Breadmaker

What happened to my weekend? I got distracted by a shiny new object.

Meet the new breadmaker, my Christmas present from Lewis.Mom marked all the recipes she wants me to try from the book that came with the breadmaker. Then she and I went to the grocery store Saturday afternoon and bought nearly every kind of flour known: whole wheat flour, bread flour, rye flour, tapioca flour, almond flour, brown rice flour, garfava flour, sorghum flour, brown rice flour...Plus a couple of box mixes, just to get started. Saturday night I made my first loaf of bread from the honey wheat berry box mix. I followed the directions carefully, then once all the ingredients were in, I realized I had forgotten the mixing paddle. Oops. The directions say that the yeast must not touch the water, but I had to scoop the whole business out to put the mixing paddle in, and it still came out just fine.Not too bad, but I think I would like a lighter crust. Next time.

How We Decked Our Halls

Our entry, the first thing you see when you come in the door...


Our blue tree in the dining room; please note the nice festivus pole (aka, heat to the second floor) strategically located next to the tree.

And finally, our golden retriever, our little angel...

(Don't worry, the angel costume was only on long enough to snap a couple of pictures. We try not to torture the poor creature too much, despite what he may tell you.)

Peace

May your holiday be peaceful and restful.

All Wrapped Up

Here is the sum total of eight months of stitching: Twelve sets of pillowcases. There would have been fourteen, but I'd already given two sets out a few months back. One of our extended relatives had a house fire back in October, an almost total loss. So while they were in rented housing, with someone else's furniture, and getting hand-me-downs from everyone, including me, I thought it would be nice for them to have something new, made just for them. I had hoped to get two more sets done for them for Christmas, but I just couldn't stitch fast enough. Oh well.

Neglected Blog

Poor lonely blog. The holidays are rough, aren't they? You've been neglected. And it's likely to continue into the new year. But don't worry. Things should pick back up in January.