Monday, December 21, 2015

Don't Block the Aisles

 I'm not handicapped, but this week I learned a little about how difficult it can be to get around if you have to rely on an assistive device....especially at this time of year.
As I mentioned in my previous blog post, I'm having mobility problems due to a suddenly bad knee.  I have been relying on crutches or a cane to get around in my home, and had not been able to get out Christmas shopping at all.  A friend thought I might do better with a walker, and lent me hers.  It took a lot of pressure off the bad knee, while likely strengthening my arm muscles at the same time.  Thankfully it also has a seat so I could sit to rest from time to time.

My dear hubby would drop me as close to the store door as he could, and bring the walker in with him once he was parked.  Some places like Walmart and some  Sears stores, provide benches where I could sit and wait.  Getting around inside the stores though, was where the challenge came in.  Many merchants put extra displays in the center of the aisles that you then have to maneuver around.  Frequently I found the remaining space too narrow to navigate and would have to find another route.  This meant I had to walk even further in my incapacitated condition.  I can tell you that if I couldn't get through those spaces with a walker, someone in a wheelchair would have had to wheel backwards, as there was likely no room to turn around.

 People  were another problem.  It's not that the stores were crowded.  Online shopping has solved that problem the past couple of years.  People stand in the narrowest part of an aisle and stare at the shelf.  I found I could come right up to them and apparently remain invisible.  If there was any room to pass I would excuse myself as I attempted to get by without running over them, and that would get them to move.  If there was no such space, it seems it wouldn't have mattered if I stood there all day.  I always had to find another route.

I found store clerks to be friendly and helpful though sometimes, in their eagerness to show me where to find something, they dashed off ahead of me at a speed that was impossible to keep up with. Luckily for me, my hubby could follow them while I tried to keep an eye on where they went without knocking things over while struggling to join them.

 I discovered that elevators exist in hidden corners, and are safer to use than escalators when operating wheeled devices.  On the two occasions I rode one I was lucky enough to get on first.  I'd move into the far corner and get turned around towards the front, to be ready to exit.  Then families with a stroller would join me in the suddenly too small space.  I was thankful there were not numerous floors or everyone might have had to get off first just so I could get out of there when it was my turn to exit.

In the crowded food court we finally found a table that a lady in a wheelchair, and her companion, were about to vacate.  The regular chair had been moved partially into the aisle on one side of the table while the lady had pulled her wheelchair in as close as she could at the other end.  while that narrowed two rows, it didn't totally block either. That gave me some idea of how to proceed.  The walker folds easily so I pulled it up beside me as I sat on a regular chair.  I narrowed only one aisle slightly, and made sure it was the one less traveled.

 It's all been a learning experience.   I will have much more empathy for the handicapped in the future, I'm sure.  Hopefully you will too now that I've pointed out a few things that we, as able bodied people, generally do with little or no thought.  If the merchants and the general public would at least keep the aisles passable, that would be a great help. Just sayin.....

Friday, December 11, 2015

Be Careful With Your Christmas Wishes


I'm the original Christmas Grinch.  Every year I grumble about how much work Christmas is, and often suggest we just forget the whole thing.  As the family matriarch, I feel the responsibility to make everyone else's Christmas merry and bright falls squarely on my shoulders.

Each year I send cards, do the shopping, the wrapping, the decorating, the baking, the cooking, the entertaining and the cleaning, both before and after the big event. It's often overwhelming.

It doesn't help that everyone on my Christmas list is male.  I can't go out and find guys some pretty, or frivolous thing they would never buy for themselves, but would be delighted to find under the tree.  That only works for females.  Guys are much harder to buy for.  If they do want, or need something, they will often go out and buy it themselves, even if it's just a week or two before Christmas. No wonder I cry "Bah Humbug" and wish to cancel Christmas most years.

This year I have a bad knee.  I've seen the doctor a couple of times, had the knee x-rayed, rested it, iced it and elevated it, but it continues to get worse.  It has effectively immobilized me at the busiest time of the year.  I have not been able to shop, bake, clean or decorate.  You would think my wish to cancel Christmas has finally been granted. The thing is, I have young grandchildren who will be here for Christmas this year....not just for presents and a meal, but overnight when Santa is supposed to visit.  I am going to have to depend on their Dad and Grandpa to buy things that will thrill them and make their Christmas happy.  I have been removed from the process and am feeling rather helpless.

