Projects are going. I like Winter time. It gives us time for those indoor projects that just don't get done in the Summer. I have a crochet project, a knitting project, sewing projects, a rag rug project, and my spinning projects going. My only problem is deciding which to work on at what time. I've finished 2 knitting projects and yesterday I did a quick crochet project for Bear. He had spun some yarn so I made him a little bag out of the yarn he'd made. He'd done up about 10 yards or so. It made a great little bag. It fits a car or makes a good troll sleeping bag. It would also fit a cell phone but he isn't interested in using it for such things yet. Thank goodness.
I have stocking projects for the kids. The basics are done but now I need to do the decorations and names on the stockings. I've told Bear I need to send the stockings to Santa so he can finish them. ;) I don't know how far I'll get with all my projects. I'd actually like to add more projects but I feel like I need to finish a few before I add any.
In thinking about Christmas I'm realizing part of my reluctance to decorate is a lack of Christmas-like weather. It has been so warm. We are still getting into the 60s during the day and some nights we are barely freezing. No snow either. Not that it would stick around with those temperatures. It is a bit hard to think Christmas when I don't even need a jacket to be outside.
And last but not least. We aren't moving as soon as we might have. Yet another deal has fallen apart. We are pretty bummed about this one but we knew it was a long shot. The place wasn't even officially for sale after all. So we are house hunting again. Actually I think another offer is going in today. We are low-balling a place we've been interested in but it is priced pretty high. It is worth throwing it out there. Who knows? Maybe this one will work. We shall see.
Kiddo update: Mia is talking like crazy. I don't know about her. Most 2 year olds say 2 word sentences. Not her. She comes in and says things like, "What they doing Momma?" And the really surprising part is that a lot of strangers can understand a lot of the words she says. That doesn't usually happen until about age 3. She is developing very normally in all aspects otherwise. Just an early talker.
Bear is growing like crazy. He's been eating me out of house and home and I'm seeing lots of clothing getting too small all of a sudden. I think as a family we've been going through about 10-12 apples every 3 days or so. I don't remember the last apple I ate and Mia takes about 2 days per apple. Bear on the other hand will eat between 2 and 5 apples in a day. That is on top of both kids eating about 2 bananas a day and any other fruit I bring home. All of the fruit is generally either breakfast or snacks. They are both still eating full lunches and dinners without batting an eye. We need an apple tree. Or 3.
I just checked pjs on Bear. He has a 5T shirt on and it looks like it is a 3T. I guess he has moved into the 6T. All of a sudden. He has kinda skipped the 5T size. He was there for about a month. Whereas he's been wearing his 4T stuff for about a year. Guess we're done with that plateau in growth. Oh and basics on weight and height. Bear is somewhere between 50-55 pounds and I'm guessing in the neighborhood of 48 inches tall. Mia is about 30 pounds and about 35 inches tall. They aren't babies anymore.
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Moving? Not Moving?
Aaaaaaaa!!! It never seems to end with house hunting. So frustrating that we can't seem to get on the same page with sellers. And/or our realtor. I'm not sure which it is. This one area we've been looking is so nice and has had acreage but we can't seem to get a place there. Maybe we just aren't meant to live there. I don't know. What I do know is that I'm frustrated with house hunting. I remember this about buying a place in Montana too. I get so dang sick of realtors and looking at houses. I know I am not a typical real estate buyer. I like older houses that have character. I know lots of people like the newer box houses and seem to like to be crammed in with everyone else. I want some elbow room and a house with character. For some odd reason those things are hard to come by. I love a true Craftsmen style home with all the wood work and hardwood floors. Unfortunately those are hard to come by out in the country.
So basically it boils down to we still have no idea what we are doing. Our offers on places have been pretty well turned down. Our landlords/realtors want us out but don't seem to be working too hard to make that happen. So they must not want it that badly. Their problem not ours I guess. Off to see what we can do to remedy the frustration...
So basically it boils down to we still have no idea what we are doing. Our offers on places have been pretty well turned down. Our landlords/realtors want us out but don't seem to be working too hard to make that happen. So they must not want it that badly. Their problem not ours I guess. Off to see what we can do to remedy the frustration...
Monday, November 26, 2012
Christmas is coming!!
Now that Thanksgiving is done we can truly start on the Christmas holiday. Now that we have kids I love Christmas. Before it just didn't seem to be something to get too excited about. Now that the kids are here it is fun to make it a magical season for them. I'm a little nervous about this season though. We don't know if we are moving or not so I'm not too keen on going all out to decorate the house. At the same time if we aren't moving I want the place decorated. We'll do little things like getting candles, and a wreath, and a tree. I might do a little live tree so it is easier to move though. Also, we'll hopefully be travelling for the holidays. A crazy time.
