This and that Tuesday

I was off work yesterday and really didn’t get anything done. Well, I did a little laundry, but that’s about it. Oh, I filed my taxes. Ok, that’s really about it this time!

Son fixed supper for us last night. It was a recipe he found online so he could use some venison salami. The other ingredients were olive oil, various herbs, and garlic made into a sauce to put over spaghetti noodles, along with the diced salami. It was very tasty, having a Greek flavor to it.

I wound up having a real day off. I’m sure I needed it because I just didn’t have the willpower to get around and do much. I feel a lot better today, so I’m thinking I just needed the rest.

We put out a lot of the gardens the other day. I like using my “claw” to loosen the soil in the beds but I kind of wish it had u-shaped handles to make gripping it easier, instead of what looks like bicycle handlebars. Still, it doesn’t run on gasoline and it really does work to break up the soil and lift out clumps of grass or weeds that have tried to take over since last fall.

I worked today and got home around 6 pm. Neither of us was hungry at the time, so later we grabbed a couple pizzas out of the freezer for an easy meal when we did get hungry. I needed to eat and get into bed fairly early tonight since I have to be at work at 5:30 am Wednesday!

Technorati Tags: work,job,gardening

Wednesday update

Winter has returned with a gust, if not gusto. I had to be at work at 5:30 yesterday morning and it was actually warmer then than it was at 1 PM when I got off. It was also very windy, which made the cold seem that much worse.

At the time I got off, I actually saw a few tiny snowflakes fluttering around, but that quickly changed to sprinkles. We are predicted to get rain and thunderstorms tonight and tomorrow, plus these colder temperatures. Thankfully, it is supposed to be much warmer by the weekend and hopes are that this is the final assault by winter. We’ll see.

My green onions are growing, and my radishes have started breaking through the soil. The sugar pod peas were washed up by the weekend’s hard rain so I covered them back up. I did notice they were trying to grow little roots on them, though, so it looks like I’ll have those delicious peas in a few weeks. Not much else has sprouted so far, but I’m expecting it to start up in about another week. Warmer days would probably help.

Today, I started work at 6:30. Still early, but not as early as yesterday, at least.

After work I met up with a fellow who had chicks for sale. He comes in where I work every day and told me he was getting these little fellows, and did I want some. I told him I couldn’t get any until after payday, but he insisted on letting me have 12 of them now anyway. He knows I’m good for the money.

After that meeting I headed to Big Town to the major farm store there. I received a couple of gift cards from there and figured to redeem some of that today, and I did. I bought 12 more chicks plus chick feed to get them started. Son had the chick housing ready when I got home, and he had cleaned and sanitized the water and feed dispensers. We put a clamp light near the large cage where the chicks will spend the next few weeks, so they could stay warm.

All of these chicks are Black Australorp. This breed was developed in Australia and they are considered to be a top egg laying breed and they are also considered to be a meat breed. They lay large brown eggs and are hardy layers both in the summer heat and in the winter time. I’m looking forward to fresh eggs again, although it will be when they are about 24 weeks old before they actually start laying. I may see about getting 2 or 3 grown hens of some kind that are laying now to fill in the gap.

Technorati Tags: chickens,work

Monday after Easter

I was up early this morning – around 4:30 – since I had to be at work at 6. I’m not a person who enjoys getting up that early, but it’s what I’ve had to do for some time now.

We had a couple of new people start work today. One of them is a young woman who actually isn’t that new to us since she used to work there as a teen. The other lady really was new to me, but she apparently had worked at McD before. She was very familiar with how the registers operate and she knew her way around the rest of the operations there.

After stopping by a local discount store to pick up a couple of things, I headed home. There, we pulled out the leftovers from yesterday’s Easter dinner then warmed them up in the oven. It was all still quite good, and there’s just enough left for me to have for lunch at work tomorrow.

This evening we did a little reorganizing and rearranging in my bedroom. I only actually use the room for storage, though. I’ve slept on the sofa nearly every night since my husband passed away.

Speaking of sleep, I guess I better head to bed soon since I have to be at work at 5:30 in the morning!

Technorati Tags: work,job,shopping

Finally Thursday

What a long, tiring day today. Woke up at 2:30 AM to get ready for work. I had to be there at 4 AM. This old gal does not like getting around that early!

After I got there, I soon learned that a few people had either called in or just didn’t bother to come to work. That always makes it hard on those of us who do show up. Right now, we have free food coupons that went out in the mail and people are really taking advantage of them. That translates into being even busier than normal, which made it that much harder on us all day.

