Little things

So today has been just been a day for enjoying things, for the most part.  I did clean the house and when it is not a huge mess, it's actually enjoyable.  The weather has been sunny for the last two and a half days.  This means that I actually got to hang clothes out on the line to dry!    It was also extremely windy today so hanging sheets and towels was a bit tricky, but I managed.  It was also fairly cool today, especially when handling wet clothes!

I have lots of memories of hanging laundry out to dry.  We grew up on a farm and that was a kid chore.  We had to put the laundry out on the line and then bring it in.  Good times.  I've been trying to get Jay to put on the clothes line that I bought 8 years ago (when we moved to Pasadena).  He never did so it is nice to have one already put in.  Australians don't use dryers much.  For the first time ever, I'm having to use fabric softener rather than dryer sheets.  Dryer sheets just aren't available here, at all! 
As an adult, I've always enjoyed baking.  I find kneading bread dough to be very relaxing.  However, after Tom was born, I got carpal tunnel.  It was just to painful to knead dough.  I switched to a bread maker, which was nice, but not relaxing.  I made bread for the first time today since my surgery.  Here is my bread getting ready to rise. 

It is a whole wheat blend bread.  I actually have a cookbook for whole grain baking that I bought years ago and have never used.  I have been pouring over the recipes and slowly gathering ingredients for many of the recipes.  I can't wait to try them.  The above bread is from the Joy of Cooking.  To go with the bread, I am making homemade vegetable beef soup.  I made the stock from scratch this morning and I am cooking the soup now.  Jay's coworker Dave is coming over for dinner.  Dave has been loaning us his internet on  weekends, so I thought I'd fed him tonight as a thank you. 
The sun is starting to set, so I need to go finish the soup.