I do have Christmas cards to get done too. I'm hopefully making a lot of our Christmas this year. Note I say hopefully. I know that a lot of it may not get done with all the other stuff we have going. I'm okay with that. I'll do what I can and not worry about the rest. :)
Funny Mia story: She calls Santa, Christmas. They were watching an old Christmas show and Santa was singing. She kept saying, "Kissmiss sing." Also, we watched the movie Brave the other night. We thought the bears might be scary to Mia. Nope. She thought they were funny. She's gonna be quite the little thrill seeker I think. Bear seems to be my cautious kid and Mia just kinda dives in. And yet she's the one that right now even a piece of dog hair can freak her out. She thinks it's a spider. Funny how different two kids can be.
Today is back to school for Bear. A little over three more weeks and then it will be Christmas break. Tom gets done a week earlier than Bear does. Hopefully they will be able to be helping move. We shall see...
I do have Christmas cards to get done too. I'm hopefully making a lot of our Christmas this year. Note I say hopefully. I know that a lot of it may not get done with all the other stuff we have going. I'm okay with that. I'll do what I can and not worry about the rest. :)
Funny Mia story: She calls Santa, Christmas. They were watching an old Christmas show and Santa was singing. She kept saying, "Kissmiss sing." Also, we watched the movie Brave the other night. We thought the bears might be scary to Mia. Nope. She thought they were funny. She's gonna be quite the little thrill seeker I think. Bear seems to be my cautious kid and Mia just kinda dives in. And yet she's the one that right now even a piece of dog hair can freak her out. She thinks it's a spider. Funny how different two kids can be.
Today is back to school for Bear. A little over three more weeks and then it will be Christmas break. Tom gets done a week earlier than Bear does. Hopefully they will be able to be helping move. We shall see...
Saturday, November 24, 2012
The kids and I went and toured a CSA (community supported agriculture) farm yesterday. A friend of mine has shares and set up a tour. I didn't get any pictures. Well, I take that back I took a couple but only a couple. I got into checking out the piglets, the huge greenhouse and watching the kids play in the rock piles, the wood piles, the sand, with the barn cats, and climbing over downed trees. It was so nice to see the kids get to run around free.
It made me realize how little we get outside at our rental. It sure will be nice to get our place where the kids can run around out and about. They love to be outside and it will be wonderful to let them go. In looking around at the farm though it was pretty neat and gave me some ideas for our farm. I don't think I want anything as large as they have. In the neighborhood of 70 acres. That seems a bit much for what Tom and I want to do. We want to be able to have a couple of animals but neither of us really want 70 acres to patrol weeds on.
That's one problem but some of the ideas I came away with were having a coffee shop (this area sure isn't the Northwest, it has a serious lack of coffee shops), wool shop of some sort, and a bed and breakfast type place. Something else I thought of while walking around was to follow the lead of some other successful people I've seen and appeal to women and to keep the place neat, clean, attractive, and add a bit of girly to it. It seems that a lot of folks seem to forget the appeal of marketing. I know farming is a lot of work and I know these particular people are re-vamping her mother's old farm. But... if you are going to have a business, attract customers, and make it successful it seems to me that you would like to have the place nice and neat. I know this can be a lot easier said than done. It is that way with a house too but there are lots of people around that do it and there are many more that seem to forget sometimes taking a bit of pride in what you do makes an impression.
It made me realize how little we get outside at our rental. It sure will be nice to get our place where the kids can run around out and about. They love to be outside and it will be wonderful to let them go. In looking around at the farm though it was pretty neat and gave me some ideas for our farm. I don't think I want anything as large as they have. In the neighborhood of 70 acres. That seems a bit much for what Tom and I want to do. We want to be able to have a couple of animals but neither of us really want 70 acres to patrol weeds on.
That's one problem but some of the ideas I came away with were having a coffee shop (this area sure isn't the Northwest, it has a serious lack of coffee shops), wool shop of some sort, and a bed and breakfast type place. Something else I thought of while walking around was to follow the lead of some other successful people I've seen and appeal to women and to keep the place neat, clean, attractive, and add a bit of girly to it. It seems that a lot of folks seem to forget the appeal of marketing. I know farming is a lot of work and I know these particular people are re-vamping her mother's old farm. But... if you are going to have a business, attract customers, and make it successful it seems to me that you would like to have the place nice and neat. I know this can be a lot easier said than done. It is that way with a house too but there are lots of people around that do it and there are many more that seem to forget sometimes taking a bit of pride in what you do makes an impression.
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Uf-da
Well, I'm doing it. I'm finally getting off my duff and getting in gear. Boy am I out of shape! I knew it was getting bad but geez. But maybe I'll finally lose some of this baby weight I put on with Bear and never did get rid of. The worst was after having the kids for me. With working full time and getting up at all hours with kiddos I had no motivation to do anything in the way of working out. Now that I'm not working I have no excuse but still haven't had any motivation.
