Date by Default: Prince CuddleBunny's Time with Mom & Dad

Hubby often attends a conference every March that lasts 3 days.  Initially, there was a different venue every year, and it was fun to travel with him and see different cities in our state.  For a quite a while now, though, the organization has enjoyed a 'good deal' from the conference center in Wenatchee if they committed to a certain number of years, so it's become a tradition to visit there, and the kids look forward to it.  

It's been our opportunity to watch cable TV and swim in an indoor pool while Dad is off at meetings and classes.  Sometimes (not this year) he gets a couple of free hours, and we've all jaunted off to see more of the area, as I shared last year in Break Away.

As with many family outings, we've gotten to the place where fewer and fewer of our kids can come along, because of school, sports, and jobs.  This year the only one free to 'fit us in' was Prince CuddleBunny, so by default, he ended up with a 3-day parents-kid 'date.'  He was so excited, though, and counted the days for weeks until we'd leave... which was last Thursday.

At home, we have only whatever TV channels we can grab out of the air with our antenna, so any stay at a hotel has us all excited about other options.  Hubby likes Discovery, History, and news shows.  Some of the older kids liked Disney and Nickelodeon classic cartoons and shows... but, thankfully for me, Prince CuddleBunny loves HGTV's "HouseHunters," and the morning I slept in, he chose to watch "Flip this House!"  ;-)






As the only special guest, I let him set our schedule for Friday, and let him take whatever photos he'd like.  We got home with over 350 shots to upload from the camera!

He had no trouble deciding how we would start our day... A workout in the hotel fitness center and a swim in the pool.  Then he thought we could check out some of the stores in town "to see if they were like ours at home."

But the hotel wasn't cooperating... 

The fitness center didn't allow anyone under 18 to use the equipment, and the pool was closed while a gentleman was busy jack-hammering a hole in the floor.  







Prince CuddleBunny wondered if they might be making the pool bigger!  But no, fortunately, because I'm sure that would've taken longer, and whatever the man did meant the pool was open by evening.  So we had our swim after dinner instead.

More about our mini-vacation tomorrow, and definitely more of Prince CuddleBunny's photos!

Gagg Pizza!

...Not to be confused, of course, with "Gag, pizza!"  ;-)

You may have guessed... My Gaggenau pizza stone and element arrived!

I received 4 parts... The exposed element, the rack that slides into the oven, the stone that sits on the rack, and a pizza peel, or "wooden pusher," as the included literature call it.  (Does 'pizza peel' not translate well in German?)

This is the new one compared to the one I already use.
Since it's just 1/4 or 3/8" plywood, the handle is less than comfy.
But I didn't expect it at all, so for 'free,' I guess it's OK

The instructions had words that got me started, but with translation like pizza peel = wooden pusher, I found the illustrations more helpful.  When the shapes of the parts in my hands didn't match the shapes of those in the drawing, however, I had to play until it worked.

You might barely be able to see that the wire rack is
shaped differently at the front corner than the back,
which is not the case in the diagram.  This took roughly
2 tries and 10 seconds to figure out by trial and error.  ;-)

You can see here how the stone kind of wraps
over the element

I turned to the instructions again when it was time to turn on the oven and heat the stone for use.  

Again a little unhelpful, as it said only to "preheat the oven to the temperature stated in the recipe."  And that it would require more preheating time than usual, which I'd expected.  Although, the rep told me I wouldn't have to preheat as long as I had with the Wolf, in which I heated the stone for an hour after preheating the oven.

I checked the manual and, also, the recipe book I'd been given at the showroom.  No pizza recipes or pizza baking guidelines in the baking charts.  The only clue was included in the chart of heating modes, their symbols and uses.  I think the graphic was only supposed to be an example, but as it was the only hint I had, I went with it, and set the oven to 550 degrees.

As it heated, I set the 'count-up' timer, so I would know in the future how long I needed to plan for preheating.  I'm sure I'm saving a few minutes, but it was still near an hour to reach temperature.

The count-up timer is at the top left.  This was a couple
minutes after I noticed it'd reached temperature.
The clock is next to the timer.  Did I ever tell you how
tiny it is?  1/8 of an inch.  How helpful, especially from a distance!