Amazingly, not being able to do all the things I normally complain about is certainly not lessening the stress of Christmas for me.  This year there is nothing I want more than to be able to perform my usual duties and try to make the holiday special for everyone.  Sometimes you have to be careful what you wish for. As they say, Christmas will come, ready or not. I do hope it will miraculously be a merry one for everybody.  In the future I will try very hard never to grumble about Christmas again and always remember the year I got my wish not to have to be bothered with it.

Sunday, November 29, 2015

Give Kids the Gift of Imagination

When we were kids we made up games, constructed toys out of other things, created fantasy worlds, and sometimes we even had imaginary friends. Today's kids are so scheduled with such things as daycare, school, after school sports and other supervised activities that they have very little, or no time for creative play. When not being directed by adult in how to do something, they are often parked in front of some screen.

There is currently a Duracell Star Wars commercial in which their batteries are powering light sabers. A boy is fighting off storm troopers to save his sister.  Together they continue the fight. Storm troopers bite the dust ...or snow...as the kids take their light sabers to an inflatable snowman in the front yard.

During this commercial, of what I would see as normal childhood play, a message appears on the screen informing viewers that certain scenes are nothing more than a Fantasy Sequence.  Well, Duh!  Has it really become necessary to remind people that this is the natural way for children to play?  If so, I suggest everyone step back and leave the kids a few hours a day to just explore their world and rediscover their imaginations.  Without it we will have a whole generation incapable of inventing anything.  In a country where great minds have produced such things at insulin and electron microscopes, snow blowers and snowmobiles, electric ovens, electric wheelchairs and car heaters, Pablum , cardiac pacemakers and of course Canadarm, that would be devastating to our future growth.  Can you imagine how you would get along in the world today without the things others have invented through the years?

Child play produces creative children who learn how to solve problems. Creative children invent their world, and things to play with.  And sometimes, as adults, they invent useful things for the rest of us too. Duracell has just pointed out that perhaps some of today's adult population has forgotten that it's perfectly normal for children to enact fantasy sequences, and feels it necessary to label them as such. Surely we can tell the difference. Or perhaps the labels are meant for the children because they no longer have much experience with fantasy, and need to be told what is real and what isn't. Either way, I find that sad.

If you are wondering what to get your kids for Christmas this year, perhaps you should skip the electronics department. Find something they have to find a way to play with....even if you have to get down on the floor and do it with them. For instance, put together a train track with your boys, or have a tea party with your girls. Maybe you could get them books you could read to them, so their imagination fills in the blanks.  Put away your own electronics, and just play with the kids, even if you have to resort to old fashioned board games. They will love you for the time you spend with them, and someday they will remember the year you gave them their imagination for Christmas.


Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Art School Fair

This past weekend I attended the first ever Art School Fair in Ottawa. It was an art materials trade show, but it was great fun.  The vendors were from the manufacturers themselves, so they all knew their products well. They were able to demonstrate and answer questions, and in many cases you had the opportunity to try the products before making the decision to buy.  Some of the vendors even handed out samples.  What they were really good at was getting you inspired to try new things.

The admission price was just five dollars, which was waived if you signed up for one of the many courses available.  I didn't do that this year, mainly because the ones I was most interested in were fully booked by the time I found out about the show.  The event was a great success though, so I hope I can get in on at least one of the classes next year.

As this is the first year for the Art School Fair and because it went so well, hopefully they will find ways to expand it in coming years. I am very sure they will do it again, and I am also sure I will attend.

I certainly came home with more than my entrance fee in samples.  I got a PITT Artist Pen, some watercolour dip dots from Daniel Smith, a nice little bag with 6 products from Golden, plus a beautiful t-shirt I will be proud to wear. I also purchased a new journal in support of the Ottawa Art School for another $5.  It is divided into right brain and left brain sections. A quiz inside tells me I'm definitely Left Brained, which kind of confirms my theory that I'm not all that creative.

Did this trade show do it's job? Yes, indeed. I came out of there knowing about products I had never heard of before, and plans to try them.  I want a water soluble graphite pencil. More than that, I want some Daniel Smith Watercolours. They have granules in them that create interesting textural effects and I'm already dreaming up ways to use them.  I also am very interested in the Mixed Media products by Pébéo.  Yes, I'll go again next year, and every other chance I get.  Great show!

Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Witch Crash





 Wishing you all a happy Halloween season. 

 

Please watch out for excited children on the roads.