I saw an announcement on the online news that an air travel company is offering $59 airline tickets to Florida. I’m not sure how long that lasts, but considering how cold our springtime has been so far, I’d bet a lot of folks are taking them up on this super low ticket price. Who knows, maybe some will try to get fl studio 10 minutes from the theme parks there, because they’d rather live there in an apartment than face the too-cold weather we’re having here.

I’ll be heading up to Mom’s after a bit. I really just needed to rest before I go. I wouldn’t want to fall asleep at the wheel on the 2 hour drive up there.

Technorati Tags: work,travel

Filling in the spare time

It’s the end of another long day for me. I woke up at 4:30 this morning to get ready for work. And, I’ll be getting up that early tomorrow morning, too, since I, again, have to be there by 5:45 AM.

I spent most of the weekend baking breads, besides doing the usual chores. But at least today I did sell three loaves of the breads – two of the cinnamon raisin twirl and one dozen onion rolls. One person I sold the cinnamon bread to operates the little feed store up the road. She invited me to post a flyer about my bread making. Several folks have flyers there for various little things, so I think I’ll work one up and see how that works out for selling homemade breads.

She also commented that she didn’t see how I had time to bake bread, since I work fulltime. I told her that I simply bake on my days off and sometimes in the afternoons, if there is an order for it.

I’ll soon need miraculous medals to keep up this pace, though. I do very much enjoy the bread making, and would prefer it to be my fulltime job, but I don’t think I’ll be baking enough to actually pay the big bills around here, so I’ll just continue as I have. At least I now have most weekends off, so that gives me time to bake and time to rest.

Technorati Tags: bread,work

Friday catching up

Well, I didn’t follow through with blogging every day on here, did I?

It’s been a long week. I wound up working 7 days straight due to the way my days off were arranged. But now, I do have the weekend off, so I’m happy about that. Maybe I can get some things accomplished around the house, plus make some breads.

Tuesday evening, we went and had supper with Younger Daughter. She served up chicken spaghetti, green beans, and some of the homemade jalapeno cheese bread I’d given her for Christmas. Then, for dessert, she made a double chocolate layer cake with double chocolate icing. Afterward, I enjoyed a cup of Keurig coffee. I’d never actually seen one of those coffee makers in action, so it was interesting to brew just one cup of flavored coffee. It wouldn’t work very well for me at home since I brew a pot full every time. (I will drink more than just one cup of coffee.) But she likes it because her hubby can have a cup of coffee when he wants, and she can have a cup of hot chocolate when she wants. There’s no waste that way for them.

It was all delicious and we had a nice long visit, too. This was her belated birthday present to me, since I’d been sick around my actual birthday and we had to postpone this dinner. I had a lot of fun there, though, so it was well worth the wait.

The really big news is that a convenience store near where I work was raided by police Thursday. We could see all manner of county sheriff’s cars, state police, and local town police surrounding the building and blocking all entrances to the store. It turned out the owner of that store and a store in another smaller town north of us was selling K-2 and “bath salts”, He was arrested and charged with felonies. They also found a handgun and about $30,000 cash on the premises. Quite exciting for our very small town! It was hard to keep everyone’s attention on our business with all that going on across the parking lot from us!

The rest of the week was pretty ordinary. We’ve gotten a lot of precipitation this winter, and this week we’ve gotten rain. We should be getting more rain over the weekend. I don’t have any outdoor plans this weekend, and even if I did, that wouldn’t stop them from being rained out.

Technorati Tags: coffee,birthday,family

Saturday back to normal

I was up early this morning because I had to be at work at 6 AM. I’m not a real morning person, but lately I’ve been scheduled early and since it’s my job, I have to be there.

There were a few people missing. They either called in or they simply didn’t show up for work. One girl showed up 2 1/2 hours late. We should be used to this by now, but it still makes it hard on the folks who come into work on time, expecting there to be enough crew to handle the job. We got through it, though. I was scheduled to be off at 1 PM, but it was 1:30 before I was actually able to leave.

I stopped by a local discount store to pick up the ingredients for homemade laundry soap, then headed home. As soon as I got here, I whipped up a batch of the soap and started the laundry.

After a supper of fried potatoes, I set about making bagels. I have an order for 6 of them, plus we like to have some for ourselves. By the time they were in the oven, it was about 7:30, which still left me time to make some cinnamon rolls for an order (same person). I’ll have more than enough for her and for anyone else who may want to buy some.

The rest of the evening was spent posting here and watching shows on Netflix.

