The Life of Mrs. Miles

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Ah and the days fly by, and the days fly by. I keep meaning to sit down here and share all with you, but I go off on all sorts of tangents. I'm in a baking phase. I simply had to make an apple pie when the orchard was being picked. I don't believe I've ever had 'fresh from the tree' apple pie – and its SO good. When I was at the coast last, visiting with Mom, she stood over me while I made a batch of pastry to bring home, so I'd get it right. How nice it is, to simply pull a few 'balls' of dough from the freezer and whip up a pie in no time at all. How comforting to catch the aroma of fragrant pie wafting from the house. How rewarding to taste it sweet and tart on my tongue. Really, if you all lived just a little closer I'd send a piece over for you...

I pick YOU, Honey!

Credit: Tracy Sims Paper Frame Freebie

This freebie frame was still available yesterday (scroll down) ... just click here (leave love!)

Shabby Princess has a (free) and lovely calendar desktop for you for September. Just click here & please leave some love while there!

mmm... foccacia!

“To make bread you knead dough”

Several of you requested me to give my Foccacia bread recipe – so I'm complying. A word of caution, I don't measure in exactitudes. All the measurements I've provided are correct, the only thing you may have to adjust is the amount of flour used... I just go till it feels right, you know? If you haven't made bread by hand much, you would judge this point as when your dough is no longer sticky, it's elastic and boasts a smooth, dimply surface. Please, let me know how this turns out for you!

Barb's Rosemary and Olive Foccacia

2 ½ cups warm water
½ tsp brown sugar
¼ cup skim milk powder
1 tsp sea salt
2 tbsp fast rising yeast
2 tbsp vegetable or olive oil – or melted bacon drippings
1 can black olives
aprox 6-8 cups flour
fresh rosemary
1 cup grated mozzerella cheese
grated parmesan cheese
pepper

Dissolve the yeast in the warm water, along with the brown sugar for about 10 minutes. Add salt, skim milk powder and then begin adding flour until it's too thick to stir. Use your hands to knead in the rest of the flour – my measurement is only aproximate, mix in enough until you get a nice dough. Set to rise in a large bowl with some vegetable oil (so it does not stick) Set bowl over the top of a big pot filled with hot water. Raise till double in size, about an hour or more.

Prepare two cookie sheets, or one cookie sheet and a large pizza pan, by greasing with vegetable oil and then sprinkling with a little cornmeal or ground corn flakes. Punch down the dough and divide into two unequal halves – one being just a bit smaller than the other. Take the large piece of dough, lay it on the big pizza pan, press it out toward the edges until it fills the pan. Take the second piece and either press it out on the cookie sheet, or devide it into two and make two small rounds (nice size for giving away – giving away makes your baking taste better haha – or to freeze for a rainy day)

If studding with olives, take a can of black olives, drain and slice into 1/2's, then 'stud' them cut side up into the dough. Grind pepper liberally over breads. Let raise 30 min. Sprinkle with mozerella and parmesan. Add fresh or dried rosemary generously overtop. Bake at 425 for 15-20 mins. Enjoy!

A mile of smiles is better
Than a marathon of moans.
Chasing after laughter
Is more fun than trailing groans.

The race of Life is hectic,
But when all is said and run -
When Optomism takes the lead,
Contentment can be won.

By J.M. Robertson

I can't believe the end of August is here. I've mentally got one foot in September already, and have had for a week now, but the most of my body is still stuck in Summer. The lake sure is cooler. Where I used to look forward to a good long float, now it's a jump in and get out quick sort of deal. I shall miss our days at the dock when the season moves on.

Jeepers Creepers - get a load of these peepers!

Got all your kids back-to-school clothes shopping done? Well, if you find yourself with scads of money left over, you could make provide your child with the latest of trends, sure to impress. How about the latest in Japanese fashion, some jazzy feather eyelashes? I can't imagine myself in something like this – I go batty if I even have a piece of lint on mine! To find out more about these fluttery fashions just click here.

And are you going to miss your little girl or boy so bad and wish you could just give them a big virtual hug during the day so they could know you're thinking of them? Well, you can, or will be able to soon, it appears thanks to one of Time magazine's best inventions – the Hug Shirt. Its a high-tech garment that simulates the experience of being embraced by a loved one. “When a friend sends you a virtual hug, your cell phone notifies the shirt wirelessly, via Bluetooth. The shirt then re-creates that person's distinctive cuddle, replicating his or her warmth, pressure, duration and even heartbeat. And, yes, the Hug Shirt is fully washable.” To see a photo of the shirt just click here.