I found it somewhere finally though. I think mostly I'm just sick of feeling like a slug. I don't mind being a little on the heavier side. After all I do love to eat good food. But this has gotten ridiculous. So, I'm off to see what kind of a changes I can make. I don't want this to be one of those things where I go for a week and then give up. I'd like to make the changes for good. I want to be a good example for the kids. I want to be able to enjoy good food without it all settling on the hips.
I'm sure this sounds like many other folks. I think that has been a lot of my resistance to the whole exercise thing. I've always worked jobs where there was a lot of physical labor involved so I never really worried about it. I also don't like working out with other people so gyms are not appealing. I wonder why that is? I never had a problem playing team sports in high school so I don't know when that happened. Oh well.
At any rate, this is my way of somehow hoping to hold myself a little bit accountable. If I tell everyone about it here then I have to do something about it and stick to it. Besides those that know me personally and see me next time will expect to see a change if I proclaim it on here. :)
Well, kiddos are demanding attention so I'd better get.
I found it somewhere finally though. I think mostly I'm just sick of feeling like a slug. I don't mind being a little on the heavier side. After all I do love to eat good food. But this has gotten ridiculous. So, I'm off to see what kind of a changes I can make. I don't want this to be one of those things where I go for a week and then give up. I'd like to make the changes for good. I want to be a good example for the kids. I want to be able to enjoy good food without it all settling on the hips.
I'm sure this sounds like many other folks. I think that has been a lot of my resistance to the whole exercise thing. I've always worked jobs where there was a lot of physical labor involved so I never really worried about it. I also don't like working out with other people so gyms are not appealing. I wonder why that is? I never had a problem playing team sports in high school so I don't know when that happened. Oh well.
At any rate, this is my way of somehow hoping to hold myself a little bit accountable. If I tell everyone about it here then I have to do something about it and stick to it. Besides those that know me personally and see me next time will expect to see a change if I proclaim it on here. :)
Well, kiddos are demanding attention so I'd better get.
Monday, November 19, 2012
Lots running through my mind.
Hoping to hear something on the house today. *sigh* I just wish we knew at this point. Do I pack like a mad woman or do we keep looking for houses? It would be so much easier if I knew. I really don't like the limbo stage. It seems like I've been living in a perpetual state of limbo the last several months.
At least I was able to get some baking done this weekend. I made a big batch of bread and I made graham crackers. The kids love homemade graham crackers. Bread is so much cheaper to make too. I guesstimate that it costs me around $3 to make a batch of bread. If I buy it at the store I get one loaf for that. With the recipe I use I get 2 loaves, and at least 2 dozen rolls and usually closer to 3 dozen. This round I got the 2 loaves, a dozen smaller dinner rolls, 6 large sandwich rolls, and probably 6 bigger dinner rolls or you could call them small sandwich rolls. What I figure to be around $12 worth of bread (more if you get the good wheat stuff) I made for around $3. Yep, a bit cheaper to make your own. I haven't priced out the graham crackers. I don't know if it is really a savings there but I figure if I already have all the ingredients and don't have to spend any extra then it is a savings in time running to the store if nothing else.
The best part of this weekend was Tom helped me with the massive clean-up that needed to happen. I've just not been motivated to do much around here. It is hard to motivate oneself when you don't like where you are at. By that I mean I can't stand our rental. It is much better than when we moved in but it is still not a very nice place. We are making the best of it but there is only so much you can do when you don't own the place and your landlord/property manager is so-so.
At least I'm all ready for Thanksgiving. I have my turkey ready and I have a batch of rolls frozen and ready to go. I have some potatoes and the sweet potato casserole to make but the work is cut down by not having to bake bread that day.
Oh boy... My kids have decided to be crazy naked kids. I'd better go round up the chaos. :)
At least I was able to get some baking done this weekend. I made a big batch of bread and I made graham crackers. The kids love homemade graham crackers. Bread is so much cheaper to make too. I guesstimate that it costs me around $3 to make a batch of bread. If I buy it at the store I get one loaf for that. With the recipe I use I get 2 loaves, and at least 2 dozen rolls and usually closer to 3 dozen. This round I got the 2 loaves, a dozen smaller dinner rolls, 6 large sandwich rolls, and probably 6 bigger dinner rolls or you could call them small sandwich rolls. What I figure to be around $12 worth of bread (more if you get the good wheat stuff) I made for around $3. Yep, a bit cheaper to make your own. I haven't priced out the graham crackers. I don't know if it is really a savings there but I figure if I already have all the ingredients and don't have to spend any extra then it is a savings in time running to the store if nothing else.
The best part of this weekend was Tom helped me with the massive clean-up that needed to happen. I've just not been motivated to do much around here. It is hard to motivate oneself when you don't like where you are at. By that I mean I can't stand our rental. It is much better than when we moved in but it is still not a very nice place. We are making the best of it but there is only so much you can do when you don't own the place and your landlord/property manager is so-so.
