SOUR DOUGH BREAD

I used to make sour dough bread every week.  Since my handyman husband doesn't care for sour dough bread for toast in the mornings and rarely eats sandwiches that left the majority of the bread for me to eat by myself.  I decided that I would eat less bread if I just didn't make it and it would also make less work for me.  I have learned over the past months that I miss having the fresh bread around to share with others when they are under the weather, have lost a loved one, or are just going thru a difficult time.  So, last week I started another batch of starter.  I mixed up the potato flakes, sugar, yeast and warm water....it bubbled just a little at first then died! I mixed up another batch with the same results.  I finally decided that, even though it was still in date, my yeast was not being as active as it needed to be.  I bought more yeast and mixed up, yet another, batch of starter.  When I stirred it, I found that most of the yeast was stuck to the bottom of the jar so I added a little more.  I left the kitchen for about an hour and when I came back I found the quart jar, with only 1 cup of water and the few dry ingredients, had overflowed onto the counter!!  Since I lost some of the liquid, I went ahead and added a little warm water to it and let it work....on the 4th day (you're supposed to wait until the 5th day) I thought it looked hungry so I went ahead and fed it.  It bubbled up just like it was supposed to.  YEAH

Yesterday afternoon I mixed up just enough dough for 1 loaf of bread, put it in a tupperware bowl and locked down the lid.  About and hour later I heard a loud POP!  I knew what it was the bread was working and expelled enough gas to pop the lid off of the tupperware.  That's a good sign!!  I let it rise until bedtime and then punched it down and put the dough into bread pans.  I used to get 1 medium size loaf, but since it was rising so well, I took a little dough out and made a mini loaf too.
I put the pans in the oven with the light on over night to rise and then baked them first thing this morning.

They look kind of weird!!  I'm going to knead the dough a little more next time as they didn't turn out smooth like they used to. Every new batch of starter makes the bread turn out different so there is a little adjustment period each time you start over.  Glad I only made a recipe for 1 loaf and hadn't planned on giving away any this time.  Hopefully the next loaf will look better!! (Note:  this loaf was a little too salty--I bought some new measuring spoons and it had a 1/2 Tablespoon which I used for the first time.  I think I'll go back to using a teaspoon + 1/2 teaspoon).  Now to get my feeding schedule worked out for the starter. 

SUPER BOWL SUNDAY

We've never been big Super Bowl watchers.  Actually, we've never been into TV sports much at all.  I watched more sports when I was at home with my brother than I have since I've been married.  So most years we've just ignored the fact that it was Super Bowl Sunday.
This year I decided to make a mini-junk food feast in honor of the day.  The menu included mini meatballs (1/2 lb of meatballs), sausage balls (1/2 recipe),  nacho chips with salsa and cheese/Rotel dip, and a few ham sliders.  Even with the smaller amounts, we only ate about half of what I prepared. 
And did we finally watch the big game?  No!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS 2013

Loved having family here to celebrate Christmas a little early!!
Wish I had some pictures of Holly and Randy.  

SPRINGTIME AT OUR HOUSE!

Now that I'm retired I've been trying to spend a little more time working in my yard and garden.  I've made some headway getting rid of weeds and grass, but I've still got a long way to go. I'm so lucky to have a nice yard and garden.  We just don't enjoy it as much as we should.

These are from the back yard...

I love this fountain because there isn't standing water for a child or animal to fall into.

My swing gives a nice backdrop to the whole yard.

 

Randy built me a simple window box that always looks nice with the impatiens.

He also built a house for the birdies!  The roof got dented a few years back when a limb fell on it and it's needing another coat of paint.  The Christmas wreath has been hanging over the "doorway" for a couple of years.  We've just never taken it down.

Ferns are one of my favorites but it's hard to keep enough moisture on them once it turns really hot.

 Here are some shots from the front....

The wicker chair was bought with Christmas money from my brother, Terry, back before we had the girls.  I can blame my having a concrete goose on my Aunt Elsie & Aunt Bobbie.  They got mother started and then I had to have one too.  Her outfits were getting a little faded so I got a few more made this spring;

 

 This hosta looks great right now, but soon the hot summer will take it's toll.  I plan to eventually move this one to the cabin where we have more shade.

 Daylilies, one of my favorite flowers.

They are so "springy."

 This morning I found this squirrel in my birdfeeder.

I haven't been able to figure out how to get this picture turned a quarter turn, but I love that I got his face in this one.  So just turn your head a little and enjoy!!

At The Cabin

Randy & I headed over to the cabin last week to spend a few days.  The weather was fabulous with cool evenings and warm days.  The lake is up since we've had lots of rain. As you can see the creek is pretty good size right now.

We went to The Berry Patch out past Austin and picked up a few flowers for the cabin.  I added red geraniums to the pots of ivy to give them a little color.

I filled the hummingbird feeder, but didn't see any little hummers around.  Hopefully they've found it by now.

I'd like to have a fern for the cabin, but in the past I've had trouble keeping one watered while we're not there.  If you have any ideas, please share.  We do have some wild fern growing down on the hillside.

I Lost My Shadow Today

Today has been one of the hardest days of my life.  Anyone who has never had a pet would not understand, but if you've had that indoor cat or dog that was a part of your life you would.
Toby has been with us since January 2000.  He was just 8 weeks old when we got him.  He was just a little black furball.

Toby loved going camping with Randy and me. Here he is in our old camper.

We were a little worried when the grandkids came along because he'd never been around kids before.
There was no need to worry.  First up was Katie....

 

 Next came Gabby....we didn't get to see her quite so often since they were in Kansas but she loved Toby too when they got to come visit.

                                         Next was Nate...Can you tell the love was mutual?

Toby was included in pictures with me and the whole crew.

Toby doggy.....you will be greatly missed!!!

October 31, 1999 - April 11, 2013

Spring has NOT arrived!

Even though I posted over a month ago that spring was trying to arrive early, it did not!!! And now it's truly spring, but still feels like winter.  Not only is it cold, but they are predicting snow tonight and tomorrow!!  booooo!  Come on spring!!