I give it a 7.5

From Blog Photos

By the way, I forgot to take my own picture of the finished cornbread, so I just picked one online that looks remarkably like mine.

Here is the recipe

What a Day

I would like to start by thanking those who serve in our armed forces. As you are probably aware, at least 12 people were killed, and 32 wounded (numbers still sketchy) tonight in Killeen, a few hours south of here. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families and friends of those affected. God Bless you all.












I made my first homemade bread. The taste was impeccable, if I say so myself.

From Blog Photos

Last:


17 hours and 46 minutes....

45 hours

In 45 hours, the weekend starts.

But this isn't just any weekend, it's symbolic to me, in a sense. It's the first weekend (opening day) of hunting season. It's a time of the year when I spend more time with family, celebrating birthdays, holidays, or just cold days.

It's a time when everyone just seems to become friendlier - wishing people "Happy Holidays" and "Merry Christmas." I cannot wait.

Now, on to the good stuff. I got a recipe out of the only Mother Earth News magazine I have, for a plain-jane artisan bread. It's been rising for nearly 2 hours, so it's getting close to being done. I can't wait. Here's a few pics:

From Blog Photos

From Blog Photos

My wife said "why does it smell like beer?" lol

Thanks for stopping by!

Hamburgers in the Dark

Barefoot, outside, in the cold. I love it.

Of course, it's only 67 degrees out. A wonderful temperature here in Texas. On Sunday, I decided we would have hamburgers tonight. I did not take into account it would be dark outside, thanks to Daylight Savings Time. Thank goodness there is a full moon looking down on my BBQ.

So, let me formally introduce myself and my situation. My name is Stephen, and my wife's name is Katie. We have two "children" - our dogs Sparky & Jenny, both of whom are Boston Terriers.
We live in the Metroplex (or Metromess, if you prefer) in a suburb between Dallas and Ft. Worth, and south of Arlington. The reason we moved to this particular house was because of many factors, but the main one was the lot size.

Now, before I tell you what the lot size is, you have to promise not to laugh afterwards :)

Our lot is 1/3 of an acre, situated on the edge of a subdivision. On three sides of us are 55 acres, 18 acres, and about 15 acres. As my grandpa said during our search for a house with a lot of land (and near our jobs, and in a good school district, and being a "new" house, and 100 other requirements we held our search to)... "the reason land is so expensive now is, they're just not making it like they used to." We had so many requirements that it eliminated a LOT of properties. That is nothing against the house we're in - it is absolutely perfect, minus being in an HOA. That's another story I'll get to later...

So, what to do with all this land? Well that's why you're here. Whether it be gardening, composting, or heck, breaking the HOA rules and doing some other "homesteading" duties, we'll see as the years go on.

Well, the burgers are done, so that's a wrap for me. Thanks for checking in.