Crab apples and stuff

The crab apples are cooked and the juice is dripping from the pulp in the jelly straining bag on the counter.  The last time I looked, the stream had slowed and we had just over a litre of juice.  I'll leave it overnight and boil it up with sugar to make the jelly in the morning.  I love crab apple jelly so I am quite excited about it!  The only downside is that you can have a huge heap of apples, and it doesn't make that much jelly...

I didn't get the apple chutney made as I was busy with other things.  I had a once-in-a-decade cleaning of my shower - yes, that is disgusting, I know, as it means that I have never cleaned it quite this thoroughly before!  Sorry - this was extremely thorough and involved taking the doors off, and bringing them downstairs to really attack them.  I cleaned the soap and limescale off the doors and screens with a very frugal cleaning stuff - malt vinegar!  It did a really grand job.  The shower looks very clean now, but it did take me the best part of two hours.......

In the middle of it all, I dashed off to pick up the girls because their bus broke down.  Not helpful but not to worry - it is a good service and gets them there and home again 99% of the school days each year.

I have also done more washing today, but I hung it out under the verandah as we have had huge black clouds looming here more than once today.  Most of it is dry now.  The washing I have done today, and at the weekend, has been done with a new Ariel liquitab that I was sent by the BzzAgent people.  It is fine, and smells great, but I wouldn't actually buy it myself.  They gave us enough for 11 washes, but I checked it out in the supermarkets.  A box of 19 was £3.50 in Sainsbury's but £4.50 in Tesco.  Strangely, a box of 38 in Sainsbury's leaps up to £12+ which is very strange and not at all sensible.  I'll stick with my big blue boxes of Persil - I am monitoring it and I do have about a year's supply stashed away at £6 a box - and that does me more than 50 washes.  I shall be mentioning the price when I give them feedback.