Technorati Tags: baking,work

Veteran's Day observed 2012

Today is Veteran's Day observed, which means that the banks are closed and so is the post office. It also means that at work, we couldn't buy change from the bank because, well, it was closed. I guess nobody thought about that on Saturday morning.

I worked a very early shift this morning. Though working at that ungodly hour isn't my favorite thing to do, at least I was back home by noon, leaving me time to do some things at home that are my favorite things. First thing I did was fix myself a big mug of chai tea from my homemade mix. It's been chilly all day, and a little breezy, so the chai hit the spot.

Next, I started some bread dough in the machines. I want to get the dough done, let it rise again, then bake in in regular loaf pans. The result is so much nicer from pans than from the machines, although the machines are a lot less trouble. I also perused some recipes for artisan breads and a flat bread that I want to try.

I put supper in a slow cooker -- small pork roast with onions, apple slices, and canned potatoes -- so I didn't have to tend to it much.

Then I started looking online at ways to actually pump water from our well in case of a power outage, or at least pump water from our rainwater cachement system. I may need to look into hydraulic valves and plumbing supplies to really make an effective way to get that water pumping while running it using a generator or solar panel battery bank.

So much to think about when colder weather starts coming in!

Technorati Tags: shopping,work,weather

October almost over

After last week's mini vacation, which you can read a daily account of at Sixty Something, my Sis' blog, it was back to work as usual. I've had to go in at very early hours lately, but at least so far, not for opening. That would mean being there by 4 AM.

Not much in the way of adventures going on here, unless you count being bitten by a squirrel that had dived in the drive-through window Friday night at work. Saturday morning, the scamp was still in the store. He had come from someone's vehicle and was apparently a pet, but a very adventurous one. After trying to catch him Friday night, with no luck, it was left to us to capture the beastie on Saturday.

At one point, I did actually catch him and tried to throw him into the live trap the fire department had left for that purpose. The little demon latched onto my left hand, at the knuckle, and clawed me while I had a-hold of him. The trap, however, was set so tight that he dived right back out of it without being caught. In the meantime, my hand was bleeding and my supervisor told me to go to the ER.

There, I was assured that squirrels do not carry rabies but I needed good wound treatment and antibiotics anyway. The doctor's real concern was whether the squirrel had broken or cracked my knuckle. He determined it had not, but said it can easily happen since squirrels crack hard nuts "for a living", as he put it. They prescribed the antibiotics and some pain relievers. I went back to work with my hand all bandaged up.

After work, I headed to a pharmacy and got the prescriptions filled. The ER visit and the prescriptions are both covered by workman's comp, thank goodness, since the meds alone were almost $60.

Other than my knuckle being sore and a little swollen for a couple of days, it's healing nicely and there is now only a little swelling left. It could have been much worse.

Technorati Tags: work,health

Tuesday thoughts

Just another work day here. The weather was so beautiful today that I really wished I was at home, doing something outside. But, bills do have to be paid so I was inside at work, instead.

I took oatmeal for my lunch and added my own raisins, cinnamon, and sugar to it, put it in a zip bag, and enjoyed it along with molasses/cinnamon/raisin bread I had heated in the microwave at work. It was a filling, satisfying lunch.

When I got home, I put white beans in the pressure cooker with some smoked pork from our cookout the other day, onions, and a little salt and freshly ground pepper. I made pan of cornbread and some fried sweet potatoes to go with the beans, and we had sweet iced tea with it all. Filling and oh so good. I really enjoy sitting down to country cooking like this.

Suppertime was pretty late, though, so after cleaning up the dishes it was pretty much time to just relax and go to bed.

Technorati Tags: cooking,work

It's Wednesday again

Of course, I worked today. While at work, Younger Daughter stopped by for a short visit. It was a lot shorter than I wanted it to be since we were in the middle of the after-school rush, but at least I did get to give her a big hug. She came to pick up the jalapeno cheese bred I'd made for her. She also asked if I could make a loaf for someone where she works and how much it would be. I told her, then had to go right back to work.

Son had gone into town with me today to meet up with a friend of his for lunch. When I got off, he was there, ready for us to go home again. We stopped at the little store up the road to get fresh milk, but they were out. The lady who runs the store said she'd have some in the morning, so one of us will head back there.

I'm off the next two days so maybe I can make some more headway with getting downsized a bit. I've been trying to get rid of clothes that I'll never wear again, plus craft supplies that I'll never use again. I might even be able to sell some of the craft supplies on a local sales list site.

