Orlando

Dwayne had to go to Orlando for a week for a conference, so we tagged along and made a mini- vacation out of the week.

The hotel where we stayed and where the conference was held, the Signia by Hilton, had an epic lazy river connected to its pools.  It took a full 15 minutes to float around the entire lazy river. We enjoyed the pool, lazy river, and hot tubs a few times throughout the week. We enjoyed the Starbucks at the hotel lobby everyday, managing to get addicted to cappuccino. A cappuccino maker is going on my Christmas list. 

On the nights when Dwayne was free for dinner, we went to special places like The Rainforest Cafe and Kura Revolving Sushi Bar. The sushi bar was probably our favorite experience of the entire week.  

When Dwayne was working for dinner, we went to special places, too, only without him. Lol! The girls and I went to Melting Pot. A fondu pot or two is also our Christmas lists now! 

We were able to use the Waldorf Astoria's pool, so we went over there for a few hours one lovely Florida afternoon.

When the conference was over, we took a few days to go to some parks. The girls had never been to SeaWorld; They didn't even know what it was. So we took them there. 

We love waterparks, so we enjoyed another day at Volcano Bay just playing together as a family. 

The girls had lots of new experiences and we're thankful for the memories made together. 

The Quarrel Between Poetry and Philosophy

I've got one more class before I earn my masters in Classical Liberal Arts Education from Belmont Abbey. 

And I'm devastated. 

I want to continue going to graduate school, because there are a few more graduate-level classes that I have heard about from my classmates that I don't want to miss- one on the quadrivium that includes Euclid, another on rhetoric that includes speeches from Cicero through Lincoln, and one on faith and reason that includes Aquinas.

So obviously, I want to take them all. 

Alas. 

Technically, I have only one more class before I am done. 

But, thankfully, this class includes Plato's Republic. 

I did not want to finish graduate school without reading that book. 

This class also includes Aristotle's Poetics for which I am thankful. 

I love all things Aristotle. 

My graduate studies started with his Categories; It will end with his Poetics, and that seems just as it ought to be in liberal arts education. 

This class also includes The Oedipus Cycle. 

I have only read Oedipus Rex, so I am curious about the other two. Of course, I have heard of Antigone, but I have not read it yet. 

I can't say enough about the effect this course of study has had on my soul and my intellect and my understanding of education. 

So as I begin what may be my last class, my heart is full of gratitude that the Lord's will for my life included this beautiful journey through the Classics. 

Sourdough- Take Two!

I made a second loaf of sour dough, this time in an oblong pan. 

I'm a novice to all the sourdough methods, but as far as I understand the madness I'm using a recipe for a cold, unfed starter straight from the fridge with 100% hydration with an overnight rise with zero stretch and folds. 

I got this recipe from "Sour Dough for Lazy People," because it was recommended to me by a friend who uses it, and I love her bread, and I have no interest in the other seemingly absurd methods that require a full-day process- at least not yet. 

My dough was so wet and sticky as it poured from the bowl, it was nearly impossible to work with. I added enough flour to it to shape it into a loaf and salvage it. 

This is the second loaf that came out of the bowl too sticky to work with. 

So now, I know that I definitely need to adjust the hydration of my starter, something I suspected after my first loaf, but wanted to confirm with another test. 

There's a method to adjusting the hydration of your starter that I won't explain here, but I am hopeful after that process is complete, my loaves will begin coming out of the bowl better formed, easier to shape, and hopefully, then, I'll also get a better rise. 

So this second loaf isn't the prettiest. 

Neither was the first loaf. 

But I bet it's going to be delicious nevertheless, because the first loaf was. 

I'm making homemade beef stew tonight. 

We'll have it with some freshly baked sour dough! 

Scottish Buttermilk Bread

I made Scottish Buttermilk Bread from Bernard Clayton's Complete Book of Breads. It was similar to Irish Soda Bread; It was also similar to homemade buttermilk biscuits, so we ate it like biscuits with eggs or butter and jam, etc.  This was my least favorite bread so far, honestly. 

Egg Harbor Bread

 

I made the Egg Harbor bread from Bernard Clayton's New Complete Book of Bread. 

This particular bread has five rises, so it was the most complicated bread I've made so far, and it took the longest by far. 

I am working my way bread by bread through Clayton's book in the order that the recipes come, and I'm growing in competence and confidence. 

One important thing I have learned from my mistakes: Check the temperature of your water before adding yeast to it. This way, you don't end up killing the yeast and preventing your dough from rising. 

Cuban Bread

I made Cuban Bread, the third recipe in Bernard Clayton's New Complete Book of Breads. 

I pulled a chunk off while it was still warm, buttered it, and...  delicious! 

I also bought the entire box of active dry yeast at the grocery store, because I grew tired of running out- so I have 36 (minus the two I used today) packages total. 

So count on more breads to come!

 

My First Sourdough

I made my first loaf of sourdough with starter given me by my friend Rachel. There's room for improvement as far as rise, crumb, and crust goes, but the flavor was unparalleled; My whole family agreed. I'm using the You Tube Channel: Sourdough for Lazy People for my recipe, recommended by my friend Rachel also.