Bread making

  I remember trying to make bread in my 20's.  I guess I had some successes.  As a young mother I was given a sourdough bread starter.  I made bread with this for years.  It made wonderful bread and cinnamon rolls.  The problem was the recipe called for lots of sugar and oil.  I'd let the starter die for my own health benefit.  The bread was so good, but so not good for me.  For the last several years, I've been making bread with the same sourdough starter but somewhat modified.  I cut the oil way back and left out the sugar.  Then I started adding whole wheat flour.  Everything I did was just trial and error.  I found I couldn't use all whole wheat flour because it wouldn't rise well enough.  So my most recent challenge has been getting all whole wheat flour to work.  I happened to use freshly ground wheat flour from the health food store and it rose wonderfully.  So I took a bread making class and learned more about wheat mills and baking with freshly ground whole wheat flour. So I am currently shopping for a wheat mill. I've ordered some hard red and white wheat berries.   I love working with dough and baking. I have plans to branch out into crackers and rolls.   I've also made beer which some people call liquid bread. The whole science of nutrition is interesting to me but I'm really a baker at heart.  Bread and dough is this living thing that requires attention and responds differently each time you bake.  Oh and the smell is just wonderful when it bakes.

Waterfalls

     This past weekend we went to Cumberland Falls State Park near Corbin KY.  We got to see the moonbow which is the only one of it's kind in this hemisphere.  I planned the trip when there would be a full moon, so we'd at least have a chance to see it.  It doesn't appear if it's cloudy or the conditions aren't just right.  We got there thursday night and had a beautiful full moon and got to see it.  The falls impressed me more than the moonbow, but oh well.  The moonbow has no colors in it.  It's just a band of white light at the bottom of the falls.  It got brighter as the moon rose higher.  You would have to be a professional photographer to capture it.  

        The area though was beautiful.  We got to see three different waterfalls.  There was beautiful land we hiked through.  It just renewed my spirit.  Something about sitting in the presence of a waterfall makes me feel as though I'm in the presence of the divine.  It's such a peaceful feeling.

azaelas

      We have lived in our house over 15 years now.  The front landscaping was a hodge podge of shrubs when we moved here.  At some point I decieded I'd like to grow white azaelas as a nice backdrop for other flowers-and I love azaelas.  There were several in various colors already growing here.  So over the years, I'd plant a few and most of them died.  I was attempting the one bush at a time landscape plan.  After years of this I stopped and took notice of all my failures.  This fall I took a soil sample to the extension agent and told him what I wanted to do.  I also consulted with a landscaper about an overall plan.  I read several books about growing azaelas.  Then I used the tiller and ammended the soil.  I purchased 4 large white azaelas.  Then I added soaker hoses and an automatic watering system.  I also added lots of pine needle mulch.  At this point I am 100% committed.  Time will tell if I'm successful but I know I'm at least doing all I can.  I'm also going to add frequent attention. 

Fall and Halloween

         This week we have watched the leaves start to fall in the front yard.  There's been a huge harvest moon.  This really is my favorite time of year.  Fall is more colorful than spring and it signals the start of winter and the rest season.  Most of the work has been done and the harvest is in or close to being in.  Spring and summer are so labor intensive that I look forward to a break. Fall is the time that you put plants to bed for the winter.   I love the cooler nights and the colors of fall.  Pumpkins, apples and hearty soups are some of my favorite foods.
      Then there's the most fascinating holiday- Halloween.  Who is not intrigued or scared some by the thought of death?  I reverence those that have gone before me.  I want to remember them and celebrate their lives.  Catholics know this really is the origin of Halloween.  Cemetaries should be special places.  They fascinate me.  Death and what lies beyond really is the big mystery, isn't it?  (Maybe the existence of alien life forms is the number 1 mystery according to Hollywood?)  Death is something that we all are touched by eventually.  It's the mystery we all have to come to grips with ourselves.  I feel that Halloween in some small part helps us to do this. 

Fear

   Recently I've been thinking about fear.  It can be a huge hindrance.  My oldest daughter recently spent two months overseas.  I kept having nightmares about obstacles she could face.  I admired her gumption to go but several people commented that they could never do such a thing.  It seems that our fears get larger as we get older, so maybe we had best have our adventures when we're young.
   Everyone in my family has a fear of the water.  None of us can swim.  I have found out that my dad nearly drowned as a young man and told my mother not to take us near the water.  So we all have this fear of the water, due to a lack of exposure I guess.  And from someone who has had swimming lessons, it can be a strong fear.  We can inherit fears from our parents in this way.  Parents can also help you face and overcome your fears.  It's hard as a parent to watch your children do things that scare you, but it can be done. 
   In healthcare, I see alot of anxiety.  It can be debiliatating.  We frequently make our own cages and limit ourselves.  I  wonder what I could accomplish if I didn't let fear get in my way.  And heaven help me from passing on my fears to my children.   We all need to just go boldly out into the world trusting in the goodness that is all around us.

The book Club and the library

  Years ago I tried to get a book club going with my friends.  The plan was to rotate houses,  hosting, and picking the book and leading the discussion.  It lasted for a few months before it became too big of a struggle. I guess I was asking alot.  I gave up the struggle and shortly afterwards joined the bookclub at the local library.  This was with a group of strangers and without great refreshments.  Years later I'm still going to this bookclub.  We have all gotten to know each other and people havve come and gone.  A few of us have remained faithful through the years.  We've had two different librarians as leaders and are lucky with the current leader.  We have read some great books and have had great discussions that have enlightened me.  I've been introduced to Wendell Berry, David Baldacci and Ken Follet during this past year.  I have gone on to read other books by these authors.  The bookclub has taken my appreciation of reading to a whole new level.
    Our library was one of the first places I explored when we moved here. The kids were small, it was summer and so we went to the reading program.  I still remember the storyteller from the boyscout museum that first summer.  I grew up making a weekly trip to the library so I continued that here.  We have always loved the library.   Last night I went to a book sale at the library.  It's done once a year as a fundraiser.  The books were stacked everywhere.  I purchased two big bags of treasures.  I'll take them a box or two during the year, of books that we no longer need. It's a great recycling program.  I am a friend of the library.  I couln't imagine being anything less.

The Birthday weekend and the Memphis kitten

    About a month ago, I felt terrible about the Memphis kitten that I lost at Uncle Dayton's house.  Well last weekend we brought him home.  Anthony's aunt and uncle made friends with him and fed  him for us, so when we went through Memphis to my Aunt's birthday we stopped and picked him up.  We named him SammieDay after the aunt and uncle that took care of him.  He's a boy and seems to be adjusting to life in the house right now.   It's nice to have a new family member and he is my Memphis cat.    

    The weekend we picked him up we went to my aunt's 100 birthday party in West, MS.  It was also my 49th birthday.  My mother turned 95 the next day.  It was a great weekend celebration.   I am so lucky to still have my mama and my aunt.  They both can still walk and can carry on a conversation.   Neither of them are in nursing homes. They have great memories that I enjoy listening to.   The weekend was a little family reunion too with most of us there and also my nephew who has been in the virgin islands for awhile and  has been missed.  I couldn't imagine any better way to spend my 49th birthday.