Domestic Sunday

I was inspired by some home-baked bread we bought at the parish bake sale to get back to baking bread, something I haven't done in a few months (suspiciously coinciding with first trimester fatigue).

In bread baking, my rises are still hit-and-miss so I was really pleased to see this gorgeous rise. This recipe makes three loaves, so if I merely took the time to bake twice a week, I really could supply all our bread.

I made a cinnamon-raisin loaf out of a third of my dough.

Wonderful!

I don't know why the picture won't rotate correctly, but that looks delicious, doesn't it?

Today, the website The Hillbilly Housewife was recommended to me. It is full of so many extreme cost-saving ideas! Check out the Low Cost Menu and the Emergency Menu! Anyway, I was reading about apples and was inspired to try to make quickie apple sauce. I've already told Chris that he can call me crazy if he ever sees me buy apple sauce again since making it on the stove top is so easy, but making it in the microwave is ridiculously easy! I took an apple, diced it (60 seconds' work), added perhaps a teaspoon of water and some cinnamon-sugar, microwaved it for 90 seconds, then mashed it with a fork. Mary loved it.

I have a good collection of puzzles and activities up on my kitchen shelving. Often I grab an activity and ask the kids to do it at the kitchen table to keep them occupied when I have a task to do. Today John pierced my heart when I asked him, "Do you want such-and-such game or such-and-such game?" He answered, "I want whatever game that you will play with me."

How can a mother respond to that? Mary was napping so I had no excuse but to devote some time to my sweet boy. We played this matching game with Vincent van Gogh art prints, built two puzzles, then played a "game" that John invented using playing cards.