Saucing And Such

I love this part of fall. Each year I wonder to myself if I could become Amish. I think the picking and chopping, and simmering, and canning is truly down to earth wonderful. An ideal. I feel deep down this sense of belonging and peace in the kitchen as I'm making my way through the peel and the pith that becomes my countertop.

And then I remember that I'm cooking on my electric stove, with the lights shining over head and yesterday, I was doing all this while wearing my Billabong sweatshirt. I'm quite sure that wouldn't be found (legally) on any Amish farm or in any Amish community. Yes, I am a priss. And, I have accepted that fact...most of the time.

But, for a few days each fall I take myself into a world of pure (personally) hand-picked, homemade goodness. I reflect upon the life of my maternal grandmother who was the epitome of what a grandmother should be. Homemade and cooked and grown (nearly) everything. Hand washed and likely the majority handmade, clothes. Five children running around, wreaking havoc. Her cookie legend lives on. And, I sense the wonder and awe each time I take myself back to what I imagine her life would have looked, sounded, felt, tasted and been like. I try to envision a snapshot of her life. And, while I know it was nothing as serene as I imagine or as lovely, gentle and calm as the day dream into which I often fall, there is something about life back in the fifties and sixties that makes me yearn for a lifestyle I know I will never - likely never could - attain...certainly not with the grace of my grandmother.

{i wonder what my grandmother would have thought if one of her children was caught wiping his or her nose right around the applesauce production area. actually i do know. her reaction likely would have been one similar to that made when she saw children slapping their dirty hands all over the clean windows: perfect. proof that children live here. she, like I, would likely also have been thankful that her children did not touch the apples and also that they were well cooked before being canned.}

The end.