I had to make the pizzas much smaller than I usually do, since the stone is only 12" deep.  No more 15" pizzas!  But I could fit 2 on, side-by-side, so that helped.  

Hubby swooped in for the first try... Still hot!

Again, I set the count-up timer, so I could watch the first set and see how long to set the timer for the rest.  In an impressive 5 1/2 minutes, the pizza was beautifully browned on the top and golden brown on the bottom....









Beautiful, yes, but, not too impressive, as it was still too doughy on the inside.  I cooked the next ones a bit longer, but even though the top was getting to the maximum browning I could stand, the crust wasn't done enough inside for us.  

That's when I paid more attention and noticed that with this mode, the convection fan is on.  I have no way to adjust that or turn it off while still using the stone element.  I will have to try a lower temperature next time.

Happy Birthday, Princess Bossy!

Our firstborn baby arrived 25 years ago today, to fill our lives with a love like we'd never imagined, plus fun, adventure, and amazing laughter.

photo source

Yesterday, her special and thoughtful Prince Helium surprised her with a day trip to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Arkansas, which she's wanted to visit for a long time.  She promised to share pics, which I'm excited to see, as it looks like an interesting place. 

Crystal Bridges Art Trail

There are 120 acres of beautiful trails and grounds, and, started by Alice Walton, and still sponsored by Walmart, their permanent collection is free to view.  Princess B commented that it had a more relaxed, welcoming atmosphere than most museums, so was family friendly with nice access to the artwork... No protective cords and photos (without flash) are OK.  She said she saw lots of families with strollers.  Exposure to great art and the beautiful outdoors for kids at a young age... Wonderful!

But back to birthday...
I was so proud of myself this year, because I actually sent her gift so that it arrived before her special day, instead of after.  

THEN I noticed that the part of the gift I specially made her was still sitting on my sewing room table... 

Apparently I decided my Rotary Cutter should tell you that!

And NEXT she called while she opened her gift that I'd sent... I was so excited to send her a Thermapen Instant Read Thermometer, which is something I'd wished for for years, so got us both one at the same time.  "But Mom, I really can't think of what I'll use it for..."  Duh.  She doesn't eat meat!  Oh, well, maybe she'll get creative and find a use.  Prince Helium already pointed it out that it might be useful in his cheese making.  

Natural Theology: Comprising "Nature and Grace"
 by Professor Dr. Emil Brunner and
 the reply "No!" by Dr. Karl Barth
and
The End of Illusions: Religious Leaders
Confront Hitler's Gathering Storm

Thank goodness I added a couple of books and hit the mark with those... 
A subject she loves, and she hasn't read and doesn't own either one.  Phew!

Today we're states away and it seems so very far.  She's celebrating with wonderful people (one group for a special brunch and another this evening) who all, I'm thankful, have become loving and supportive family to her and her prince.  But I'm at home with my tears.  

Sorry to be dramatic, but I'm a sappy and sentimental mommy sometimes, and I really wish I could hold my girl in my arms right now.

I love you, Baby.  Happy, Happy Birthday!

My Hero

A role model for meeting all those "wanna-be" wishes from my earlier post.  She sounds like she was living proof that  "with God, all things are possible," and this encourages me in my daily quests.  In fact, I knew a woman a lot like this (actually, all 3 women I discussed in this previous post come close), and today would've been her 100th birthday...  I miss her very much.  Happy Birthday, Grandma H!  I hope God gives you an extra hug from me.

She is more precious than rubies.
 Her husband can trust her,
    and she will greatly enrich his life.
 She brings him good, not harm,
    all the days of her life. 

She finds wool and flax
    and busily spins it.
 She is like a merchant’s ship,
    bringing her food from afar.
 She gets up before dawn to prepare breakfast for her household
    and plan the day’s work for her servant girls.

 She goes to inspect a field and buys it;
    with her earnings she plants a vineyard.
She is energetic and strong,

    a hard worker.

 She makes sure her dealings are profitable;
    her lamp burns late into the night.

 Her hands are busy spinning thread,
    her fingers twisting fiber.
 She extends a helping hand to the poor
    and opens her arms to the needy.
 She has no fear of winter for her household,
    for everyone has warm clothes.

