mmm... Bread

What is it about bread?  The feel of it while kneading... the smell of it baking... the yumminess of a fresh slice slathered with butter?  What is it about bread? 
We had a baking day last week.  We used to make all of our own bread products from freshly ground wheat...for years.  But the past few years we have been moving away from such a carbohydrate heavy diet and baking days have been few and far between.  Because of the government shutdown we decided to try and cook from the pantry and since we had a hundred pounds of wheat berries a baking day was declared!  (Now that is an awful sentence... lol... pretend you at least understood the basic idea...)

Happy Birthday Nehemiah!

Our baby is five now!

Our Most Recent Biscuit-Maker

Sweet MaryVance made biscuits 'all by herself' for supper a few nights ago.  :)

Yummy and pretty too!!

Lovin' Life in SC - Day Trip #2: Caesar's Head State Park

Caesars Head State Park is a park in northern Greenville County, SC.  The eponymous rock formation, the highest point in Greenville County, is a granitic gneiss outcrop at 3208 feet above sea level on the Blue Ridge Escarpment of the Blue Ridge Mountains and rests roughly 2000 feet above the Piedmont below.

My angle wasn't great, but do you see the head?

A view of part of the overlook

The pic is kinda fuzzy but it was really neat to know what we were looking at ;)

And now for Molly's pictures... my cell phone sure wasn't doing a very good job with the distance and haze.

Lovin' Life in SC - Day Trip #1: Mount Mitchell State Park

There are a few places in the world that still stand apart from the ordinary. Rising more than a mile high, surrounded by the gentle mist of low-hanging clouds, Mount Mitchell State Park is one of these extraordinary places.
In the crest of the timeworn Black Mountains lies the summit of Mount Mitchell, at an elevation 6,684 feet it is the highest point east of the Mississippi. For those who ascend this mighty peak, what looms in the horizon is a feast for the eyes--breathtaking views of the Blue Ridge Mountains, rolling ridges and fertile valleys. Forested and forever misty, 1,946-acre Mount Mitchell State Park will provide you with some of the most tranquil moments you'll ever experience. Mount Mitchell State Park Website

a view from an overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway

one of the picnic pavilions at the park, isn't it lovely?

Our picnic spot, just below the photo above.  It's just amazing there, like you are the only one there!

Everything tastes better with mountain air as your condiment ;)

Views from the overlook

Taken from an overlook on the way back down the mountain.

One of several tunnel passages.  The Boykas love these!

It was such a nice trip, we are really enjoying exploring our little corner of the world here! 

Caleb's Adventures in Astrophotography

 

These photos were taken through my Orion SkyQuest XT6 Dobsonian 6 inch telescope.  They were taken using the camera on a Samsung Droid cell phone. [click on each pic to enlarge]
The top and bottom pictures were taken at a 48x magnification.  The middle pic is at 96x magnification.  Amazing, isn't it?  The moon is over 250,000 miles away, I love being able to see such detail.  I tried to take pictures of the moon with a standard camera but it never worked quite right.  The cell phone camera has a smaller aperture and it worked great.  ~Caleb

"The heavens declare the glory of God 

and the firmament shows his handiwork..." Ps 19:1

Kirky's Sean's Mama's Yummilicious Pickles

Now doesn't that title just make your mouth water?  

All of my friends have been raving and raving about these pickles and since we are huge Bread and Butter Pickle lovers here we just had to give them a try!  This is our second batch and MaryVance made them this week.  Yes, I said 'this week'... we make a gallon at a time and that lasts two weeks.

Slicing cucumbers

Yet another time that our wonderful island comes in handy!

Okay, I guess we should start with the recipe, no?  I copied it from Kirky's blog...

This recipe yields about a quart of pickles. 

First we mix the vinegar, sugar and spices in a glass bowl.

Then we slice the cucumbers and onions.  We use regular cukes but pickling cukes work great too, so they say ;)

These area added to the liquid and gently tossed around.  You want those yummy flavors to marry... and marry good...

Next, microwave on 'high' for five minutes.

Stir, and microwave on 'high' for five more minutes.

We spoon them into jars and then pour the liquid over.

Refrigerate until cool before eating.  Really.  You want to do this.  Trust me.  I have not led you wrong before.  They are so delicious.  You will have to exercise will power.  THEY ARE SO YUMMY!

I love DIY projects... but you knew that already, didn't you?

We really needed some size appropriate tables for the school room.  The one we were using was too tall for most of us... actually, it's not the table's problem, the chairs are shorter than normal.  So, I had this brilliant idea... you know all great projects start with me saying "Hey, I have this idea..." LOL
Thanks to the great instructions found on this site,  my guys were able to modify them some and make us two new tables!  I love them!  They are the perfect size :)  Caleb is still deciding how to finish them but we are using them now!
They enjoyed using real plans instead of what I come up with for a change!  They all enjoyed learning some new techniques, like making rabbets for one ;)  A few pictures of the base. 

I forgot to take an 'after' picture before they were put into use, but this is what they look like now.

 

I love them!  And I love having handy guys who can make my dreams come true!