And so it begins...

Piemaster. My good friend Becca Lloyd earned the title after completely a goal she set for herself. She determined that if she could make 100 pies, she would have become a proficient. And my tongue and tummy can testify that the title is deserved.

Breadmaster. So, her example has led to a goal I've decided to make for myself. I'm going to make 100 loaves of bread over the next year. That's an average of two loaves a week (it took me a bit to figure that one out :)


And I've started with trying to learn a type of bread that Kari Heward has perfected...the artisan bread from this book. It's sooo, sooo, yummy. And once you've learned how to make the master recipe, it really is a five minute process. Thanks, Kari!

I'm going to try different recipes, and try to perfect favorite ones. A couple of things I'm trying to accomplish through this goal is:

1. Duh, yummy bread for eating right away. :)
2. Delicious bread when you have to use food storage ingredients.
3. Soft sandwich bread so that my husband will actually use homemade stuff for his lunches (is this one out of reach?)
4. Having fun with a hobby.
Invitation to the "Master's Club": So, is there something you secretly want to be the master of? Pies, pictures, work-outs? This is an invitation to join me over the next year in doing 100 of something you really want to practice and perfect. Let me know if you decide to join in the fun and I will be happy to have comrades in arms. I'd love to follow along the way, and especially hear how it feels at the end. Now it's off to bed for this baker in the making.

Eric Carle and the Busy Bee

Some days are made more perfect in that they come as a necessary respite from the stress of current cares and responsibility. This was the case a week ago yesterday. We were needing a break, Geoff had the day off and so we headed up to Amherst, Massachusetts and The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art. The day was sunny, the end of the drive took us through an adorable farm town completely arrayed in summertime greens, reds, yellows, etc. The museum contains original works by Eric Carle, EH Shepherd (Winnie the Pooh), and Tomie dePaola. These were interesting for Geoff and I, but Audrey had a lot more fun in the rest of the museum.

They have an art room where kids can paint and even try Eric Carle's techniques. He paints papers bright colors and then makes pictures by cutting and paisting them in a collage fashion. Geoff was afraid Audrey wouldn't be able to participate in the art room, but the nice lady working that day knew exactly what to do. She pulled out this paper that changes color when it is wet. Audrey worked very studiously on her first painting.

The library had some very creative and fun toys, which weren't wasted on our little crew.
Geoff took this picture of Audrey's reflection as she played with some of the toys in the art room.

We topped off the day with lunch at a local farmer's market. The sandwiches were scrumdidlyumcious. On our way back through town, we stopped and bought corn at a roadside farmer's stand which just had a locked box for you to put your money it. I love that there is still trust in the world! We didn't pay, but most people would I think. :) Hee, hee. Actually, the corn was the best we've had this season and well worth my $2.50.

Ticket to Ride and Efficiency

Want to play a game? If it's with us, chances are it will be Ticket to Ride. American version, European, or Germany we like them all. We played several times while recently with family. My older brother Nate wins frequently (as does Geoff). Nate was sharing his philosophy about his winning streak and said it is all about efficiency. He tries to never make a move that is not a sure thing.

So why do I bring all this up? I guess cause I've been thinking some about efficiency recently. Before I was a mom, I was busy. But all of you who are mothers (and perhaps some who are married to them) will understand that once you have a kid, knowing how to do things efficiently has a whole new urgency at times.

One of the new revelations that I've had recently has to do with cooking meals. Last year I participated in a dinner co-op. That is a topic for another day and was fantastic. But it was recently dissolved at least temporarily when one of our friends up and moved to China...yeah, that's you Hewies! Anyway, I learned from that experience. And last week I put my new knowledge into practice.

On Monday, during Audrey's nap I made Monday AND Tuesday's main course. Since they had a couple shared ingredients, and I was in the cooking mode with everything out, it took about one hour to complete both dishes. Tuesday I rested easy knowing dinner was already in the fridge (something I used to do all the time with the dinner co-op). One of my other friends, Lori Davis makes sure she always has several meals in the freezer at any given time. That is the next thing I'm going to try. Also, I'm going to divide larger meals into two and freeze one (something Jill Tanner likes to do).

Anyway, these are my efficiency thoughts for the day. You all probably know all of it already, but I'm just learning, so I'd thought I'd share. :) Anyone have anything they have found works really well for them? Either in the kitchen domain or with cleaning/laundry/etc.? I'd love to hear your suggestions. Happy homemaking!

Roar!

Thursday the sun shone brightly despite the weatherman's forecast of more thunderstorms. We headed off to the Beardsley Zoo in Branford, Connecticut. It is one of the smallest zoo's I've ever been to, but Audrey didn't mind at all and we had a great time. Check out this peacock above, with more white than I have seen. There were peacocks just roaming around all over the place.

We watched a barnyard animal show. The most entertaining part was the disobedient chicken running around for quite some time while the trainer's tried to persuade it to get back in it's cage. Audrey has learned to say quite a few animal sounds now, and adds a new one every day or two. So she said "Baa" at the sheep and "quack-quack" at the ducks, etc. My very favorite, though was at the tigers.

Raaaaaaaaar!

Which one looks more fiercesome??

The best part was that Geoff (amidst 5 twelve hour shifts) took the chance and came with us.

I love the zoo.