At least I'm all ready for Thanksgiving. I have my turkey ready and I have a batch of rolls frozen and ready to go. I have some potatoes and the sweet potato casserole to make but the work is cut down by not having to bake bread that day.
Oh boy... My kids have decided to be crazy naked kids. I'd better go round up the chaos. :)
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Oh dear.
The kids must be growing. Since getting up Barrett has had two apples, a bowl of oatmeal, a bowl of cereal, and a sandwich. Now he is eating lunch at school. Mia is right there with him. Although I think she only made it part way through one apple and she let Barrett eat most of her oatmeal. I'm in trouble. Last night/afternoon Bear had several apples then two helpings of dinner and ice cream for dessert. He's only 4! Plus he is sleeping a lot. I can tell when he is growing because he won't stop eating unless it is long enough to ask me what else he can eat and he sleeps a ton. I really am doomed once he gets to be a teenager. If this is what he does at four oh my! I'd better seriously tune up my gardening and cooking skills because I am going to need them.
I'm beginning to wonder if I'm going to have enough to eat tonight for dinner.
So besides my kids eating like bottomless monsters we are just waiting to hear about the place we have an offer in on. I really just want to know if we need to keep looking or if we need to get packing. I don't like that feeling of limbo.
I'm beginning to wonder if I'm going to have enough to eat tonight for dinner.
So besides my kids eating like bottomless monsters we are just waiting to hear about the place we have an offer in on. I really just want to know if we need to keep looking or if we need to get packing. I don't like that feeling of limbo.
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Conversation with Bear
I probably should keep better track of these things. I think all moms will relate though. You get busy and realize months have gone by and what you wanted to get done just didn't happen. But I'm going to actually get this one down.
We've been looking at houses to buy. If you read this blog you know that. We are looking at mostly small farms. After looking at one we were in the car headed for supper and asked Bear what kind of animals he might want. Well, this one we'd been looking at had sheep in the pasture so he said sheep. "What are you going to name your sheep Bear?"
"Shayla and Gayla. They're girls."
"Oh ya."
Then he proceeded to tell us how they were going to dress up as Belle and Cinderella for Halloween next year and that they can out run bears because they have jet packs. Not jet shoes, jet packs. Oh and they and Buddy (our Border Collie) will be friends, and they will have babies, and we can give them hair cuts and I can spin their wool into yarn. All this was said with such enthusiasm it was hard to argue.
He has also wanted to have pigs. I'm good with sheep. Not with pigs. Don't get me wrong I would love to have a whole hog in the freezer for winter but I don't think I'm good with raising a pig or butchering myself. Well, butchering not so bad, but the killing is not so fun. I'm thinking will buy our whole hog from a local producer. Besides, Bear says we can't raise a pig for the pork so no pigs for us.
I think Shayla and Gayla would be great sheep names. Hopefully if we get the one place our neighbor will sell us a sheep or two. Or we'll pick up a bum lamb or two and bottle feed. Sheep will sometimes end up with twins or triplets and as one woman I know put it, sometimes moms can't count so that other lamb doesn't get taken care of.
We are still waiting to hear on a property we put an offer in on. Hopefully it is meant to happen. We need to move. Our rental sold and the new owners want to occupy. And we don't want to occupy this place. We just hope the timing is right for everyone.
We've been looking at houses to buy. If you read this blog you know that. We are looking at mostly small farms. After looking at one we were in the car headed for supper and asked Bear what kind of animals he might want. Well, this one we'd been looking at had sheep in the pasture so he said sheep. "What are you going to name your sheep Bear?"
"Shayla and Gayla. They're girls."
"Oh ya."
Then he proceeded to tell us how they were going to dress up as Belle and Cinderella for Halloween next year and that they can out run bears because they have jet packs. Not jet shoes, jet packs. Oh and they and Buddy (our Border Collie) will be friends, and they will have babies, and we can give them hair cuts and I can spin their wool into yarn. All this was said with such enthusiasm it was hard to argue.
He has also wanted to have pigs. I'm good with sheep. Not with pigs. Don't get me wrong I would love to have a whole hog in the freezer for winter but I don't think I'm good with raising a pig or butchering myself. Well, butchering not so bad, but the killing is not so fun. I'm thinking will buy our whole hog from a local producer. Besides, Bear says we can't raise a pig for the pork so no pigs for us.
I think Shayla and Gayla would be great sheep names. Hopefully if we get the one place our neighbor will sell us a sheep or two. Or we'll pick up a bum lamb or two and bottle feed. Sheep will sometimes end up with twins or triplets and as one woman I know put it, sometimes moms can't count so that other lamb doesn't get taken care of.
We are still waiting to hear on a property we put an offer in on. Hopefully it is meant to happen. We need to move. Our rental sold and the new owners want to occupy. And we don't want to occupy this place. We just hope the timing is right for everyone.
Friday, November 9, 2012
Winter is on its way.
