Last weekend Eric and I picked our bumper crop of concord grapes, cleaned and ‘juiced’ them. This weekend we made grape jelly – lots of it. 47 jelly jars and 1 quart jar worth of grape jelly! We did recipes with sure-jell and liquid pectins; we did recipes with sugar and Spenda. It was all tasty.
It all starts with the juice.
Our crew chief monitors the next batch.
Too many cooks?????
I can’t believe we made so much grape jelly.
Kathryn, Linda, Bonnie & Cindy participated in a Halloween weekend in Alex Bay. This picture shows some attitude.
Kathryn made a bat costume for Eric and Sunday afternoon Jennifer and I took him to the Halloween Party at the HP Middle School. They had 15-20 easy games with candy as prizes. Below Eric and Jennifer are waiting in line for their turn.
Eric pulled a candy bar and Hot Wheels car out of ‘The Ole Fishing Hole’.
I had a bumper crop of concord grapes this year – they are especially good for making grape jelly. I was talking with my mom about the bumper crop and she said that if I could get them to juice she would show me how to make grape jelly. In the wind and rain on Saturday morning Eric and I donned sweatshirts, raincoats, boots and, in his case, gloves to pick the grapes. It took us about 45 minutes to pick this tub full.
In the afternoon I started culling grapes, sorting stems and cooking down the grapes. It took 4 hours and I ended up with ~10 gallons of juice and pulp which I parked on the deck overnight to cool and settle. On Sunday morning I strained the pulp and ended up with about 4.5 gallons of juice. It took another 30 minutes to strain and clean up from this stage.
We put the juice in plastic tubs and parked them in the freezer until I can get together with Mom to employ stage 2. So far I have about 5.5 hours in this project – this stuff better be good!
My friend Jim notified me that his long time steed – Jack – passed away last week due to stomach tumor/colic. Jack was always a solid citizen and probably would have been a heck of a ranch horse if he hadn’t lived a life of leisure being hand fed and handled every day. He was a classic, stout Two Eyed Jack horse that never had to pull a steer on the end of a rope.
I remember Jim and I and his daughter Gretchen going to look at him in January 1993 – it seems a life time ago. Gretchen was a young teenager at the time. We three were in the front seat of Jim’s truck and as we rode in the truck JIm talked about the minimal requirements for the ‘purchase to be’ and Gretchen was chattering away about what kind of horse she wanted. The longer we rode the more Gretchen came up with ‘nice-to-have’ features – including Gretchen mentioning it would be nice if the horse matched her chaps and chosen stable colors. At a BHA horse club meeting that night Sue Evans gave me the punch line. Cleaning stalls that Martin Luther King day I started “Does He Poop in Just One Pile”. I think Jack managed to match up in most categories.
Does He Poop In Just One Pile?
The other day I set out with a very close friend
To find a noble steed and bring his horse search to an end.
We went to a dealer to examine all his stock.
We looked each one over from his muzzle to his hock.
Now, we knew exactly the type of horse we sought.
If we could find that horse today he would certainly be bought.
He must stand square and be conformationally correct.
Be big bodied, small headed with a long and lean neck.
We looked for a gelding standing about 15.3
A fluid, pretty mover exhibiting a very flat knee.
He must stand quiet, act sensible and sane.
For what we want this horse must have a brain.
A horse that could pleasure, and lope along laid-back.
Yet boldly take a jump and show in hunter hack.
He must move collected, and travel in a frame.
Soundness is important, he should never come up lame.
Clip, tie, and load, and never show a fuss.
Be suitable for the kids to ride when the relatives visit us.
Do a slow western jog, and extend his English trot.
Ever take the wrong lead? I should hope not!
Slow lope to the left and canter to the right.
Look down at a jump and tuck his knees up tight.
Move off a leg; be light and flex and bend.
A horse that will do all that to the Congress we would send.
Stable manners must be good- a horse without a vice.
Did I mention flying lead change? That would be real nice.
Color is no object; there is not a bad one that I’ve seen.
But keep in the back of your mind that my chaps are hunter green.
We’d like to try team penning and have a horse to chase a cow.
If you have a horse like this we are willing to pay two thou’
By now you know the answer; it is obvious of course.
We went home no poorer, but without our perfect horse.
Later on that day we recounted our sad tale
Of steeds that we had seen and how they each did fail.
We told one wise lady of our stringent criteria.
She mocked us and stated our judgments were inferior.
“The factors that you name account for just 10 percent.
Find a horse to satisfy the other 90 and your money is well spent.”
“We all like to ride and show but you will readily admit-
Most all your horse time is devoted to dealing with horse shit.”
“The most important thing to ask” said she with a sly smile.
Is “Does this horse always poop in just one pile?”
Jim tells me that mostly family read this blog … and it is mostly family who need this remembrance.
When Grandma died about this time in 1982, Uncle Clifford pulled me aside at the funeral and said: “Don’t be a stranger. One of the saddest things that happened after Grossmutter died was that the family went their separate ways. Let’s stay together. Stop by when you’re here.” And I did.
And we did. All but one of Grandma’s grandchildren was at Uncle Clifford’s funeral last Monday. And his cousins, once-removed, Carol and Dottie Ellen.
