Today Was a Good Day...Mostly

I made my first loaf of bread from Healthy Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. The kids got me the book for Christmas because they want me to make even more bread than I already do.  Today's loaf is the master recipe sprinkled with flax seeds. It was really yummy. My next things to try will be the Parsley  Garlic Knots, which also use the master recipe, and the Lentil Curry Bread. I cooked the lentils today but haven't made the dough yet.

I love days when things come in the mail. Today was a great day as three different packages arrived. First was my new compost container for the kitchen.  I had a crock several years ago but the lid got dropped and broke so I quit using it. Then we quit composting for a long time.  We started back last summer and since then I've been using a Gladware container and that just wasn't working for me.  I hated it sitting open on the counter.  It was small.  And the cats kept stealing broccoli and other things out of it and making a mess on the counter.  I found this great copper coated stainless number at gardeners.com.  I really like the way it looks, I shouldn't be able to break it, and it holds so much more than the Gladware did.

The second package to arrive was a box of Playmobil stuff - all little stuff (cats with climbing tree, dogs with person, pediatrician's office, vet with dog, snowman with boy). I will admit that we now have plenty of pets for our Playmobil families. The box arrived partially open and I was afraid it would be missing items. Surprisingly, it was not. I ordered from Ridge Road Station. They seem to have good sales and free shipping. This is my second time ordering from them and I've been pleased both times. I do check prices against the Playmobil site as occasionally a "sale" item isn't really marked down.  But overall, I find I can save quite a bit using their site.

The last thing to arrive was new lids for our Thermos Funtainer Sipsters. Did you know you can get replacement lids and straws for about $2 a piece? Given the price of the Sipsters this is a great way to extend their lives. You do have to call (800.831.9242) - can't do it online but it is so worth it. Some of our bottles are three or more years old and on their second or third lid.

In other news I bought a vacuum cleaner today. But, it, of course, deserves it's own post.

The Bigs brought home report cards. Unfortunately, one child had some explaining to do. I'll just say, at our house effort is key, and in a couple of subjects it was lacking.





Jenn