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

An Unintentional Collection

Recently our New Horizons group held what amounts to a Show and Tell. They asked the members to bring in samples of any collection they might have.  At first I didn't think I could take part in this event.  I don't collect anything.  At least, I didn't think I did.

As I looked around the house, I discovered that I have an unintentional collection.   I have gathered a few samples here to show you. These are not in their normal positions.

There are birds everywhere, but I never set out to collect them. I guess they just sort of followed me home. They are nesting on all manner of flat surfaces, and there are even some now on the walls and in my cupboards.

I guess it all started with one of those Blue Mountain swans. I got it as a retirement gift over 40 years ago.  I know that some of the others were things I picked up on vacations, as souvenirs.  I liked the look of them, and brought them home.
I even bought a corn husk duck at a  major craft show as a present for my hubby one year.  He had really liked it when he saw it, so I managed to sneak it home.





When the surfaces were full, a few birds even landed on my wall.











 I inherited my grandmother's milk glass chicken, and that started a new trend. When I was
learning to paint, I painted a chicken on a plate
for my kitchen wall. 
Then I thought a group of three would look nice above the window.  Other chickens began to roost in my kitchen, until now
I have a flock of ten.  A couple of them have even managed to invade my cupboard.


I told the group all this, an that I don't actually collect birds. Some of them later tried to tell me that I do.  But doesn't a collector actively search out and collect?  I'm certainly not searching for birds. I didn't actually even realize they were collecting here.  I have no intention of actually buying any more birds.

Oops.  Last weekend we went to the Westport Fall Colours Studio Tour.  Sharon Benson is a  Paverpol artist. That means she crafts sculptures using wire and tin foil, which she covers with t-shirts, and/or other material dipped in a stiffening agent (Paverpol) to create figures with realistic folds in their clothing. In the past I've mainly seen just people sculptures done in this way, but Sharon also does birds. There were cranes out in the front yard, that she says will withstand the weather all year round. It was the little bird inside the house that I found fascinating. She had used a lacy doily to craft it's wings. I had never seen that done before, and I thought it was a really clever idea. The price was very reasonable, and it was the only one there. I knew if I went home without it, I'd kick myself. So, I have added a new bird to my flock.  That's what I have you know.  It's a flock, not a collection.

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Be Cool about Cold Calls

I often hear people complaining about telemarketers. They don't want the product, but for some reason listen to the spiel.  Then they seem to try to justify why it is that they don't want to buy whatever is being offered at this time. That's two mistakes right off the bat.

In my youth was once a door to door sales person for a short time. Before being put on the street to deal with the public, I was trained in how not to take no for an answer. If you had an excuse for why you didn't want what I was offering you, you were just giving me more to work with.  I was not a scam artist, but apparently the company I was working for at the time was not a legitimate one. They cleaned out their offices and disappeared before I was able to collect my pay.

Telemarketers are today's door to door sales people. They get to call on a lot more people in less time because they never have to leave their chair.

There are a few things I'd like you to remember, when dealing with the telemarketers. Firstly, please remember, these are just people doing a job so they can eat.  I think you have to really need a job to accept one at a call centre. Where else could you work where you would be submitted to such abuse?

Secondly, since they always identify themselves, right off the bat, you know from that moment on whether you are interested in the product or  not. If you are not interested, just say so and hang up. These people are likely paid according to how many calls they complete, and like I said, they need the money. There is no need to be abusive, but there is also no need to listen to what they have to say when you don't want to.  I simply say, "I'm not interested, thanks," and then I hang up. I do not engage them in conversation, or offer any excuse as to why I don't want their product. If the same company calls more than once, ask to be taken off the call list.  By law. they must comply.

Thirdly, just remember that the phone is there for your convenience. If a call isn't convenient to you, don't bother answering it. If you do answer it, to make the darn thing stop ringing, quickly state that you aren't interested, and hang up!  There is no need to frustrate either yourself or the person on the other end. It's much easier to put a receiver down on it's cradle than it is to shut a door, especially if a salesperson has his foot in the doorway.

If  you must amuse yourself, ask a question. It's sometimes fun to throw them off their spiel, just to see if they know anything about the product other than what they are reading.  But really, there is no reason to be rude.  We all need to eat, and at least these people are doing their best to earn a living. For that, you should be grateful.











