Saying goodbye to 2017

Today's New Years Eve. The high here is supposed to be 15 degrees. Let's just say it's cold enough for some hot tea. :) What does everyone do on the last day of the year? They look back and look forward. I thought I'd take a look back at the year from my perspective.

I started 2017 looking at breast surgery to remove some abnormal cells. Not a great start to the year since I've never had surgery in my life. But all went well even if I did have to survive a wire sticking out of my breast for an hour or more. That's the big thing I remember.

January also included more fun; girls trip to Downstream Casino! This was the first time I got to see the hotel rooms, which are very nice. And if I remember correctly, I came home with extra moolah.

During winter I had to find more indoor pursuits of fun. Some of which included light sabers with my son. I'm a homebody most of the time, so you'd think winter would suit me, but I'm also prone to cabin fever myself. So work keeps me sane during the long winter season.

My granddaughter, Charlotte made a trip down south and I got to see her. Babies grow so darn fast. She'll be dancing around the room before the end of the year.

My niece and nephew stayed a week down here and boy did we have fun. It seems every time I see them they've grown. And they know how to keep their grandma and aunt busy.

In late April I had the honor of attending the wedding of my co worker's daughter. Let me preface that by saying, her daughter could have been a former student of mine, but I've had so many students over the past 20 years, I can't remember if she was in my class or not. The photo is my principal enjoying a few minutes playing with her sons. It was such a sweet moment, I couldn't help but take some photos.

May brought the end of the school year. This meant saying goodbye to my principal and another science teacher. I don't like change much at all and this was pretty sad. But I did get to see the ABBA tribute concert at Downstream Casino. They did a great job and I met a new friend, Terri.

After school I made my trip out to Pueblo, Colorado. I love getting away from home and spend time with my brother and my aunt. And boy when Allen comes over and has a fish fry it is GOOD. Allen is acting like an old man in the photo, but that guy knows how to fish. I think David and I tried out a new batter, instead of using Aunt Jemima's pancake mix and it was much better.

I went up for Charlotte's 1st birthday party. She was so sweet. I really was impressed how she shared her toys with all the other kids.

Summer also brought a trip to Dauphin Island, Alabama. It was so much fun to frolic in the ocean and search for shells and crabs with Mom, Amanda, Rob and the kids. We visited a museum, gift shops, walked and played in the water. A couple highlights were when our neighbor caught a baby shark and Amanda, Megan and I went swimming with a snake. Crazy times! :)

July also brought a get together with my former co worker and friend Lory. We ate lunch, shopped and made plans to attend a fashion show. We also had a nice visit in December. I have to remember to get her back to Aurora for a visit in 2018.

I also have to mention camping at the lake with some friends. This is where the big idea began to rent a beach house for summer 2018. This type of camping was awesome because my friend, Loralee has an RV. That's my kind of camping!

School started in August and not soon after we had an amazing experience. The entire school gathered at the football field to watch the solar eclipse. It was neat to see everyone, everywhere watching the sun together. I still have my solar eclipse glasses.

She had to cancel once, but finally Olivia Newton John made it to Springfield. It was a great concert. My friends and I had great seats.

Now that fall arrived, Mom and I took a trip to the lake to walk around and enjoy nature. I can't remember why, but Branson traffic was crazy that day.

When Thanksgiving came around Mom, Amanda and the kids visited for our feast. Later we decorated my tree and shot off bottle rockets because the cows were gone from out back. We may have taken it a little far with the ground flowers since my grass caught on fire. We managed to contain it, though. During their visit Amanda and I got some great deals at the Mall on Black Friday. We also played in the leaves at Mom's house and decorated Christmas cookies.

The beginning of December brought a trip to Park Central Square where we enjoyed Christmas music played on ukuleles and other fun adventures in town.

I love sunrises and sunsets and this year was no exception. Even in the cold months, the sun never ceases to amaze me. I hope I'm not the only one.

For the first time, I attended a craft party. My childhood friend, Debbie had several of us over to make crafts. It was really fun. We ate, drank and made some neat Christmas crafts. The next week she had her annual Christmas party. And that was fun, too.

Christmas eve was spent at Mom's house. Nick came down that evening after we drove around looking at Christmas lights. Christmas morning we watched Charlotte open presents and opened our own presents. We even got to watch David open his presents via Google video chat.

And now it's New Year's Eve. I thought I'd end with something a friend shared on facebook. It's nice to look back, but let's remember the future is ours. What are we going to do with it? I've got things I'd like to give up and things I'd like to do. I think those need to be kept continually on our mind during the upcoming year. You're never too old or too young to go toward your dreams.

Bread anyone?

I haven't made bread in years, but someone kept talking to me about making bread and I thought what the heck. It's the holiday season. And I like to know exactly what's in the food I eat. So I bought some yeast. The last yeast I bought ended up expiring before I got around to using it. So I felt a little pressure to actually use this yeast.

I went a few go arounds searching pinterest for a recipe that looked easy enough and included ingredients I actually had in my cabinets.

Here's the link: Bread recipe
I felt like I used the entire container of flour as I set it aside in a bowl. Then I took a look at my yeast and to my amazement, it said I didn't have to mix it with warm water to work. What is that? From the old days I remembered I had to have specifically heated water and a certain amount of sugar before that yeast would even consider working. So I was a little skeptical. I put the warm water and sugar in a big bowl and added the yeast. No bubbles. Nothing, just dissolved yeast. But I kept on going. In fact, for the first time I attached the dough beaters to my hand held mixer.

I'll have to admit I enjoyed the heck of out kneading. The sticking, not so much, but watching that dough smooth out was very satisfying. I decided to put the glass bowl in the oven to rise. What I tried was preheating it to 100 degrees then turning it off. To my surprise, an hour later that dough was trying to escape that bowl. The yeast actually worked!

As I got out my bread pans, I was faced with a dilemma. One of my metal pans was rusted. And it wasn't just a little bit. It was a lot of rust that I couldn't remove. Dang, in the trash it went. I went back to the cabinet and found a glass bread pan.  I knew glass was going to cook different than metal, but I wasn't sure how much.

The loaf on the left was baked in the metal pan and as you can see, the one on the right is still in the glass pan. What you can't see is how rough it was to get that one out of the pan. Yes, the glass pan bread rose a lot, but getting it out of the pan was a chore. In fact, the top separated from the bottom leaving me two halves of one loaf. I'm still not even sure why.  By the way, they both tasted great. The metal pan loaf sliced great and made some awesome sandwiches. If you have any suggestions for me, please comment below. And don't tell me to buy another metal pan. I can figure that one out myself.
Now back to my tea.

Reason for Tea Talk

Tea is so versatile. My mom enjoys a hot cup in the morning. She adds some sugar and uses as a wake up drink. Some drink coffee; my mom drinks tea. My grandma would take her tea in a dainty cup with a saucer. My go to drink- after water- is cold tea surrounding some bobbing ice cubes. Some of my friends enjoy chilled tea with lots of dissolved sugar. I tend to enjoy mine without the added sweetness. Tea can be fancy in a special pot with antique cups or in a Solo cup at a picnic.

The best thing about tea whether it is cold or hot, plain or sweet is the company that goes with it. This is why I've begun this blog. Tea Talk is a time to share thoughts, ideas, dreams and disasters. It's a little easier to talk with tea. It can cool us off or warm us up, but it never fails to help us share. And that's a great gift indeed. So grab your favorite cup, and join me while we share what's on our hearts. You may sip or you may gulp, either way don't forget to breathe and laugh. And while you're at it, share your favorite tea or how you like to enjoy it.