Apple Pie Season Memories: Throwback Thursday with G45 Time to Flourish & Reneabouquets

Hello Friends!  September is creeping up on us, and that always brings to mind what I call Apple Pie Season Memories.  While creating this month’s Graphic 45 Desk Folio tutorial for you, my mind wandered back to our annual trip to the apple orchard.  If you want to skip over these ruminations, just scroll down to the video tutorial and enjoy.  But if you want to join me in a trip down memory lane, read on.

Growing up in New England, we anticipated the arrival of apple season.  The state of Vermont was dotted with graceful orchards nestled between the hills.  In the fall, nearly every family planned a trip to pick the winter’s supply of apples.

Apple Pie Season Memories: The Birthday Road Trip

My mother’s birthday came at the end of September, and her birthday wish was the same every year: a day trip to Cornwall to pick apples and picnic on the grounds.  Although we had apple orchards right in our hometown, the apples in Cornwall were less pricey. Gas was cheap, and a day trip under the brilliant blue skies was always a treat.

Somehow, the weather always cooperated with Mom’s birthday wish.  We would pack up the car with the bushel laundry baskets we used to harvest the green beans from the garden and set off early in the morning.  The drive seemed to take forever, but it was really only about a 2 hour distance from our home. Mom always packed sandwiches and a thermos of coffee for the adults.  We never packed a dessert.  Who needs one when you have the promise of ruby red apples still warm from the kiss of the sun to enjoy?

In the Orchard

Pulling into the orchard was like stepping into another world.  With the windows rolled down, the sweet smell of apples filled the air.  Bright blue sky above, emerald apple trees dotted with ruby gems, and green grass shimmering with diamond dew drops filled my heart with such joy I could barely contain myself.  Dad always had to chat a bit with the man who ran the orchard.  He directed us to the area that needed to be picked, and off we went, swinging the laundry baskets between us.  Bees buzzed all around us, glutted and happy with the sweet juices from the apples that had fallen on the ground.

We did not actually “pick” apples.  Instead, we harvested the “drops” that had fallen from the branches.  These were far less expensive and just as delicious as the apples from the tree.  We were instructed to reject apples that were bruised or soft on the underside.  Reminders were given not to pick apples from the tree, and to stay within sight of our parents. You may eat one apple, but not two.  And then we were off, giddy with the excitement of filling up our laundry basket.

The Picnic

Those laundry baskets filled up in no time flat.  The sun warmed our shoulders as we searched for the very best of the drops. Anticipation of apple pies, applesauce, apple Betty and applesauce cake danced in our heads.  Mom would can most of the apples and store the Mason jars in the furnace room of the cellar so they wouldn’t freeze during the hard winter.

Before we knew it, Mom would holler her signature “Yoo-hoo!” to signal us to come back for lunch on the ground.  Bologna sandwiches never tasted so good.  Then we could enjoy the one “special” apple we had saved for lunch.  This, too, was a ritual.  First you breathe on it, then you polish it up on your shirt tail until it shines so brightly you can almost see your face in the skin.

The first bite was the best.  Your teeth crunched through the skin, and the warm apple juice flowed down your chin and up your wrist.  Sweet, tart, juicy and earthy flavors filled your palate all at the same time.  Wonderful…absolutely wonderful!

Then it was time to pay for the apples.  I seem to remember the drops went for just $1 a bushel.  Dad and mom  loaded them into the car.  We each kept one out to munch on during the drive home.  Mom tied her kerchief around her head, and with the windows rolled down, we happily wound our way through the hillsides until we drove up the big hill that was home.

September Time to Flourish Desk Folio Tutorial on YouTube

Now if you’d like to learn how to make this Apple Pie Memories Folio, I hope you’ll enjoy this YouTube tutorial.

You’ll find a linked supply list below this post.  I hope you enjoyed picking apples with me today!

Cheerio,

kathy

SUPPLY LIST

• Graphic 45 Time to Flourish DCE (comes with chipboard and stickers)
• 8×8 Time to Flourish paper pad
• Reneabouquets
  • April in Paris One Doily
  • Ivy Vines
  • Suncatcher Teal Premium Dragonfly
  • Fall Mix Cinnamon and Sugar Roses
• Rust/Ivory/Gold Plaid Ribbon
• Embossing Powders
  • Seth Apter Taos Sunset
  • Ancient Amber Baked Textures (Seth Apter)
  • Emerald Creek Burnt Copper Leaves
  • Stampendous Shabby Ivory