Wednesday, September 30, 2015

A Day on the Land

Last week we took a day to attend the International Plowing Match and Rural Expo just outside of Finch, Ontario.
We drove down some narrow back roads, and were directed to park in a large field. Then we hopped
on a hay wagon for the rest of the trip over to where the tent city had been set up.

This year's IPM took up 11000 acres of prime farm land in all.





One of the ways one could get around was to ride in a wagon being pulled by horses.  The site was set up in such a way that it had access road for that sort of transportation, so that people didn't have to get out of the way on the paths where the displays were.

There were lots of things to see like old vehicles,


new tractors,








animals






big and small and other displays.











 There was lots of farm machinery on display,







some of it was even being demonstrated. 






I found most of the interesting stuff was inside huge tents. 










But we walked all over the site and enjoyed the way things were decorated. 







We even stopped to see a square dancing tractor show.  Unfortunately we didn't time things right to see the rodeo, but we still had a great day.  We got lots of exercise and the weather could not have been better.

Next year the International Plowing Match will be held in Wellington County.


Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Finally Seeing the Light


In the Maritimes, lighthouses have helped to keep ships off the rocks for centuries.  Lights would warn the crew about rocks they might not have seen in the dark. Now, with a Global Positioning System (GPS), mariners know exactly where they are in all kinds of weather.  They no longer have to steer by the stars or try to figure out where they are by what lighthouse they see in the distance.  Unfortunately lighthouses are no longer needed and are being decommissioned.

For several years I have wanted to get back to Nova Scotia to do the lighthouse tour before they all vanish.  One year we got as far as New Brunswick, and ended up doing what I called the All Saints tour instead. (St Stephen, St Andrews, St George, St John, and St Martins), and another year we tried the American route, and enjoyed Vermont and New Hampshire and never did get to the coast.  We tend to head in a general direction, but if we end up discovering things along the way, that's fine. We are, after all, on vacation, and enjoying ourselves if more important than getting to a specific destination.  Last year I let the possibility of bad weather keep us from the east coast and we had a staycation instead.

This year, we did actually get to the Nova Scotia, and followed the Lighthouse Route along the South Shore.  Even though I had lived in NS as a child, I had a specific shape in my head as what a Canadian lighthouse looked like. We saw so many different varieties, I know now that there is no one shape, even in Nova Scotia.


Naturally, the people of Nova Scotia do not want to see their lighthouses disappear, so they are finding ways to preserve them. The Nova Scotia Lighthouse Preservation Society maintains a list of lighthouses on their website, including ones that are open to the public.

 I know we missed several, but here are the ones we saw:

 This is the Gilbert Cove Lighthouse.  It was also the home of the lighthouse keeper and his family. Now it's a museum.







The Cape Forchu Light Station was the most impressive site we visited. The apple core style lighthouse guards the entrance to Yarmouth harbour.  It was the last lighthouse in Nova Scotia to have a resident light keeper. It was also the first one to be taken over by a municipality. 









It has 19 acres of groomed grounds to explore.  It's so beautiful there I was inspired to paint. If you make to South Shore of Nova Scotia, don't miss this one.

We visited a Historical Acadian Village, and there was a little lighthouse there, tucked back among the trees. There were, admittedly, other things to be found there that I found more interesting. 






A lobster fisherman by the name of Olen, who works at the village during the summer, is a particular delight. We caught him demonstrating how to make gill nets by hand. He is full of interesting stories, and loves to share them.







 We visited Shag Harbour, the site of the famous UFO sighting, and found a red and white lighthouse there too.







Near Bridgewater we located the Fort Point Lighthouse Park.








Then we took some back roads to nowhere, and after a few false roads finally located another lighthouse in a very secluded area.  This one was more the iconic shape I expected to find throughout the province. 







And of course we cannot leave out the world famous lighthouse at Peggy's Cove.











On the way home, we stopped by one more on the opposite side of the province.  This one is known as  the 5 Island Lighthouse. It is situated on a 22-acre  park on the Bay of Fundy with panoramic view of the Five Islands, Minas Basin and remarkable tides. The style of this lighthouse is known as a  “Pepper Pot”.








In historic downtown Fredericton, we found another lighthouse along the St. John River. This one is known as the Lighthouse on the Green, and functions as a restaurant.



 We have always driven right past Fredericton, but this was our excuse to actually go downtown. There were other fascinating things to see in the same vicinity.



.....like the soldiers who do a little changing of the guard ceremony at city hall.










