When life gives you apples, you make applesauce

When I was little there were some key things I expected of, and looked forward to in adulthood . Wearing high heels, staying home everyday instead of going to school, and peeling apples like my mother did, in one long curled strand.
My closet is full of high heels and I love every pair.
I stay home with my babies everyday, though I now look forward to returning to school someday.
And I've been peeling apples that way for years. When Sleepless In Seattle made the method famous, I buckled own and mastered the skill once and for all. I was glad of it yesterday.

And here's the reason for it all;

Gingerbread warm from the oven smothered in fresh homemade applesauce. It doesn't get much better.
I could pretend I spent my whole day making applesauce because my Mr loves it, (he really does) or because making it myself protects my children from the evils of added sugar and preservatives (true). Honestly though, the only thing on my mind when I ordered that box of apples was the gingerbread.
My A/C went out yesterday afternoon as the apple laden pots simmered away on my stove top. The house was so hot I nearly gave up my dream.
Nearly.
I was able to push through and it was so worth it.
I haven't had that treat in upwards of seven years. I don't remember exactly when, but at some point before I was married my mama popped a gingerbread in the oven at just the right time to eat with the applesauce when it was ready and it changed my life forever.
It's memory has stayed with me all this time, coming to the surface in the autumns when apples are plentiful and waiting to be sauced. It might be that long again before I revisit homemade applesauce. It really is a lot of work. But when the day comes, you can be sure I'll have a gingerbread in the oven.