Supper was supposed to be leftovers from last night's cookout, but we opted instead for simpler fare. Son had oatmeal, cinnamon/molasses/raisin toast and milk, while I just had the toast and coffee. I was really too tired for much more by the time I got home.

Wednesday is the end of our scheduled work week instead of Friday, as most places go. I have been getting a few more hours in, and though I'm really tired at the end of my week, I'm glad for a little extra money.

Technorati Tags: work

Stormy Saturday

I really didn't want to get up and around this morning. It was our chilliest morning thus far, and all I really wanted to do was stay wrapped up in my warm electric throw. But, I did have to go to work so I made myself brave the chilly house to get ready then headed on to work. I arrived early enough to get some hot coffee in me before I had to clock in.

It's Saturday so it was naturally pretty busy starting at around 8 AM. It gets busy a little later in the day on the weekends. Today was no different.

On my break, I ventured outside with my jacket and hoodie on, after I'd eaten a lunch of Mediterranean Noodles leftover from last night's supper. I even took a couple of pictures of the wildflowers that grow just at the edge of our break area. To me, it's like an oasis at the spot since everywhere else around it is pavement and concrete.

We got a little rain during the day, before it was time for me to come home. I arrived at home and had just walked in the door when it began thundering loudly. In just a few minutes, we were getting hail like crazy, followed by rain. It all passed through pretty quickly, but it sure got a lot colder after that. I even got a space heater out and fired it up in the living room, to help warm it up a bit in here.

I finally got brave enough to change out of my work clothes and put my flannel pajamas on, even though it was only about 3:30 in the afternoon. I drank a cup of hot chocolate, then another one, before I felt even the least bit warmed up. I turned on my electric throw and bundled up in it until I felt like I could function making some dinner.

Predictions are for frost and freeze warnings covering a large portion of our state tonight. I fetched in my potted basil plants and covered the potted tomato plants I'd started over a month ago.

Supper was this and that from the leftovers in the fridge. The space heater in the living room helped warm it up but it's time to get the other two out and in place -- one in the bathroom and one in the kitchen -- in order for the house to be warm. We have neglected to replace the plastic on the windows, too, so we'll need to do that chore as soon as possible.

Technorati Tags: weather,work

Finally Friday

It's finally Friday, and it was payday, too. We get paid twice a month instead of every two weeks, so some pay periods are a day or two shorter than others the way it's set up. I didn't make as much as I wanted to, but I'll get by. I always do.

I wound up a little late for work this morning. For some reason I had it in my head that I was to be there at 7 AM. Nope. Was supposed to be there at 5 AM. I arrived at 6:30 thinking I had a little time to drink some coffee, but obviously I didn't. So, I clocked in right away and started working. The only good thing about coming in late is that I did at least get to stay later today, so I got in a few more hours.

When it was time to get off, I collected my pay, went to the bank to cash my check, then headed home. A short time after I got home, it began to rain and thunder. I don't think there are any weather warning, but I'll be keeping a close eye on the radar during the night anyway.

By 3:30 PM, it was so dark it looked more like 6 or 7 PM!

Supper will be boxed lasagna skillet mix. Yeah, I don't really make stuff like that but it was given to me so I figured I might as well go ahead and use it. We'll have toasted homemade bread with butter and garlic powder with it, as well as canned green beans. Not a feast but it will fill the empty tummy anyway. I'll let you know what we thought of it.

Technorati Tags: cooking,work

Friday Eve aka Thursday

Up early this morning since I had to be at work at 6 AM. I didn't even take time to make coffee, opting instead to just get some coffee at work.It was a little busy when I got there and the manager on duty was feeling harried. She asked me to clock in early, which I did, and thus began my day.

I went to break earlier than I really intended to, which left the longest part of the day still ahead of me. It's ok, though, I got through it.

At home, Son advised me that there were some free things in Big Town listed on an online local sales site that he wanted to check out. I changed my clothes and we headed out again. The address given for the free stuff turned up zilch. I guess someone else beat us to it. It wasn't a burnt run, though, as we also visited with Oldest Son and his family while we were in town. We stayed there a couple of hours before heading back home.

By that time, I was beginning to feel the long day and mainly was just interested in being home and relaxing for awhile. We fixed breakfast for supper, which is really when I like it the best, the engaged ourselves in our individual pursuits -- surfing the web, reading a social networking site, catching up on email, etc.

I should probably look into some Custom signs for around the house to remind me to SLEEP instead of becoming involved with watching movies so late into the night. I swear, though, I do some of my best sleeping while movies are playing on my laptop! The problem is, I wind up waking up at weird hours throughout the night and not really getting a solid 7 or 8 hours of uninterrupted rest.

