It’s been chilly this week in Cork, and we even had a bit of snow. Not enough to cause problems but just enough to turn this little city into a wonderland. I grabbed my camera and managed to get a few shots of it swirling ’round. Once it stopped we went out for a whiskey, which was the perfect way to enjoy a quiet evening amid the soft snowfall. About an inch fell in total and it recorded the staggering footsteps of a man on his way home from the pub, and the scuffs of a few snowballs being made on the walk home from school!

2015 will be my third year living abroad. I’ve made no resolutions, other than to keep on this path. Cork city has a lot going on, and this has been an easy move. I’m delighted to be so at home living in Ireland. Although, we’ve still got a ways to go before our cottage is as homey as I would like! The walls are still a bit bare and I’ve been searching offhand for a new poster. Well I found some winners on Behance: the poster series Ireland In Depth has recently been designed by a Brittany Fabello of Boston, MA – she combines the lure of a vintage travel poster with ironic countryside scenes to delightful effect. As I’m experiencing Ireland in Depth myself already, maybe I should hunt down a California travel poster instead?

Otherwise, I’ve finally done something with load of apples I picked back in September. We got four bushels of apples in Wicklow and would you believe they’ve been just fine in the cold room? I’ve been eating away at them but that has hardly made a dent and a lot of them are getting soft. So this week I made applesauce. I’ve never peeled so many apples before!! It’s so easy I shouldn’t give instructions but there were a lot of recipes out there that called for sugar and cinnamon when all you really want is apple.

Applesauce or Stewed Apples

1. Peel and core your apples. I recommend tart country apples- mine were of indeterminate variety but not too maggoty. If they taste good off the tree, they’ll make good applesauce!

2. Stew the apple slices in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium-low heat. For every 6 cups of apples pieces, I would recommend adding a half cup of cold water. Leave them covered to cook for 15 minutes, or until they are soft and fall apart when you stir the pot.

That’s it!