Staying Busy and Mary's latest Handiwork

It is that time of year where we are almost overwhelmingly busy. Schooling, sports, activities, fall cleaning and winter preparation. It is hard to stop and take time for photos and writing.

Softball is winding down. Katie's team won the regular season title, and once this rainy period moves off they may be able to begin the tournament.

Katie at bat

Emily's instructional team still have another couple of weekends to play. She has really enjoyed her first experience playing softball and is a good little hitter.

While softball is ending we are entering the heaviest part of Mary's soccer schedule. Her team is doing well so far in the games they have played. They have a 2-1 record, with only two goals scored against them.

At home I am trying to stay ahead of the cleaning and preparation for this winter. Four kids and three kittens make this a real challenge some days.

I have managed to put away 5 qts of chicken stock and 8 pints of beef stock these last couple of weeks to add to our winter stockpile. We have also stopped buying loaf bread at the store. I am attempting to move to more whole foods in an attempt to improve my own health.

I have noticed that the more I stay away from added ingredients in prepared food the better my stomach is and the less tired I feel overall. My mom gave me her bread maker. This has been wonderful, in that I can dump the ingredients and four hours later have a beautiful, healthy loaf of bread. Trying to avoid GMO foods I have developed the following recipe:

3 1/2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
1 tsp (plus a pinch) salt
1 1/2 tsp yeast
3 TBS local honey
1 cup lukewarm water
1/3 cup lukewarm milk (I get mine from a local, free-range dairy that serves our grocery store)
3 TBS Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

We use this bread for sandwiches and the kids all enjoy it. I find myself making loaves 3-4 days per week to keep up with them.

Mary has really taken to sewing this last year. She often helps our friend teach sewing to younger children and has even helped with an adult class. One of the benefits for us is that Mary is also being taught more advance techniques and learn to complete larger projects.

Recently she took on the job of recovering the cushions for my rocker. After 13 years of continuous use, the existing white cushions were nasty. I picked out the material I wanted (something to bring the colors in the kitchen and family room together) and then Mary went to work. It only took her a few hours at the studio to finish:

A wonderful job and I look forward to many hours this winter sitting here crocheting or reading.

Peace,

Amy