Technorati Tags: work,movies,television

Tuesday happenings

It was a pretty normal day today, which makes for very uninspired writing in my blog. Most of my life is normal and ordinary. I guess that's good, though, since it means no great catastrophes have occurred.

Started my day, this chilly morning, with a couple of mugs of hot, steaming coffee and some bread and butter. I did a little laundry, which needed to be hung out but I didn't get to it.

Got ready for work and headed in around 10:15. I wanted to be there early enough to get myself a fruit and yogurt parfait and another cup of coffee. I settled into my work routine pretty quickly, and, because it was fairly busy most of the time, the day passed quickly.

When I got off I noticed a message on my phone from my younger daughter. She invited us to have dinner with her tomorrow evening. She has moved into a new-to-her house. It's the same house where she and her husband were married. The house is very nice and she's fortunate to get it.

I'll bake up some fresh bread to take with me tomorrow. Might even take a bottle of wine along, too. I'm off tomorrow so I'll have plenty of time to get some fresh bread made before we head that way.

At home, I was met with the news that several of our birds have died. Turkeys, a couple of chickens, and some quails. I'm not sure why, but I think I'll wind up having to get some antibiotics for them. I can't afford them to start dying off!

After playing on the laptop for awhile and watching some stuff on Netflix, it was bedtime...and I was ready for it.

Technorati Tags: work,family,farming

Just another Monday

Kind of a slow, lazy day to start with this morning. It was overcast and chilly, so I really didn't want to move about much. I started my day with some toast and cheese, and a couple of mugs of steaming coffee. That coffee really hit the spot, since I felt like I was freezing.

I know the temperature isn't nearly as cold as it's going to be later, but it always takes me a few weeks to get accustomed to the chillier weather. I especially have a hard time dealing with the shorter days and often dreary skies of fall.

Lunch was simply more toast and coffee. It's all I really wanted even though there were leftovers in the fridge I could have had. Soon, I had to get ready for work.

Work was unusually busy, it seemed. I wasn't the shift manager, so I stayed "behind the lines" making burgers and whatever else was ordered. I was pretty satisfied with that role. I got off around 8:30 and headed home.

Son had gone with me today and spent time with a friend who had recently had a birthday. He also went to Big Town where he picked up three bicycles and an electric lawnmower. The bikes are really in good shape, only needing some minor work and air in the tires. He got them for free. He got the lawnmower free, too, and it came with three very nice extension cords. He's going to try to fix the bikes and the lawnmower and sell them.

I got into my jammies almost the minute we arrived home. I caught up on email and my social networking friends, then, after starting a load of laundry, opened Netflix to watch a new season of The Walking Dead. Yeah, zombies...lol

Technorati Tags: work,television

Chilly Monday

Woke up around 7:30 this morning, feeling tired. Probably because I was up late tending to bread, but I actually had enough hours of sleep that I should feel more rested, I think. It was quite chilly this morning, which probably didn't help. I would like to just roll up in blankets and sleep till warm weather comes back next spring!

I also woke with a touch of bronchitis, which I get when cooler, drier air comes around. I've got some pills for that so I took a couple to get some relief. I had to be at work at 11 so I needed to feel a bit more rested and not be coughing. A hot cup of coffee started my day, and I had a slice of the fresh bread with butter on it and some fruit for my breakfast.

Got ready and headed to work. It was hard to believe it was only Monday. It seemed as busy as a Friday today. Of course, the fact that, once again, there were employees missing, didn't help a bit. I wound up staying past when I was scheduled to leave because of how busy it was. Now my knees and legs are really hurting. Just too many hours on my feet, I guess.

I will be putting more bread in the machines so I'll have some to take with me tomorrow when I go to Mom's. Plus, there will be enough here for Son to eat while I'm gone.

Son hung out the laundry while I was at work, so all I'll need to do, really, is gather what I need from out there in the morning to finish up my packing. I'll pack 4 days worth of items to take with me. Mom has a washer and dryer, so I really don't need to pack a lot. I can just wash clothes while I'm there.

Sis and her hubby will be going on a trip while I'm staying with Mom this time. They deserve the time away to themselves.

The mother of a close friend of mine passed away today. I feel so sad for him. We grew up in the same neighborhood and we work together now. This is a sharp reminder of how we should all remain in close contact and visit with loved ones. It especially brought home to me how much I need to see my own mother every chance I get.

