In The Refiner's Fire

One of my goals this summer was to make 12 new recipes and I made it! Whoot! I didn't take pictures of everything - especially the lone flop (it was gross - trust me).  But here's what I tried and what I learned. First Recipe:  Cinnamon Pull-Apart Bread (Definite Keeper!) This recipe was from a magazine and sounded good because it rose in the fridge overnight.  It tasted like pull-apart cinnamon rolls, and we served it the morning my folks headed back home after a month visiting.  It didn't rise evenly because I was at the end of my bulk yeast and it wasn't rising well, but the bread itself turned out yummy and rather light.  The inside was sticky and the edges were crispy - just like a good cinnamon roll should be! Second Recipe: Lemon-Raspberry Coffee Cake  (Definite Keeper!) Don't have a photo of this one, but it was super good and will almost certainly be made again next spring when lemons are on sale and raspberries are in season.  I...

It is already the first week of school for my kiddos!  They are SO excited to be going to into second grade!  I don't blame them - there is a dinosaur unit for Buddy, their teacher absolutely loves crafts and skits which are two of Missy's favorite things, and they can read so well now that everything is an exciting learning prospect!  Buddy was also delighted that their teacher has all of the Magic Tree House books - he spent about 10 minutes just looking at them on back-to-school night before we had to go find some pizza before the classroom meetings. Last week was busy and filled with rain and I had a roaring headache caused by a pinched nerve in my shoulder.  I did a move wrong learning a new routine and pinched it.  It's better now, but wow! I really don't care for sleepless nights anymore - especially when they're caused by burning pain. :P Anyway, how did I do last week?  Not too bad, actually. Here's last week's list: Work: * Finish up last...

Our "typical" back-to-school breakfast. This week is back-to-school week for us.  The kiddos start 2nd grade already.  They are more than ready. Mom? Not so sure!  They have a three day week this week and are home with me the other two days. I'm excited to have a couple of days home with them before we really kick it into high gear here! When the children started 3-year-old preschool, we started a breakfast tradition on the first day of school of having doughnuts for breakfast.  The kids chose and we said "sure!".  It's the one day per year when they get doughnuts for breakfast, so we can certainly live with that!  The picture above was taken on the first day of kindergarten (I neglected to take a photo last year), and I'm pretty sure we're up to two doughnuts and a whole orange a piece, especially since Buddy is in the middle of a growth spurt (mothers of boys out there - look out!).  That boy can out-eat John and I combined when he's grow...

Even though our summer was more hectic that I would have liked it to be, I learned a lot. Would you like to know what I've learned? That we have a frog living in our front flower bed. He's right in the middle - hiding in the curve of the clematis. I learned that Buddy really does like to take pictures of just about everything! Bakugan cards and a new stuffed leopard from Grandma and Grandpa. I learned how to make French Bread - YUM! Isn't it lovely?  That Komodo Dragons are really odd looking little (BIG!) critters.  I think it's safe to say that God as a mighty fine sense of humor! Saying hello! That we had a dinosaur excavation going on in my son's bedroom. Dinosaur excavation kit was a Christmas present. That this has to be buried treasure! A partially buried rock. That I absolutely love canal park in downtown Duluth! From left to right: Missy, my cousin Diane, Buddy and John.  And I have no idea why they were all wearing bright g...

We have heirloom yellow pear tomatoes this year that are for some reason going gangbusters.  No complaints - we love that! Buddy is the designated person for the tomatoes. He LOVES tomatoes.  Did I say LOVES ?  Adores. Is passionate about beyond words. And has a huge devotion to.  He once ate a half-bushel of tomatoes all by himself. In one sitting. Yes, really.  And he was happy as a clam. Since he was two he has called them "My 'Matoes."  And don't you dare mess with his 'matoes! He came in the other day and says with the most serious look on his little face: "Mom, I have to tell you something." I thought, "oh, no what now!"  "Yes," I said. "It's about the tomatoes."  I thought, "O no, what happened."  And immediately thought of all the wild, awful, crazy things that could have happened to the tomato plants. With the same serious look on his face, he says: "I accidentally had to...

The lovely chancel at one of the churches my husband has been privileged to lead worship at this summer. This summer has left me weary. Very weary. Why? I thought this summer would be a summer of rest. A summer of time to cross t's and dot i's and put "done" on a few things - the things that needed to get done around the house, this darn dissertation, my growing pile of mending, and craft and sewing projects I've started but haven't finished. A summer to play with the children in the back yard, and go to the library and make things together and have picnics and make faces in the clouds on a lazy afternoon. A summer to leisurely put together my new class for this fall - to spend time exploring new ideas, and new practices, and carefully and thoughtfully put some things together. Instead this summer has been one of running. A summer when to-do lists seem to have gotten longer rather than shorter. A to do list with lots of things part way done b...

Homemade French Bread!  Don't they look lovely? We have been so very blessed this summer by our CSA.  We have a wonderful friend who owns and runs a small CSA so we purchased a share and we have been so very blessed by her generosity and her hard work. We collect our share on Fridays. This last share we received a cantaloupe the size of a basketball (and it was SUPER tasty too!), two large heads of broccoli, patty pan squash, zucchini, hot peppers, tomatoes, green and purple string beans, carrots and cucumbers.  Anything extra we blanch and freeze for winter. I have also made and frozen 3 loaves of zucchini bread and canned 15 quarts of sweet pickles!   Yes, it's been busy here in my kitchen!  One of my other goals for this summer was to try 12 new recipes (roughly one a week) and so far I've made it up to 10!  One of those was the french bread pictured above - didn't they turn out lovely?  I used Brandy's recipe - and she really is telling...

I think I'm jinxing myself by publishing these - it seems like I type them up and then "poof!" I don't post the next week. Let's see if we can break that cycle, shall we? Since it's been a whole whopping month (yikes!) since I last posted my weekly goals, I'm going to skip the review.  I can't remember if/what/when I finished those things so on to the now, which I guess is more important anyway! So my goals for this week: Work: * Finish up last of the prep for both classes. * Make copies for the first day of class for both classes. * Badger our lab coordinator until my equipment is in my hot little hands (this is a really long story!). School: * Finish up preliminary data analysis * Appointment with my advisor * Begin cleaning out my desk and bookshelf Jazzercise: * Learn 2 new songs * Put together 1 new set * Attend class 4x this week * Teach class 2x this week * Finalize new classes that I will be teaching (sign contract, visit s...

My husband is in seminary.  Seminary. As in "I want to be a pastor when I grow up" seminary. When he graduates and is ordained he will become a pastor with the ELCA. Since he's attending seminary part-time it's a long journey.  And at times it has been an incredibly tough one. One that neither of us in a million years would have chosen for ourselves. Over these last few years it has been an incredible blessing to watch him grow into actually being a pastor.  This last year in particular has been a time of incredible growth. He has always been such a good listening ear. He has always been such a compassionate soul. He has always been the one to go the extra mile, lend a helping hand and serve others. He has a true servant heart. Over the last year he has had many, many (sometimes too many!) opportunities to lead worship and preach a sermon. Over the last year he has had the opportunity to do "pastoral care" Over the last year he has had the o...