It's fun to finally be able to post pictures. Rebekah helped me tonight, and hopefully I'll be able to do it on my own next time. If not, there are enough tech geeks in my family to help me. I remember when computers first came into my life. I was a page at the Frayser Public library in Memphis, TN. For those of you who don't know, a page is the lowest one on the totem pole. It was my job to check books in and out, put them back on the shelves, and purge the card catalog. Does anyone even remember card catalogs? In my senior year of high school, the city had computers put into every library. We used them at first to check books in and out. Once I learned how to do it, it made the process so much quicker, and I'm sure it kept better records. The next real memory I have of computers comes after my marriage. Jesse was a baby, and my husband came home one day with his very own Commodore 64. He loved that computer. I don't think I was sufficiently impressed with it, and for many years I resisted learning much about them. Why? I don't know. So here I am, thirty years later, and just learning how to transfer pictures from my camera to the computer, then upload them onto this blog.

Baking Bread

Bread making is an art that I have toyed with for many years. I am not an accomplished bread maker, mostly because I do it in fits and starts. Years ago I was introduced to grinding wheat at home. I bought this grinder while we still lived in Virginia. It works very well, but sounds a lot like a jet engine when running. I think they have quieter ones now, but this will have to do until it wears out. The wheat I am using is golden white from Montana. I have used this exclusively for my whole wheat breads since I began grinding my own flour. I order it from a local family who arranges a yearly shipment. This is some grain left over from last year's shipment. I am waiting for another shipment. This year I am being adventuresome, having ordered a bucket of prairie gold and regular red wheat as well as my regular white wheat.This is what the flour looks like after it has gone through the grinder.For years I have wanted to buy a Bosch kitchen machine for my breadmaking. I never have, mostly because it is costly. This is the bread dough after being mixed in my Kitchen Aid. Not bad.
This is what the dough looked like shortly before baking. It came out very good, but was cut into before I was able to take a picture of the finished product. I don't think there is anything better than hot, fresh bread and butter. The best part of this is that with the white wheat we get the benefits of whole wheat without the robust flavor of red wheat.

Green Mountain Pictures

Guess what I'm learning how to do - post pictures. It will take a little while for me to master this (I know, I know, I'm a dinosaur when it comes to "technology" as Ben calls it.) These pictures were taken last week on our trip to Green Mountain.
Ben and Sara enjoyed being able to sit by the water. There is a little pier on the lake and they dangled their feet in the water. Sara was amused by the fish in the lake and wanted to catch some.
Here's my crew: Ben, Rebekah and Khy (in the baby sling), Sara, Kathy, and Rachel. I'm the one taking the picture.
We loved the covered bridge. We just sat on the benches inside and stared at the water for the longest time. This was one of the most fun outings I've had in a little while.