Day 21: I am an Amazon fan

Try saying that five times fast.

I have become, of late, an online shopper.

Specifically, an Amazon shopper.

I can find everything I need, at a better price, and I don't have to drive around in the weather and traffic. 

Tonight, thanks to my favourite frugal website, I found this Richard Scarry game and a set of books, which was just what I needed to finish up my Christmas shopping for a couple of precious grandchildren.

Total cost: $0.00.

I paid for them with my Discover Card Cashback Bonus.

And shipping was free.

But if I hadn't spent over $25, it would have been free anyway, because of my free month of Amazon Prime that came with the Kindle Fire that I bought on a lightning deal a couple of weeks ago.

And that Kindle is already filled with free books that I found on that same frugal website.

And my house is full of smoke detectors that came in a contractor's six-pack.

And my minimalist shoes (most of which came from my favourite shoe website, 6pm.com)  are all fitted with Pedag metatarsal pads that I bought by the dozen on Amazon for much less than my podiatrist charged.

And the Lego man flashlights that we gave the grandkids for Christmas last year (bought on Amazon, of course) are replenished with lithium batteries that cost mere pennies compared to the local stores.

And Bethany and I will both be drying foods all season next year, thanks to a sale on Nesco dehydrators.

And you know those lovely Silpat baking mats that cost a fortune from Demarle? Found some Made in American ones for $5 a piece that will make some nice gifts for my Kiwi friends.

So yes, you might say that I am thankful for Amazon these days.

You can call me the Amazon Queen.

Or Queen of the Amazon.

Have you made any grand purchases on Amazon lately?

Or do you have any favourite websites that you would like to share with the rest of us?

Day 20: Truth in advertising

Today, after a very trying day (which I will tell you about soon, whether you want me to or not), Sam, my witty piano student, sat industriously scribbling away at something while his little brother was having his piano lesson.

Noah and I were playing lots of duets today, as you can see.

I am thankful that Sam very kindly didn't make my behind as copious as he should have if he were being truthful.

And I am thankful that all five of today's aspiring piano players were as sweet as could be, or we might have had a repeat of the tears that followed my altercation with Western Union customer no-service this morning.

How's that for a teaser?

Do you even care?

Day 19: I heard the bells

Sometimes I just need an excuse to post cool pictures of cool things.

Take these here bells.

Every Christmas season for the last several years, I've had the most fun experience of participating in a bell choir. As a piano player, life can be lonely at times, in a musical way of speaking, which is one of the reasons I sometimes give group lessons to my piano students. 

So ringing bells with a group of music-makers is particularly satisfying to me.

And this year, for the first time, Bethany is ringing too, so it is even better.

The music this year is more challenging than usual and we have thirteen ringers, so practices have been frequent and long. I do love a challenge.

But the hardest thing, as usual, will be not grimacing when I make a mistake.

Because you know I will.

Make a mistake.

So today, I am thankful for friends who have indulgent husbands who buy them very expensive sets of bells.

And who let me play with them.

Day 18: The Milkmaid

A few months ago, I discovered raw milk.

At first, it seemed a little  gross, but I knew it was better for the body than the highly processed product that we find in the grocery store. If you think I am weird, go take a look at the information on this website.
I know that some of you probably think that drinking raw milk is bound to end in disaster some day, but I have researched it thoroughly and am satisfied that the farmer uses good practices and the cows are happy and well-pastured.
See that layer of cream on top?
That, my friends, is real milk.
And do you love the carafe on the left (made in France) that I found at a garage sale this summer and fits one half-gallon of milk exactly?
Sometimes my life is just one long flow of serendipity.

Today, I am thankful for Christine at Cast Iron Farms, a wee dynamo of a girl who gets up early every day of the year to milk her beloved cows so that people like me can drink their lovely creamy milk. She home schools her two children and takes care of pigs and horses and chickens and rabbits and sheep and goats and turkeys and her vegetable garden and somehow manages to be smiling every time I see her.

Christine and her family are living their dream, homesteading on a few acres in McMinnville. 

I am thankful that, for now at least, small farmers in Oregon can still sell their milk to people like me, who are trying to get back to real food.

Day 17: Would it be redundant...

...to be thankful for Thanksgiving?

Because I am. Thankful for Thanksgiving.

I love a crowd on holidays, even though all the cooking and cleanup exhausts me. Bethany and family defected to Utah for the week, so we were expecting a small table, just Sam and Charlie and the missionaries for dinner. I'd adjusted to the idea and embraced it, deciding to cook a ham and a small, boneless turkey breast instead of the usual gigantic bird that would defeat my powers of innovation on the leftovers front. 

Then, a day or so before the Big Day, Jon and Jenny's family, complete with Jenny's niece from Utah, decided that they would come after all. And on Thanksgiving Eve, Charlie told me that he had invited our favourite Samoan to come too.

So our small table turned into two tables and I was happy.

Thanksgiving Day around here was the only gloriously sunny day in the midst of a rainy couple of weeks.

Sam, Charlie, and Wrangler arrived nice and early, so after we got some prep work done in the kitchen we went for a walk.

There is a beauty-berry bush just down the road and I want to know why it is not mine.

We finally ripped mine out because the few berries it produced were never this spectacular.

I missed the lovely dinner photo op. But trust me, it was a sight to behold.

A huge ham from Zaycon Foods that was the best we have ever eaten. A small turkey breast and a herbed panko-encrusted pork roast completed the meat menu. Mashed potatoes, rice pilaf, mashed carrots and parsnips, broccoli, Jenny's Jello, green salad, rolls, and gravy for the first course. Which causes me to realize that I completely forgot the stuffing. And I had designated a box of Stove Top just for the occasion.

