Baking All Day for Relaxation

I really needed to relax my mind today. The best way for me to do that - get into the kitchen and start cooking!

I started out trying to make a plain white bread. It looked good  - but it never did rise. Now if anyone ever needed a weapon, something that one could throw at another's head and do some serious damage - well then these two "loaves" would it the bill! I am going to give it another try tomorrow. Then I figure three strikes and I'm out (at least for a week).

I also made mini donuts. I bought a small pan an inside was a recipe to bake donuts. They are very tasty. I think that the ground cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg seal the deal on the tastiness. The donuts are also topped with a confectioners sugar icing - I pop a little orange extract into it to give it a punch.

Let's see - in the midst of this I made spaghetti sauce and then some meatballs to pop into the sauce.

Followed by a really good yellow cake. It was the Everyday Cake recipe from Martha Stewart's original cookbook.  I also made the icing - but it was just OK - it called for a teaspoon of vanilla which kind of left it to alcohol-y (new word) tasting to suit me.

It felt really good to get all of the cooking done. It even felt good to be at the sink and wash all of the dishes. I just wish that the bread had turned out.....

Spring Clean for the Craft Room

I finally did it today - spring cleaning for the craft room. 

I moved some things around and went thtrough many of my bins. I discovered things I didn't even know that I had. I found a bunch of old felted sweater cuffs that I think I am going to work on tomorrow. They will make some really great insulated cup holders. When I go to get my coffee I won't need to take the cardboard cup holders. Small steps....

I was also able to work on a small sunflower painting today. I really got the look that I wanted with it. I think I may transfer the image to some ACEO cards.

The weather was also crazy today. I woke up and looked out the back door and saw...snow. It snowed a bit, rained a bit, sleeted and hailed a bit and then BOOM! Thunder and lightning!! Mother Nature was trying to get in every type of weather today. It is still suppose to rain tomorrow but that is ok by me...more time to spend in the craft room...

"Mother" was finished being fed today and I tried my hand at a loaf of sourdough bread. The top was crusty but separated from the bottom and it wasn't done all the way through. I am going to keep feeding "Mother" this week and give it another go. Tomorrow I am going to tr to make a plain yeast bread.

Remember live, laugh and love...

Is This Winter or Spring?

Just to update - the weekend went wonderfully. SJ and I had a great time in AC and Last night in NYC at the Elton John concert was phenomenal. 

This morning I had to make the drive back into NYC to see the doctor. I was all set for the first full day of Spring!!! At 8 this morning I was driving through ....SNOW! ARGH!! Snow should be gone and birds should be singing. LOL.

Now that things are calming down  have been able to get to work on many crafting projects. Knitting baby hats, felting and beading eyeglass cases. I have been trying to get pictures developed onto to disc to load onto this site. I am starting to think that it is time to get a new camera with a hookup to the computer so I can just download pictures.  Does anyone have any suggestions?

Busy Weekend

OOOOH I have a very busy weekend coming up but I don't mind at all. Tomorrow night my baby, SJ (20) and myself are going to AC to see KC& The Sunshine Band. We saw him last year in AC and he was fantastic!  My husband refuses to even acknowledge that we are going(LOL).

Sunday SJ and I are heading into NYC for dinner and to meet my parents at MSG to see Elton John. I really can't wait to see him. 

The only bad part of this weekend is the amount of driving -- but I'll have excellent company!

It was 79 degrees today and beautiful at the Jersey Shore! I was so happy that my dad and I were able to get to Lowes and buy the lumber and screws to make two more raised beds for my new and improved garden.

I had just enough time to squeeze in a run to JoAnn Fabrics and found some really great fabric on sale to make a beach bag for this summer.

Of course the best part of the day is sitting outside and talking to my neighbors. I am very lucky to have such great neighbors. As the weather gets nicer we all head outside and grab our chairs and sit and talk and laugh and laugh!

Keeping you all posted on "Mother". I have been feeding her every day and she seems to be 'percolating'. Nothing ventured, nothing gained!

PaperBack Swap

I have received most of my wonderful books through  the website paperbackswap.com.

 It is free to join. You open an account, post your books and wait for the requests to come in. Once you get a request you can print out a label and mail out the book to the requester. The only cost to you is the postage. Now you receive one point and can use that point to request a book - which will be sent to you.

I have received craft books, mysteries, self - help, cookbooks, classic novels, best-sellers, you name it! My daughter even was able to trade some of her textbooks from school!

I know I hate to throw out books - so trading them is the next best thing for me!

Bread Day

So today I started "Mother". Hopefully, if I feed her this week by Tuesday I can make a nice loaf of bread. I used organic King Arthur's flour and distilled water. Mixed them together, covered with a damp towel and left on my counter. I'll feed her tomorrow and keep everyone updated.

Since I am such an impatient person I also made a loaf of sweet Hawiian bread that was ready by this afternoon. It made the whole house smell so good. It was a great pm snack with a cup of hot tea.

It was rainy this morning but later in the afternoon it cleared up enough to go outside. I really didn't want to go out back because  I knew it wold be too mush to actually do any work on the garden. I think I will go buy the lumber and the screws to make my new boxes tomorrow.

I am going to finish knitting up baby hats for one of the farm girls to donate to Mongolian babies. I like to do things like hat because I feel that I am giving back and it makes me feel good.

During this season of Lent I am going to try to do one random act of kindness a day. Something that I have to go out of my way to do. An action, a help, not just a donation of money.  it makes me happy to do small things for people, I really like to do them anonymously if it's possible. I better put my thinking cap on for tomorrow...

Too Many Thoughts in My Head!

Whew - substituted again today!

Ever have that kind of a day where you have so many thoughts in your head that your head starts spinning? That was me today. 

The weather is still warming up (mid 30s) and my thoughts are turning more and more to the garden. I can't wait for that tiller from e-bay to come in. I can till the plots.

 I also have to make a trip to Lowes to get the lumber to make the extra raised beds. I am also going to check into fence posts to paint and put around the garden and then staple chicken wire to them.

Then I wanted to get my "mother" started to make some homemade bread. of course that turned my mind to bread machines. *sigh*

Little voices call to me from my craft room. Projects that I really want to wrap up. How many hours are in a day again? I think I may use all of them tomorrow.

Then again - a hot cup of tea, a cinnamon roll, and a stack of Mary Jane's Farm magazines sound like a gift from God.