We woke up to a grey and dreary day. We are supposed to get snow and cold this weekend. It is almost the middle of November so I guess it is due. We have been enjoying the 70 degree November days though. I think I'm more or less ready for winter. I still need pick up some things like a turkey and yams for Thanksgiving dinner but I'm not in a huge hurry. We still don't know if we'll have lots of people or just a few for Thanksgiving.
My basic menu plan will be:
Turkey
Mashed potatoes
Sweet potato casserole
Gravy
Rolls
Some sort of veggie
And depending on the number of people we'll add Corn Souffle (pronounced soo-full)
We'll do some sort of dessert too I suppose
Wine and beer for drinks along with juice or milk for the kids
I think if we have people we'll do a veggie tray before dinner too
Like I say, I'm not super prepared for it but I've also not had anyone confirm that they'll be joining us so I'm not going to get too ahead of myself on planning. If you feel like joining us for dinner though please let me know. I love having a full house for the holiday and we won't be getting to travel this year.
Hmmm... What else is going on? We are house hunting. Still. We want one in particular but who knows if it will happen? We've had some not so fun issues with our landlord/property manager but I think (hope) those are resolved. Essentially it came down to they tried to illegally kick us out because the folks buying our rental want to occupy prior to the terms of our lease. I'm hoping it is all ironed out again but we have certainly upped our intensity in looking for a place. Oddly enough we don't want to mess up their sale and we'd like to be as accommodating as possible. We just need a place to go first. We'd be more than happy to move out of here tomorrow if we had a house to move into. We have not enjoyed this house. Its funny too because despite the fact that on paper this should be a lot nicer rental than we've maybe ever lived in it has not been nicer. We've been lots happier in a lot of crappy houses. I think mostly we had some pretty great landlords. Here they aren't too bad but it has been a bit rough.
At any rate we really want to move. We have a house picked out but have no idea if it would work out. We're in the process of finding out if we can work a deal. If we can you can bet I will be re-packing all of our stuff in a hurry. I'll also be getting rid of stuff. We really don't need so much of what we have. I'm hoping to get the kids to reduce the number of toys too. Christmas is coming and there is always a pile of stuff to sort through. And while there is sorting going on I'm noticing that Bear must have gone through a growth spurt because all of a sudden he has a pile of clothes that don't fit anymore.
I suppose I should go back to moderating the train track building. Little sister keeps interfering. :)
My basic menu plan will be:
Turkey
Mashed potatoes
Sweet potato casserole
Gravy
Rolls
Some sort of veggie
And depending on the number of people we'll add Corn Souffle (pronounced soo-full)
We'll do some sort of dessert too I suppose
Wine and beer for drinks along with juice or milk for the kids
I think if we have people we'll do a veggie tray before dinner too
Like I say, I'm not super prepared for it but I've also not had anyone confirm that they'll be joining us so I'm not going to get too ahead of myself on planning. If you feel like joining us for dinner though please let me know. I love having a full house for the holiday and we won't be getting to travel this year.
Hmmm... What else is going on? We are house hunting. Still. We want one in particular but who knows if it will happen? We've had some not so fun issues with our landlord/property manager but I think (hope) those are resolved. Essentially it came down to they tried to illegally kick us out because the folks buying our rental want to occupy prior to the terms of our lease. I'm hoping it is all ironed out again but we have certainly upped our intensity in looking for a place. Oddly enough we don't want to mess up their sale and we'd like to be as accommodating as possible. We just need a place to go first. We'd be more than happy to move out of here tomorrow if we had a house to move into. We have not enjoyed this house. Its funny too because despite the fact that on paper this should be a lot nicer rental than we've maybe ever lived in it has not been nicer. We've been lots happier in a lot of crappy houses. I think mostly we had some pretty great landlords. Here they aren't too bad but it has been a bit rough.
At any rate we really want to move. We have a house picked out but have no idea if it would work out. We're in the process of finding out if we can work a deal. If we can you can bet I will be re-packing all of our stuff in a hurry. I'll also be getting rid of stuff. We really don't need so much of what we have. I'm hoping to get the kids to reduce the number of toys too. Christmas is coming and there is always a pile of stuff to sort through. And while there is sorting going on I'm noticing that Bear must have gone through a growth spurt because all of a sudden he has a pile of clothes that don't fit anymore.
I suppose I should go back to moderating the train track building. Little sister keeps interfering. :)
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Wow.
I was just looking over the stats for this blog. Apparently posting to Facebook and putting a recipe up gets traffic. I think more people read my last post than any other post on here. I hope everyone who tries the recipe gets great results too. Mom always takes these buns to potlucks, parties, and holiday gatherings. Usually at every one's request. There is always a running joke about Mom's buns being the best around.