And finally, in Edmonston, we found what was more of a Blockhouse than a lighthouse, but it too stood on a rock overlooking the water.




It may have taken us years to finally do the lighthouse tour, and though there were still many we didn't see, we had a very enjoyable vacation.

Saturday, September 5, 2015

North Gower Farmer's Market

I can't believe that summer is almost over and we've hardly done any of our usual summer things. We made a point of heading to the North Gower Farmer's Market this morning. It's suppose to rain here tomorrow, so we wouldn't likely make it to the one closer to home.

One of the best reasons to go to the North Gower Farmer's Market is that you can get Frank's Buttermilk pies there.  Now, don't turn your nose up and try to tell me how much you hate buttermilk.  I wouldn't touch that stuff either, but in a pie, it's marvelously creamy and sweet. And to prove it, Frank offers samples.  One little bite will convince you to take one of these amazing treats home.

He sells plain ones, and I've had them with raspberries in them, but today we chose a blueberry one. It only costs $8.50 per pie.  You won't get a better deal for anything so delicious anywhere else. I guarantee it.

There are, of course other pies available, as well as tarts and other goodies.  I understand he also has a shop in Ottawa.

Hubby also made off with a great big date square as a morning treat. While I usually grab a butter tart (there are several varieties), today I couldn't resist a different vendor at the other end of the room that offered huge, and extremely delicious apple fritters. I can't show you those treats as we got into them before we got home, and I actually I forgot to take the camera with me. We likely shouldn't eat the buttermilk pie tonight, after pigging out early in the day, but I'm sure we won't be able to resist.

We brought home corn, and tomatoes too. This assortment of tomatoes cost me a total of $2.  I think that's pretty good as another booth was selling large single tomatoes for that much each. Apparently these are the last of the tomato crop, according to the lady I got them from.  That was rather shocking to hear. It really makes me sad for two reasons. It means the cold weather can't be far off, and it also means my own tomato crop was a total failure this year.  The plants stayed really small, and though they are now producing a few tomatoes, not even one has started to ripen yet.   I love garden fresh tomatoes, so I was really happy I got these today.

The trip was totally worth the effort and made for an enjoyable morning.


Saturday, August 29, 2015

An Artistic Endevour

Ten years ago Hurricane Katrina wreaked havoc on the Gulf states. Shortly afterwards lady I know went to New Orleans a help out. There was devastation everywhere. One morning she saw something that summed up her visit. In a tree she saw a large battered birds nest, and a magnolia bud. The magnolia bud promised hope and rebirth for the city while the nest, no longer in good shape, could be rebuilt. She took a photograph so that she would remember.

When she got home, and had the photo printed, what she had was the full tree, and it was hard to even pick out the two objects that had caught her eye. This past year she mentioned what she had seen to me, and said she was going to bring me the photo, to see if I could paint a clearer representation of what she had tried to capture.

Someone kindly cropped the picture for her, so that it showed just the nest and the bud in the tree, but she was still disappointed. Magnolias bloom before their leaves come out, but because there were other trees behind it that were fully leafed out, they created a rather cluttered background.  She brought me the cropped picture, and mentioned that maybe she might have had a better shot if she had taken the picture from the other side of the tree.

Now, I admit that I usually paint from a photograph, painting what I see.  It still amazes me that I actually agreed to see what I could do with this, when clearly I could not paint from the photo on this occasion. She assured me it was just the idea that she was after, and I took on the challenge.

First I did some searching on the internet for pictures of large nests and magnolia buds. I found several that looked like they would be of help to me. I set out to draw how I planned to fit things on the canvas. Originally I intended to do this painting in acrylic, as mistakes can be painted over, numerous times if necessary. I fully expected to need to do that.

In the beginning I still saw what was in the photograph, and pretty well laid the painting out the same way, though I exaggerated the size of the magnolia blossom.  I knew the painting would be pretty ugly if the magnolia blossom only took up a small portion of the canvas so I wasn't happy with that plan. Then I remembered her saying that she should have walked around to the other side of the tree.

In my mind, I started moving bit by bit, like I would if I were the one taking the photo. I didn't have to go to the other side of the tree. I just had to go far enough so that the magnolia was in front of nest.  Yes, that would work.  I had a new plan.  The magnolia bud was in a much better position to make the painting interesting.  The painting was no long horizontal with lots of unneeded space. I now had a vertical plan.

