Labor Day Monday September 7, 2009Outside my window is a beautiful fall day. The sun is shining and there is a slight breeze. It will be a great day to be out of doors. The only bummer is the humidity level. My fingers are so swollen I could hardly get my rings on this morning! Its been so nice out that I actually shut the air conditioning off last week which is fairly unheard of for me.
I am thinking about bread making. I have been pricing bosch mixers because everyone that I know that makes really great bread has one. I on the other do not have one and can not seem to make a basic loaf of wheat bread. I can make rolls, flat bread, Italian's bread, french bread, biscuits and sourdough artisan breads but the basic loaf of bread evades me. My dilemma is that I can not see spending that kind of money to do what woman have been doing for thousands of years without a bosch. So, I am going to learn how to make a basic loaf of bread. Mr. thinks I just need to practice so that's what I am going to do. If that fails I am going to buy a bosch!
I am thankful for the opportunities we still have in this country to give voice to our thoughts. As distresses as I am over the intrusiveness of our government and the policies that it is shoving down our throats I am still able to speak out and have my say. It gives me a sense of urgency that I can not be silent any longer. I do have a responsibility to say what I think and to give impute above and beyond just voting. So, I have written an editorial for our local paper and am attending city council meetings.
From the learning room; We have several days off this past week as we had a local dog show that Mr. needed help at. The children are valuable assets. They helped us to move into the show and then manned the booth. Talking to customers, stocking shelves, running the cash register, washing blades. They can put in a full days work and do an awesome job it. Of course they are rewarded with paychecks which makes them very happy as our family does not give allowances. We will be back to school on Tuesday.
From the kitchen; Fri - Chili's Saturday - Village Inn Sunday - Applebees Monday - grilling hamburgers and chicken breast Tuesday - Chicken nugget pitas Wednesday - cheesy chicken and rice Thursday - waffles
I am wearing shorts and a tank top.
I am going cameoing! We are taking the canoe out onto the Raccoon River today. We were hoping that we would have had a second canoe by now but my every effort to purchase one has been thwarted by people snapping them up faster than I can make the phone call! So we will just take turns on the float.
I am praying for DYS who has poison ivy on his face! It looks better but is still pretty bad. Not nearly as bad as his friend who has it way worse and covering most of his body.
I am reading; My amazon order came this weeks so I have continually had my nose stuck in books! I read The Home-Maker by Dorothy Canfield which I enjoyed tremendously despite its lack of Christian worldview. Then I read The Urban Homestead which had some very helpful information in it but was also slightly frightening. Some of these "green" people have some pretty weird ideas of the world and how we should interrelate with it! I am currently reading Who stole Feminism by Christian Hoff Sommers. I am in the introductions but it is very interesting reading.
I am hearing heavy traffic outside of our house because the main traffic road in road is closed and our little street is the detour. DOD is washing some laundry so water is running.
Around the house; We had set the onions out to dry this past week. I need to move them out of the direct son light but continue to let them dry for several more weeks. Then we will hang them up for storage. I am going to use the pantyhose method to hang them up and see how that works. We emptied the garden of most of the produce but I am still holding out hope for the remainder of the tomatoes to ripen. With the show this past weekend and our plans for recreation today, not much will happen around the house.
A few plans for the rest of the week; Tuesday the co-op board will get together and finish up all of the children's t-shirts by painting the logos on the backs. Wednesday is going to be a little crazy. We are going to see a local knight give a talk. DYS is especially excited by that. Tao-kwondo starts in the afternoon, DMD has worship practice in the evening. Thursday DMD starts art classes and our co-op board is meeting with a new family who would like to join. Sunday our dear neice is having a birthday party and we are considering checking out several homes in the area that are for sale.
One of my favorite things; Hiking with my family. This was taken last weekend at Ledges State Park. I have set a goal of doing each of the 50 strolls, rambles, hikes and treks that are laid out in the book Great Iowa Walks. The Ledges was hike number 31. We are not doing them in any particular order. We had not been to the ledges in several years. It is a beautiful park and was a very enjoyable afternoon.