 She makes her own bedspreads.
    She dresses in fine linen and purple gowns.
 Her husband is well known at the city gates,
    where he sits with the other civic leaders.
 She makes belted linen garments
    and sashes to sell to the merchants.

 She is clothed with strength and dignity,
    and she laughs without fear of the future.
 When she speaks, her words are wise,
    and she gives instructions with kindness.
 She carefully watches everything in her household
    and suffers nothing from laziness.

 Her children stand and bless her.
    Her husband praises her:
 “There are many virtuous and capable women in the world,
    but you surpass them all!”

 Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last;
    but a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised.
 Reward her for all she has done.
    Let her deeds publicly declare her praise.

Proverbs 31: 10-31

Wanna-Be... A lot of things!

I might consider this sort of my daily "Bucket List" - Please forgive me repeating ones you've heard before:


I want to sew... quilts, baby clothes, clothes for myself, clothes and projects for others.

I want to crochet --I should say learn to crochet--and then make fantastic afghans for my children grandchildren to cuddle in, like my grandmas did.

I want to bake and keep the bread drawer, granola container, and cookie jar full.

I want to learn to make, then keep us supplied with, tortillas.

I want to cook full and delicious dinners, and serve family dinner at the table.

I want to do cook-ahead, freezer meals for busy days.

I want to get up early and make sure my family has nutritious breakfasts in the morning, and for those who leave, take nutritious lunches with them.

I want to read the Bible and related studies.

I want to read books about quilting, cooking, baking, sewing, art, and architecture.

I want to read entertaining books.

I want to learn to play the cello...like Yoyo Ma... in about a month.  haha

I want to be very fit and healthy.  Maybe even sculpted.  Definitely want to be sculpted.  I suppose this means actually moving...  (But Katie at Domestiphobia says, "It's the thought that counts!")

I want to ride my bike and be able to manage changes in terrain without so much effort.  I don't think thought alone will accomplish that one.

I want to be fully involved in homeschooling my children... Finding fun ways to learn and great projects to work on... Instilling a love for learning, and a love for doing things like math, writing, sewing, baking, building...  Going on adventurous, interesting, and fun field trips.

I want to garden.  I want my yard to look neat and beautiful, but mostly, I want to grow (and preserve) good, fresh food for our family.

I want to have people over for dinner, and the house (and 'larder') be ready for guests at all times.

I want to keep my home de-cluttered, dust-free, and comfortably beautiful and warm.

I want to keep better organized files and records of financial papers and other household business.

I want to integrate Bible verses into our home, following the admonition in Deuteronomy 6:6-9 "...These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates."

I want to help make or save our family a significant amount of money to improve our monthly finances.

I want to share our projects and a bit of our lives on this blog... Not only sharing ourselves and preserving memories for family and friends, but hopefully, feeding others in some positive way.

I want to start a kitchen design page on the blog for those who yearn for a functional and family-friendly layout, and may not be finding the help they need elsewhere or are having trouble organizing their wishes into a plan.

I want to feel more willing to reach out and get involved in church projects and programs.

I want to be the greatest wife my husband could ever dream of....Supportive, accomplished, cheerful, attractive, helpful, respectful, loving, builder-upper.

I want to spend more 'couple time' with Hubby.

I want to be the greatest, most helpful, encouraging, supportive, loving, and beloved mom to my children... and also confidante and friend as they grown and become adults.

I want to really know each of my children as individuals, and have a close relationship with each, encouraging and supporting their dreams and ambitions, as God leads.

I want to be able to sit and enjoy a movie or favorite TV show with my family.

Downloadable images suitable for making reminder wall hangings
from Live the Way you Want to be Remembered by Kristen Duke,
in which, among other good things worth reading, she says:
"...I want to live in such a way that they will remember our time fondly. I don’t want them to remember me always on the computer, but spending time with them or reading to them or taking them on adventures."
Yes!

I want to be the best grandma to my soon-to-arrive grandson and other future grandchildren... I want to be the kind of grandma who bakes, sews, reads, cuddles, and is cheerful, loving, and fun.

I want to meet with close friends.

I want to spend time with my parents.

