Camping

We had a wonderful camping adventure at Rogue Elk Park, right on the beautiful upper Rogue River.  We set up our canopy and tent right on the river.  I picked some herbs and flowers from our garden to enjoy and chase insects away.  Thankfully there were very little bugs and with the net on the canopy, it kept all the bees away and any debris from the trees coming down when the wind came.  I know we were doing a little bit of glamping, but it sure was nice.  Last year we bought some really comfortable sleeping cots and this spring we bought the canopy and outdoor carpet to finish everything off.

 

We arrived at noon and began to set up.  It got a little hot and tiring but we got it all set up with just a few short breaks in the shade.  We brought some fruit and nuts too.  I always like to incorporate some elements of the Feast of Tabernacles in our camping as we are remember to be thankful for our permanent home while we enjoy the wonderful out doors in a temporary dwelling.

 

 

The view was spectacular.  The river was full and flowing very fast. 

Here is Rich and Mary getting warm in the morning sun.  This time in September it is on the chilly side in the morning but it warmed up during the day and was very pleasant.

After breakfast we went for a walk.  There are a lot of Oak trees in the park so we gathered leaves and acorns.

 

 

This is one of my favorite scenes in the park.  I love how the sun sparkled on the water and the green canopy of leaves and the limbs reaching down to the water.  Just so beautiful!

 

After our walk we spent some time reading the Hobbit to Mary.  She is the perfect age for it and we all loved it.

Rich did some fishing.  There was a nice spot right next to our camp site.

I really liked this motion shot with the end of the line making the white spot on the water as it went in.

Rich saw a lot of very large salmon.  He caught trout but we did not have a salmon tag so he didn't go for them.

We read some Psalms out of the Bible before dinner and then enjoyed a wonderful fire and did some star gazing afterwards.  There was a full moon and it shown so beautifully on the water in the river.

 

When the fire burned down we roasted marshmallows over the coals and had s'mores.  A perfect ending to a perfect day!!

First Day of School

The beauty of home school is you don't have to leave your front porch.  We had a great first day of school.  Mary is really looking forward to school this year.  My girl is growing up so fast!

Rich's Birthday

I always bake Rich a chocolate cake for his birthday. This year I decided to make a cherry chocolate cake mix.  I used a Devil's Food cake mix, a can of cherry pie filling, chocolate chips, 3 eggs, 1/2 cup of water and a 1/2 cup of sourdough starter and a tsp of almond flavoring.  I used a bundt cake pan that Rich had gotten me a long time ago.  I had it tucked back in the cupboard and had forgotten about it.  It worked out so well for this recipe that I made up.  I baked it at 325 degrees for 55 minutes or until the toothpick comes out fairly clean.  It is a really rich cake so it is not going to come out real clean.

 

 

I dusted powdered sugar on the top and garnished it with fresh raspberries.

 

I also baked our weekly pizza

 

Mary had a blast blowing up balloons

She was so excited to give Dad his gifts.

We had the cake with cherry cordial ice cream.

 

 

This pic is a little out of focus but I was so pleased how the cherry filling and chocolate chips stayed in the center.  It was a very moist cake but not too heavy.  The sourdough starter really helps with giving a good lift to the cake.

 

We were so happy to celebrate Rich!  He is such a wonderful husband and dad and we are so thankful for all the Lord has given us.

Stuffed Crust Pizza

Last week I decided to do something different with our weekly pizza.  I always have just a little extra dough that I make bread sticks or a dessert pizza or an extra thick crust.  So I decided to use the extra dough to make a stuffed crust.  I had gotten a couple of packages of cheese sticks on sale and used one package to stuff the crust with.  I rolled out the dough an inch or so larger than my pizza pan and then put the cheese down and wrapped the dough over the cheese.  It turned our great!  So I will be doing it again.  Rich makes a wonderful homemade pepperoni and the dough is made with our sourdough starter.  During the summer I have used sliced fresh tomatoes from our garden on it.  I will include our dough recipe at the end of this post.

 

 

The crust is like a bread stick with hot and bubbly cheese inside.

 

The cheese is really stretchy!! lol

 

1 pkg of Rapid Rise Yeast

4 cups flour

1 Tbls sugar

1 tsp of salt

1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese

3 Tbls olive oil

1 cup plus a little less that a 1/4 cup of warm water

1 cup of sourdough starter

 

I put all ingredients in a bread maker set on the dough cycle

When dough is finished put in a bowl and refrigerate the dough over night

 

Roll out dough on slightly floured board

Put on sauce and ingredients of choice

Bake in a 425 degree oven for 15 minutes of when crust is golden brown and the middle of the pizza is hot and bubbly.

 

Enjoy!

 

Crater Rock Museum

We went to the Crater Rock Museum last week and were pleasantly surprised how big is was and had so many wonderful displays.  It had a great Indian artifact display.  We are really interested in that as we will be doing a unit this Fall on local Indians in homeschool for Mary.  We definitely be going back to see it again.  Here are a few shots I took.