Make-Your-Own-Monday

About every other week I make a batch of bread for my family. I thought I'd invite you along to watch :-)

First I gather all of the ingredients:

Don't forget the fresh wheat!

Then I put the wheat in my grinder. While that is grinding I melt the butter, heat the water, and get everything else ready

Mmmm....freshly ground flour!

Mix it all together in the Bosch mixer until it starts pulling away from the sides

Mix for 5 minutes

Divide into 5 equal portions. You could just wing it. I'm picky enough that I like to weigh it.

Use oil and shape into loaves

Place into a well greased pan

If I do it right then the bowl comes out clean!

Allow loaves to raise for 30 minutes

I freeze two portions for pizza dough later in the week

Ready for the oven!

Hot fresh bread!

I use an electric knife so I get nice, even slices

Ready to eat or for the freezer!

I started at 2:20 and pulled the bread out of the oven at 3:50. That's the beauty of the Bosch!

I've also used the dough to make hamburger buns, cinnamon rolls and cinnamon bread!

After Pictures

Just ignore the bib hanging to dry on the window...

Now the real test is if I'm to maintain it!

Organization

I have decided that I am going to start organizing my house. Seriously. Are you laughing? OK, I'll wait for you to stop.

Done yet?

Now?

Alright, over at Order out of Chaos she is cleaning up one area at a time. So I decided to join her. I will choose one area a week to really work on. Sound like Flylady? Yeah, it pretty much is that idea. Except that I get to choose what I work on. Because I'm bossy like that.

I think that this week I'll concentrate on my kitchen. Here are the pictures. I'll post the after on Saturday. Or maybe Monday.

Canadian Doctors Group Worried Palin Example Will Lower Down's Abortion Rate

I have no words after reading this:

TORONTO, September 10, 2008 (LIfeSiteNews.com) - U.S. vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin's loving and highly-publicized acceptance of her Down's syndrome child Trig has some Canadian doctors worried that her example may lead to mothers shunning abortion after diagnosis of Down's syndrome.

Dr. Andre Lalonde, executive vice-president of the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada (SOGC), told the Globe and Mail yesterday, "Palin's decision to keep her baby, knowing he would be born with the condition, may inadvertently influence other women who may lack the necessary emotional and financial support to do the same."

"The worry is that this will have an implication for abortion issues in Canada," he said.

Under the facade of "freedom to choose", Lalonde said that "popular messages" about women like Palin, who choose not to kill their unborn children, "could have detrimental effects on women and their families."

"We offer the woman the choice. We try to be as unbiased as possible," Lalonde said. "We're coming down to a moral decision and we all know moral decisions are personal decisions."

Detrimental? Are you kidding me? How is allowing your child to live detrimental? Here is a great article with the other side of the story.
Read this whole story here

Airport Security

I'd like to comment on this article, but I'm a bit concerned about popping up on some random google searches. So just go read it yourself. Then come back and we'll talk. I'll wait.

Done?

Alright...here's the thing. I read this article and was like, "so what?". I've flown internationally before and been patted down. I didn't feel that it was unnecessary. Nor did I feel violated. As I was discussing this with DH I pointed out that a woman could hide a knife in such a place. He didn't believe me, so I proceeded to get my Swiss Army Knife and placed in it an undisclosed place. He was pretty surprised that I was correct. And for those of you that don't know me, let just say that I am not "well endowed". The article states that this woman was "big busted".

So what am I saying? Am I recommending that all big busted women get patted down? Absolutely not. I'm just saying that from a security stand point I can see the reason for such a rule for anybody that sets off the metal detectors. Now, the woman did offer an acceptable alternative, but this caused her to miss her flight.

The humorous thing to me is that she refused the pat down so as not to be humiliated. Instead, she walked around with no upper support and now she has her name and details all over the internet. I guess that's not as humiliating?

I could be wrong. Maybe I'm missing something. What do you think? Would you be upset if you were her? Annoyed? Vow never to wear such a thing again? I dunno. I just think that there are more interesting things to get upset over...

Make-Your-Own-Monday

My sister (whom I love dearly) recently referred to me as "Pioneer". This came after a list of things that I do that most people don't do. The list was something like:

• Make my own laundry detergent
• Make my own dish detergent
• Make my own bread
• Use cloth diapers
• Grind my own wheat
• etc...
  

I guess I don't see it all as that weird, but I'll let you decide :-)

For today, here's how I make my own laundry detergent

Supplies:

• Bar Soap (I use Zote, but you can use anything on the laundry isle or even Ivory)
• Borax
• Washing Soda

Note-I buy all of these things at local grocery stores. The links are only so you know what to look for. The washing soda is not nearly that expensive in the stores!

1. First thing you need to do is grate the bar soap. Just use a cheese grater or food processor. Keep whatever you don't use now in a ziplock bag
   
   














2. Measure 1 cup grated soap, 1/2 cup borax and 1/2 cup washing soda into blender. Blend until all the the soap is a powder!


















3. Pour into container. Repeat until you have enough to fill the container

You only use 1-2 Tablespoons per load! I'm too lazy to do the math on it, but Crystal says that it comes out to be $.01 a load! I actually think that mine is cheaper because the Zote is cheaper than the Fels Naptha. But Zote does seem to be difficult to obtain if you don't live in South Texas.

A few notes about this. This soap is safe to use on the new Air Force (and Army) uniforms because there are no optical brighteners in it. However, you should not use it on cloth diapers because of the Borax. But, to my delight, in researching for this post I found another recipe here that has recipes without the Borax! I am so trying those! If I can do laundry for 1-2 cents a load then you know I'm excited about that!

Also, you can use these in front loading washers since they create very few suds. The closest thing to this (that I've found) is Charlie's Soap, but even buying it the cheapest way still cost nearly $.11 per load.

I have been considering trying this recipe with the hot water so I can use a liquid in my cold loads, but I'll have to get a 2-3 gallon bucket first. If I did this method I would definitely add some essential oils to the mixture.

Because I Can

Sorry. I saw this quiz and I just couldn't resist. I mean, don't you want to know what kind of punctuation mark you are? I think this describes me pretty well. Except for the "brilliant" part.

You Are a Colon

You are very orderly and fact driven. You aren't concerned much with theories or dreams... only what's true or untrue. You are brilliant and incredibly learned. Anything you know is well researched. You like to make lists and sort through things step by step. You aren't subject to whim or emotions. Your friends see you as a constant source of knowledge and advice. (But they are a little sick of you being right all of the time!) You excel in: Leadership positions You get along best with: The Semi-Colon

What Punctuation Mark Are You?