The Simple Woman's Daybook

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FOR TODAY October 5, 2009

Outside my window... I see a BEAUTIFUL, crisp Fall day dawning

I am thinking... About my Dad who would have been 86 today if he was still alive. Love You Dad!

I am thankful for... Seasons, cycles, the circular rhythms in a year

From the kitchen... I smell the homey aroma of homemade vegetable soup

I am wearing... My favorite "uniform"... jeans and a t-shirt

I am creating... A bracelet to give as a gift called "Te Amo" and a Fall Pumpkin Stitchery

I am going... To meet my friend for laughs and "therapy" over a cup of coffee and tea

I am reading... Voyager by Diana Gabaldon and wishing I could do a time travel of my own

I am hoping... To plant some Fall bulbs....iris', daffodils, and tulips

I am hearing... The playful chirping of birds at my feeder, a snoring dog and small solar powered chimes ringing gently

Around the house... It has been so chilly the furnace is getting turned on, fireplaces cleaned out and the flannel sheets have been put on

One of my favorite things... Walking along the beach bluffs, photographing long shadows, skittering snowy plovers and if I'm lucky, whales feeding just off the shore

A few plans for the rest of the week: Making jars of Christmas Cowboy Cookies, finishing and framing my "Merry Pumpkin" stitchery, Djembe class, Going to see The Time Travelers Wife, seeing my endocrinologist on Friday, taking pictures.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...

This picture reminds me of circular cycles. The seasons passing from one into another. The wheel is a rusty Fall color and the irregularly shaped edges around the wheel remind me of a sun, dwindling at this time of year, creating shorter days.

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Baby Shower Busy-ness

Ok, you probably thought I fell off the face of the earth right? Nope, there is just alot happening around here. The next event is Beckie's Baby Shower this Sunday. Decided to make my very first Diaper Cake and these are just a few of the pictures.

The first thing I did was watch about 20 YouTube videos describing how to do it. Then I bought my supplies and put it together roughly first then more refined about a day later. This is a close up of the baby sock roses with mitten leaves. Yes, that video DOES exist!

Next is a close up of wrist rattles and a little caterpiller radio that makes soothing sounds for baby. Background ribbon is from WalMart and the blanket set is from the Jungle Adventure Collection at K-mart.

The topper for our "Jungle" themed cake is a Silver Back Ganz Gorilla.

These little links slipped easily over the ribbon and added a little extra bling to the sides of the cake.

Each layer consists of diapers along with extras like washcloths, burp pads and Ones…

Hey Retirement! Don't take OUR Date Night Away!!

"Wait! Did we budget for Date Night??"

Wednesday night is Date Night at our house. It's been that way for a LONG time! And we didn't want retirement to do away with our weekly fun. So today, I'm going to cover some good ways to keep that fun coming and be able to pay for it with slightly reduced funds.
Put some money in the budget. Analyze what you can afford and how many times you will be going out during the month. If you get paid twice a month, budget for two date nights. If you get paid weekly, you only need to budget it in for the week. For us, we are getting paid once a month so we will budget for 4 to 5 nights out. We set aside about $20 to $25 per week for date nightRemember, it's about spending time together not how fancy the dining is. You can make a picnic one week and then spend double the following week at a nice place. You can make dinner at home and go to see a play or movie. In our case we could go to the beach with some hot dogs, potato chips a…

Sourdough Bread

A few of you have been asking about the recipe for Sourdough Bread that I use and I figured this would be the easiest way to give it out. This recipe makes 2 loaves.

MIX TOGETHER:
260 g. of actively fed sourdough starter (about 1 cup)
460 g. water (about 2 cups)
90 g. Canned milk or milk that has been scalded and cooled. Can use water or plant milk instead (About 6 Tbsp)

20 g. Kosher Salt (1/8 cup)
900 g. flour (all purpose or white bread flour, don't use whole grain, to heavy to rise well) 7 1/2 Cups

Mix the starter, water, milk (or the substitute) together thoroughly. Then add in the salt and flour.
Put the dough in a covered container and let it ferment at room temperature.
After 2 hours fold the dough. How To Fold The Dough
After an additional 2 hours, fold the dough again.
When the dough is is finished fermenting (after a total of 5-6 hours - when dough is bubbly, soft and will pull a windowpane) divide dough into two pieces around 855 g. each.
Do a first shaping of the dough and let r…

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