Couronne - My Way!
(click to view bigger!)

I can't get out of the kitchen.

Ever since I found out about the Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes A Day recipe - I'm hopelessly hooked. What used to hold me back was the thought of the time, the kneading etc. With this AMAZING technique there's nothing to hold me back from experimenting every which way. And I am.

I was so inspired by the basic recipe that I jumped to buy the book - and you can too! Its an INVESTMENT in yourself. What a concept, what a great addition to your own cookbook shelf! I'm thinking Christmas Gifts?

Order YOURS today - just visit the official 5 Min website and you will find all the links, and even new ideas too. Just click HERE to be transported.

You can also search YouTube for Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a day for a video clip of Jeff and Zoe making the basic batch.

This recipe I made was based loosely on the couronne recipe included in the book. I'd INTENDED on making some rosemary foccacia but this recipe screamed at me from the pages. I've still got 2/3 of a pail of fresh dough to try some more recipes, this only made a small dent in my batch.

But don't just take MY word - Eliajean tried her FIRST batch, and success - just click HERE to read and see for yourself. And my friend Cicero - why she tried a week back and hers turned out too - in fact she ordered the book herself (a little bird emailed me) Just click HERE to see Cis's bread - October 23rd blog post!

I'm warning you. Its ADDICTIVE.

Please, send me a link if you bake it for the first time, I'd love to see and show you off!

I just want to say a HUGE thank you to Shirley - you sweet thing, for including me in her award. I am hogging it all to myself. Muah! I'm bad. You may want to visit Shirley to check out her incredible rock collection, along with her descriptions of each stone. Very informative! Just click HERE.

A Golden Finale!

Ahh, this is a final look at fall in our neighborhood. We woke to -4C degrees this morning - brrrr!

This photo was taken late last week. The peach trees are shedding their leaves, soon there will only be bare branches as winter starts to leech away the warmth and colour. Right now, on these last sunny days of fall, when there is still a hint of heat in the sunshine, the backlit peach leaves look like slices of peach dripping from each branch. Such beauty!

Pink Ladies

These Pink Lady apples still hang on the trees near the roadway. I'll have to take another photo of them, for the trees are high density, so they are smaller, and with thier diminished size and all the wealth of apples upon them, they truly do look like little 'pink ladies' bedecked like a fall version of little Christmas trees. They almost form a little decorated 'dress' on each. Remind me to take a photo for you today!

These little ladies still have about one more week - they are a late apple, full of fizzly, sharp tartness! Just mention them and Mr. Miles' mouth puckers!

Oh, and speaking of Mr... I sent him for 20lb of tomatoes yesterday, thinking I might do ONE MORE BATCH of salsa or tomato sauce. He said he just kept putting nice looking ones into the box. How could he help it if they weighed out to 55 lb? Hmm. How will this work as they should be just perfect for canning on Thursday. His birthday.

Shaggy Manes

And within the orchard stands a grouping of shaggy mane mushrooms. These are delicious to eat. As a child I certainly would not have said so. They were nearly a staple in our household, with my Father eagerly visiting his special places to harvest them when the conditions were just right. He turned them into many dishes - in particular I recall he made 'mushroom pancakes'. Nowadays he would have been considered an adventurous gourmet cook - then I thought we were just plain weird.

Isn't it funny how we grow to like foods as an adult? Is there a food you've come to love as a grown up?

Shaggy Manes must be harvested and eaten in a short time, for they deteriorate into a black soft pulp if left. Do you have mushrooms you harvest and eat?

High Heel Galoshes

My sister lives in a city and when she got married she had some of her photos in bare feet. She lives in a coastal city, and was married in a park (really, she's not a hippie) To make it brief, the grass was damp so her high heels would have sunk into the soil if she hadn't removed them. I'm sure the groundskeepers would have liked it being aeriated for free, but still...

Anyways, as soon as I saw these little galoshes for high heels I thought of her. Who would have guessed there was such a thing?

By the way, THANK YOU all so very much for your many comments. I was bowled over!

Cicero's Bread

Mmmmm - ahhhh, can't you just SMELL IT from here?

What have I started? This is a photo of my friend E.'s bread, made from the Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes day - the basic recipe. And this is her first attempt!

One slice or two?

Looks like she achieved great texture too! You can visit Cicero's blog by clicking HERE - I think she's going to attempt another batch soon, as she tells me. She's always got a ton of wonderful photos and facts about the flora and fauna in her beautiful corner of the world.

I've been making some naan and flatbreads from my dough. I also bought some rye and whole wheat flours on the weekend to play with. I'd love to know what you make too?