I tested the idea out in watercolour, just to see how it was going to look. Since I had a much clearer picture in my mind of what I wanted the finished painting to look like, I just kept going.

Today, ten years after the worst natural disaster in American history, they are still rebuilding. I thought it was the perfect time to deliver the painting to the kind lady who took the time to try to help out so many years ago.

Have you paid it forward lately?




Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Rideau Ferry Regatta

Last weekend we attended the Rideau Ferry Regatta once again. This time we took our youngest son and his two boys with us, and planned on a picnic lunch.

There was such a large turnout that we thought we were parking a long way from where we wanted to be, and the guys didn't want to lug the chairs and food all that way. We ended up having the picnic in the car before heading down to the waterfront to watch the races.  Then we discovered that there was actually a shortcut between the car and where we wanted to sit, so they went back for the chairs after all. 

Meanwhile, as I stood waiting, two men called to me.  One was from our village. I've known him a long time and he actually gave my son his first job when he was a teenager. The other was his brother-in-law, and had gone to school with my hubby and his brothers.  We sat with them and had a nice visit.

We were not there in time to see the cardboard boat race, but I did locate the one decorated by the children from my village.  It was in far better shape than some of the others.





My youngest grandson decided it was time for a swim.










But he had to get out of the water when the races were underway.










We had to explain to him that it is possible for powerboats to lose control during the races and that it's much safer to watch from dry land.








Kids will only be amused by intermittent races for just so long and then you have to find something else to interest them. We went to see what else was going on at the site.

We discovered that teams of four could pay $120 and build a canoe on Saturday and race it on Sunday.  All materials and instructions are provided. Several teams were busy with the construction while we were there.



Better than that, as far as the kids were concerned, was that they were allowed to build and decorate a boat of their own, for free. There were three varieties of boats to choose from: a tugboat, a sailboat, and a race boat. Well, we were at a boat race, so they both chose race boats and happily set out to each deck theirs out in their own way, along with several other kids doing the same thing.

This kind of work takes great concentration.









Someone was really happy to have been able to make a boat that day.












I really enjoyed my day with family, and I always enjoy this event.

Tuesday, August 11, 2015

My Apple Pie Tree

People laugh when I mention my apple pie tree.










Pies don't grow on trees, I'm told, but every year, this tree throws apples at me until I'm compelled to get busy creating pies and apple sauce for the coming winter.

Every morning I go out and pick up the windfalls. It used to be, if I didn't get out there quickly enough, the wasps, slugs, and ants would destroy them.  One year the crows got in on the action. They would peck at the apples in the tree, until they fell. Then instead of going down and working on their  harvest, they would just move over to another good apple and start pecking holes in that too.

This year, sadly, I have seen no wasps near the apples at all.  And no slugs either.  There have been a few ants, but not as many as I'd expect. Thankfully the crows have moved to another neighbourhood.  I think the squirrels have taken over the job of knocking the apples out of the tree.  I see scraping marks on the skin of many apples, like the skin was too slippery for their teeth to sink into.  Other apples are just chewed on one side, and sometimes even carried towards the trees that line the property.

My tree has not been sprayed in many years, so the apples are not the best. From each basket of usable apples









I get a big pile of peelings











and one pot of apples











that becomes one fabulous crustless apple pie.











While gathering that one basket of apples, I also pick up the rest of the unusable windfalls, which go to the local landfill compost site.

I have offered them to hunters for the deer, but it's too early yet.  Perhaps someone with horses would like them.

I have just baked the first pie of the season. Now I will begin my yearly ritual. I will be busy for an hour each day peeling and chopping another basket full. I will make pies to stack up in one corner of the freezer.

The apples are cooked in the pot until they are tender, but still holding their shape. If I leave them on the stove too long, then I have applesauce. That's fine too. 

One of the reasons I make crustless pies is that they take up so much less room in the freezer.  I just line the pie plate with plastic wrap, pour in the cooled filling, and secure the plastic over the top before popping it into the freezer.  Once frozen, the pies are removed from the pie plates and wrapped in foil. This allows me to keep them until the next crop arrives, if necessary.....which is a good thing since I seem to have a few leftover at this point.  I just put a crumble topping on and bake from the frozen state and they taste just like the fresh ones.

I could have, and probably should have been processing more apples instead of telling you about it.  I now have three baskets ahead of me, and still have not picked up the apples that dropped overnight. Most of the year this is just an apple tree. Right now, it's my apple pie tree, even if it does need some help from me.