An Apple/Barn Trip

This morning I woke up waaaaaay too early...like 3am and never got back to sleep. I finally got up and decided that it was a good time to sew. I got going on my corduroy pants. I did the preliminary sewing steps of serging around the edges of the pattern pieces. Next I cleaned the sewing machine. By that time it was breakfast time and Woody was awake. I warmed up his pancakes and sausage and I made myself a cup of tea and had some toast. I did doze a little after that so got a little more sleep. My next endeavor was to make what we call "liquid gold," which if you have read the blog for long you know is a term for chicken stock/broth. I read once that having chicken stock in the refrigerator or freezer was like having liquid gold for recipes. I used the last of what I had in the freezer the other day when I made the tuna casserole so it was time to make some more. I freeze it in two-cup portions and it is ready for various recipes that call for it. And, this time I didn't have to stew a chicken as I had frozen the carcus of a chicken that roasted a while back and used that for the broth along with various veggies and fresh herbs. I got that simmering and just left for a lot of hours. About that time Marie called and asked if I wanted to go with her to Bain's Orchard to get some apples. It sounded like a fun outing and wouldn't have me away from home for a long time...not like some of our barn trips that last all morning and sometimes till dusk! I decided to take my camera just in case we passed a barn or two. Bain's had an amazing assortment of apples so I picked a variety both for eating and cooking. I also got a pie pumpkin for our Thanksgiving pie and some sweet potatoes for our Thanksgiving sweet potato casserole. Woody had mentioned that one of the things that he wanted to have next week was tuna stuffed tomatoes (something that was on his "no-no list" for the last 2-1/2 years. So when I saw the tomatoes I had to get those too! We each had an apple this afternoon. Woody had a Jonagold and I had a pink lady...very crispy and tasty! Marie took a different way back so we would pass some barns. The sky had the most beautiful cloud formations as the clouds were leaving our area from Zeta, which by the way mainly dropped rain on us...we didn't have much wind till late this morning and on into the afternoon and it is still quite breezy at the moment. We enjoyed our outing...that was the first outing like this that Marie and I have taken since before her knee surgery. It is good that she is doing well enough to be able to get out and about once again. After she was cleared to drive by the doctor and/or physical therapy, Marie's husband made her pass his driving test last week! Glad she passed! Now for a real barn trip before much longer! I got back just a little after we normally get Woody started on his dialysis. We started about an hour after we did yesterday...but yesterday we started early. He is well into the third cycle of tonight's four cycles. We had leftovers for supper and now the dishwasher is going and the by-hand dishes have been washed...so the kitchen is closed for the night! I think that I will wind a bobbin and thread the machine. I think that is where I will leave the sewing room for tonight. My back is bothering me so I think that it would be best if I wait till tomorrow when I am fresher before I actually start the sewing. But we will see...the night is still young and sitting and reading for a while may be all my back needs. Woody is reading and/or watching TV and patiently waiting for his dialysis to be finished for today...probably between 10 and 11 tonight. Then it will be lights out and hopefully we will both sleep and greet a new day in the morning. The temperatures dropped quite a bit from when I headed off on our apple/barn trip this morning and the middle of the afternoon...another cold front has moved through...guess it should start feeling like November...we have had a pretty mild October. Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!