What's Up Wednesday ~ July 2024

 Here we go...another month down in 2024.  Anyone else ready to celebrate 2025 with me yet?  Here is a recap of July and I'm thankful for God's goodness in the midst of a difficult year. 

What I'm eating this week.........

Brook has been sending me lots of random recipes this summer.  One was a croissant stuffed with a cookie.  I took a Sweet Loren's chocolate chip cookie along with a Pillsbury croissant and created this!

If you are looking for dinner recipies, I have cooked twice this summer, so I'm not the best one to go to for new ideas.  I eat leftovers from random meals out for lunch and usually eat a bar & crackers or something exciting like that for dinner. 

What I'm reminiscing about..........

Childhood pictures that come up of the girls get me all the time.

What I'm loving..........

I am enjoying planning an early fall trip for me.  You can take the girl out of the travel agency, but you can't take the travel agent out of the girl!  I even went old school and received 2 travel guides in the mail over the weekend!  I still like to look through a paper magazine/guide to help plan.  I am going to an area I have been to many times, but it has been so long since I have been there.  

What I've been up to.........

Last week was busy checking on my mom and dad when she had 2 surgeries.  Thankfully, she is home now, so thank you for the prayers!  Funny thing, this is the book my dad brought to read at the hospital.  Backstory, my dad taught anatomy for 45 years, so this is his passion.  Again, you can take the anatomy professor out of the medical school, but you can't take the anatomy professor out of the man!

What I'm dreading...........

Brook returning to college this fall, but yet I'm excited for her too as she will be living in a new place and going back to study something she really enjoys.

What I'm working on..........

This month was all about cleaning out drawers, cabinets and going through bins in the attic.  I still have more work to do, but it felt good to throw away some things this month and give things away.

What I'm excited about.........

I get to meet my new great niece in a few days!

What I'm watching/reading...........

I am watching the Olympics!  

Brook and I also watched the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders documentary on Netflix.  I also watched season 3 of The Bear this month.  

What I'm listening to.........

I am listening to lots of podcasts and audiobooks!  You can click here to read about podcasts I listen to on a regular basis.  I also added the podcast, Women in the Middle: Loving life after 50 to my list.  I have only listened to one episode, so we will see if I continue or not with this one. 

For books I am listening to, come back tomorrow to read about those and link up with us for Share Your Shelf!

What I'm wearing........

Dresses most days!

What I'm doing this weekend........

Brook and I have some fun plans for the weekend, which I will post about next week. 

What I'm looking forward to next month........

I am looking forward to a vacation, which will hopefully include a few days sitting on the beach!

What else is new...........

Brook and I have been to 3 estate sales this summer and this week, they featured us on their instagram page.

I purchased this table, a shelf to put under a cabinet and tissue paper for Christmas.  We went on the last day of the sale, so everything was half price!

Come back tomorrow to join us for Share Your Shelf!

Talking About it Tuesdays ~ Sourdough

Good morning. I am sharing a little bit today of my sourdough bread journey!

My original love of sourdough came from a visit to San Francisco many years ago where I ate fresh sourdough bread.  Fast forward from the 90's to last year....

There is a sourdough bakery about 45 minutes from me that I began to visit each time I went to see my sister.  The variations of loaves were of course delicious, but I was also so intrigued by all the discard pastries they sold.....sea salt focaccia bread, waffles, sourdough chocolate chip cookies & sourdoodles (think snickerdoodles, but made with sourdough starter).

After Christmas, a co-worker shared some starter with me and her recipe.  I began in January making my own sourdough loaves each week.  Since then, it is still a learning process.  I have tweaked my instructions some after talking with another friend who began baking sourdough and through a few websites.  

I have made sourdough popovers, sourdough crackers, sourdough cookies & sourdough pizza crust all with sourdough discard.  Other than making loaves, I have also made focaccia muffins, which were a favorite!  

Admittedly, I feel like I have been hit or miss with some of my loaves this summer.  I have had a few weeks where the loaves don't rise as much (I bake 2 loaves each week).  The difference has been the temperature of the house and the timing it takes to reach its peak before forming the bread and then baking.  It took a lot longer in the winter, which is when I learned, due to the colder temperature.  

However, even when the bread hasn't risen as well, it still tastes good!  If I can tell it may not rise as well due to the texture, I have made the focaccia flatbread and muffins, which I like just as much. 

 Hint: Baking the dough in muffin tins or a bread pan will force the bread to rise more!

This has really been a fun hobby to learn and share with others.  I have shared starter with 2 friends, one being our friend, Jennifer.  Jenn has really done a great job of designing her bread!

