Preparing For The Call

It's been a little while since I posted.  I've been so busy helping my son with homeschooling, working on my shop, and now I'm doing P90X and counting calories for the first time.  It's all very time consuming.  I've been thinking about what I should write here.  I could write about my son's first major school project (writing about and creating a scale model of his imaginary country), my incredible shopping excursions at WalMart and Jo-Anns and the awesome deals I found (like McCall's patterns for $.99, or saving $126 on sale items, or planning on adding new items to my line-up), or I could write about my journey with the 90 day workout.

But, no.  This one is as personal as a blog could get.  So, let me set the scene a bit.  I am the product of a teen-age romance.  My mother, after raising me for one year, decided it was too much for her to handle, and planned on giving me up for adoption.  However at this point I was already a member of the family, and so my grandmother, who had raised five of her own children, chose to take on the responsibility of one more.  Of course, I never knew any of this until I was older.  To me she'll always be my mother.

As a child growing up I feel confident in saying that I had a great mom.  She stayed home with me until I was old enough to go to school.  Almost every meal was home-cooked, with meat, potato, vegetable and desert.  She was always sewing some kind os smocked dress for me or driving me to dancing lessons or teaching Sunday School or being a Girl Scout leader.  When I went to nursery school she became a part-time assistant for the teacher.  She ended up working with small children well into her retirement, becoming a Foster Grandmother and only stopped working last year, at the age of 90.  And throughout her entire life, she has rescued and cared for countless cat, dogs, and small critters.  I wouldn't go so far as to say she's a saint, but to say that she is selfless is absolutely accurate.

She's the one I go to first for advice, whether it's cooking or sewing, and the one I call first with news, both good and bad.  She's the glue that holds our family together.

But with each passing day,  I know there will come the call from my oldest sister either telling me my mom is in the hospital or she's gone.  I thank God for each day and pray I'll get to see her just one more holiday.  Last night I had a dream, which woke me up,  that I was on facebook and I got a message to call one of my other sisters, ASAP.  In the dream my mother was in the hospital and I needed to get there tomorrow.  We left in such a hurry that we didn't even pack extra clothes.  I remember whispering in her ear about Heaven and that God loves her....It took at least a half hour to get back to sleep and all my will-power not to go check my phone to see if I really did get that call.  This was the second time I've had a dream about the call.  The first was one was slightly different, but the effect was the same.

 

She's 91 and it's a blessing she's still here with us, though sometimes she doesn't think so.  Imagine living in a time when the ice man chisled off hunks of ice for children in the summer; or living in a three-story house with your parents, grandparents, and your two old-maid aunts; or remembering what it was like when no one had a car and the family gathered around the only radio in the house for entertainment.  She's seen a lot,  and I'm sure, at times she believes she's seen too much.  When that day comes, will she be ready?  Will I?

Best Ever Yummy and Healthy Bread

I discovered this recipe on Allrecipes.com.  It was originally called "Amish White Bread,"  but  I have changed it up quite a bit, so it's neither Amish nor white bread anymore.  This is by far a favorite of my family.  My son will even eat a sandwhich which an end piece:)  Excellent for sandwhiches, toast, or as is.  This bread is both hearty and fulfilling.

Best Ever Yummy and Healthy Bread

Ingredients:
2 cups warm water
1/3 and 1/2 of 1/3 cup of sugar
1 1/2 tbsp active dry yeast (1 packet)
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup canola oil
4 cups bread flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup  flax seed (I grind it myself)
1/4  walnuts (I chop these myself, too)
1/4 sunflower seeds


Directions:
1.  In a large bowl dissolve the sugar in warm water, then add in the yeast.

2.  When the yeast has proofed (you'll know because it has an unpleasant smell and looks foamy), add the salt and the oil.

3.  In a blender, grind the flax see until it is fine powder, then add the walnuts, sunflower seeds, and rolled oats and chop until the you like the consistency of the mixture.  (We like  it coarse.)

4.  Mix in the flour into the liquid a cup at a time.  (I measure out the flour into two separate bowls and then add a little from each until all the flour has been added.  When it get to thick to  stir I mix by hand--my son loves this part.)

5.  After all the flour is all mixed in, add the nut, seed, oat mixture and work it into the dough.

6.  Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes.  (I usually knead it until my fingers and arms don't have the strength to go anymore.)

7.  Shape the dough into a ball and put it into a well oiled bowl.  Turn it to make sure the whole surface is oiled.  Then cover the bowl with a damp cloth and let it sit for about an hour or until it has doubled in size (or gets a lot bigger).

8.  Punch down the dough.  Knead it again for a few minutes.  Make two loaves and put them into lightly greased loaf pans.  (I like to use butter. )  Cover with the damp cloth again and let them sit until they have risen above the pan.  (The original recipe said 30 minutes, but it's more like an hour for me.)

9.  Lightly brush the top with butter, then bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 minutes or until the crust is lightly browned and the house smells like bread.

Please let me know how this turned out for you and what, if any, changes you made to make it yours.

Welcome!

OK.  So I've finally decided to join the blogging world.  I am Lisa, and TheGoodOleDays is my newest venture.  TheGoodOleDays has only been in existence since July.  I started with homemade recycled paper, greeting cards, and cloth napkins.  Last month I added aprons to my inventory, and have plans on adding more.

After joining the etsy community, I added a facebook fanpage, and now I'm doing craft fairs. I'll be at three different shows in the next two months. 

I love the idea of being able to do what I enjoy, to have the ability and time to make recycled paper, and to have the opportunity to stay home with my son and do homeschooling for the first time.  I must give a huge shout out to my biggest supporter, my fiance Harry.  I couldn't do any of this without his love and support.  My life is truly blessed.  Family means everything to me.