From My Home to Yours: 1/17/25

 From My Home to Yours

1/17/25

~ it's been another cold, cold week & I may or may not be a little bit chatty in this week's post ... just saying! ~

The Christmas tree is put away along with the ambiance that it created each evening as we settled in the room it was set up in for a relaxing end to the day.  However, we still enjoy a peacefulness that comes by gathering in that same room in the evenings where our woodstove stays busy keeping us warm.  Watching the flames flicker through the glass door while enjoying the warmth it puts out is a nice combination for relaxing and while it might not be the same Christmas ambiance, it's a close second!

Reading is another way of relaxing for me and this week I started reading book one in the Bregdan Chronicles series by Ginny Dye.  This series has been highly recommended to me, and I have looked at our local library as well as on Libby the library app several times, but neither have it.  I gave in and purchased the first book, used, over the holidays.  I also finished book one in the Little House on the Prairie series and started book 2, The Farmer Boy.

Remember the two 'robe' style garments given to me by a dear friend I was telling you about in this post.  I repurposed one into a skirt and then styled it.  You can read about and see the end results in this post.  I still had the remaining 'robe' to repurpose and this week I was able to get it done.  Look at that cute ruffle at the bottom!  You can read about what I did with it and how I styled it in this post.

My hubby's mother made the best potato flake sourdough bread, I mean it literally would just melt in your mouth.  I have her recipe and looking at it, it seems to be the basic sourdough potato flake bread recipe that can be found anywhere.  It must have been her personal touch and the love she put into making each loaf that made it so delicious.  I have shared the recipe with my children in the past, but this week our son sent me a message asking for it again.  He had misplaced it and couldn't find it, so I sent it to him again.  Here it is, in case you're interested, (Yes, we renamed it in her honor!) ...

Grandmother’s Sourdough Bread

To 1 cup reserved starter, add (in a non-metal container): (See Sourdough Starter recipe below.)

1 cup warm water (110 degrees)

3 tablespoons instant potato flakes

 ¾ cup sugar

1 cup plain flour

Mix well with wooden spoon (no metal)

Let stand 8 – 10 hours covered with a cloth until very bubbly

Remove 1 cup starter and reserve the rest in the refrigerator covered for next baking. Make bread or feed refrigerated starter weekly.

To remainder of starter (in a large non-metal bowl) add:

1/2 cup sugar

½ cup vegetable oil

1 ½ cups warm water (110 degrees)

Stir well.

Stir in 6 cups plain flour, 1 cup at a time, mixing well after each cup.

The dough will be stiff.  Cover and let rise until doubled in size.

Sprinkle flour on a working surface (counter or table) and pour out dough.

Fold over and over until dough is manageable.

Divide into thirds.

Fold and knead each briefly.  Shape into loaves.

Place each into greased loaf pan and let rise to top of pans (cover with light cloth while rising)

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

To Make Sourdough starter:

In a clean wide mouth quart jar, add …

1 cup warm water

1/4 cup sugar

1 package dry yeast, (2 1/4 teaspoons)

3 tablespoons instant potato flake

Stir everything together.

Cover with a small towel or coffee filter held on with a rubber band.

Leave it at room temperature for 4 days, stirring daily.

On the 5th day, feed the starter with 1 cup warm water, 1/4 cup sugar and 3 tablespoons of instant potato flakes. Stir it well and allow it to sit at room temperature for 8 hours.

Remove 1 cup of the starter to make your bread. Place the remaining starter in the refrigerator.

I spent some time this week working with some herbs in the herbal part of my apothecary.  The goal is to grow as many of the herbs that we use right here in our own garden, but alas, we still need to purchase some.  My herb garden and apothecary are a work in progress. 

January and February are my months to really focus on learning new skills.  The weather is cold and there's not much I can do outside right now.  (Look out March, though!  We are in full blown gardening in the month of March!)  I mentioned last week that I was learning how to brew Kombucha and flavor it.   I've been sick this week and didn't add another skill to work on as was my intention, but now that I'm feeling better, I'll get back to my goal of learning or improving upon a skill I already have or one that I want to learn.

On the spiritual front (we must never neglect the kind of spiritual growth that comes from studying God's Word), I'm taking a class on the book of Acts.  In fact, I just completed part 1 and will shortly start part 2.  Both parts of the class are about 5 weeks long each.  I'm learning so much and am being reminded of things I hadn't thought about in this book for a long time.  God's Word is so very rich and full of helps for His children and or those who wish to be His children!

For the ladies who are following our Thursday Ladies Bible Class and our current study on Rahab, lesson 3 has been posted HERE.

On the financial front, and in keeping with our 'hunkering down' mindset of 2024, I took a look at our budget for the year and pared down some of our expenses.  I found one area that had gotten a little too 'fluffy,' if you know what I mean!   Saying 'no' to things we want is not for the faint of heart!  It takes determination to make a plan and take the necessary steps to make that plan become a reality.

We can't forget 'garden planning' in January and February, either.  These are the months that I get my graph paper out, sketch out my garden layout and start deciding what we want to plant, how much and where!  I really think I want to play with my container garden this year and do some rearranging, not a lot, but for ease of convenience a few containers would better serve our purpose in a new location!  I made out my January/February gardening 'to-do' list and now it's time to watch and wait for windows of opportunity weather-wise, to get outside and start working!

Speaking of weather, we have a chance of significant snow for our area next week!  If this happens, it will indeed be a rare event as we just don't get snow ... ice, yes, snow, no!

As you can see, January and February are busy months in a different kind of way.  I'm still busy, but the things I'm doing are not as strenuous on the body ... my body appreciates the rest while my mind stays engaged!

That's it for this week!  What did your week look like in your home this week?  How did you look well to the ways of your household?

mrs. patsi @ A Working Pantry

She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27 

You might be interested in my other blogs ...

Grandma's Got a Sewing Machine 

From This Heart of Mine