Victorious... At Last!

About 4 years ago my mom gave me a wheat grinder for Christmas. I swore that I would learn how to make yummy homemade whole wheat bread. Just like the stuff my mom made for me when I was a kid. Well... let's just say I tried, REALLY hard. I did. But it just didn't turn out. All that has changed. I am now a victorious maker of homemade bread! So, in honor of the joy and happiness I feel right now, I'm passing the recipe along to all of you. Enjoy!

Mom's Whole Wheat Bread Recipe

4 1/2 cups warm water 2 serving spoonfuls of yeast 1/4 cup olive oil (because it's more healthy!) 1/3 cup honey 1 tablespoon salt 1/4 cup gluten flour (this is very important... don't try to make it without) 6 to7 cups white wheat flour (you can use red wheat, but white is much better) 1 to 2 cups white flour, for a total of about 8 cups Directions: Mix water, yeast, olive oil, honey, and salt in bread mixer. Let the yeast proof for about 5 to 10 minutes. Gradually add wheat flour, white flour, and gluten flour. Mix for 7 to 10 minutes. This is will help the dough become soft and elastic. Check after 7 minutes to see if the dough will STRETCH, like elastic. Take out of mixer and let rise til double. Cut into equal thirds. Punch down. Roll flat with rolling pin. Then roll up into bread shape. Put in greased pans. Let rise in cold oven for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes turn on oven and cook for 35 minutes at 325, from a cold oven. Makes three loaves.

Presidential Pathways

This last weekend we took the kids up to Warm Springs to visit The Little White House. What is that? Well, I'll tell you! ( I had no idea what it was, but it actually is an interesting part of American history.) President Franklin Roosevelt owned a summer vacation home in Warm Springs, Georgia, which they called the "little" White House. I'm sure you get the pun. He chose Warm Springs because, you guessed it, they have "warm springs" there that were therapeutic and helpful in treating his symptoms from polio. He really enjoyed his time here and would come here all through his presidency. On April 12, 1945, he was sitting for a portrait (at the Little White House )when he collapsed after suffering a stroke. They rushed him to his bedroom and called the doctors, but he died later that day. The house is beautifully preserved and they have constructed a really nice museum there.

On the porch of the Little White House

At the entrance to the Little White House

Family on the front porch

Don't we look gorgeous? This was at the Warm Springs pool, next door to the Rehabilitative Center that FDR founded. Every Labor Day weekend they fill the pool with spring water (88 degrees) and you can swim in it.

Trail leading up to FDR's neighbor's house. It is lined with all the state flags. Admiring the view from a hilltop in nearby FDR State Park

Home video

All right, here it is... thanks to Annie for showing me the ropes. (And no comments, Mr. Dagen, about the terrible lighting!)

A MANLY Photo Shoot

Noah really wanted me to capture the moment, with him in his football uniform. As an added perk, I told him I would put the pictures on my blog to "make it official". He was (naturally) thrilled!

Tybee Island

My first video.... thanks to Annie!

Sumptuous Savannah

Josh had Thursday and Friday off this past weekend, so we decided to go to Savannah for a quick weekend getaway. We started our day by heading down to the Savannah River.

This is the statue of the Waving Girl... apparently she would go down everyday to the river and greet the ships as they came in.

I couldn't resist taking a picture of this old sign... look familiar?

We had a lot of fun exploring Fort Pulaski, located on Cockspur Island, just off the Georgia coast. It was a US Fort, built by Robert E. Lee, ironically, in the early 1830's. In1861, after South Carolina seceded from the Union, Georgian troops marched into the fort, which was only maintained by two guards, and took over. The Confederacy occupied the fort until April of 1862, when the Union was able to get it back. There is really interesting story regarding the battle and some more history about the fort... but I won't bore you! This picture is taken in the Powder Magazine. Sam is doing his best Ninja pose, to prove that he's not afraid.

In front of Fort Pulaski

Can't resist looking in that cannon. Don't do this at home!

Atop Fort Pulaski, with view of Cockspur Island

Behind prison bars in the fort

Dancing on the fountain in downtown Savannah

I couldn't resist taking a picture of one of these streets. All were lined with Live Oaks, draped in Spanish Moss, with beautiful historical homes on either side.

Sam atop the Tybee Island Lighthouse

Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in downtown Savannah. Absolutely beautiful inside!

The second favorite thing about our trip was dinner at the Pirate House Restaurant located on the Savannah River. It is the oldest building in Savannah dating back to the 1760s, where real pirates used to come and drink rum. You can bet that the owners milked this for every penny!

But the kids' favorite event, by far, was "meeting" Captain Jack Sparrow. Isabel couldn't stop giggling and Sam just gazed up at him with a face full of worshipful adoration.

Traditions

Sunday afternoons at the Nielson home. And the tradition continues.....