I have really enjoyed being able to share bread with friends and family.  Just last week, I delivered some to my neighbor who had surgery.  I have given her a few loaves prior to this one.  I have also shared some with friends at church and family members.  It has been fun to send back with my girls after they visit at home too.

For baking, I have used a mix of unbleached all purpose flour, bread flour and Einkorn flour, which has more protein in it. I purchase this off Amazon and recently bought this on Prime Days.

I also purchased these breadmaking tools from Amazon Prime:

Here are 2 websites I have found to be helpful if you would like to start your journey along with some pictures from my baking journey:

https://www.theperfectloaf.com/

https://countryroadssourdough.com/

Go enjoy some sourdough when you can!

 

Hello Monday ~ July 29, 2024

 Good Monday morning.  Here is a brief recap of the weekend and random things going on in life.

My youngest daughter gave me a belated Mother's Day gift last week.  This is one of my favorite pictures of us from her childhood and she made a laser image of it on wood.  It is beautiful and I will treasure it forever.

Here is the original picture:

Friday morning, I worked from home for a few hours then spent the rest of the day at the hospital with my dad.  My mom had her 2nd surgery of the week and this one lasted 4 1/2 hours, along with a few hours in recovery, so it was a long day. 

Friday evening, Brook and I watched the Olympic opening ceremony.  Of course, we are cheering for the USA, but it was fun to see Colombia come on the screen too, since we lived there for 3 years.  One of my favorite parts of opening ceremonies is always seeing all the countries represented and their outfits.  There are always a few countries I have to google!

Saturday, we went to the Farmer's Market, Kroger and then got some frozen yogurt!

I did some random housekeeping things like cleaning out clogged drains, laundry, spraying for bugs and patching up some nail holes to get ready to do some painting.  Fun adulting!  I was at home by myself Saturday night, so I enjoyed my new candle my best friend sent me and flowers we bought that morning at the grocery store.  We have discovered the discount flower section!  

Sunday, I went to church and had lunch with Jennifer.  We always love getting together and so thankful I have her as a friend here to share life.  

I went by the hospital afterwards to visit my mom.  Thank you for praying for her last week with her 2 surgeries and continue to pray her strength will improve this week.  We are hopeful she will go home today. 

Later that evening, I went by Lowes to get some paint supplies and came home to watch gymnastics on the Olympics.

This saying really spoke to me last week.  I see so many encouraging things that speak to me these days.  

I hope you have a great start to your week!

Friday Favorites /Monthly Musings ~ July 26, 2024

 Happy Friday!  I am linking up today for Friday Favorites and backtracking to yesterday to join up with July's Monthly Musings.

A few favorites....

I joined a friend on a walk Monday morning at a local park and saw these deer.

My next favorites of the week were having lunch with my college roommate and an early dinner with my sister.  Did I get pictures from either of these?  No.  

Another favorite is I received my Amazon Prime purchases!  I will share these on August 5th, but this is me with one of my purchases...my own tool kit!

A huge favorite has been how well mom did after surgery this week.  That being said, as you may be reading this, she has another major surgery Friday morning that may cause more pain afterwards.  I will be visiting her today and this weekend at the hospital. 

Now on to Monthly Musings with Patty and Holly....

1.  Summer travel - where have you been and what trips are still coming up?

I haven't taken a vacation yet, but I do have one next month to Richmond and Virginia Beach.  

2.  Favorite things you have done so far this summer?

My favorite thing by far is just spending time with my daughters.  My oldest has been home a few times for weddings and my youngest is here for the summer.

3.  Share your go-to outfits this summer.

My go to outfits are dresses & I have bought several new ones this summer, including the 2 in the pictures above.

4.  Summer accessories you are never without?

My summer accesory is my neck fan, ha!

5.  Share your go-to shoes this summer.

I wear sandals or these slip on shoes alot.

6.  Share anything spontaneous you did this summer. Big or small.

I jumped in a swimming pool, which is something I hadn't done in years.  And I also hosted a Gummy Bear Party for 2 of my great nieces and some girls from church.

7.  Have you seen any summer movies this year?

I saw Disciples of the Moonlight last week and want to go see Inside Out 2.

8. Favorite summer sweet treat?

This is the same answer year round....frozen yogurt.

9.  Summer slow down or ready for fall?

Ready for fall, with the exception my daughter will go back to college. 

10.  Ready for back to school, if you have kids in school?

See previous answer....no, I will miss her terribly.  Thankfully, I will have a few nights with both my girls next month.  I treasure time together with both of them.

Wishing you all a great weekend!