Speaking of cooking up STUFF, you can find some wonderful downloads today from the following designers blogs - well worth the clicking:

1. KimB - has a MILLION thank you's - she has hit ONE MILLION visits to her bloggy today. Congrats Kim! Just click HERE.

2. Linda - has links to two fabulous giveaways and a quickpage, and as always great music and chatter. Just click HERE.

3. Valinda - has a SWEET 8 x 8 inch qp download featuring a victorian doll. Perfect for those girly layouts! Just click HERE.

Thanks for baking me happy ladies!

With Thanks

It was communion yesterday in our church. We broke with tradition and simply gathered around to share the elements and share fellowship about what it meant to take communion together. I love that we can do this.

Because I've been baking bread, and giving loads away, it especially means to me the joy of SHARING the knowledge of Christ in my life. It occured to me that this bread, which we take as the body of Him is meant to be shared out from ourselves.

And I'm so thankful that because of this sacrifice I'm here to share with you. I'm so glad that the USA Thanksgiving is after our Canadian one, for it keeps me in the thankful thougths. As the following states:

Thanksgiving was never meant to be
limited to a single day.

"O Lord my God,
I will give thanks to Thee forever."

Psalm 30:12

A pair of White Squash Birds gaurd their eggs.

A pair of Squash Birds, Keremeos BC

My friend Janice sent me the following information, which I think is GOOD to know!

Using Credit/Debit cards at the pump

In BC, we are now required to prepay gas..so if you are using your plastic, please pay attention to this following story:

She used her credit/debit card to purchase gas at the pump (like most of us do). She received her receipt like normal. However, when she checked her statement, there were 2x $50 charges added in addition to her purchase. Upon investigation, she found out that because she did not press the 'clear' button on the pump, the employee inside the store was able to use her card to purchase his/her own gas!

To keep this from happening, after you get your receipt, you must press the 'CLEAR' button or your information will be stored until the next customer inserts their card. Be sure to tell all your friends/family so that this doesn't happen to them!

I had never noticed the clear button but I got gas the other day and sure enough it is there. I will be using it from now on....)

I just received an email from Valinda, who, bless her heart, was sensitive to want to email me this info rather than comment it {I love my readers to keep me accountable!} The previous story is an urban myth. This is not to say that the subject matter is not worthy of us paying more attention to any matters of credit/debit cards and our bank accounts {if we have any left with the economy melting down} Valinda checked the story on snopes - a GOOD place to verify these stories we recieve in our email inboxes from well intentioned freinds. This story is covered in detail at snopes and you can read it for yourself by clicking HERE

Thanks Valinda! Valinda still has a pretty, vintage doll 8 x 8 inch quickpage for grabs on her blog - just click HERE

*****

There’s a definite nip in the air nowadays. If one forgets to put dress properly, nature reminds you in a hurry as soon as you’re a step out of the door. The vineyards across the lake are morphing from brilliant green to a soft gold. Different sections leach green from the leaves creating a green and gold mosaic, which looks so picturesque, reflected in the glassy lake surface.

The birdscape has changed considerably too. Hardier breeds are dominating the landscape – time to consider re-establishing the birdfeeder for the quail.

The sky has a special blueness in fall – you notice too? Perhaps the cold does something to the air quality, or it could simply be more people being indoors and not a lot of orchard burning and campfires being lit.

What happens to Canadian Turkeys after Thanksgiving.

And so I feel the tug to cozy up indoors too and pursue craft and art projects, redecorating, organizing of the house, baking etc. I’ve also been cleaning up and organizing my computer data – seeing how KimB and Linda have had recent losses {so sorry Gals!} The next few days are all about backing up – both to cd and ehd.

Sienna and Papa BAKING themselves happy!
(click to view bigger)

credits:
Carrie Stephens - Spontaneous Delight Kit
Amy W's - Barb Birthday Cupcake (yay!)

Maggie and Bill {brother and sister in law} recently sent these sweet pictures of their granddaughter Sienna and Bill baking it up in the kitchen, so Judy (Sister in Law too) and I decided to turn some of these snaps into layouts for them. Hope you like them! (ohhhh Sienna, did you save ME one? And did Papa do the dishes, or not?)

Don't forget to check out Judy's take on this fun time by visiting her blog - just click HERE.

*****

In the way of my pondering brain and spirit, I was ruminating over the past days on the thought that our lives are so ironic! We are born – babes, unable to do the simplest of tasks for ourselves. Our very life depends on someone taking care of us. We own nothing.

Depending on someone is simply our way of existing, it comes so naturally. We don’t think twice about being ‘beholden’ to others, its accepted we NEED one another.

