Entries from August 1, 2010 - September 1, 2010
Life Takes Precedence Over Blogging....Sigh
Wednesday, August 18, 2010 at 10:33AM I have to take a blogging break, so A Second Cup is on hiatus. I need some time to think, organize, plan and regroup. If you just happen to drop in, there is an extensive monthly archive listed on the right...enjoy!
Aging With Adventure: Netflixs: The Rules
Monday, August 16, 2010 at 12:00AM My son has gotten Netflixs. Evidently it is legal to use it on more than one device, so I can legally use his account. Legality is a big deal to me. Not so much to the younger generation.
He has rules for my use of his account. This is a role reversal. Usually I have rules for using my stuff.
Rule 1: Use on demand viewing only
Rule 2: Do not put anything (not even the whole Alien Nation series....sigh) into the queue.
Rule3: Do not comment on his movie choices.
I plan to follow these rules with the same diligence he gave to mine when he was a teen.
Thank you son!
Have you experienced any role reversals with you adult children?
What Would You Do?
Saturday, August 14, 2010 at 12:00AM 
My sister (whom I may disown) has posted pictures of our family, that include me, on Facebook. I do not take a flattering picture. My kids are tagging me (I may disown them also). Let it be know to all family members, that I have some of those old high school pictures of you and I will learn to use my scanner if I have to.
I feel better now. I guess I better lose a little weight.
Have any of your siblings committed a disownable offense?
(I have posted posts I though were funny that had my sibilings wondering if I was mad and venting to the blogosphere. For the record I am not mad. I just am running out of blog ideas..... again.)
Baking With Fresh Milled Whole Grains: A Second Cup Suggestion
Thursday, August 12, 2010 at 12:00AM 
I have been baking bread since the kids were toddlers. It often saved my sanity back then to be able to show my husband that yes indeed I accomplished something today. I still bake because it is so satisfy to make a loaf of bread. Since I stumbled on the no-knead method of bread baking, the quality of my loaf has improved. Now I am baking with fresh ground flours.
The homeschool co-op we are in is peopled by healthy eating types. They love us even though we are full of preservatives. The kids love us because at my house you can get real junk food. These women have been baking with whole grains for years. They will their grains themselves. It was never a project I wanted to take on. Then The Grain Mill Of Wake Forest opened down the road a bit. I can get fresh milled grain easily. Baking with whole grains is now a doable project.
First off the bread is wonderful. Secondly if you are experienced baking with regular flour, fresh milled whole grains is a different breed of vegetable (grain is a vegetable right?). First you must make the sponge. Secondly I have to add gluten flour or I wind up making bricks of bread instead of loaves. Adding gluten flour is controversial in the whole grain bread baking world but I prefer loaves to bricks so I add it. You must to use small bread pans to get that nice curved top and you need to bake the bread at a lower temperature, 350 instead of 400. It helps to take a baking class.
Find more information at The Grain Mill of Wake Forest. Dave is a natural born teacher. He will be more than willing to answer any questions you may have.
Aging With Grace: Some Things Are Worth the Extra Expense
Tuesday, August 10, 2010 at 12:00AM I am knitting (more or less) a pair of toe up socks on 2 circular needles. One set of needles are Addi Turbos and the other is a set of Crystal Palace Bamboo needles. Each set was about $13.00. I could have bought cheaper needles and probably would have if I had found them in my local knitting stores. Finding size 0 circulars locally instead of ordering them off the web is a blog post in itself. As it was finding 2 size 0 needles from the same manufacturer proved difficult, hence the 2 different manufacturers which worked out well because I mix up my needles far less than I would if both sets looked the same.
To the point: Knitting with these needles is a pleasure. The difference I imagine (I imagine because I don’t think I have ever been in a BMW) between traveling a long distance by Honda or in a BMW. Both will reliably get you where you are going but how you experience the process of getting there is different.
For the increased pleasure these needles bring to the process of knitting they are worth the money. Even though I tend to the frugal side and I automatically will try the store brand first, some things are worth the extra cost. Named brand plastic wrap is infinitely easier to use that store brands (at least the store brands in my area). A good quality pen is also a pleasure to write with. I never buy them because they tend to go walk about in my house but once the kids move out I hope to purchase a nice pen and actually be able to use it. Fresh ground wheat is my latest passion. It is more expensive per pound than store bought flour but oh my gosh the bread I make with the fresh ground flour is sublime.
What do you enjoy that you think is worth the extra cost?
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