Those of us in my generation are all middle aged (but still young!!) with our own families. Some of us (Jeanne and Arlene) have become the new matriarchs, with grandchildren. But let’s continue to hang together.
My kids value their family and were touched by how big it is. (They were also amazed at how many people I knew, despite my having to ask a few who looked familiar who they were.)
Karen
Facts
Born: February 6, 1918
Place of Birth: Town of Broome, NY
Death: October 18, 2006
Place of Death: Residence
Occupation: Plumber & Pipe-fitter
Hobbies: Woodworking & crafts
Organizations: Bethany Evangelical Lutheran Church, Colonial Heritage Association
Biography
Schoharie (Schoharie County): Mr. William Clifford Muller, 88, of Main Street, Schoharie, NY, died Wednesday, October 18th at his residence after a long illness.
Mr. Muller was born February 6, 1918 in the Town of Broome, NY, a son of Peter Nicholas and Martha (Gerhardt) Muller. He had resided on Main Street since 2002 and previously lived on State Route 30 in the Town of Schoharie in the house that he built in 1965.
He attended school at Jamaica Heights in Brooklyn and graduated from Middleburgh High School in 1936. He retired in 1982 from the Plumbers and Pipe Fitters Union Local #105 in Schenectady which later merged with Local #7 in Albany. He worked on such local projects as the Schoharie School, the Blenheim Pump Project, West Milton, SUNY at Cobleskill and Eden Park Nursing Home in Cobleskill. Prior to that, Mr. Muller was a dairy farmer in Howes Cave and on Warner Hill Road.
Clifford was a longtime member of the Bethany Evangelical Lutheran Church in Central Bridge where he also served on the Church Council, serving at one time as its President. He was a member of the Schoharie 50-Plus Club and was a former volunteer with Scho-Wright Ambulance Service. He was also an active member of the Schoharie Colonial Heritage Association where he and his wife were the first to receive honorary memberships. He was an avid steam-engine and rail-road enthusiast and thus served on the railroad committee during the re-building and restoration of the Depot Lane railroad complex. His other interests included gardening, fishing, metalworking, and woodworking. He spent many hours hand crafting items in his workshop for family and friends.
Survivors include: his wife, Alice (Tryon) Muller, whom he married May 18, 1941. 4 Children: Jeanne (Lester) Hay, of Carlisle, Barbara (C. Joseph) Waring, of Delanson, James Richard (Kathryn) Muller, of Holland Patent, NY, and Robert William (Linda) Muller, of Delanson. Several grandchildren, great-grandchildren and nieces and nephew also survive. He was pre-deceased by two sisters; Ella Given and Helen Armlin.
A memorial service to celebrate the life of Mr. Muller will be held at 1:00 PM on Monday, October 23rd at the Bethany Evangelical Lutheran Church, Church Street, Central Bridge. Rev. Steffen A. Zehrfuhs, Pastor, will officiate. After the funeral has taken place burial will follow in the Old Stone Fort Cemetery, Schoharie.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions to Catskill Area Hospice, 327 W. Main St. Suite #3, Cobleskill, NY 12043; OR to Bethany Evangelical Lutheran Church, PO Box 273, Central Bridge, NY 12035.
The Langan Funeral Home of Schoharie and Central Bridge is assisting the family with arrangements.
Burial: Mon, October 23, 2006 at 2:00 at Old Stone Fort Cemetery
Memorial Service: Mon, October 23, 2006 at 1:00 PM at Bethany Evangelical Lutheran Church
This past Sunday Kathryn made roast pork and scalloped potatoes and we took it to Schoharie to share with Mom & Dad. After dinner and naps we carved a couple of pumpkins. Here Dad watches as Eric cleans out his pumpkin.
We decided to wash our collection of winter hats, gloves & mittens on Saturday. We took advantage of the sunny, breezy morning to dry them on the clothes line. A total of 17 hats and 63 gloves/mittens – not counting the hats that Eric and I were wearing nor the HD Winter Camping mittens I had stashed with the camping gear. Think we have enough?
I didn’t get to fly today on the KC-135 / F-16 air to air refueling mission. The wet weather combined with the fact that longer runway was being resurfaced and prohibited the tanker from flying in from Niagara Falls and landing at Hancock Airport. This was the 1st time in eight years a boss lift had to be cancelled due to weather. In lieu of the flight we received several ground briefings:
I met the Col Howard, commander of the 152nd Air Operations Group, where Michael, my sponsor, works. The Air Operations Center provides planning, direction, and control of assigned Air Forces. They direct activities of forces and monitor actions of both enemy and friendly forces. The 152nd augments the Air Operations Center at Ramstein Air Force Base, Germany, for the United States Air Forces Europe (USAFE). The 152nd AOG is recognized as a lead Air Reserve Component Air Operations Command (AOC) augmentation unit.
Col Howard extended an invitation to get an overview briefing of his AOC which was conducted by Air National Guard LtCol Butler, LtCol Murphy and Maj Fristchi which we accepted. It was nice seeing the operational side.
I am invited to return in May 2007 for a 2nd flight attempt.