How in the world is it almost August, you guys? The weeks seem to be flying by and I feel like one moment I am in Florida and Alabama for a wedding and then suddenly it’s a week and a half later.
The wedding was beautiful and it was so very good to see friends that I haven’t seen since our move to Louisiana, if not well before then. I got to meet the precious baby of some dear friends and enjoyed some sweet hugs and catching up time. My parents have begun attending a new church and I enjoyed being in worship with them very much.
As we were driving back home I was thinking how good the visit was and it made me so incredibly grateful for a world that is marked by grace, mercy, and kindness. Love does indeed cover a multitude of sins and a brother is born for adversity.
Last week was busy with friends over for dinner one night and getting Claire back into a school routine. It is so hot here that most of our homeschooling friends start back in July. Long breaks scattered throughout the rest of the year make this really great! We are liking this hybrid sort of homeschooling we find ourselves in. She schools at the church with some other families but works independently so it’s the perfect blend of social and academia, relaxed and group motivational at the same time.
It was also bread week. I made homemade hamburger buns and some pretty tasty dinner rolls. You use the same recipe for both only dividing the dough differently for each.
When I made the buns Monday night I was a little frustrated because I couldn’t get the yeast to get all bubbly and ended up just adding some instant yeast to my flour. The buns weren’t perfect but pretty good for a first attempt.
On Tuesday I decided to double the recipe and make the dinner rolls since we had a family from church coming over for dinner. When I was putting everything together I felt like such a goober because I realized that I had not added the sugar to the water and yeast the night before which is why it did not activate. I made sure I did it for the rolls so everything was great, right? Nope, because it felt weird when I started to knead the dough and I once again felt like a goober because I had forgotten to add the egg this time. Had to dump it all out and start over and I am delighted to say that if you pay attention to the recipe it is really easy and the bread is delicious. I’m actually planning to make them later this week for barbecue sliders.
On Saturday I made my first loaf of no-knead dutch oven bread and it turned out great! And that was a big deal because I was filling in for the sweet lil’ mama at our church who normally makes our communion bread and you don’t wanna be messing that up, right? I don’t think it was as light as Kaley’s but no one gagged or choked during the Lord’s Supper so I’m calling it a win. It’s a really good rustic loaf and I think it will show up on the menu during autumn and winter paired with some soups and stews.
If everything goes according to plan I hope to share one of the bread recipes on Friday. Which one would you like it to be…the brioche style buns or the rustic loaf? Both are super easy!
I had big plans to hit the ground running yesterday but instead I ended up sort of moseying into the day. Life on the farm can be a bit unpredictable because sometimes things come up that need tending right away. Like dealing with caterpillars (insert angry face here.) Ugh, as per our custom, Rob and I were walking the pups Sunday evening and we pulled off 5 stinking varmints from various flower stems! I lost around eight cosmo sprouts and it made me so sad. I don’t even want to know how many flowers that would have been.
Rob reminded me that our expectations from this crop were pretty low since we are using it as a learning experience. Basically any flowers we get will be a bonus and that made me feel a wee bit better. I’m serious, y’all. Go find a farmer and hug them and say thank you because this is not an easy way to make a living at all. I mean, obviously we hope to make back the money we are putting into our little farm but we aren’t dependent upon that to live and what we will eventually get back from the animals and vegetable garden will be a large part of our return.
Plus there is a deep satisfaction in putting my hands in the dirt that I can’t really explain. A contentment as we look around and see the fruit of our hands in such tangible ways, the results of hard, hot work after much researching and figuring out how to do the kinds of things we have never done before. It is something that settles into the soul and a new way of feeling of connectedness.
“Nobody can discover the world for somebody else. Only when we discover it for ourselves does it become common ground and a common bond and we cease to be alone.”
― Wendell Berry
It’s definitely a labor of love.
The Common Place 