Darn!

For dessert we had honey-lime cheesecake, pumpkin pie, apple pie, blackberry cobbler, and butterscotch-pecan pie.

Jeff sat working on his Lego boat while we finished eating dessert.

Don't you just love those chubby cheeks?

Jon had to head to work right after he ate, but he did justice to the pie first.

Jenny and Camilla.

For some reason, Sam liked this photo better than the one I took.

Go figure.

Jon has been working on making ghillie suits for his family for some time, and had to show one off to Charlie before he left.

I could say many things here, but I shall refrain.

Wrangler was sweetly underfoot most of the night, always in the hope of a crumb or two. He decided to help with the dish-washing.

My kitchen floor has never been so clean after a big dinner.

Reason # 52 to own a dog?

After as much food had been stuffed into out bodies as possible, we played a rousing game of SpongeBob Uno.

Naked Homer images will always remind of Thanksgiving from now on.

Who is this strange creature?

When the ruckus had died down and most people had gone home, Sam, Charlie, Jeff, Mo and I all sat down to introduce Mo and Sam to the joys of Labyrinth, the movie.

They both declared it to be "weird", which was a mystery to us Osbornes, because to us it is iconic.

I think we shall have to make Sam watch it twenty more times, until she appreciates it for the genius that it truly is.

Let's hear a shout-out for Labyrinth!

Day 16: a loaf of bread

When bread machines were a new-fangled device, I swore to my walking buddies that I would never own one because "I could make bread just as well by hand, thank you very much". 
Well, in my usual "famous last words" tradition, I have eaten those words many times over. As I listened to my friends rave over their machines, I had to have one. And that was the end of life as we then knew it. 
Bread no longer came in plastic bags in various scarily long-lasting incarnations. It came fresh out of the bread machine with a funny hole in the bottom where the paddle sat.

I've lost count of how many bread machines I have used up and thrown out. It's never the motor that gives out, it's always the pan, in one way or another. It kills me to throw out a perfectly good machine, but it's almost as expensive to buy another pan as to buy a brand new machine, so out it would go.
A couple of years ago I found an almost new machine at a garage sale for only $5.
It's been going strong ever since and has been one of my favourite machines. Another one, found this summer for the same price, awaits the death of the first before entering its moment of glory.

So yes, today I am thankful to whoever invented the bread machine.
If you have one and don't use it, send it my way. I know several people that would love to have one but are waiting for summer garage sales.

But I have perfected the art of making a delectable loaf of 100% wheat bread, and I will share the secret.
Well, secrets, really.
The first involves soaking the flour. An overnight soaking in an acid medium helps to reduce the phytic acid in the flour. Phytic acid is a digestive inhibitor and is present in all grains. It can cause gastric distress and prevent absorption of nutrients.
The second secret is Bob's Red Mill flour. I bought a bunch when it was on sale at Bi-Mart and it makes everything great. I usually grind my own wheat, but this stuff is so fine it makes a wonderfully textured end product. But I suspect that even my own ground flour will be better after a good soak.

So here is how I make my bread.
I use the basic bread machine recipe, then I put it on steroids.
Note that I have edited the instructions slightly.
So:
3 c whole wheat flour
About 1 1/4 c water
2 tbs acid, such as yogurt, kefir, lemon juice, buttermilk
1 tsp salt
About 1/3 c coarse mixed grains, such as 10-grain cereal
2 tbs ground flaxmeal
2 tbs honey
2 tbs fat, such as butter, olive oil, coconut oil
1 tsp dry chia seed

Mix this in the bread machine for a few minutes till everything is blended. It would be well to make a dough that is a little sloppier than usual, as it will stiffen on sitting. Adjust liquid or flour if necessary. Turn off the machine and let the dough sit at room temperature for 24 hours.
You heard me. 
Then add 1 3/4 tsp yeast and 1/2 tsp Baking Soda and start the cycle again. Make sure the yeast gets all mixed in and add a little water if it has stiffened up too much.
And get ready for the best loaf of whole wheat bread you have ever eaten.

NOTE: I have amended the recipe (yet again) to include baking soda, as it negates the sourness of the acid.

You can soak any recipe that has liquid in it. Just hold off on the eggs and leavening until the final mixing process. Pancakes and waffles are supposed to be awesome like this, although I haven't tried it yet.
And you could, of course, double or triple the recipe and make the loaves in your mixer and bake in the oven. And you could try your favourite recipe and see how much better it is.

If you want copies of the pdf files that have detailed information on this soaking process, which you should also do to nuts because of the enzyme inhibitors in them, leave me a comment and I'll email it to you.
And I'd love to hear if you try this and like it. I'm all about soaking my nuts and grains lately and I think it's making a difference to my digestion and general state of health.

Happy Thanksgiving, dear friends!

Day 15: Wardrobe pizzazz

Going to be totally shallow for this one.

We have a new Goodwill store in town. I went looking for a skirt for my Halloween party costume (we went as Johnny and June. Guess which one I was....) and found two.

I am quite partial to this one, although I had to re-glue a lot of the gold sequins because they were decorating the carpet. It adds umpteen more possibilities to my choice of outfits and I wear it all the time.

The photo stinks.

I was getting ready to go out this morning and the sky was so dark because of all the storm clouds that it made my house dark, even with the lights on.

You try taking a photo in the mirror in a dark room without using a flash and see how well it works!

I am thankful for my $6.99 skirt and how happy it makes me when I wear it.
It flows around my ankles and makes me feel all girly.