Please Pass the Bread

I used to bake bread pretty frequently when the kids were growing up. It was thrifty and I could use whole wheat flour, plus kneading and pounding on dough was a socially acceptable way of releasing hostility.

It also reminded me of my beloved grandmother. When I went to her for "bread lessons" though, she wasn't much help. She never measured anything---and did beating and kneading until it "felt right". That doesn't help a novice who has no idea what it should feel like.

Nowadays, Good Guy and I use our bread machine fairly frequently. I follow recipes with an alteration or two. Good Guy bakes a basic bread and throws in craisins, sunflower seeds, nuts, ---and whatever comes to mind as he browses the cupboards.

He outdid himself this week with a whole wheat concoction with those three additives. It makes delicious toast, too. My only problem with home made bread is slicing straight. Oh, that and wanting to eat more than I need. (And as my granddaughter says, "Butter, butter, butter!")

Wordless Wednesday

Answers and questions

Yesterday's answer is Ireland. The street scene is in Dublin, and the seaside is on the east coast in a location to be recalled later. I can usually find the picture I took of the boats at anchor with the harbor name on the side. However, try as I might, I can't find the picture this morning. It isn't Dublin, though.

Today's question is where are these pictures taken? (Wherever they show up on the posting.)

We seem to have quite an affinity for water, wherever we travel.

I must confess that I was surprised by Ireland. I was picturing the misty Emerald Isle, and I was seeing mountains, and rock, rock, rock. My dear DIL told me that when the Irish men came to Kentucky as indentured servants, they were put to work building stone fences which are seen so often in Kentucky. After visiting Ireland, I think nobody knows more about utilizing stone than the Irish.

And for something completely different, will some kind soul tell me how to set up a gadget to chronicle my completed knitting projects. Complete with photographs?

Today is said to be our last mild day in the forecasted weather days. Well, it was nice while it lasted, and for those of you who are praying for cold and snow, better days are coming. I'll hunker down in my workroom and piece quilt squares for a few days.

OK, I'm ready for your guesses.

Where's This?

Kay is right. This is fun. These were taken on the same journey but not in the same city.

Good Guy keeps finding bargain fares to cold places. I tell him there's a reason it's the off season. On this trip I had to buy both a long flannel nightgown and a sweater because I was chilly all the time. Living here in snow land, I thought I was accustomed to "chilly". But this was a different damp kind of cold.

Not that I'm complaining. All we saw and experienced were worth it. It was a great trip.

My camera is still MIA---but I found all this great stuff held captive in Good Guy's camera.

Happy Monday, everyone!

Where were We?

I am searching for my trusty little camera, and in the meantime, I'm having to use Good Guy's Canon. So, while preparing to take some knitting pictures, I downloaded the pictures already on the camera and found some riddles for you.

Last summer we stayed here for a couple nights and enjoyed it very much.

We also saw some local sights. The places were deserted at the early hour of our visit, but are pretty busy with tourists during the "season".

Hints: We were on the water, and within the state. That narrows it down to about 265 places we could be. And we were about as far north as we could be in Michigan.

Gotta go and take pictures of my first knitting project. Back tomorrow.

Friday

Friday comes around fast, and I hate to miss Friday Fragments (hosted by Mrs. 4444, and linked up with a great many fine and funny fragmenters. Spell check doesn't like that word, by the way.)

How does one choose a charity? Every cause I've ever given to sold my name and address---resulting in a deluge of begging letters, especially before the holidays.

This resulted not so much in soul-searching as in hair-tearing. Do I care more about mistreated animals than in prisoners children having Christmas? If I do, does that make me a shallow person? Are struggling people in Ghana more worthy than struggling people in Detroit? (You'll probably never know.) You get the picture.

Here's something funny. After my flurry of knitting, to provide my loved ones with warm stuff to wear, climate change has made wearing them unnecessary. Good thing I'm not superstitious, or I'd be taking the blame for "climate change". I expect I do my share in the carbon footprint department!

The ski hill people have to be worried this year. Even here where we have had some snowfall, we are having a whole week with highs in the 30's. It is nice for those of us who like to walk on clear roads, but tough if you're making snow for your ski runs.

The tree is down, and 90% of the Christmas gear is put away. I leave the snowmen around and the Christmas music is still heard. I love Christmas music. All the candles aren't burned out yet either. Little by little the January doldrums will settle in.

We are planning a trip to a warm place, so that can distract us with travel plans. I need to come up with some clothes to wear in warm places, too. Ugh---shopping!

Practical person that I am, I quickly discarded my pie in the sky idea of sending off snail mail every day. I'm finishing UFO's in my workroom every day, instead. I have a large quilt to finish by Valentine's Day. That should keep me working at it.

I think I have recovered from my holiday "don't care" attitude about weight control and wise eating. All cookies are gone, marshmallow fluff is gone, cocoa mix is gone, eggnog consumed, so I think we're back to veggies and fruits and not so much concentrated sweets. I hate that backslidden feeling of no motivation to eat right. Sugar rots my motivation, and I need to just abstain-----not try to moderate.

I think that's about all the Friday drivel I can gather up for today. I look forward to reading your contribution.

Recovery from Revelry

Pffft!  As if!  What a faker!

On New Year's Eve I struggled to stay awake long enough to watch the New Year arrive on the east coast, and then headed for bed.  So far, the new year has always arrived whether I paid attention or not, and once again my attendance wasn't important.

I usually have quite a feeling of new beginnings when I get to start a new journal, crank up the new calendars, etc. but this year I'm using the same daily journal as I used in December, and all the calendars have been up for a while.  Good Guy bought a couple calendars to go with our gifts---which means we could probably paper the living room with new calendars.

We aren't having extreme problems staying current with the date, year, or appointments so I don't quite understand the calendar fixation----but it seems harmless enough.  He doesn't drink, gamble, or carouse so I count my blessings.

I untrimmed the tree this morning and spent more time scrubbing pitch off my hands than taking decorations down.  What a mess.  Of course, it isn't outdoors yet, and the endless needle vacuuming hasn't begun.  That seems to be an ongoing project until August or so, no matter how much time I spend today trying to get every single needle found.

GG ended up with a book tally of 103 books, and I ended up with 84.  Even that is a reach, since a few of them were books full of sweater patterns or techniques of which I read only half.  Eighty might be more accurate.  But in this new year, I've already read two books from my Nook----which I requested for Christmas.

It has its charms, but at this point I can't say I prefer it to holding an old-fashioned book.  Since I'm more of a book reader than a book buyer, I downloaded a book from the digital library last week.  (It's no wonder it was available.  It is awful, and I've only read one chapter.  It sent me running for directions about how to delete books from my Nook. Not only that, but it is horrible for over 400 pages.  I'm too old to waste that much time.) In the Nook's favor, a  friend pointed out the advantage of being able to enlarge the font size at will.  That is a good thing!

I have to figure out how to keep track of my completed knitting projects on a sidebar here.  Don't laugh, somebody might care about knitting.

And to wind out with some sad news, the mighty Badgers lost out to the Mighty Ducks yesterday in the Rose Bowl.  Only Sparty came out with a win for the Big Ten so far, and I'm ambivalent about the Michigan---Virginia Tech game.  Good Guy has ties to the U of M, but my daughter is working on her PhD at Virginia Tech.  Maybe I'll try for a neutral stance.  (Not a great skill of mine, by the way.)

Have a nice Tuesday.