Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. Are you watching the Olympics? Your favorite summer Olympic event? I read recently a list of the most iconic Olympic moments in history...what stands out in your mind as a great moment from some past summer Olympic games?

I'm checking in to see the medal count occasionally. I don't even know all the events that take place at a summer Olympics, so I probably shouldn't be picking a favorite. I have no idea what iconic moments happened in any past Olympic games.

I really liked the clip that has been circulating on Facebook of the U.S. divers saying that their identity is in Christ and they can rest in that.

2. Have you ever been to Rio? How about the place that started it all-Greece? Have you ever been to any of the Olympic Games in person? Is that something you'd like to do? Have you ever met an Olympian in person?

I have never been to Rio, or Greece. I've never been to an Olympic game in person, and am fine if I never get to. I've also never met an Olympian in person.

3. The ball's in their court (tennis), cross the finish line (track and field), on target (archery), make a splash (diving), on a roll (gymnastics), out of one's depth (swimming)...which Olympic-related idiom best applies to your life right now? Explain.

The ball's in their court ..... for a number of different reasons. The one forefront in my mind is/was an important deal we were working on. Everything seemed to be on a roll, but somehow the ball became stuck in their court.

4. What have you earned a 'gold medal' in recently?

Hmmmm ...... the way I got our new school year off and running? The moments I stepped out of my comfort zone and did some things that I didn't really want to, but am glad I did because of all the memories that were created.

5. What is it (or who is it) that motivates you to eat right, exercise, and do what you can to be healthy?

Family .... I don't want my health to negatively impact the lives of those I love the most.

6. Are you young at heart or an old soul? Explain.

A mixture of both, perhaps?

I have a hard time of accepting the fact that I'm as old as the years claim I am. Which reminds me of a picture I've kept that Sunbeam drew for me several years ago. If you can't read it, it says ... I'm crazy about my Mom because she doesn't act her age.

 

On the flip side there are many ways I could be considered an old soul.

 

7. It's National S'mores Day (August 10th)...are you a fan? Will you celebrate with a s'more today?

I've only ever had S'mores once. I really liked them, but not enough that I'm tempted to build a campfire to make more.

No, I won't be celebrating with one today.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

I'm nursing a painful sunburn right now. I thought I had applied sunscreen really well, but I missed my left shoulder. Ouch!

The Brown Dress

During the middle of the summer Amish stores would begin to have their back to school fabric sales. It was always an exciting day when the fabric samples arrived in the mail and I would carefully inspect all the choices before me.

Most years I was allowed to choose one color for a new outfit from the select group of colors Mom was willing to buy, while she chose what color my other outfit would be, as well as the shirts my brothers would be wearing.

Blues and greens were so predictable, and it took several years for Mom to realize I really meant it when I said I want a warm brown dress for one of my school outfits. We only got two outfits each. We'd wear one for an entire week, and Mom couldn't imagine anyone could possibly enjoy wearing brown every other week for an entire school year.

I was twelve the year Mom agreed to allow me to have my dream dress. I watched with interest and excitement as she spread out pages of The Budget to use to create the pattern for my dress. When it had been completed it was even more exciting seeing those patterns being placed on top of the brown fabric and pieces of my dress being cut out.

I had always enjoyed watching Mom sew, but watching my long anticipated brown dress take form under her skillful fingers was a dream come true.

I couldn't wait for my first day back to school when I could finally wear it.

I loved that outfit, and wore it happily every other week for the entire year. I didn't mind being the girl in brown, in a sea of girls wearing blues and greens.

That was the only brown dress I ever had until after I got married. I still love soft, warm shades of brown, but nothing has come quite close to being loved as much as that dress had been.

Picture my Week

In our downsizing efforts I decided to give ebay another chance. The experience was ....eh. Packaging everything that sold took time, and several mornings were spent next to a stack of packages waiting for the mailman to come pick them up. Reading, writing, and the companionship of pets made the time pass pleasantly.

 

Sailor dug out his set of tiny cars, buildings, and floor mat and presented it to Buddy to play with. He has spent hours upon hours playing with it.

 

Tomatoes, fresh from an Amish produce stand. One of my summer time favorites, especially when enjoyed as a sandwich like my Mom used to prepare for us when we were itty bitty children.

 

We've been going through a lot of iced tea. This however, got a little too icy. Apparently it's time to adjust the temperature in our refrigerator.

 

We've enjoyed a few meals of fresh sweetcorn so far. Husking sweetcorn is one of the highlights of Buddy's days.

 

 

Our first week of school for the 2016-2017 year was a success. I was surprised how easy it was to slip back into a comfortable schedule after our summer break. Sunbeam was studying about Algeria in her geography, to finish it off we made some Algerian cookies. It was fun weighing everything instead of doing the regular measuring. They turned out to be delightful sugar cookies that we will probably be making again.

 

It has been interesting watching the roses bloom and seeing what color they will be. The newest one is a gorgeous deep, deep pink.

Baked Donuts

As a child, donut making day was always a big deal. We didn't have them very often, but when there was an auction or some type of community fund raiser there was always a donut making station that I enjoyed watching.  Usually a group of children would gather to watch the donuts drop into the giant pots of hot oil and bob up sizzling and beautifully golden brown. Most of the time it didn't take very long before a mother took pity on all the "hungry" watching children and gave each of us a delightfully soft, warm donut, all sticky from the glaze it had been dipped into, before shooing us out of the way.

 

I've made donuts occasionally, but have never liked the after taste that comes from deep frying them. So when Rosebud discovered a recipe for baked donuts we knew we had to give them a try, and OH MY!! They turned out so, so good! Soft, chewy, and utterly delicious without any of that deep fried after taste.

 

 

Baked Donuts

1 1/3 cups warm milk, 95 to 105 degrees
2 teaspoons instant yeast
2 tablespoons butter, softened
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
5 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt

Topping:
½ cup butter, melted
1½ cups granulated sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon

In a large bowl, measure in warm milk and stir in yeast and sugar. Add the butter and stir until mostly melted. Lightly beat the eggs and add them to the milk mixture  Next add the flour and salt. Beat the dough with a wooden spoon and eventually your hands if needed add a few more tablespoons of flour. The dough should pull away from the sides of the bowl and be very soft and smooth but still slightly sticky - don't overflour! Knead the dough for a few minutes and then transfer it to a lightly greased bowl. Cover and allow to rise for about an hour or until it has doubled in size.

 Punch down the dough and roll it out to about ½ inch thickness on a lightly floured counter. Using a doughnut cutter or a 2-3 inch circle cookie cutter, cut out circles in the dough. Place the circles on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and stamp out the smaller inner circles using a smaller cutter. Be sure to make the holes large enough that as the doughnuts rise again and bake, they don't fill in the doughnut hole with the puffiness of the dough. Cover them and allow them to rise for about another 45 minutes, until they are puffed and nearly doubled.

You can take all the donut holes and mush them together and roll them out to make more donuts, or you can bake them as they are to make delightful bite sized treats.

Bake in a 375º oven until the bottoms are just golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Start checking them  around minute 8. They should still be pale on top, not golden and browned, and just barely baked through.

Remove them from the oven and let cool for 1-2 minutes. Dip each one in the melted butter and toss or sprinkle with the cinnamon and sugar. Absolutely delicious while still warm.

If you don't want a cinnamon sugar topping you can omit it and go for a plain glaze, a chocolate ganache, or any other type or flavor of icing you desire.

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