Cold, rainy days in the fall used to be my favorite weather, but since I’ve got livestock to care for I am less inclined to enjoy rain.  This year especially!  A nice overcast (but DRY) day is still nice, when you can build a fire and drink tea and do some knitting or reading.

This week has been quite a mix of cold and overcast, and cold and downpours.  While going outside to feed the flock and check on everyone has been an exercise in misery and wetness, inside has been nice and cozy.

The fireplace saw its first use of the year, and we’ve been putting the apples to good use.

I’ve been peeling giant bowls full of them every day and throwing them in a giant pot with some fresh cider, plenty of cinnamon, brown sugar and cloves.

I let it cook slowly all day into a nice, dark, spicy applesauce.  I don’t can it, though, because at the very end I throw in a stick of butter.  It ends up tasting like pie.  The kids love it, and I can never keep enough of it ready!  When there does happen to be an excess, I freeze it.

Speaking of pie, there’s plenty of that going on as well.

It’s also the season for roasted chickens and homemade stock.  I like to keep a pot of that simmering all day when it’s crappy out.

And of the house isn’t full enough of wonderful aromas and things to tempt the tastebuds, why not whip up some butter cookies with frosting?

I got the crow cookie cutter from King Arthur Flour, which is, incidentally, where I got the cookie recipe from as well ( I used vanilla instead of the fiori di sicilia).

Add some frosting and sprinkles (black sugar sprinkles!) and they’re festive for Halloween!

I used some mini cookie cutters to make some plain Halloween cookies for snacking as well.

The weather might not be great, but the house smells of chicken stock, cinnamon, apple and butter cookies.  It’s warm by the fire and I’ve got some lovely yarn to play with.  Time to put on Hocus Pocus and settle in.