This bread is ready to put in the oven. It has risen for the second time.
This is wheat bread made with fresh ground wheat berries that we keep air sealed in the pantry. I use the same bread recipe that I use to make white bread, rolls, cinnamon rolls etc.
My recipe for a single loaf of white bread calls for two cups of flour and this wheat bread I use 1 and 1/4 cup of whole wheat flour and 3/4 cup of white flour .
When we put 3/4 cup of wheat berries into our grinder we get one and a quarter cups of wheat flour. So I simply top off the 2 cup measuring cup with white flour. I could make 100 percent whole wheat but for sandwiches this makes a lovely soft loaf.
Yes, that is my modern day phone in the background of the picture above. It does not make me happy but it does make my family happy for me to keep it close, here is my proof I keep it close :)
For the basic bread recipe go to this link.
http://gdonna.com/cooking-from-scratch/she-donned-...
I talk quite a bit about housework and it does take a lot of work to keep house but there is so much more to a home. The clothespin is my marker for where I stopped cleaning. I am doing sections each day as it requires a lot of reaching.
Our home is our place to make things right. By keeping a simple home we can sort out good from bad without all the confusion that is beyond our front door.
At home we can take our time even though we might feel rushed. Just pause for a minute and think about this. Why is everyone rushing so much?
A child does not like to be rushed and yet I see parents dragging them around telling them to hurry. They have their own thoughts and pace. If we continue to rush our children they will have melt downs and eventually they will become hyper and rushed as those that are rushing them. They will not know what to do when they are not moving and start having short attention spans.
Do we take our time doing things or are we snappy? Is our household noisy? If it is I hope it is from laughter not electronics. Children are little sponges, they are learning from us.
When we are calm and take things slow the outcome of whatever it is we are doing will reflect the state in which we were.
Clutter can keep us from accomplishing even the basic things.
Our home can be transformed into a warm and inviting place and can give us and those that reside in our household energy and inspiration if we do the work to get it cleared of clutter and transform it into a clean and restful place. It is good for our body, mind and soul.
Once we have cleared the clutter and reduced the noise our home can become what each of us make it.
I find warmth in textiles especially those that have handwork because then we don't have to look at the same generic goods sold in the store. We make it part of our personality.
In our home the kitchen table is one of our most important places. We do a lot of our planning at the kitchen table. Family will sit at the table to talk and laugh.
We pray and eat our meals here. We talk about the day. It is sad to me when people take their food elsewhere because even if we are alone when we set the table and eat there we can reflect and give our meal some form of formality and thanks.
My husbands Great Grandmother lived alone and set a formal table for herself when she ate her meals. It left an impression on his mind that he will never forget.
Recently my Grandson Sean and his friend Gabriel came for a day visit. It was a spur of the moment visit and we sat at the table and ate hot milk cake and talked about the things they have been doing.
Both boys are in college and work jobs to help pay for school. They have many adventures as Gabriel is studying to be a pilot and I am glad I wasn't there to watch his first dirt landing.
They are very busy and I was so happy that they drove and hour and half to visit the family. They are young and their whole life is ahead of them. If they can keep their focus they are going to be alright.
When we clear the unusable clutter we make space for things that have purpose.
I feel going back to basics, living more like the past with the help of the functional things that have come since is a good balance.
We get up each day with intent to live simple and as healthy as we can. We try to use less of everything so that we can afford our simple life without debt.
When we start getting things in order in our home we can see clearer how to make all this happen. We have reduced our utility bills, completely cut out other bills by conservation. We have no credit card debt, unlike it used to be and that is because we simply do not charge anything. We can purchase most things we need from a thrift store and a surprising amount of goods we can make ourselves.
As you have read in other posts about using less you can see we are serious about how little we can use and this is for our environment and our finances. It takes work to live a simple life, turning things off requires effort. Using less requires effort. As I have said before easy costs money.
If you are struggling with debt, clutter and stress, this is a new day. Don't start tomorrow but start right now because peace of mind will heal your body (after you get over your sore muscles.) It will turn your house into a home.
Grandma Donna