I want to connect with the Lord all day every day, trusting and living in faith instead of fatigue and fear.  --Sitting in confidence of my salvation, walking in the path He has for me, and standing with Him in the face of whatever my days bring.  

I want the spirit of faith, thankfulness, praise, love, service, and family to be contagious in our house, and, with the Lord's help, I want to be a main 'carrier.'

And.... I since I want to feel energetic enough to get out of my chair and do these things... I want more sleep!

5 Year Appliance Report

I've previously moved into homes with appliances that were decades old and still working.  I thought that when we built our house, I was spending for certain things that would last most of the rest of my life, so chose carefully for both performance and durability.

The Majors

When it was brand new... and CLEAN

48" Wolf Gas (LP) Rangetop:  I was disappointed in the difficulty to keep this clean and new-looking, but never disappointed in its firepower.  After a lifetime of cooking on nothing but electric, radiant heat, its 16000 BTU's per burner and quick response time seem like enough to me!  I was amazed that I could turn down the burner under a boiling pot, and have the boil immediately die down, instead of continue and go over the top, like happened on electric.  I can sear meat and stir fry veggies instead of steaming them, and I can also simmer without fear of burning.  Other than changing out the grates after the rubber feet on the originals burnt off in no time, for which Wolf was very prompt and apologetic and sent me grates with new and improved, metal feet, I haven't had any problems with this cooktop, and expect it will last a few decades.  Mine is the open-burner style they're no longer offering.

48" Electrolux ICON Hood:  I meant to get a hood that vented straight back.  At the last minute, I chose a different model, forgetting to check for that feature.  When it arrived and we unpacked it, I should've negotiated a return, but I didn't and we made do.  My whole cabinet above the hood vent is filled with vent pipe.  And because Hubby and our builder friend got a little creative and joined both vent pipes into one large, sheet metal box - so it could vent up, then back and out the wall - it's LOUD when running.  It seems to do the job, so that's what counts, I guess, but it's been a regret since we opened the box.  Also, one of the wonderful halogen lights went out, and won't come back on with a new bulb, so there must be a loose wire.  I haven't done anything about it, because even one light is so good, it adequately lights the stove surface.  Not that 2 wasn't better...

Bosch Dishwashers:  I love how the upper racks can adjust up or down to create more room in either the bottom or top racks, as needed.  The lower racks have parts and pieces that adjust and come out... when I don't want them to.  I should buy new racks, but at $140 a pop, I fight the ones I have.  The dishwashers clean fine, and run quietly, which is most important.  

I love the hidden controls and panel-ready fronts that are covered with a cabinet door and drawer front, often leaving people wondering why we don't have a dishwasher.  ;-)  

I use AutoWash the most, for best cleaning and energy/water savings.  I also use the Power Scrub Plus cycle for cooked on food, and it works well.  

Miele Dishwasher

Since we want to put a dishwasher into the upstairs space over the garage, we are considering moving one of our Bosches there, and trying a Miele in its place in the main kitchen. I still read such positives about Miele dishwashers with their special cutlery racks, their good performance and organization, and still kind of wish I'd spent a few hundred more to put in 2 of those instead.  So we'll try one and compare!

Ovens... Well, most of you are familiar with my sad and aggravating 7-oven history, so I won't repeat the old stories..  My salesman says #7, the Gaggenau, is my best bet at an appliance that will last 20+ years, so I'll just hold onto hope. 

Electrolux ICON Refrigeration:  I have 2 of the all-refrigerators, and 1 of the all-freezers.  They are classified as counter-depth, even though they're more like 27".  They are only 32" wide and 68" tall, so modestly sized, except when put side by side, when they at least look mammoth.  We chose not to spend an extra $600 for all the trim pieces to make them appear more built-in, and did our own built-in look instead.  This started with putting them up on toe-kicks, like the other cabinets.  Besides a better look, this improves access a tiny bit, and keeps the dust bunnies from collecting underneath.  

We are happy with the organization... nice drawers, shelves, and door shelves.  What I'm not happy with is the drawers that are attached to the shelves above. Getting them out to clean is awkward and a big hassle, since it means emptying and taking out both the shelf and drawer as one unit...with the drawer sometimes trying to slide out as you maneuver.  And you can't put them in the sink to rinse them out, because it's all too big.  Dumb idea, Electrolux.

