks wrapped in the yarn, but I just thought the balls of yarn would be cuter.


Love you, Mom.
Thanksgiving will never be the same without you.

After Apple Picking

I have many, many memories of my mother, but not as many of my father. Perhaps it's because he's been gone longer. And, perhaps, because he was the one out of the house working when I was very young, and my mother was the one home with us, playing with us, teaching us.

One very vivid memory I have of Daddy is his constant craving for sweets (an unfortunate trait I inherited. You know how some people have a sweet tooth? Well, Dad and I have sweet teeth. ha ha) Specifically, my father loved his apple pie.

We had family dinner every single night, and my father always cleaned his plate then asked, "Julia, do we have apple pie tonight?"

More times than not, my mother had apple pie waiting for my dad. How cool is that?

Last year my friends who have property in Elijah, Georgia brought back a huge bag of apples for me and I made apple butter for any and all. In fact, I still have one last jar in my refrigerator. They did the same this year, delivering the apples to me about two weeks ago. This morning I thought I'd better do something with them before they spoil. I had wanted to be able to make all kinds of apple desserts for the coming holidays, but needed to get the apples cooked and preserved.

So, here's my recipe for preserving the apples, making freezable apple pie filling:

18-cups of thinly sliced apples
3-tblsp. lemon juice
4 1/2-cups white sugar
1-cup cornstarch
2-tsp. ground cinnamon
1-tsp. salt
1/4-tsp. ground nutmeg
10-cups water

I slice and peel my apples using my Pampered Chef Apple Corer/Peeler/Slicer. I love it!!
After the apples are sliced, put them in a very large bowl and toss the slices with the lemon juice - then set aside.

Fill a Dutch oven or great big pot with 10-cups of water over medium heat.( Remember, the pot has to be big enough to also fill with the 18-cups of apple slices.)

Combine the sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg. Add the mixture to the water, stir well and bring it to a boil. Boil for two-minutes, stirring constantly - using a long handled spoon. (The cornstarch is going to thicken the mixture as it heats, so keep stirring.)

After the mixture has boiled for two-minutes, add the apples and return to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer until the apples are tender - about 6-8 minutes.
Cool for 30-minutes.

Ladle the apple-pie filling into freezer-friendly containers. Cool at room temperature no longer than  1 1/2-hours.  I put mine in the cheap containers you can get at any grocery store, but then I bag the container in a zipper plastic freezer bag to double seal it.
Seal and freeze.
This can be stored for up to 12-months.

I have enough apple pie filling to make at least five desserts.

My dad had a real gusto for eating his home-cooked meals, lovingly prepared every night by Mom. I love my memories of his appreciation for her cooking.

Thanksgiving 1973, Daddy enjoying the last bite of his slice of apple pie.

For you, Daddy!