Fall nights and old ways

Fall is truly here and she's late. But, nevertheless, just as lovely as ever. For the last few days the old house has been heated in the evenings with the gas furnace. Gas is wonderfully even and quick heat. But, alas, too dear for this family in this economy. So, today it was time to turn on the Harman. What wonderful heat spews from her portals in our front room. As the weather cooled, my home-heart slowed and settled in for what is always a long winter. I peeled apples to make apple butter in the roaster. No longer do we peel tons of apples to fill up a 42 gallon copper kettle and then cook it on an open fire. The reason we don't? Not enough manpower. Just 24 years ago I sat at the kitchen table with Mom Ruth, Grandma See, Aunt Dorothy and Granddaddy peeling apples for the Saturday boil. Granddaddy was the only one who was allowed to use the peeler. The rest of us sat with knives and peeled until even my 20-something hands ached. As we peeled, Little Henry, now known as "Rex", slept in an antique laundry basket in the living room. Today all those peelers, except Mom and me are gone to their reward and the hands just aren't there to peel all those apples anymore. I wonder if we could get all the kids to come together for four days we could do it again. I just wonder if it'd bring the joy that I remember. I wonder if the boys would willingly stand out in smoke or rain or wind and stir that apple butter? Dad E. would get up at 3 a.m. and start that fire and then we'd take that butter off and jar it at sundown. It was a full day. Dad, Henry and Granddaddy would all take turns stirring that kettle laden with pennies at the bottom. Course, apples at $14 a bushel would cost alot to do 40 gallons. I mean... I used 3/4 of a bushel to fill a roaster.
Wonderful, full memories of fall. But fall in 2007 means apple butter in a roaster cooking all night with barely a stir. I also dug through the freezer today to find a final package of stew beef, chopped it and browned it to make some good soup for tomorrow. Everything in the soup, except the barley, came from this place. ... the jars of beans, tomatoes, potatoes, cabbage and corn were all grown just beyond the barn and will grace our table as soup tomorrow. That brings a settling to my heart. It's time for hot tea, as well, and I've had pot after pot the last few days. Not tea from "bags" either, but loose tea, placed in an english brown betty with "not quite boiling" water poured onto it to swirl and seep and make tea. The whole pot placed in a well quilted cozy to await the prescribed time and then poured in a good, english china cup and saucer. A mug is too "common" for tea. Ummm, fall. The other smells of fall.. candles. I've been lighting candles daily for the last few. Today I burned a Yankee Tea and Honey all day. The dining room and kitchen smelled lightly of tea and honey, as it mingled with soup and apples. As the sun set and the supper dishes done, it was time to sit and read for a bit. What better to read on a night like this than Forever Christmas by Tasha Tudor? Just looking through the book I am taken through fall and winter in the eyes of a woman whose artistic talent is unbelievable. She, in her 90's now, still producing art work. I really must get some of her tea as well and I'd love to have a settle for the house, but it is a ridiculous notion. But, dreaming is for dreamers, so this evening was a night for them. In her book A Time to Keep, she quotes Thomas Hood for November, "No fruits, no flowers, no leaves, no birds, November! " While we have plenty of leaves, the flowers are gone, burned by frost and the birds are quickly heading south. It is a beautiful time to reminisce, remember a time and create a memory. It was a good day.