The units run quietly and keep things cold.  The freezer has an ice maker that has worked flawlessly.  One fridge seems to have a wire loose concerning the interior light.  It doesn't always come on, but if we kick (gently, more like tapping, but with a foot, since it's low) the area at the bottom of the fridge, it will come on.  Also, that fridge sometimes has the proper number for the coldness setting on the readout display, and sometimes flashes an E.  I think that means the motor for the evaporator fan is having issues, but it seems to come and go with no affect on the fridge performance.  So I don't know if it's a glitch in the readout, or the evaporator fan motor, and therefore, the contents of the fridge, are on borrowed time...

The Minors


Of course, I didn't expect small appliances to last a lifetime.  Actually, Hubby still uses the microwave we got as a wedding present in 1985 (Magnavox, if I remember correctly) in his office.  Still works as it always has, just a little behind the times in technology....Meaning it's underpowered and comparatively slow.  But it's worked for almost 28 years now, which is a lot more than I can say for a lot of the small appliances we've had in this kitchen.



And why is it that when one dies, others immediately follow?  Our Panasonic microwave, Krups toaster oven, Kitchen Aid hand mixer all died within a few weeks of each other.  We like Panasonic microwaves with the inverter technology so much that we got a new one, but decided on a 1.6 cubic foot model, instead of its 2.2 cubic foot predecessor.  So far, we don't miss the additional size.

I am not a particular fan of the fairly expensive Bamix stick blender (I think we needed the bigger, more powerful, and pricier model to meet our family's needs), but at least it's lasted longer than the short-lived Cuisinart.  (To be fair, the Cuisinart SmartStick Immersion Hand Blender is highly rated, but just didn't like that small bone it encountered in the split pea soup.) The best I ever had was a $40 Braun I received as a gift in 1988, and, of course, I can't find another like it now.

Speaking of Cuisinart, we have other items of that brand... Our food processor and mini food processor/chopper both run just fine and do a good job, but we've had to adapt to too-easily-broken parts on the plastic attachments.  The Cuisinart Round Classic Waffle Makers that used to belong to Hubby's parents work great.  Our new toaster oven is a Cuisinart, too.  It's not as hefty and solid feeling as the Krups was, but hopefully, it'll work better and last at least as long.  The reviews are very good.  Plus, its price tag was about 1/3 that of the Krups, so I will cut it a little slack.

Other small appliances still on the job:

• KitchenAid mixer, another wedding gift in 1985, so still made by Hobart then, and with metal gears.  Priceless.  We use this for cookies, cakes, whip cream, etc.

• Bosch Universal Plus bread mixer.  A fantastic help in mixing and kneading dough made with 12 cups of flour, yielding 5 loaves of bread.  This could make large batches of cookies and such, but we only seem to use it for bread, and the KA for all other baked goods.  We also use the mixer as the motor base for our flaker/roller, which turns oat groats into rolled oats/oatmeal.

• Blendtec Total Blender.  Used daily to make smoothies with ice and/or frozen fruit.  It's a trooper and does a great job.  We did have to replace one pitcher, that had a bearing go out so the blade wouldn't move any more.

• WhisperMill.  I'm not sure this grain mill has many years left in it.  Since it's "lifetime warranty" became void with the demise of the company, it seems I'd be out of luck to fix or replace it... But, not true.  Someone else bought up the production rights, put in a stronger motor, made improvements to the canister, and now sells the new version as the WonderMill Grain Mill.  When the need arises, they can update mine with the new and better parts (since the new company supports the old models), or I can start over with the new, improved model.

• Breville Panini Grill.  I bought our original panini maker from an Ebay seller for $20.  The kids dropped it and the handle broke.  It still worked fine, otherwise, so I contacted Breville to order a new handle. They had discontinued that model, so had no handle to sell me.  Instead they sent me a whole new, vastly upgraded model for FREE!  It was totally our fault we broke it, and I bought it cheap on Ebay, but they still stood behind it and sent a $100 model to replace it.  That was 6 years ago it's still going strong.  What a good company with quality products and excellent customer service!!  Definitely impressive.

More of the 5-year report on my kitchen, coming soon!