Applesauce

Has it really been a month since I last posted?!

I'm not sure how to write this without it sounding like a complaint. There's my disclaimer. Anyways, processed food is expensive here. Meat, fresh vegetables, fruit, eggs, milk are a good value. It's the snack food and mayonnaise that will kill you. Also included in price gouging is prepackaged fruit like diced peaches or applesauce. I've yet to find applesauce in a jar like the US, it usually comes in a small four pack - lunchbox size packs - for around $5.00. Like a few things here (Mexican food for one), I searched online looking for recipes for things I either can't find here, or are too expensive. So onto Allrecipes I went. My very favorite recipe site in the whole wide world. I found a few recipes for apple sauce, and all were surprisingly quick and simple. I have absolutely no idea where I got the idea that apple sauce was difficult and time consuming. But since then about once a week Mitch pulls out his Pampered Chef child's knife and we whip up a batch. In case anyone is inspired, here is the recipe we use http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Delicious-Apple-Sauce/Detail.aspx


First we cut the apples...


Then we add the water...


And finally the cinnamon... Perfection!

Beach Time

Here are some photos taken this week when Don and Mitch headed out to the beach for a few hours. The sand is a completely different color and consistency in the Upper Northern Beaches than the Southern beaches. It's a caramel color, and the grains are larger, almost like Kosher salt. As you can see, Mitch has discovered the joy of digging holes and sand tunnels. He likes to build castles, but digging seems to be the bomb for him.

Not sure how much of our news make it to the States, but there have been record breaking temperatures in Melbourne, South of Sydney. I think it was the equivalent of 114 on Friday, and they are predicting much of the same through this week. There were reports of people sleeping on the beach to avoid the heat.


We haven't had it so bad in Sydney. It's been hovering in the low to mid 90s and I'm hoping it doesn't get too much hotter. The weather seems to regulate itself here. It gets blistering hot, then usually rains for a day and cools it down for a few days or so until it gets blistering hot, then rains and starts the whole cycle again. I'm sure it has something to do with high or low pressure systems and condensation. I guess if I was a meteorologist, I'd have a better idea of what was going on, and be able to explain it much more eloquently. I guess that's what WeatherBug is for.