An inside day....

It's another cold ole day in our part of the world.  Just checked the thermostat and it's 11 degrees....yikes!  So think I'll just put another log on the fire and stay in.

Think I'll bake a batch of my new favorite cookie.  They're light and crispy and very good with hot chocolate or a cup of tea about 3:00 in the afternoon.....

Also will make bread which I love doing.  I never buy bread anymore and it's made a difference in the way I feel.  Have you ever looked at the ingredients in a loaf of bread.....scary!  It's no wonder it lasts so long in the bread box.

Judy and I went to St. Louis this weekend and did a little shopping a long the way.  Found a few things to brighten up my space at Leola's.  We always have such a good time in St. Louis.  So much to do and so little time.  Shad and Rob (Judy's son & his partner) are the best guides.  Basically, we ride and they drive and they know the best places to eat and antique.

A few of my treasures.....

Linda works at Leola's tomorrow so think I'll go re-do my area.  I've had a fireplace mantle on the wall for so long and it hasn't sold even after marking it down.  Think I'll bring it home and replace it with a table I recently purchased.  One of these days I'm going to have another garage sale and clear some things out but probably won't be for awhile.  We have more frigid weather on its way next week.

Have a great weekend!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter to everyone. Hope we all have a wonderful, peaceful day. We will go to church and then come here for lunch. It's suppose to rain so eggs might have to be hidden on the back porch. The little ones still have coughs so we'll try to keep it a calm day. Maybe if we could have 2 days in a row with sunshine and warmth we could all get well.

.This was the bread I made today. It was really yummy and without a doubt the easiest bread I've ever made. It doesn't have to be kneaded and you store it in the fridge and just cut off what you need and let it rest for about an hour before it goes into the oven . It tastes like real Italian bread.

Love the free form shape of it too.

Have a great Sunday.

Still waiting for Spring!

These are some dishes I purchased recently. They are that wonderful weathered white color.

It was a cold and dismal day in the Ozarks. It was one of those days when you need the lights on & the heat. Just wish Spring would stay around for a few days straight. I haven't been able to even get my garden tilled. What's the deal with this weather? So many people are sick, including Allison & the g'kids. If I had lots of money, I'd pack us all up & go somewhere warm. Guess that's not going to happen!

Since I didn't want to get out today, I decided to do a little more bread experimenting. Recently I purchased the book Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day because it had been mentioned repeatedly on the blogs. You make a large batch of dough that will make several loaves and then keep it in the fridge for up to 14 days. There's no kneading. I used my mixer with dough hooks just until everything is combined. It rose beautifully and then it was placed in the fridge. Can't wait to bake some. I'll let you know how it turns out.

I'm fixing Easter dinner for my little family and John's Mom on Sunday. Sometimes it's just too much trying to get everyone together and I thought the little ones weren't up to a big crowd. We'll just have the usual ham/deviled eggs fare but I bought beautiful strawberries to dip in chocolate. My friend, Annie, brought these over one night and there's no going back. They're every one's favorite.

My latest bread baking adventure.

This is my latest attempt at bread baking. It's another recipe from http://mennonitegirlscancook.blogspot.com/ and it was delicious. After church on Sunday I went to the kid's house for lunch and took the rolls. John had fixed a tenderloin & we made sandwiches with the tenderloin and avocados. It was great! I'm really getting into this bread baking. The only real problem is that it may cause a serious weight issue.

This was a busy weekend at Leola's. The new tearoom will be opening on April 2 & that should be a real plus. They have been practicing their menu and their food is wonderful. They will be such an asset to our little area. The name will be Lemon Drop Tearoom. This is the time that everything starts buzzing in Branson and the lines start at Lamberts (home of throwed rolls). The buses are already starting to appear again. Spring is in the air!!

Success -- at last!!! Breadbaking

At last I turned out 2 beautiful loaves of bread -- & quite tasty too! I used Hodgson Mills' white flour and also there yeast and a recipe from the Barefoot Contessa cookbook. It raised beautifully in an hour and then another hour in the bread pans. I think my favorite part (besides eating it) is smelling it while it's baking. My mixer with dough hooks came in handy too so I didn't have to do so much kneading. I'll definitely be doing this more often. I promised Sage that the next time he came, I'd make cinnamon rolls.
All 3 g'kids spent the night last night and they just left. So now I'm having a grilled cheese sandwich (homemade bread) and a Dr. Pepper for lunch. I've been trying not to drink soda but I think I deserve it today.

My afternoon is being spent trying to design a shopping bag for my 100th blog posting (actually it will probably be my 120th). One of my new year's resolutions was to do something that helps the environment everyday this year so I thought a shopping bag would be perfect for today's deed. So keep a watchout in the next couple of days. It's always such a thrill for me to get a comment on my blog so this is my way of seeing if anyone is actually reading it.

Have a great Sunday!

Bread baking -- not a huge success!!!

This was my first attempt at bread making using gluten & it still didn't rise. The yeast was new & I put it in a warm place but not sure what happened. I'm trying again today. I might add that it did make darn good toast with my peach jam.

I bought a flour that was new to me and I'm wondering if that was my mistake. It was called white whole wheat but I think I should have mixed it with white flour. I love Hodgson Mill flours and bread mixes so I'm going to add some of their bread flour to the mix today. We'll see!!!

My sister Mary is having a sale at her little used (everything) store in Battlefield today so I think I'll run out. I have been working on Leola's merchandise the last couple of days and have some things ready to take in. This is the time of year, as long as the weather stays good, that we get a lot of dealers in & also our regulars are sprucing up after taking down Christmas. Yesterday was in the 60's and there were lots of people out so holes need to be filled. Today is very cold & gloomy so we'll see what happens.

We have g'kids overnight tonight so we went to the library and checked out a great old Shirley Temple movie so we can have movie night. It's always amazed me that with all the things to do with kids that always costs money, the simple things that cost practically nothing are always there favorites. They love to get their pj's on & we fix a big pillow & blanket pit in front of the fire, fix popcorn & watch a movie. Oh, & you have to turn out all the lights. Nothing better then that!!!!!

Have a great weekend!

A day to work in the shop & ponder breadmaking...

First of all, Mindy from Primitiques 'n Poetry blog is having a give-away. If you want to sign-up to win this wonderful book "The House that Cleans Itself" go on over but please tell her that you found her through my blog because then I'm entered again. I think this sounds like a book that I could really use. Also, you'll really enjoy Mindy's blog.

It was such a pretty day today so Judy & I went to work at Leola's for awhile. We hung lace at the front windows & hope to hang enlarged valentines also. It's a really fun look & that's what we're all wanting at this time of the year. I took a few shop pictures.

I also went to Mama Jean's Natural Food Store in Springfield and purchased organic whole grain flour and gluten to make home-made bread. I've never done really well with my bread baking & a couple of women who were in the shop this week told me that the secret ingredient was gluten. I'm just going to check some of the blogs of women who make bread & see what kind of advice I get. If anyone has any for me, please send a comment & let me know. I'm determined that this year I'm not only going to try to live more simply, but I'm really wanting to eat better and that means more homemade. Most things that have ingredients listed will be off-limits (except Cheezits & Krafts Macaroni & Cheese). Sorry, but life is not worth living without Cheezits & my g'kids can't live without macaroni & cheese.