For Free

[poliphilo]

You know what?  There could be enough sun and wind about today to dry a load of washing. Sameena-next-door has had the same idea. You gotta grab the free stuff while it's being offered.

One of the good things about Paganism is it puts you back in touch with the instincts of the farmer and the hunter gatherer. I'm not a Pagan any more. Not really. But I think my time in the movement has sharpened up my appreciation of the things that can't be got in shops.

There's riches all around. Accept with thanks and try not to waste.

My father in law has apple trees. They produce tons of apples. These apples aren't as pretty as the one's you get in the supermarket,  nor as big either, but they taste OK. We eat them, the rabbits eat them.

Last night I stewed a load of them in port and served them with ice-cream.

Also I'm cutting  them up and bagging them and putting them in the freezer as winter provender.

Only the freezer isn't big enough to hold them all.

When I was a kid we used to store apples in an old air-raid shelter. It was built into the hillside and had a laburnum tree on top. 

In those years after WWII you didn't waste a thing.  All of us lived like misers.

I was thinking about this just now- on a nostagia trip if you like- when it suddenly occured to me I could store the surplus apples in one of the sheds.  Bloody obvious, really.  I reckon if I put down newspaper and laid the apples in rows- not touching- like my mother used to do,  it ought to lengthen their shelf life. The sheds are just as cool and dark as the old shelter was. 

So there's a job for me to get stuck into this afternoon......

Comments

[silverhawkdruid.livejournal.com]

When we had an apple tree we stored the apples in shallow boxes, and wrapped them individually in newspaper before placing them there, to keep them from touching each other. Then we put the boxes in the wood shed to keep them cold. It seemed to work as I recall. :-) What about seeing if your local greengrocer has some of those cardboard sheets with dips in them that they use to transport fruit in, and the boxes they came in? Do they still use those?
As for the washing. My machine has about died, and rather than risk ruining our clothes I decided a short while ago to start handwashing and see how we get on without a machine. I am becoming more and more appreciative of good drying weather, not least because it has been quite a rarity this summer. I am remembering back to my childhood, when all we had in the way of mod cons was a baby burco boiler to cook the bedding. Everything else was washed by hand, and wrung through a mangle before being hung on the line to dry. I also remember my dad showing me a washing dolly, a sort of stool design with a long handle, that was used when he was a child to pummel the laundry in a tub to get the dirt out. I imitate that on a small scale, with a bucket of clothes and a wooden spoon to pummel with. :-)
I must admit that I like the idea of at least finding a mangle if possible. Wringing the water out is the hardest part of the job for a gal with weak wrists like me. LOL
regards,
Silverhawk

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

In the event, I've opted for egg boxes. These are small apples and I can get four of them in a box designed to hold six eggs.

I've been without a washing machine in the past. At one stage- about 20 years back- I was washing clothes in the bath.

It's been really disappointing how very few good drying days there've been this summer.

[silverhawkdruid.livejournal.com]

The bath will certainly be pressed into service for the heavier and bulkier items. The rest I am washing using nice big buckets, and a cast iron pot for the boil wash items.
The last few days have at least been dry here in Colchester. How are things in your part of the country?

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

We've been enjoying a run of dry, sunny days. It's been so pleasant we've decided to have a run out to the seaside this morning.