It feels like forever

since I posted last. We went way down south in the heart of Dixie to visit with family and attend a family reunion. We had a wonderful time and saw some people we haven't seen in almost 30 years! I couldn't believe how old THEY were! LOL! We even met some relations we had never met before, but had heard of through the years. The reunion was held at the most beautiful park I have seen in a long time. We walked some trails and I took a LOT of pictures. The weather was perfect, too.

The Lord was good to us during that trip and did some mighty works. His ways are beyond knowing and He amazes me all the time. When will I learn to just trust and obey??? Well, He is capable even without my cooperation and help. Praise the Lord!

When we got home, I was hit with the worst case of hives that I have ever had. Actually, I only remember one other time I had hives and it was about 15 years ago and I just noticed I had them on my scalp and forgot about them and they went away. This time they covered most of my body and I started having difficulty breathing, so I called 911 and they took me to the hospital. The EMT's gave me epinephrin (sp?) and the hospital gave me benadryl and prednisone and a prescription for both. It seemed to be getting much better, but then I woke up this morning and it was much, much worse. Even my face was covered with them and was so swollen that if I didn't know that was me in the mirror, I would not have recognized myself. No other problems though, so I saw the doctor at 9:15 and, of course, the stuff had gone down by then, but my back, from my waist to my shoulders was still raw hamburger. I had even had welts around my waist in the morning that were gone by the time I saw the doctor. So, that ruled out shingles. Also, the fact that I have never had chicken pox kind of made that unlikely. So, it is mystery hives. Oh, well. There are MANY people who have it MUCH worse than me.

I have to get the garden in and it is looking like I will have the opportunity soon. My garden takes a little while to dry out enough to work in and it has rained a lot this spring. And been cold! But, my garden time is coming, soon. I was able to get the cabbages and lettuces in before we left, thanks to my wonderful helper.

I leave you with this picture of my family: from right to left; Dad, Mom, me, Ray, Lee, and John (in chronological order). What a handsome group, eh? I have been blessed with a wonderful family. I couldn't have picked a better one. I love them so much!

Bummer

Tonight, while moving the chicken coop, we ran over one of them and killed it. That stinks! We always have to learn things the hard way... Now, we know that they don't always walk along with the coop and to make sure they are all upstairs and closed in before moving the coop.

Bummer...

Movies

We don't watch movies very often. We don't even own a TV, but we can see a DVD on our computer once in a while. That said, we do want to support good film companies and what they make, because most of the world does watch some form of TV/movies, and they do it A LOT! We have seen the movie Heartstrings and really liked it. So, now we would like to pass on the word about their newest project, The Widow's Might. Check it out (the images are clickable) and John's blog. They are truly trying to glorify the Lord and they need all the help they can get. In the movie industry, even the small fry have temptations and they need our prayers for wisdom in addition to our financial support. Thanks for sitting through this little speech.

Also, there is another movie company that makes good movies and their newest one is called Fireproof. They are the makers of Facing the Giants. Good stuff!

I don't know all the lingo and all the names of these people and their stuff, but I do know they are good movies and I recommend them.

I knew it!

I forgot. I did not remember. For those of you who do not know what I am talking about, I said in my last post that I would take a picture of my bread after baking it, if I remember. I didn't. Sorry. Maybe next week...

But, we had some lovely rain these last few days. Rain is good. Good for the garden, good for the animals, good for us. God is good and His rain is good. Thank you, Lord, for the rain!

Totally unrelated chicken picture.

I tried uploading a video of the chickens. A REALLY good one! (If I do say so myself...) After hours of frustration with blogger, I tried Godtube. It took me a while with that, too, but I finally figured out that the video was too long. So, I will have to get out there and do another video soon. I know you all are just DYING to see another one. Please, please. Have patience, chicken fans. ;-)

Everyday Bread

Path to Freedom posted about Daily Bread today and I thought I would share my favorite everyday bread recipe. I use my Bosch mixer or my Kitchenaide mixer and a Whisper Mill grain mill. You can adapt it to whatever you have.

Put 1 1/3 cup hot water in the bowl with 1 tablespoon instant yeast, one tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, and one tablespoon raw honey. Whisk it and let it sit for about five minutes or until foamy.

In the meantime, grind two cups of wheat berries. Add the flour, 1/4 cup vital wheat gluten, and 1 tsp salt to the yeast mixture. Attach the dough hook and knead for eight minutes. The dough will be sticky and wet. Turn dough out onto oiled board and divide into two loaves. (I use small loaf pans, if you have a large one, you will only make one loaf.) Shape into loaves and place in pans. Using a small sharp knife, poke down into the dough several times to break up any air holes. Put in warm place and let rise for 30 minutes, then bake at 350 for thirty minutes.

Turn immediately out onto rack to cool for about 15 minutes. Put in bags and seal while still warm. They will steam and be nice and soft. I have heard people say that you should never put bread in bags before it is completely cool for many reasons. I have been doing it for many, many years and it is wonderful. Try it and decide for yourself. I hope you like it.

P.S. My recipe is very strange. It cannot be doubled. It will not make good bread if it is doubled. Many have tried it. I have tried it repeatedly over the years. You will waste time, effort, and ingredients if you try it. Trust me. The picture above is of two different batches made in two different mixers when I was making many loaves to sell at the farmer's market. I can't believe that I don't have a picture of a baked loaf. I will make bread today and take a picture. (If I remember...)

Solar Cooking Update

I kept having trouble with the reflector blowing over and I wouldn't notice it right when it happened, of course, so I fixed it and left the food in it for a lot longer than I had originally intended. Finally, I got frustrated and took the lid off to remove the pan of food. It was so hot that I burned myself. I had to use my apron to lift the pot out and take it up to the back porch. I actually used two granny-ware bowls, clamped together with little metal clamps (office supplies, heehee). I opened the bowl on the porch table. It was cooked perfectly and it was steaming hot! YUMMY! I ran in and got a spoon and a drink and had lunch on the porch in full view of my nifty new solar oven. I didn't get the potatoes in it for supper that night, because it was late and the sun was hiding behind some clouds, but I am excited about the whole thing. I will be making some more modifications, like making a wooden reflector that will not be blown over, etc. I will probably post about it when I get it done. I tend to move very quickly from project to project, forgetting the past and lunging toward the future. So, if I don't post follow-ups and you are curious, bug me. I can take it.

More Flowers

And some parsley that self-seeded in the driveway. It is doing better than what is in the flower bed behind it.

Solar Cooking

I have made a solar oven and am using it for the first time, today. I have quinoa and lentils in it and I just checked the temperature and it is up to almost 200 degrees. I expect it to be done for lunch. Then, I will put some potatoes in it for supper. Maybe, sometime soon, I will try baking bread in it. Another Praise the Lord moment.

Update: I got the directions for making this oven here. I have had to make many changes and adaptations, but that happens with everything I do, it seems.

Praise the Lord!

I got help, right when I needed it.

After three and a half hours, he left me with this:

Praise the Lord!

Technically Done

But, not totally done... You know... We keep finding things that we forgot to do or that we need to change or that we need to add, etc. But, the chickens like it.

Pollination in Progress

Apple Blossoms

This is the first year in a long time that we have had such wonderful apple blossoms in such abundance.

The pear tree has done very well, also. I hope we get a good crop.