Disposable Calzone-shaped Spaceships

Charissa was telling me today that the thing she really wants is a disposable calzone-shaped space ship.


They're cool.   And convenient too.



Here's what it looks like:

Reading to the kittens

Katie's reading a bedtime story to a couple of the kittens ...

They have short attention spans ....

Water fun

The swimming pool is finally up!   And conveniently located right out the front door.  It's still filling, but the fun has already begun....

The water is freezing.....fresh from the well.

Having a bad day?

The website at this link contains a button which will help.

Swallows

Dave and I spotted a large swallow colony this evening:

Swallow Colony

More around the corner.

I tried to get pictures of the birds too, but I guess my camera's not good enough for that!  If anyone wants to visit, it's off Old Clear Creek Rd, west of Costco, right here:

View Larger Map

The Skill of Doing Nothing

I worked at that all day yesterday.  It's not easy to do nothing when one is the proud(?) possessor of a large pile of unwashed dishes waiting in the kitchen, laundry, floors in need of vacuuming (and kid-stuff scattered about in the way), not to mention 6 kids and a husband in the house.

So I didn't quite manage to do absolutely nothing, but I did very little....and it was hard work!

Today I get to make up for doing nothing yesterday by trying to do everything. :) 

... and I will also try to practice the skill of delegating.

Honey Wheat Bread

I do a lot of bread baking.  Almost all the bread we eat is homemade--and that's a lot of bread.  I've always loved fresh bread.  There's something fascinating and magical (or should I say scientific?  I get those mixed up all the time) about mixing a few basic ingredients together, subjecting the resultant mass to certain conditions and seeing it transform into a beautiful, airy loaf of fragrant deliciousness.

Bread's not really hard to make, and it doesn't take much actual hands on time, but there's  a lot of waiting time... I gave up bread making for awhile when I had too many little kids, because I'd always forget the bread and let it rise too long or something.  But it's also something of an art.  Yeast is alive. I'm going to tell you how I made the loaf in the picture, but there's no guarantee yours will come out right.  It probably will, but maybe it won't.  I still get the occasional flop--after 15 years of practice.


Honey Wheat Bread

In a bowl, stir together:

2 cups white flour
3 cups whole wheat
1.5 Tablespoons dry yeast (or two packets)
1 Tablespoon salt

Add 2.5 cups of warm water--about 115 degrees, and I just estimate by touch--warmer than body temp, but not too hot to touch comfortably.  Temp is not highly essential--too hot will kill the yeast, too cold just means it will take longer to rise. 120 is too hot.

Add 1/3 cup oil and 1/3 cup honey.
Stir to combine, I like to use a wooden spoon.  But if you have a good mixer with a dough attachment, just let your machine take it from here--it probably has instructions.

Put a cup of white flour on a clean counter and dump out your dough, which should be pretty sticky at this point. (Or do like me and just knead it right in the bowl.) Turn the dough over a couple of times so it's well coated with flour, and try to avoid getting sticky dough all over your hands.

To knead, push into the dough with the heel of one hand. rotate the dough a quarter turn and fold it with the other hand, and repeat.  Knead 2 or 3 minutes.  The dough will gradually pick up the rest of the flour while you knead.  Add more flour if it absorbs it all and is still very sticky--I needed about another 1/2 cup--but adding too much extra flour will make the bread dry.    Now let the dough rest about 10 or 15 minutes.  (This is a "busy mom" trick that cuts down on the hands-on kneading time.)  Then knead another 2 or 3 minutes.  By this time the dough should be soft and elasticy, and maybe slightly tacky, but not really sticky. 

Now, put the dough in a big, lightly oiled bowl.  Put the bowl in a big plastic bag (I use a small trash bag) and leave it in a warm place to rise.  Or you can cover with plastic wrap, or a damp cloth.  Or you can put it in a big pot and put the lid on.  The point is to keep the dough moist.  This will probably take around 2 hours--maybe more.

When the dough has doubled, press it down to deflate it, cut in half and form into loaves. I like to make big french style loaves:
Put the dough on lightly floured surface and press into a long flat slab with the heel of your hand. Don't tear the dough, just work it gradually into the shape. Fold top third down, pressing firmly along seam to seal.  Fold bottom third up, pressing again along seam. Mine were about 14 inches long. Place seam side down on lightly oiled cookie sheet.  I use one big sheet, or use two regular sized ones.  But leave room for them to rise. They won't get much longer, but they will get wider.

Put the cookie sheet(s) inside plastic bags and let rise again till doubled. This rising will be quicker than the first--check after about 45 minutes.  Mine took about an hour, but it will depend on the temp of the dough and the temp of your house.

When it's ready to bake, place the cookie sheets gently into a preheated 350 degree oven about 35-45 minutes.  The temp of a finished loaf is 195-200 degrees.  You can test for doneness by thumping the bottom of the loaf--it should sound hollow--but I'm not very good at telling that way.

Let it sit for 15 minutes before you cut it--if you can resist that long!

Pollyanna

Pollyanna, by Eleanor Porter, is a great classic that my kids and I enjoyed listening to at Librivox during the summer.  I love Pollyanna's attitude about finding something to be glad about in everything, and how this endears her to everyone around her.

I read it when I was a kid, and remember being unimpressed, but my girls all loved it.  They like a lot of things that I like now, and didn't when I was young.  Not sure why exactly that would be ...  something to do with homeschooling, maybe?

Anyway, I highly recommend the book.  And Librivox, also.  Librivox is a site full of public domain books that have been recorded by volunteers.  It's all free, has tons of classics available to listen to, and some of the readers are very good.

State Fair 2010 Part 4

Here's my last bit of miscellaneous photos from this year's fair.


