The fun things you see while driving down the interstate

Merry Christmas Everyone

Tis the season

My house is decorated, presents are now under the tree, my baking is beginning. I am looking forward to having all of my kids and grandkids under my roof for Christmas.
I am reminded that life still goes on even with the holiday festivities. My nephew is having surgery today to remove part of his thumb after a roping accident. I have two friends who will be celebrating their first Christmas without their husbands and my heart aches for them. Many friends are going through trials and tribulations right now. And the world is becoming more frightening each day. My tendency is to worry and stress about all of these things but then I remember what it says in Isaiah 9:6 "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." PRINCE OF PEACE! In this tumultuous world that is what I want to remember this year. Jesus is the Prince of Peace. He can bring peace to my heart even when I feel fear and worry. 

A new bread recipe

A few weeks ago we stopped at HyVee on the way home from visiting the kids. Have I ever told you how much I love this store? They have so many things it makes your head spin and I think it's probably a good thing I can only go a few times a year because I spent $60 and didn't buy anything on my grocery list.
Anyway, I sampled a bread that was full of fruit and nuts. It was so good that I decided to re-create it here at home. I took the basic recipe from my Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day book, you can find the recipe here, divided it in half and added about a cup of raisins, 1/2 cup of craisins, 1/2 cup of golden raisins, 1/2 chopped walnuts and 1/4 cup of orange peel. Because it had so many fruits in it I used a covered baker to prevent them from burning.

These are some of my favorite websites when I look for new bread recipes.
Bread in 5
King Arthur Flour- which also has one of the coolest shopping sites for bakers

This is a slice of the bread that I bought

 This is the loaf that I made. I used my Pampered Chef stoneware roaster with the big covered cloche on top.

Looking Good!

Here is a slice of my bread. As you can see, it's not as full of fruit and nuts as the storebought bread but I thought it was plenty and I actually think the bread tasted better. What an easy bread to make!

Update on my reading list

I have been working on my reading challenge. I'm sure my daughter is much farther along on her than I am with mine. I have no illusions of finishing this but since I am no longer working I do have more time in the evenings.

• A book with more than 500 pages-Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell
• A classic romance-Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell
• A book that became a movie-Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell
• A book published this year-The Nightingale- by Kristin Hannah
• A book with a number in the title- Agenda 21, Into the Shadows- Glen Beck
• A book written by someone under 30- The Bell Jar- Sylvia Plath
• A book with nonhuman characters-The Woodcutter- by Kate Danley
• A funny book-Mr Blandings Builds His Dreamhouse- by Eric Hodgins
• A book by a female author-The Shape of Mercy- Susan Meissner
• A mystery or thriller-Truth Stained Lies- Terri Blackstock
• A book with a one-word title-Taken- by Dee Henderson
• A book of short stories-Anderson's Fairy Tales- Hans Christian Anderson
• A book set in a different country-The Nightingale- by Kristin Hannah
• A nonfiction book-Evil Obsession- the Anne Cook Story- Helen Yost
• A popular author’s first book-The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie- Alan Bradley
• A book from an author you love that you haven’t read yet-Truth Stained Lies- Terri Blackstock
• A book a friend recommended-The Prayer Box- Lisa Wingate
• A Pulitzer Prize-winning book-Gone With the Wind- Margaret Mitchell
• A book based on a true story--Evil Obsession- the Anne Cook Story- Helen Yost
• A book at the bottom of your to-read list- The Bell Jar-Sylvia Plath
• A book your mom loves
• A book that scares you
• A book more than 100 years old
• A book based entirely on its cover
• A book you were supposed to read in school but didn’t
• A memoir-I Want It Now- Julie Dawn Cole
• A book you can finish in a day-Sisters of the Seashell- Lisa Wingate
• A book with antonyms in the title
• A book set somewhere you’ve always wanted to visit-The Husband's Secret-Liane Moriarty
• A book that came out the year you were born-The Bell Jar- Sylvia Plath
• A book with bad reviews
• A trilogy-The Hunger Games- Suzanne Collins
• A book from your childhood
• A book with a love triangle- The Hunger Games- Suzanne Collins
• A book set in the future-Agenda 21
• A book set in high school-The Outsiders- S E Hinton
• A book with a color in the title-Island of the Blue Dolphins-Scott O'Dell
• A book that made you cry-The Nightingale- by Kristin Hannah
• A book with magic-The Woodcutter- by Kate Danley
• A graphic novel-Ninjago- Rise of the Serpentine- yes I read this to my boys. :)
• A book by an author you’ve never read before-the Husband's Secret- Liane Morarty
• A book you own but have never read-Jacob's Way- by Gilbert Morris
• A book that takes place in your home town-
• A book that was originally written in a different language-
• A book set during Christmas- Christmas Bliss- Mary Kay Andrews
• A book written by an author with your same initials-
• A play-
• A banned book-
• A book based on or turned into a TV show- The Man in the High Castle- Philip Dick
• A book you started but never finished-