I've been making a lot of these lately. It sure helps out to reduce the grocery bill. If I keep baking like this though I'm going to have to get another 25 pounds of flour soon. I'm amazed by how quickly one goes through the flour. Talking about buying in bulk... I'm excited since Tom goes to a conference this weekend and gets to go to a town that has a Costco. I didn't think I would miss that store but it turns out I do. We have a few select items that we get there. Tom has a list that is to fill. I am thinking it will save us money having it far away though. This way we only will go once or twice a year as opposed to every month.
I find it interesting to read other articles and blogs about saving money and planning. I'm horrible about planning for the most part. I do a few things though that I learned growing up with very little money. Baking your own bread, eating oatmeal, and buying in bulk when sales are going all work very well. Things like dry beans help too. They can be purchased inexpensively and cooked in a crock pot by themselves and then frozen and used like canned at a fraction of the price. We do pay a price for convenience. It is amazing to me how much you can save if you do a bit for yourself. Of course that only works if you have the time. If you don't have the time sometimes it is well worth paying for the convenience.
Okay, I think I'm done with that little rant. :) We've had unseasonably warm weather. The kids spent yesterday in the sandbox outside in t-shirts. Beginning of November and we were all running around in around 70 degrees. This weekend we are supposed to have winter weather. We may get snow but we are supposed to get wind and cold for sure. They were calling for -10 to -15 just north of us. Sure can change quickly.
The cold weather seems more appropriate for Thanksgiving. It just won't feel right if it is warm. I'm hoping we'll have lots of people here for the day. I love making a large turkey dinner. For not really liking to cook otherwise that is one meal I enjoy putting together. I think because it is my style of cooking. Baking, potatoes, and roasting meat. That I can do.
This turned into quite the random post. Oh well. I suppose if you know me, you know I can bounce subjects like this a lot.
We have a lot going on right now. Tom has a conference for work, Bear has school and a school program coming up, Turkey day is going to be upon us before I know it, Mia just is herself (which is turning into quite the character), and I'm considering applying for a part time job. Oh, and we are trying to find a more permanent home. The search continues there. Fingers are crossed there.
Speaking of the kids. Mia has taken to wearing her monkey Halloween costume all the time. We had an utter melt down last night because we pulled it off her so she could actually get some sleep. We were going to let her sleep in it, but it kept waking her up. We pulled it off and oh. my. goodness. We spent the next 45 minutes to an hour getting her to settle down. Of course at that point we had said no to the monkey so we had to stick to our guns. Hard to do at almost midnight but we managed. Of course, she is right back in it this morning. I have a feeling she'll be in it all day.
Well, in regards to today I'd better get going on the day. It is beautiful out there.
I've been making a lot of these lately. It sure helps out to reduce the grocery bill. If I keep baking like this though I'm going to have to get another 25 pounds of flour soon. I'm amazed by how quickly one goes through the flour. Talking about buying in bulk... I'm excited since Tom goes to a conference this weekend and gets to go to a town that has a Costco. I didn't think I would miss that store but it turns out I do. We have a few select items that we get there. Tom has a list that is to fill. I am thinking it will save us money having it far away though. This way we only will go once or twice a year as opposed to every month.
I find it interesting to read other articles and blogs about saving money and planning. I'm horrible about planning for the most part. I do a few things though that I learned growing up with very little money. Baking your own bread, eating oatmeal, and buying in bulk when sales are going all work very well. Things like dry beans help too. They can be purchased inexpensively and cooked in a crock pot by themselves and then frozen and used like canned at a fraction of the price. We do pay a price for convenience. It is amazing to me how much you can save if you do a bit for yourself. Of course that only works if you have the time. If you don't have the time sometimes it is well worth paying for the convenience.
Okay, I think I'm done with that little rant. :) We've had unseasonably warm weather. The kids spent yesterday in the sandbox outside in t-shirts. Beginning of November and we were all running around in around 70 degrees. This weekend we are supposed to have winter weather. We may get snow but we are supposed to get wind and cold for sure. They were calling for -10 to -15 just north of us. Sure can change quickly.
The cold weather seems more appropriate for Thanksgiving. It just won't feel right if it is warm. I'm hoping we'll have lots of people here for the day. I love making a large turkey dinner. For not really liking to cook otherwise that is one meal I enjoy putting together. I think because it is my style of cooking. Baking, potatoes, and roasting meat. That I can do.
This turned into quite the random post. Oh well. I suppose if you know me, you know I can bounce subjects like this a lot.
We have a lot going on right now. Tom has a conference for work, Bear has school and a school program coming up, Turkey day is going to be upon us before I know it, Mia just is herself (which is turning into quite the character), and I'm considering applying for a part time job. Oh, and we are trying to find a more permanent home. The search continues there. Fingers are crossed there.
Speaking of the kids. Mia has taken to wearing her monkey Halloween costume all the time. We had an utter melt down last night because we pulled it off her so she could actually get some sleep. We were going to let her sleep in it, but it kept waking her up. We pulled it off and oh. my. goodness. We spent the next 45 minutes to an hour getting her to settle down. Of course at that point we had said no to the monkey so we had to stick to our guns. Hard to do at almost midnight but we managed. Of course, she is right back in it this morning. I have a feeling she'll be in it all day.
