Here’s that delicious bread recipe from Mother Effie at the Holy Nativity Convent (where the beeswax candles came from). MUSICA.

I nibble on it every day.  Lowely, my girlfriend who lives one door over, tried the recipe and gave me another loaf! Precious cargo!  It came out perfectly!

You can see all the seeds in the bread.  The thinnest slice holds together in your toaster and is the crunchiest of the crunchy.

So here we go . . . you can copy and paste the recipe, then print it out.  Makes two delicious seedy, oaty, almondy loaves.

• 1½ c. bulgur
• 1 3/8 c. boiling water/1¾ c. water
• 3 c. whole wheat flour/¾ c. whole wheat flour
• ½ c. vital wheat gluten
• ½ c. white flour
• 2¼ tsp. active dry yeast
• 3 Tbsp. oil
• 1 Tbsp. honey
• 2 tsp. salt
• ¼ c. millet
• 1/8 c. flax seeds
• ¼ c. sunflower seeds
• 1/8 c. oats
• 3 Tbsp. almond meal

1.)  Pour 1 3/8 c. boiling water over bulgur, flax seeds, millet & oats. Set aside to cool.

2.)  Combine 3 c. whole wheat flour, gluten and yeast in mixer bowl.

3.)  Heat 1¾ c. water, honey, oil and salt to about 125°F.

4.)  Slowly pour heated water mix into flour mix in mixer bowl while mixing.  Beat for 2 minutes; cover and let sit for 30 min.

5.)  Combine white flour, ¾ c. whole wheat flour, sunflower seeds & almond meal in a separate bowl.

6.)  After yeast mix has set for 30 min; add the step 5 flour mix and the step 1 bulgur mix alternatively to the yeast mix.  Knead for ten minutes.  Dough should be a little tacky.

7.) Place in a greased bowl; cover and let rise until doubled.

8.) Preheat oven to 350° ~ punch down dough and divide in two; cover and let rest 10 min.  Form 2 loaves, place each in a greased bread pan; cover them and let them rise until doubled.

9.) Put the pans in the preheated oven. Check the bread for doneness at 40 min.  Turn a loaf out into your hand (cover your hand with a potholder) ~ tap the bottom of the bread ~ if it sounds hollow, it’s done, if not, put it back into the pan and into the oven for another five minutes. And that’s it!

This, my friends, is my Kitchen Soap. I think it’s kind of wonderful. I’ve had this ridged wooden soap “dish” for many years, since I first moved to the island.  I love it because it’s simple and it works.  I wouldn’t have another kind, even after all these years. The soap, sitting on the ridges, dries easily, doesn’t get mungy, and lasts forever.  And the “dish” doesn’t break if it falls into the sink.  I always look for the perfect soap for it, sometimes I get lucky and find bars that fit the way I like them too ~ but recently I got VERY lucky ~ I found someone who would make the perfect soap just for me (and by extension, for you :-)). And here it is:

Wrapped in waxed paper and our own band. It’s Organic Olive Oil, Raw Goat’s Milk and Lavender; smooth, silky, fresh, lightly-scented soap with no little petals in it to rub your skin the wrong way  . . .

I also found the wooden soap holder for it.  Cute for a housewarming gift, or for holiday, or as a stocking stuffer, or for everyday.  So here you go, hope you like it as much as I do!  We’ll carry the soap by itself too.  I told you, it’s the little things, and I meant it.  Reeeely little!

I’m clapping my hands because I got a big job of handwashing done this weekend. This doesn’t look like a lobster, despite the lobster pot, it’s actually the lace canopy that goes over our four-poster bed.

Being up there, all laid out like it is, makes it a really good dust catcher . . . I wash it every year just before winter, so it’s clean and nice while the house has to be closed up.  But it’s a two person job getting it down and back up.  Three if you count Jack.  Joe and I take it off (carefully) and shake it outside first.  Then I fill the pot with warm water, add laundry soap and a little gentle bleach ~ and slosh it back and forth squeezing and squeezing until a year’s worth of dirt and dust comes out. 

We had a gorgeous weekend, about 62º, clear, crisp and breezy, the perfect kind of weekend to get stuff done and watch the leaves beginning to fall. We spread the dripping wet lace on the lawn to dry . . . it’s much too heavy to put on the line quite yet.

We let the sun do its job and after a while, when the canopy is partially dry and much lighter, I hang it on the line to finish drying.

Noticing how pretty and colorful the leaves are under the clothesline.

Then back up the stairs we go, trying not to tangle ourselves in it.  And there she is, for another year, clean, dust-free and smelling good.

Speaking of smelling good, here’s our little helper. He thinks canopy-replacing means playtime!  (He thinks everything means playtime, this is the playingest cat in the world.)  Isn’t he adorable????

Couldn’t you just smoosh his little velvet nose?

♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥

So this is what else we did . . . we got a cord of wood ~ Joe stacked it and I brought him coffee . . .

We are a team.

He drained the hoses too. Our yard slopes slightly downhill, just enough to empty the hoses.  You have to do this in snow country, let your hoses dry in the sun, otherwise, if there’s water in them, they freeze and split.  This is your normal winter chore.  We never did this in California!  Add it to the list!

I decorated my stove shelf (with the last two tomatoes from our garden ~ two of our bigger ones I might add, and too cute to eat), and did a bunch of other stuff too, but I’ll save it for next time, because I have another rather wonderful something to show you (just waiting for it to show up before I do). ♥ 

Right now I want to ask a big favor of our UK Girlfriends . . . I hope you don’t mind, this is something only a Brit can do.  It’s Amazon UK ~ it doesn’t seem to know my calendar exists.  We worked hard to get it in Amazon UK because shipping is so ridiculous from the states (and even IN the states), we thought it would help.  But I really don’t think anyone knows it’s there.  The thing that would be a huge help is if a couple of our UK Girlfriends could do a review of the calendar?  If it’s not too much trouble, it would be a big help and I’d be forever grateful to you. Just click HERE and it will take you to the right spot.  (P.S. It’s even worse for AUTUMN ♥)

AND for your reward?

I was sweeping the kitchen porch and putting out the pumpkins and saw this.  It says “hope” to me the same way as the little engine that could.  

Look at it, all brave and daring.  It knows winter is coming and it doesn’t even care, because even a month in this changing season, hearing the wind in the trees, feeling the breeze run between her leaves, and the color!  And smells of woodsmoke and mulch! Even a month in this beautiful world is worth it.  Look at the moon she’s about to get! Hooray for you, little thing. I crown thee Penelope. I always wanted to crown something.

This is as close as I think I will get.

Bye Girls, see you soon! XOXO Happy happy Autumn to you all! Don’t forget the whipped cream!