As we begin to grow up, we spend a great deal of time becoming independent and self sufficient. By the time we hit adulthood we pride ourselves on being self-governing, though by choice we hopefully invite God to be truly in control. But at some level, there’s this thing we call pride which can turn into something else.

We gather STUFF to ourselves, even our homes, money, toys etc – giving our families comfort... but if we are not careful, at some point all this stuff begins to own us a bit.

And then, comes a day when our bodies and mind start to fail and we have to start depending on others and considering that all that STUFF now will belong to someone else. So, if we’ve not made a choice to still depend on others – work side by side, connect, share – willingly, its going to be a big shocker when it happens without a conscious choice on our part. We can’t pretend things will remain the same forever.

I struggle a bit with the STUFF thing. I’ve discovered there are some things I’m not willing to share. Its sort of surprised me how passionately this wells up in me. These things are along the lines of my computer and my camera. Both items are high quality. We saved up long and hard to buy them, and we decided to get the best as this is where we spend the majority of our time. I’ve tried to imagine feeling free to lend these items out, trying to examine my motives from every perspective. I DO like these THINGS very much, but I honestly think its more than this. I know if I leant these items out, if the borrowers damaged them, neither they nor I could replace them in most cases. But its even deeper than this, IF something happened either they or me would feel so awkward about it.

We have a dear friend who has lent money out to various friends over the years. She worked VERY hard for every cent, but she is so generous. She’s been burned so many times its amazing. From friends. But, the thing that really hurts her, and this is the thing that I worry about, is that of the people who are unable to pay her back, or choose not to, they then AVOID her – so she says she loses TWICE, once with the money, but worst of all, she loses their friendship because they avoid her, because they feel uncomfortable, guilty.

Honestly, I struggle when I say NO to a friend. Even when I have great reasons, I still get a lump, a funny feeling. I never want to love my STUFF more than my friends. I hope I always discern properly when to make an exception. I hope my STUFF never owns me.

And I hope that I learn to share and lean on others now, so that in the future it won’t come as a shock to have to let go and have others look after my aging and frail body. ( a few years from now – LOL!) I hope I’ve chosen well to share my STUFF with others, after I’m gone. I think that if we don’t learn to depend on others, then when we HAVE to be looked after then thats when we get bitter old people who resent those who look after them.

I’d love to know your thoughts about this!

Upon seeking scripture I think the following chapter of Ecclesiastes is dead on:

Riches Are Meaningless

8 If you see the poor oppressed in a district,
and justice and rights denied,
do not be surprised at such things;
for one official is eyed by a higher one,
and over them both are others higher still.

9 The increase from the land is taken by all;
the king himself profits from the fields.

10 Whoever loves money never has money enough;
whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income.
This too is meaningless.

11 As goods increase,
so do those who consume them.
And what benefit are they to the owner
except to feast his eyes on them?

12 The sleep of a laborer is sweet,
whether he eats little or much,
but the abundance of a rich man
permits him no sleep.

13 I have seen a grievous evil under the sun:
wealth hoarded to the harm of its owner,

14 or wealth lost through some misfortune,
so that when he has a son
there is nothing left for him.

15 Naked a man comes from his mother's womb,
and as he comes, so he departs.
He takes nothing from his labor
that he can carry in his hand.

16 This too is a grievous evil:
As a man comes, so he departs,
and what does he gain,
since he toils for the wind?

17 All his days he eats in darkness,
with great frustration, affliction and anger.

18 Then I realized that it is good and proper for a man to eat and drink,
and to find satisfaction in his toilsome labor under the sun
during the few days of life God has given him—for this is his lot.

19 Moreover, when God gives any man wealth and possessions,
and enables him to enjoy them,
to accept his lot and be happy in his work—this is a gift of God.

20 He seldom reflects on the days of his life,
because God keeps him occupied with gladness of heart.

*****

Last, but not least - Happy Birthday to Bunny! I always have a chuckle at Bunny’s blog, she has such a gift for journaling as if we were all right along with her buying her scrapping goodies and making cards. I've followed KimB's example and cooked up a giveaway to celebrate, but don’t comment ME, please, go leave some good wishes for Bunny by clicking HERE

Barb's Cord Flower Ribbons
fine for Personal, Commercial and S4H

download

The birth of a GOOD home made Deli Sandwich -
(I'm learning to make Artisan Bread in my own oven)

my own sundried tomatoes, basil from our garden

There you are, Mr. Miles. No need to buy at the bakery any more!

and yes, Nina, I'll share the recipe - soon.