Well, in regards to today I'd better get going on the day. It is beautiful out there.
Monday, November 5, 2012
Never Fail Buns
A couple of notes to start with: You'll want a large metal bowl for this that can be put on the stove. This recipe makes a very large batch of dough. A lot of times I cut it in half depending on what I have planned. Lately I've been making the whole batch and freezing some baked goodies for later when I haven't felt like baking.
4 cups milk
2/3 cups shortening
1 1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon salt
4 eggs
4 tablespoons yeast dissolved in 2/3 cup warm water
Flour- sifted; generally all-purpose but I like to mix in a bit of whole wheat too
Melt the first 4 ingredients together in a large metal bowl. Once the shortening has melted pull off the heat and let cool until you can put a pinkie in the mixture without getting burnt. If you can do this then you shouldn't kill the yeast when it gets added. The only way this won't work is if you have super calloused fingers and can't feel the heat. For those who want exact temps it is probably in the range of 90 - 100 degrees F. About body temp.
Add dissolved yeast, water, and eggs. I break up the eggs in a separate bowl before adding. It just seems to work for me but if you didn't want to dirty another bowl you could just add the eggs to your big bowl.
Flour: This usually ends up being about 3-5 pounds. I never measure. I just scoop into the sifter and add until it is the right texture. Stir with a spoon until that doesn't really work anymore then start kneading with your hands. I do this until most of the flour is incorporated into the dough. I then pull the dough ball out of the bowl and continue to knead on a well floured surface. I also wash my bowl at this point and then when it is dry grease it with shortening. This is where I raise my dough.
Knead the dough until it is nice and elastic. If you poke it with a finger it should bounce back at you almost immediately.
Put it in your greased bowl and let rise until it is about double in size. Punch down and knead two or three times to form back into a ball. Let rise again. Form your rolls, loaves, and what-not.
Use greased pans and bake at 350 degrees F. Loaves about 20 min. Dinner rolls about 10 min. Cinnamon rolls about 20-30 min. Meat rolls about 15 min.
This dough can be used for all sorts of things. I've been stuffing dinner roll sized portions full of leftover meat and veggies to use as a pre-made sandwich for my husband's lunches. Or if you have leftover fruit dip (cream cheese and marshmallow cream) that can be stuffed in for dessert/breakfast rolls.
Cinnamon rolls: Roll out this dough into about an 18 inch circle. Spread the dough with butter pats, brown sugar, cinnamon, and I usually add chopped pecans. Roll up and slice into about 1 inch wide circles. Put into a 9x13 inch pan that you've melted butter and brown sugar into the bottom. I put a layer of whole pecan halves in the butter and sugar mix. Once these are baked take a cookie sheet over the top of the pan and flip the cinnamon rolls over so the bottom becomes the top and the pecans, butter, and sugar all end up being the top. Do this while it is all hot or else you'll never get it out of your pan.
This does take a good portion of your day to make but is wonderful and I think worth it. Plus it is easy to do other things while this rises and bakes.
4 cups milk
2/3 cups shortening
1 1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon salt
4 eggs
4 tablespoons yeast dissolved in 2/3 cup warm water
Flour- sifted; generally all-purpose but I like to mix in a bit of whole wheat too
Melt the first 4 ingredients together in a large metal bowl. Once the shortening has melted pull off the heat and let cool until you can put a pinkie in the mixture without getting burnt. If you can do this then you shouldn't kill the yeast when it gets added. The only way this won't work is if you have super calloused fingers and can't feel the heat. For those who want exact temps it is probably in the range of 90 - 100 degrees F. About body temp.
Add dissolved yeast, water, and eggs. I break up the eggs in a separate bowl before adding. It just seems to work for me but if you didn't want to dirty another bowl you could just add the eggs to your big bowl.
Flour: This usually ends up being about 3-5 pounds. I never measure. I just scoop into the sifter and add until it is the right texture. Stir with a spoon until that doesn't really work anymore then start kneading with your hands. I do this until most of the flour is incorporated into the dough. I then pull the dough ball out of the bowl and continue to knead on a well floured surface. I also wash my bowl at this point and then when it is dry grease it with shortening. This is where I raise my dough.
Knead the dough until it is nice and elastic. If you poke it with a finger it should bounce back at you almost immediately.
Put it in your greased bowl and let rise until it is about double in size. Punch down and knead two or three times to form back into a ball. Let rise again. Form your rolls, loaves, and what-not.
Use greased pans and bake at 350 degrees F. Loaves about 20 min. Dinner rolls about 10 min. Cinnamon rolls about 20-30 min. Meat rolls about 15 min.