Pow-wow

Robin was taking one of the rabbits up to the judging table when she was snagged by a news crew ....

She's looking at me:  "What do I do?!!!"   I said:  "Just go"   --  so she left them with just the other kid to interview.  :)

Dave's talking to a "mountain man" here.  An interesting guy... selling handmade rope, rope making kits and books, maps, and other stuff.

And that's all.

State Fair 2010 part 3

Arts

I think Robin did a really nice job with this crocheted doll.  And the judges thought so too!

This is a wire sculpture cat that Charissa made.  It's a cat hunting a mouse.  A lot of entries were displayed in glass cases, which made it difficult for me to get a good picture.  (The bright spot is just the reflection of the flash.)

This is a beaded skunk, by Robin.

Here's a pencil sketch of Dave, by Charissa.

And a watercolor of somewhere in the Southwestern US, also by Charissa.

A crocheted washcloth by Robin.

And a crocheted scarf, also by Robin.

State Fair 2010 part 2

Showmanship

In showmanship, the kids are judged on how well they handle their rabbit (or other animal), their knowledge of the animal, and their own appearance and carriage.

Robin's in this group.  They've just come to the table, and are listening to the judge's instructions.  Many times showmanship is done individually, but this time they had the kids in groups.

Robin's checking teeth in this picture. They do a thorough exam of the animal, checking for health, abnormalities, sex, coat condition, straightness of limbs, etc.  The judge may ask them questions about their breed of rabbit to test their knowledge.

He's asking Robin some questions in this next shot.  She needs to work on not fiddling with her hands while she's talking.

 

Robin did well ... except she wore open-toed shoes, which is a no-no.

Next is Katie in action ...

And here she is all done, and waiting for the judge to finish talking to everyone.

The bunny's getting bored and asking Katie how long he's going to have to sit there.

The Starving Poet

Robert Southey, the poet, comments on the rewards of an author: "It was well we should be contented with posthumous fame, but impossible to be so with posthumous bread and cheese."

My daughter, who wants to be a writer and artist, says, "I totally agree with him!"

State Fair 2010 part 1

Quiz Bowl

This is a fun event where teams of 4 kids compete against each other answering agriculture related questions such as:  What is the body temperature of a chicken? ...  How long is the gestation of a rabbit? ....  How many teeth does a dog have?  ...  What is the name for the blood vessels that carry blood toward the heart?

Robin is on the team in the picture above.  Katie is in the next one.

Our 4H rabbit club provided most of the contestants for this competition -- three of the four teams -- and took First, Third, and Fourth place.

Here they all are, showing off their ribbons:

The funnest part (for me) is watching the kids hit their buzzer too soon, and then try to quess what the rest of the question was going to be.  They're pretty good at it too!

Sunflowers

I brought in a little sunshine.

I decided to turn the llamas back into their paddock--which I planted this year with corn, squash, beans, and sunflowers. 

The first thing they did was eat the rest of the sunflowers.

Some stuff grew, but not as well as I'd hoped, and I didn't get anything edible.  In hindsight, it would have been better to plant it to alfalfa, which has the ability to break up the desert hardpan and improve the soil.

I think I'll do that next year.  Meanwhile the llamas are making short work of the half-dried-up 2 foot tall corn and the weeds.

p.s.  I know I promised State Fair pics--I'll get to that soon!  It takes me awhile to recover after the fair.

State Fair week is here

It's been especially busy this week because it's the week of the Nevada State Fair--now officially renamed the "Wild West Fair"--or something like that. They actually have a pretty good set of shows going. We watched part of the Pow-Wow (Native American dancing) and caught most of the main Wild West show. They have a "Spanish Dancing Horses" show--Andalusians probably--which I hope I can get to see tomorrow.

Josh has enjoyed watching the Wild West show, parts of horse shows, looking at all the pigs, and watching a dairy goat show. He "knows" about goats, since we have them, and speculated about how much milk the different goats had--based on udder size. He also found the different ear sizes and shapes interesting, since our goats are mini LaManchas with almost no ears.

The twins have prefered to spend most of their time in the rabbit and poultry area, collecting feathers, drawing pictures of birds, and climbing up and down the bleachers.

Katie and Robin have mostly been doing various rabbit showing events and helping man the club's booth.

The kids art projects have done well: Charissa has a Grand Champion ribbon on a wire sculpture she made, and Robin on a crocheted doll. I can't remember the details of the other projects--it's too late at night--but I'll update on that soon.

Hopefully I'll have some pictures and more details up by Sunday, but now I need to get to bed so I can get the kids back to the fair by 8:30 or so tomorrow morning!

Job's Peak in the Morning

This is looking south from our property... Job's Peak at sunrise. Too bad I can't edit out the power lines!





I'm not sure if it shows in the picture, but there's still a bit of snow up there--in August!

Bunnies at 14 days

Baby bunnies really grow fast...








And the kids are enjoying them ...







Here's the mom:

Charissa is 15 years old!!!

Her birthday is on the 12th--I'm behind on posting, and I'm afraid I didn't get much in the way of pictures....





We went to Panda Express for her birthday dinner (her choice)--and I thought I had pics there, but they seem to have gone missing. Then went to Borders Books where our friends Tom and MaryKay play folk music once a month:





... and drank sodas ...





... and Patrick read us a poem in his lovely Irish accent--which I believe he wrote for Mother's Day last year ...





... then we came home for late night cupcakes and presents--but I didn't get any pics of the presents, just blowing candles--and yes, Robin is already nearly as tall as Charissa ...





And that was it.

Lookout Post

The haystack is a great place to watch for the arrival of friends....

More Unexpected Babies

This time it's rabbits... about 10 days old in these shots, and just opening their eyes....