Technorati Tags: work,job,family

Easy Sunday

I had to work today at 10 AM, so I got around early enough to get some coffee in me before I headed in. I had snacked on grapes and cheese fairly late last night, which meant I wasn't hungry for breakfast.

I loaded three trash bags of old clothes into the back of the truck before I went to work, and put them in the charity donation box near my workplace when I got off. Those were only the tip of the iceberg, so to speak, and there will be a lot more clothes coming out of my closet and dresser! I've got to get stuff out of my little house so it won't seem like it's closing in on me.

Work was fairly normal, being a Sunday. There was a down time of sorts during the church hour, but before and after that it was fairly busy. I like it busy because the time passes faster. There were a couple of people missing that had been scheduled. That's not unusual, sad to say. It seems like folks want to get hired but don't want to actually show up to work. And then they complain that their pay isn't enough. Go figure!

When I got home I threw a load of laundry in the washer, then Son and I started supper. Well, mostly Son. Days I work he usually does the chef duties. I did make iced tea and I made gravy to go with the fried pork chops, corn, sliced tomatoes, macaroni and cheese, and toast he prepared. We only cooked two pork chops so there was nothing left of that, but there are plenty of leftovers to serve us another time or two.

As usual, we chatted for a little while after supper. Then, I started some loaves of bread - 2 buttermilk white and one jalapeno cheese. It will be quite late before they are done, but I don't have to be at work till 11 tomorrow, so it will work out ok.

Relaxed while the bread was working in the machines and watched some more Star Trek on Netfilx.

Technorati Tags: work,bread,cooking

Saturday busy-ness

Early this morning, we headed outside to check on the fowl and feed them. We were surprised by a black snake in with some of the quails. He had already killed three of the birds by constricting around them and had one of them in his grip, along with some tell-tale feathers sticking out of his mouth.

Son got a heavy glove on and reached in to get the varmint, He got a good grip right behind its head and hauled it out of the cage., then killed it by removing its head. We don't normally kill snakes around here unless they are poisonous, but this guy would have probably just come back and killed more of the quail, so he had to go.

I came back inside to find a missed call and a text message on my phone from one of the managers at work. It seems that it was super busy, she was the only manager there besides our supervisor, and she needed me to come in early. I answered the text and got ready, then headed in to work. I really wasn't all that early, though. Only about 30 minutes. But I guess it helped having another pair of hands to take care of some things.

Our supervisor was on the assembly table, making breakfast sandwiches, and others were pulling double duty throughout the morning. I suppose some employees decided it would be ok to take Saturday off. It's not -- not when you're scheduled to work!

I headed home after work, stopping to get some gas in my truck. When I got here, Son showed me that he had skinned the snake and rolled the skin up, and put it in the freezer. He listed it for free on a free site. It may be that someone will want to cure it.

He went to do some business with some folks. He worked on their i-devices, which is what he does to make a little money.

I got laundry done for the day and hung it out. I tidied up the kitchen a bit and we really just snacked around on fruit, cheese and crackers, and iced tea for our evening meal today.

Technorati Tags: work,farming

Wet Saturday

Woke up around 7;30 to a gentle, steady downpour of rain. It was still really dark so at first I thought it was a lot earlier. It was also quite cool. Looks like Fall is here in Arkansas since that is when we get these dark, rainy days.

Started my day off with a cup of hot coffee along with a nice steaming bowl of oatmeal accompanied by toasted homemade bread. These wet, cool days just call for a tummy-warming breakfast. But they also make me want to just snooze all day. Can't do that! There is a lot to be accomplished indoors if I can just motivate myself.

I did make three loaves of homemade bread. One was an experiment using sour milk left from making butter.

Did some laundry, dishes, and the floors, except for mopping. I really need a new mop since my old one is coming apart. I hate sweeping up mop strings after I'm done cleaning the floors!

I opened a couple of windows to let the fresh, rain-washed air into the house. Such a pleasant aroma! Since there's no wind, the rain didn't blow in but I could hear it dripping off the roof and the leaves of the trees. Such a calming sound. It made me want to nap, but instead I fixed myself some lunch and waited for the bread machines to offer up their fresh, aromatic treasures.

Lunch was tuna sandwiches on the first loaf of bread to get finished. Quite delicious, of course.

By the time the rest of the bread was finished, it was time to go to work. It was a pretty typical Saturday at work. Now I'm home again, in comfortable clothes, and thinking seriously about snacking on some of the fresh bread.

Technorati Tags: work,bread,cooking