Help! My hands are turning purple!

Day two of vacation. If you've stopped here at the Other Side frequently you know that I enjoy tramping around in our neighborhood arboretum chasing deer, butterflies, and bees. Last year I joined the "Friends of" group that helps support the arboretum. They have two annual fundraisers, a Maple Syrup Festival in February and an Apple Butter Festival in October. There was a call for volunteers to help peel apples October 14 in the newsletter, and so, with the day off, I thought it was time I gave back.

It was actually great fun. Eventually eight women were peeling and coring and slicing around a table. The menfolk were out by the fire, stirring the big copper pot. Four groups of school children passed through, and each stopped by our station, watched the process, and received an "apple smile".

The kids then went outside, taking with them a bucket of peels and cores. These went into a pile that would be snacks for . . . deer and bees. The cycle completed.

Except now, how to I get my hands back to a natural color? They had mentioned that sometimes hands get discolored from the apple juice. And how do I do it fast enough so I look decent for the scrapbook crop tonight? Yikes!