Random Thoughts from Home

Hard to believe that summer is gone and now Thanksgiving is right around the corner! I have so many things to be grateful for and they all happen to be about family! I am grateful for a wonderful summer memory full of fun, laughter and little ones who were just as perfect as can be. And I am grateful to have had those wonderful days when all our children were together. And to get to know Lindsay and Devin and Ginanne just a little bit better. That is joy!

I am also grateful for lessons learned over the years. One is which is perseverance. On the wall in the family room is a beautiful quilt hanging that I started but did not have the confidence to finish so a wonderful quilter friend named Jody finished it for me. It's beautiful but it always bothered me that I couldn't quilt. So I started on small projects for the home and then expanded to baby quilts and small doll quilts. But I still didn't feel capable of finishing a good sized baby quilt until now! Courtney will receive a baby quilt that says to me that my skills have grown! Not that I am bragging but I am just saying that I didn't give up and I kept trying and every time I look at this quilt I feel happy! So now I have selected materials for a bigger quilt for Emmi and then I'll move on to Nolan and Gerret. It's like my bread making. For the life of me I couldn't make bread that rose and tasted and actually looked like a decent loaf of bread until about two years ago. The point I'm trying to get across is that although there are some things I won't ever be able to do, like singing in the Tab choir there is nothing I can't do if I put my mind to it. And once Courtney is given the quilt then I will post a picture of it.

And speaking of bread, here's the no-fail recipe that I now use and it works every time! And the ingredients are the most basic. You will always have these in your home.

2 cups milk 1 Tbls salt 2 Tbls butter/margarine 1 Tbls yeast

1/2 cup warm water 2 Tbls sugar 6-7 cups wheat and white flour

Heat milk, salt and butter in saucepan until bubbles appear around edges, then let it cool. Sprinkle yeast over water in large bowl, add sugar and stir, set aside for 5-10 minutes. Stir in the cooled milk mixture . Add 3 cups flour and stir with wooden spoon for 2 minutes. Gradually add more flour with hands until dough leaves sides of bowl. Knead dough on floured surface for 10 mintues. Grease mixing bowl with 1 Tbls soft margarine and coat dought also so it won't dry our or crack. Cover with towel and let it rise for 1 1/2 hours. Punch dough down and knead for 2 minutes. Cut dough in half and let rest for 5 minutes. Roll each ball into 9x12 rectangle. Roll up and fold under ends. Put seam side down in greased bread pan and let rise for 1 hour. Bake 35-40 minutes in 4oo degree oven. It's wonderful!

Love you all

Mom

Random Thoughts from Home!

I'm at the computer waiting for my oatmeal-banana muffins to bake. I had leftover bananas and of course cannot let them go to waste. Hope they turn out. What a beautiful Fall day. Dad is up in the attic laying the insulation. Boy is he noisy! I know he wants to get done before we go to our 2:30 temple session. It's Stake temple day and we're excited to see many ward family members there.

I put Maran's picture here to highlight the fact that our baby girl is turning 21 this Monday! Whoo-Hoo!!! It was only yesterday she was a roly-poly bundle of love crawling everywhere and with the most beautiful brown eyes looking for trouble! Happy Birthday little sis!

We were deeply saddened by the passing of Patrick O'Brien. He put up a valiant fight and we know that now he is healthy and strong and watching over his family. We will miss him.

In seminary this week my favorite chapter was 2 Nephi 31. WOW! So much doctrine packed into 21 verses. I strongly recommend all to read and feast and ponder and learn from this great chapter.

We of course are stocking up on Halloween sales and my treat bucket for seminary will never be empty. I love sales.

We would appreciate Christmas wish lists from all of you soon. Dad and I started shopping last night but Becky is the only one who's given us any ideas, so start thinking. Needless to say we started shopping for the grandbabies quite a while ago!

So here's a new recipe I found on one of my food storage websites. As you kids know a Halloween tradition in our family is the tossing of the pumpkins from the roof. It is always quite a sight and Emily enjoys it a lot! Well, I saved my jack-o-lantern and cooked it and now it's ready for

Jack-O-lantern pie.

3 1/2 cups pumpkin 3/4 c. sugar 1/2 tsp salt 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp giner, nutmeg and ground cloves 3 eggs 1 c. dry instant milk

Thoroughly combine all of the above. Pour into a pie crust and bake at 400 degrees for 50 minutes or until a knife inserted halfway between center and outside comes out clean. Let it cool.

I cut my carved pumpkin into 4-inch squares and with 1 cup water put into a big pot and simmered for 40 mnutes until soft. Then I put it into the blender and pureed it. It's in the freezer waiting to be made into Jack-O-Lantern pies!

Love you all and have a great week!

Mom