Currently

Reading ... in the Bible, I'm still in Isaiah while also enjoying a daily Psalm or two.

In other books I read  At Home in Mitford by Jan Karon. It was such a cozy comfortable read. I had heard a lot about the Mitford series from people who have read and loved it. In fact quite a few of you had recommended the series to me after I expressed my need for a light read after a particularly heavy series I had read.

I immediately requested it from the library and was able to pick it up several days later. I started reading it, made it maybe three chapters in, and had to set it aside. I could tell I would love the book, but it wasn't the right time with the other series still wanting to remain front and center in my mind.

I returned it to the library since there were others waiting for it. I placed another request but this time had to wait a while. This time when I borrowed it, I was ready for the read, and I enjoyed it a lot. Mitford became a cozy friendly book home, and I thoroughly enjoyed my visit there. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series as well.

Writing ... nothing worth noting. Though I did get some 2:00 AM inspiration that I jotted down on random bits of paper and tucked them into a writing folder so I don't forget once I sit down to get a chunk of writing done. 

A chipmunk has made its home under, or inside a tree stump next to the walnut tree outside our kitchen window. It was sitting there and I wanted to take a quick picture. Chipmunks as we know don't hold still very long and it changed position mid snap. I was thrilled with the results. The resulting photo is basically begging to have a cute chipmunk story written about it. 

Watching ... a few YouTube videos. I find the best tutorials on there.

Listening ... to the ticking of the clock in the kitchen. The house is almost too quiet at the moment. The furnace isn't running, the refrigerator too, is silent. The neighbor's rooster is taking a break from his usual morning "happy to be alive" declarations. No birds are singing. Traffic seems to be taking a break as well. 

For right now it's only the sound of the keys on my laptop as I type and the too loud ticking of the clock. I'm not used to this level of silence. 

Baking ... for years I have been searching for a brownie recipe that is as good as the boxed brownies. Most times they were a disappointment though one or two have been decently good though still not quite at the level of what you get from using a box mix. 

This week my searching has finally yielded what I've been looking for and I successfully made the best chewiest, fudgiest homemade brownies. Reading the recipe I knew I had to try it. The directions were so different from any other brownies I've ever tried making. It required a finely chopped bar of baking chocolate and cocoa powder that was melted in boiling butter. Next the sugar, eggs, and flavoring was supposed to be beat for precisely five minutes. I'm not sure what difference it would have made had I added or subtracted 15 seconds to the beating time, but I was committed to this recipe, so precisely five minutes of beating is what I did.

The next step that was different from any other brownies I've made was taking the pan out of the oven midway through baking and slamming it on the counter several times and then returning it to the oven.

The end results. Brownie perfection!

Yesterday I tried a new recipe for a peach cobbler that we took along to Kenneth and Paige's last night. It didn't turn out as good as the brownies, but still an okay-ish dessert.

This morning I stirred up a triple batch of our favorite chocolate chip cookies that we'll be taking along to our homeschool co-ops Thanksgiving celebration later today. I had debated making my favorite cookies as well. A Cranberry Orange cookie. It seemed a little more holiday themed, but do I really want to go to all that effort when children most likely would prefer the chocolate chip cookies anyway? In the end I decided no, I'm not going to be making them and stuffed my softened butter back into the refrigerator instead.

Cooking ... this week's menu has been different. On Monday LV brought hoagies home for supper from a fundraiser thing. On Tuesday we had a very basic meat and potatoes type of meal, something we were all craving after the hoagies. On Wednesday I branched out and made a fall themed pizza. The sauce was made with pumpkin and turned out to be absolutely delicious. Definitely going into our keeper recipe files. Then last night we went to Kenneth and Paige's where she had prepared delicious Philly Cheesesteak and salad. I'm almost feeling spoiled having only had to cook twice so far this week.

Feeling ... slightly sluggish. I don't get headaches often. Maybe once or twice a year. This morning I woke up with one and it has me feeling sluggish on top of having the pain of a headache. To everyone who deals with headaches often. You have my sympathies! 

Disliking ... lost mail. I had placed an order on Amazon for the majority of our Christmas gifts almost two weeks ago. They shipped all but one item in the same package. It got lost in transit. I finally gave up and reached out to Amazon so they reshipped, but this time in multiple packages. One of those is currently delayed or lost as well with their cheerful little message is saying if it doesn't arrive by December 16th to ask for a refund. They've never allowed that much time for a lost or delayed package before so I'm wondering if I need to order something else or trust that what I had wanted will arrive in time?

Loving ... the song Holy Forever by Chris Tomlin. I usually wake up with a song in my head and it will be the one that I will unconsciously find myself humming or singing throughout the day. Usually it's a different song every day, but I've had this one for quite a while already and I'm still loving it.

Playing ... daily games with Steven. He has a favorite that we play every day, Then we also add in other games as well. This week those have included Life on the Farm, which I lost spectacularly. Pass the Pandas, Perpetual Commotion, and Dutch Blitz. We're also on a kick of playing Probe quite regularly. 

Last evening we played Scattergories which Paige ended up winning by quite a lot.

Cleaning ... in the little room right off the kitchen there is a large floor to ceiling cupboard. The bottom half has doors and two drawers while the top half has open shelves. I keep all my small kitchen appliances as well as the oversized mixing bowls and large pots on the open shelves, while the bottom I have bakeware and pantry supplies. I deep cleaned it. The lazy susans in the kitchen got a good cleaning and organizing once again as well. I wish they'd stay nice for a while. Unfortunately I have not yet discovered the secret to keeping them nice for longer than a few weeks at a time. 

I also washed all the couch and pillow covers this week, as well as the most used blankets from the blanket basket in the living room.