I love this dog!!

Check out these cute pictures of Ulysses! I took them yesterday when we were playing some sort of game with a soccer ball! I don't think it can really be called soccer, but this dog would be a rad goalie!!

Cables

This is driving me nuts! What you are seeing is a sneak peek of a project I am working on for my cousins baby. The whole thing is cable knit- body, sleeves, hood and pockets. It's way cute, but I'm doing the finishing now and it's SO hard. I am really lousy at finishing. It will be done this week and mailed off. I want to make her a project every month.

Not Too Much to Report

As the school year gets closer (two weeks away) it seems like I have less and less to write. I made it through two books on tape and watched a lot of movies. I finished four (it'll be five soon) knitting projects, grew and cooked a ton of food and did my canning for the summer. I don't think I'm going to undertake any new endeavors for the summer. Winter will bring it's own projects.

This passage has brought me a lot of comfort lately with an ill family member:

"Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are not seen are eternal."
2 Corinthians 4:16-18
NKJV

Good Food and Summer Crops!

So I know it doesn't seem like much- but it is! Daily I've been able to pick one tomato or one squash. Yesterday it was one tomato and one little broccoli head. However today of all days I got three tomatoes, a zucchini and a yellow squash!! Hooray!

Last nights homemade pizza- this one was great (sometimes I make the crust too thick). I love my pizza stone!!

Sisyphus

This adorable sprawled dog is quite crafty and stubborn! Yesterday Justin and I lined 50 feet of our fence that we share with a neighbor with two dogs Ulysses absolutely loves. We lined it with 48" chicken wire and had about 30" on the ground and 18" up. We sealed it with zip ties and covered all of the ground with a heavy layer of dirt. This we assumed, would keep Ulysses from digging under the fence, their dogs from digging under the fence and their five year old from digging under the fence! So we let the dog out and left him unsupervised to see what would happen. The little guy had, with the help of the two dogs- ripped a hole in the chicken wire and pushed his head through! It's completely insane, but we saw that where they had dug deep on the neighbor side, we needed to reinforce with cement blocks. Today is a new day and an improved system. I just hope it holds (who ever heard of a dog digging through chicken wire).This is his buddy he's trying to get to!

What a Day,aka Why I Should Just Stick to Knitting

So today was insane. This morning started well, I got up early did some chores and walked the dog and left the house. I had to get some final things for canning and some old wool sweaters for the latest craft obsession! I bought a pattern at Canvas Works (my local and wonderful yarn store) for felted wool dogs. I don't know why and I don't know for whom, but it was an obsession. So I set out to three different thrift shops until I found the perfect women's Pendleton sweater made out of 100% virgin wool. It was a beautiful cardigan and I felt a little bad, but this was my new obsession!
I came home and totally not thinking straight, I set to canning my blackberries and blueberries, felting the wool and keeping Ulysses entertained all within two hours (I had to get Justin's lunch together by 2pm)! It was nuts because the dog got under the fence again so I had to rescue him from a German Shepherd biting him, a Rottweiler barking in his ear and a five-year old running around and hanging on my arm! But guess what- I got it done and the kitchen cleaned!! We have 8 jars of blackberry jam and 9 of the blueberry.
Once Justin left for work, I got the felt dog made and kept Ulysses entertained!! I need to sew on the hind legs again, but today I can't even think about the stupid project. I'll fix it up tomorrow and give it to the neighbor girl. Knitting is definitely the only hobby I need!

No Fail Bread Recipe

So yesterday afternoon I realized that I haven't posted my favorite bread recipe on this blog yet. I love making bread. It is really simple and super satisfying. I don't buy bread at all anymore. I make a loaf or two per week and this works just fine. It goes fast because I don't have a slicer so some slices are more generous than others! This recipe can be totally modified based on your tastes. I modified a King Arthur Flour Bag recipe with my own ideas and a friends suggestion (play with the sugars).

Best Bread Recipe Ever
2 tsp yeast
1 1/3 C lukewarm water (never hot)
1 Tbsp. oil
2 Tbsp.s brown sugar, or molasses or honey- each produces a diff't taste, all are great
3 C flour
1 1/4 tsp salt

Place yeast in large mixing bowl and add warm water. I swirl mine to get most of it dissolved by moving the bowl around. Then add oil, sugars and salt- again sort of mix it around in a gentle manner. Finally add the flour and using your hands mix it together in the bowl. If it's sticky add more flour. It should bind together but not be wet or glossy. Once it's been mixed and formed into a ball, cover the bowl and let rise. Bread rises well at 65 degress or higher. In winter here I put the oven on warm and place the bread on the stove. Let rise about 30+ minutes, it should double in size. At this stage I like to melt a tablespoon of butter in the bottom of my glass loaf pan and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. I make sure the melted butter has been used to grease all of the loaf pan. You don't have to, grease your pan with oil for a vegan loaf. Next place your dough in the loaf pan- I sort of roll mine into a cylinder shape and place in the pan flipping it over at least once so all sides have butter on them.
Let the dough rise 1" over the top of the loaf pan. Bake for 35 minutes or until it sounds hollow when tapped. Remove from oven and place loaf pan with bread on a cookie rack- I think that is what it's called (the metal grid that cookies cool on)! When you're feeling brave flip the bread out, place upright and cover with a towel to cool.

Modifications:
Think about adding:
nuts
oats
olives
herbs
various types of flours- but be careful, start with a half cup at a time if changing flours
dried fruits
*cats
*dogs



* just kidding, unless you have mad skills and have turned kids into desserts