Sourdough Bake

Since I am off work I am baking bread. (-:

I did get yard work in yesterday.

Lots of leaves had to be raked, blown and picked up.

That was a work out! 

Today the Princess is coming over I think.

I still have 6 days left of vacation time!

Hope you are having a great day!

Jumping Bean

 We got the kids a jumping house for Christmas. It is a great fun thing.

The Princess came over for the day so she brought it with her to play on.

It goes up in 5 minutes and down in 10 with two adults helping.

It comes with a big bag to store the jump house in.

It is a really great, fun way to get exercise.

The Princess was worn out after 30 minutes of jumping and we put it away.

So fun and easy to use.

I would recommend.

We will see how it goes as the time goes by.

Right now though, it is a hit!

Baked Goodies

 Since I have been off work I have been baking.

Second sourdough

I would say I have figured out how to do sourdough bread finally after 5 years.

Wow has it really been 5 years since I took that first online course?

It can't be. But it is. Wow! Well it was a long process of practicing until I figured out what I did wrong.

One thing I will say for anyone interested in making sourdough is this... YOU HAVE TO FEED YOUR SOURDOUGH STARTER TWICE A DAY. That means starting over twice a day. Measure out the sourdough starter add water add flour mix and let sit till the next feeding. You can save the remaining starter to use for baking or throw out.

But.... don't try to just feed your starter once a day. It won't be strong enough to rise the bread dough.

Believe me. I have tried.  I hate throwing things away, but with the starter it is important to follow the steps every time.

 The starter I use is

200 grams of starter

95 grams of water

105 grams of bread flour.

If you are making the sourdough starter for the first time then you won't have a starter unless you get some from a friend.

You can start with just flour and water.

But, ask a friend for some. As I said they will be tossing out a lot everyday.  I'm sure you can get some from someone!

I could send you some even!

It is seriously a commitment. People actually name their starters. Mine does not have a name yet.

But they are like a pet. You feed them everyday and watch them grow.

It is a lot of fun really.

The big pay off though, is when you make a loaf of your very own sourdough bread and bite into that first piece. Then you bake loaves for friends. It is so fun to see peoples faces when you share a loaf with them. They will be so impressed. 👀

Then they will ask for more and you can share your recipe with them and a some of your starter so they can start making their own!

Funny story....I had a lets call her an acquaintance, that kept asking for a loaf of bread. I said well when I figure out how to do it right I will let you know so you can make some too. She asked how I made it and I told her. She said forget it!  She just wanted the finished product.

A Little Red Hen type story.

Anyhow, yes it is a long process, but it is worth it.

Sure you can run to the store and buy it. Sourdough is everywhere. But when you make it from scratch, literally, it means so much more.

 

I also made Potica

Potica is Polish nut bread.

My Mom made it every year for Christmas/Easter etc.

I usually make it several times a year. Everyone loves it.

 

Merry Christmas

 

Snail Shells

 On Sunday we were at the creek and we saw hundreds of empty snail shells.

I thought it was pretty interesting.

We had a big rain last week and water started running in the creek.

Before that it was basically dry.

I guess the snails all dried up during the summer.

I might go back today and get a better picture. They were all over along the shore in one spot.

It's Vacay Time!

First I have to share my new baby  peperomia frost.

A leaf fell off and it rooted in water within a month. Not bad right?

I wish my watermelon peperomia would grow that fast.

Not sure why its the slowest growing plant I have.

The house plant thing has been really fun.

I have enjoyed collecting different varieties of plants.

This one I had to have too. It is a lemon philodendron.

It is so pretty and yellow. 

 

School is out for 15 days. 

Yippee! 

I am so excited to stay home and do nothing.

Yesterday I watched Christmas movies all day.

Today the Princess is coming over.

I am sure we will be outside doing whatever interests us.

The sun is shining! It will be a fun day no doubt!

Maybe a trip to the creek. Our last rain brought some water to the creek so it might be fun to go see what is new there!

I hope you have a great day too!

The Princess Turns 7!

 Today is a very special day.

Grandpa(Tapa) and the Princess

The Princess is 7! Oh the years have gone so fast. So many many memories to fill my head.

I love her more everyday. We are having a family party today at 12. I can't wait to see her.

When she was born she was itty bitty. 

She had to stay in the Nicu for two weeks. I went everyday to see her. You were only allowed to stay for a few minutes for a feeding. It broke my heart. I could only hold her for a couple of minutes during that time.

She was there on Christmas that year.

Even when she got to go home because she was a preemie we were not allowed to hold her. Only for feedings and put her back down.

I never understood that at all. I wonder why they wanted that.

I would never put her down if I had my way(-:

After my daughter went back to work and I babysat everyday I held her all the time.(-;

Anyhow, today is a big day and I am very proud of the Princess for how far she has come.

First gift already this morning.(-:

I think she has had a good start to her day so far...(-;

It was a fun day.

We even had a pin the horn on the unicorn in the barn!

Of course she won since there were no other kids.

But she had to play several times.

She mastered that game.

 

The cake was yummmyyyy Baskin Robbins icecream cake!

There were unicorn decorations I got from Party City.

Her Brother had to join in on the pictures of course!

The Princess stayed with us for the day and later we loaded up all the pumpkins and had our annual pumpkin drop off the bridge.

There was immense laughter by all.

The video is in slow motion. The laughter sounds like dinosaurs. ROTFL

After the fun pumpkin drop we searched the creek for more polliwogs. We found a ton more in one of the remaining puddles of the creek! Of course she had to catch several to bring home.

It was a wonderful day even if there were not a house full of children.

Sometimes a quiet family day is all you need to have a great birthday!!!

I look forward to many more fun adventures with the Princess! I love her so much!

Meet Shirley Partridge

 Shirley came to live with me recently. 

I added a crown and a repurposed rhinestone necklace.

I named her Shirley because, well she is a partridge. What other name could she possibly have?

Do you remember The t.v. show The Partridge Family?

If you don't know who the Partridge family is, it was  a 70's family show.  They were musicians and had their own band called the Partridge Family. 

It was one of my favorite childhood shows.

 I may have had a couple posters of David Cassidy hanging in my bedroom. 😁

Anyhow, when I saw this Partridge at a local antique store last month, I loved her. Not only for Christmas, but for every day. Doesn't she have a sweet face?

I am slowly getting ready for Christmas. I got the tree up yesterday and the decorations out.  It sure doesn't feel like Christmas this year. 

I am looking forward to having two weeks off from school though.  So far our school has only had three kids get the virus. They have recovered, and are back at school.