On the other end of the scale – there are millions of children around the world who deserve what we give our children. I was so encouraged to find the following site called One Laptop per Child. This organization's mission is “To provide children around the world with new opportunities to explore, experiment and express themselves.” The say “Most of the nearly two–billion children in the developing world are inadequately educated, or receive no education at all. One in three does not complete the fifth grade. The individual and societal consequences of this chronic global crisis are profound. Children are consigned to poverty and isolation—just like their parents—never knowing what the light of learning could mean in their lives. At the same time, their governments struggle to compete in a rapidly evolving, global information economy, hobbled by a vast and increasingly urban underclass that cannot support itself, much less contribute to the commonweal, because it lacks the tools to do so.”

The project allows you to donate your time or money to assist the program – I believe I read somewhere that each of these computers will cost very little, so any contribution you could make would be a small step to a bigger vision! Click here to find out how you can help. Check under the 'participate' button.

As Francis Bacon said:

“Money is like muck, not good except it be spread”.

We are individuals with power to affect other people.

“And let us consider

how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds.”

Hebrews 10:24

How I actually found out about OLPC was through an article about a small device which will be able to power one of these special little computers. The device is called a Pull-Cord generator, put out by Potenco. It resembles an oversize yo-yo, really. The idea is you pull the cord and it will generate power which can charge your small devices. They claim that one minute of pulling on the cord will generate 20 minutes of talk time on a mobile phone, 1 hour of Ultrabright flashlight use or 4 hours play time on an iPod Shuffle. The technology is not there yet, but will be in the future. To find out more just click here.

Another concern you may have as a parent, is about ensuring your kids get enough sleep. It's certainly not like when we were teens – I clearly remember having a firmly set bedtime and that was that, but today kids have so much more to stimulate their senses, and you may appreciate any information you can find to help understand how you might help him/her manage their sleep time wisely. I found a terrific article on NPR radio just on this very thing. Just click here to read or listen to this article by Allison Aubrey.

he's thinking of the ant...

should I stock my pantry for winter, or not?

Today in History:

891 - Arnulf defeated the Vikings from Scandinavia at the battle of Louvain in Belgium.

1159 - Pope Adrian IV died. He was originally Nicholas Breakspear and was the only Englishman to be Pope. He was elected Pope in 1154.

1810 - John J. Wood patented the first plow with interchangeable parts.

1830 - Sarah J. Hale published her nursery rhyme, 'Mary had a little lamb'.

1859 - The Pullman sleeping car, built by George Pullman's company with help from Ben Field, was put into service.

1864 - The Charlottetown Conference began on Prince Edward Island, representing the first steps toward Canadian confederation.

1878 - Emma Nutt became the first woman telephone operator when she went to work for Edwin Holmes and his Telephone Dispatch Company in Boston, Massachusetts.

1887 - A patent was file for by Emile Berliner for his invention, the lateral-cut, flat-disk gramophone; better known as the record player. Emile got the patent, but the glory went to Thomas Edison for making his American inventiont work.

1923 - A magnitude-7.9 earthquake struck Japan and completely destroyed Yokahama and nearly destroyed Tokyo. At least 142,000 people were killed and 2.5 million made homeless.

1928 - Albania was declared a kingdom, with Zog I as ruler.

1944 - The movie Arsenic and Old Lace, starring Cary Grant, opened in New York.

1951 - Britain's first supermarket opened in Earl's Court, London.

1953 - Jacques Thibaud, French violinist, died in an air crash. Famed for his technique, he was a member of the famous trio with Alfred Cortot and Pablo Casals.

1972 - Robert "Bobby" Fischer, United States chess player, defeated Soviet player Boris Spassky in Reykjavik, Iceland, becoming the United States' first player to officially win the World Chess Championship. Fisher's strange demands during tournaments, off-the-wall antics, and unexplained forfeiture of his world title brought him an uncharacteristic notoriety than most chess champions.

986 - At his annual telethon on Labor Day weekend, Jerry Lewis raised a record $34 million for Muscular Dystrophy.

1997 - In France, the prosecutor's office said the driver of the car in which Princess Diana was killed, was over the legal alcohol limit.

Barb's Handy Tip #303
Movie Night without Renting the Movie!

My sweet husband found this link for me! These are some movies from the Wimpy Website (media players), and the movies are all just a few minutes long, but they are VERY well done! They are exceptional quality in animation, designed by the folks at the Ringling College of Art and Design.) Ah, ah – get away from that mouse for a second, I need to warn you that not all of the movies are appropriate for children. Many of them are, and many you will want to share with them, but I'd hope you would preview all the movies first so you know which are which. Do tell me which are your favorites!

Ringling Movies Via Wimpy