KitchenJoy

ONE- It's officially been fall now for what? 5 days? Our September weather is certainly cooperating. The photo above shows the beautiful dark clouds we've been seeing a lot of lately. I don't think we've had a sunny day this week and the high temps have been under 60 for several of them! I finally broke down and turned on the heat just a wee bit in the house and I'm wearing my slippers & bathrobe again. I am in no hurry to lose our summer sunshine, but I have to admit there's something I just can't resist about blankets, jeans, soup, tea, cozy sweaters and cuddling with my hubby. Maybe fall isn't so bad. ;)

TWO- I took a cooking class on Monday! Hubby gave me a certificate to take a cooking class as a birthday gift almost a year ago and I finally registered for not one but two! The first was a local class that cost me only $10 and not only did I come away with some great knowledge, we even got to take home our very own sourdough starter! We made farmstead sourdough sliders and rolls (which were AMAZING by the way) and learned a lot about the scientific process that is sourdough. One cool fact: yeast takes on a different flavor in different regions, so sourdough bread is a true art- nobody's tastes the same! I have been feeding my starter and hope to be able to use it soon. We got to take home a few recipes, one of which is a mouthwatering sourdough pancake recipe!! I'll be taking the second class (croissants- can't wait!) in Spokane next week.

THREE- I get to see my brother twice this week! He's in Spokane doing some training for his new position as Treasury Solutions Analyst with Bank of America; we got to have dinner with him Monday night at the Onion (had me a yummy chicken, brie & apple sandwich!) and we're hoping to have dinner with him again tomorrow night! I wish my sis-in-love and the kids could have come too, but it sure is a treat to see my brother's face! If he were closer I'd fix him up some good home cooking so he didn't have to eat out every night, but oh, well.

FOUR- Next week we start Awana, the kid's program at our church, and I usually teach the Cubbies class (preschool). However, as it stand right now I have no Cubbies! If none show up, I'm planning on helping Hubby with his class, which is 3-6 grade. It may turn out to be a very different year for me! I'm excited and a little nervous. I haven't worked with the older age groups in a long time.

FIVE- I'm doing this photo challenge thing with my sister and it's actually pretty fun! She found a random list online and each day for a month we're challenged to take a picture of something different. For instance, today was "something that makes you sad" and I posted a pic of my hummingbird feeder- full, but with no birds on it. I'm so sad that the hummers seem to have migrated already! Their constant presence at my feeder in the summer is incredibly entertaining! Anyway, we post our pics to Instagram and it's fun to see what she comes up with too! We're halfway through the list, but if you want to join us, let me know and I'll send it to you! My Instagram name is joybell1029- feel free to follow!