This dough can be used for all sorts of things. I've been stuffing dinner roll sized portions full of leftover meat and veggies to use as a pre-made sandwich for my husband's lunches. Or if you have leftover fruit dip (cream cheese and marshmallow cream) that can be stuffed in for dessert/breakfast rolls.
Cinnamon rolls: Roll out this dough into about an 18 inch circle. Spread the dough with butter pats, brown sugar, cinnamon, and I usually add chopped pecans. Roll up and slice into about 1 inch wide circles. Put into a 9x13 inch pan that you've melted butter and brown sugar into the bottom. I put a layer of whole pecan halves in the butter and sugar mix. Once these are baked take a cookie sheet over the top of the pan and flip the cinnamon rolls over so the bottom becomes the top and the pecans, butter, and sugar all end up being the top. Do this while it is all hot or else you'll never get it out of your pan.
This does take a good portion of your day to make but is wonderful and I think worth it. Plus it is easy to do other things while this rises and bakes.
Friday, November 2, 2012
How things change.
I finally started unpacking some books this last week. We moved Bear into his own room as well. And then yesterday our blissful ignorance came to an end. We had a gentleman stop by that proceeded to tell us that he was buying the place we have 30 days to vacate. Ummm. No. We aren't just in denial but we have the Bar Association on our side not to mention the clause in our lease that gives us first right of refusal when it comes to a sale. So it boils down to the fact that we are probably going to butt heads with the property manager and landlord. It may be hard and it may not be so bad. Initial reaction is almost always anger when something like this happens. And here I was wandering along thinking I had gotten rid of my real estate headaches. Ha! Was I ever wrong?
The thing of it is that we want to move but as of right now we have no where to move to. There are houses for sale but we aren't liking much of anything out there. Not to mention it won't be fun if we have to move over the holidays. Nor will it be easy to get inspections, appraisals, or closings scheduled during the holiday months. Lots of being unsettled I guess. Now my goal is to not let the kids feel unsettled. I want them to have a good Thanksgiving and Christmas without a bunch of upheaval.
So I have one huge goal. Make things comfy and stable while I feel like it is falling apart. Should be easy right? ;) I know it won't be easy but the main thing is that we are all together for the holidays. Some days I wish I were the kid.
Other than crazy house stuff though things are going pretty well. I bought a Hoosier for my kitchen last week. I'll be working on restoring that. It is functional right now but not great for storing food until I get things cleaned and painted and repaired. I'm so in love with the enameled work surface though. I made bread the other day. Oh it was wonderful to have a great surface where I can knead the bread. There are shelves that slide out with the doors as they open, there are all the spice racks and lid racks on the doors. The flour bin is there as is a sugar bin. I'm giddy about it. I also got a catalog for hardware the other day. It will be nice to have a piece I really love.
You can see we've had some exciting times. Bear is loving school still. That is one thing that we want to do when we move is keep him in the same school. I'm hoping anyway. The districts here seem pretty good about letting you opt in or out of a school so long as you provide transportation. For now that isn't an issue. I really am hoping to find a great little chunk of property with a house we don't hate. A bonus would be a house we really like. We'll keep looking. At least with all of the issues with the property manager/realtor we can fire them. We have been using them as our buyer's agent. That won't be happening now. Yippee! We have a concrete reason to get rid of them. There is a silver lining.
The thing of it is that we want to move but as of right now we have no where to move to. There are houses for sale but we aren't liking much of anything out there. Not to mention it won't be fun if we have to move over the holidays. Nor will it be easy to get inspections, appraisals, or closings scheduled during the holiday months. Lots of being unsettled I guess. Now my goal is to not let the kids feel unsettled. I want them to have a good Thanksgiving and Christmas without a bunch of upheaval.
So I have one huge goal. Make things comfy and stable while I feel like it is falling apart. Should be easy right? ;) I know it won't be easy but the main thing is that we are all together for the holidays. Some days I wish I were the kid.
Other than crazy house stuff though things are going pretty well. I bought a Hoosier for my kitchen last week. I'll be working on restoring that. It is functional right now but not great for storing food until I get things cleaned and painted and repaired. I'm so in love with the enameled work surface though. I made bread the other day. Oh it was wonderful to have a great surface where I can knead the bread. There are shelves that slide out with the doors as they open, there are all the spice racks and lid racks on the doors. The flour bin is there as is a sugar bin. I'm giddy about it. I also got a catalog for hardware the other day. It will be nice to have a piece I really love.
You can see we've had some exciting times. Bear is loving school still. That is one thing that we want to do when we move is keep him in the same school. I'm hoping anyway. The districts here seem pretty good about letting you opt in or out of a school so long as you provide transportation. For now that isn't an issue. I really am hoping to find a great little chunk of property with a house we don't hate. A bonus would be a house we really like. We'll keep looking. At least with all of the issues with the property manager/realtor we can fire them. We have been using them as our buyer's agent. That won't be happening now. Yippee! We have a concrete reason to get rid of them. There is a silver lining.
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