These are a few of my favorite things

As time heads toward the Thanksgiving and Christmas season, I pause to give thanks for all the "little things" that brighten my day, make me laugh or give me a touch of comfort. Here we go.....

Leaf cookies and apple cider. The smell and the taste are divine as are the memories behind them. Mom started this tradition and continued it even when we left her nest for high school at Prep. She would painstakingly layer them between bubble wrap in an effort to keep the fragile cookies from breaking. I would receive this treat in the mail come fall and share them with a chosen few in the dorm. The rest I would keep for myself and indulge in while sneaking off to the TV room for Brady Bunch reruns - a short time of quiet that was hard to find living in a girls' dorm! I now continue this tradition with my children although my leaf cutout is different from Mom's. Now I'm the one rolling the dough and carefully cutting out the shapes for my children to decorate with a variety of sprinkles. I imagine a time will come when I too will be layering them in bubble wrap to send off to the States. I'm in no hurry for that!

My Nutrimill wheat grinder. How I appreciate the freshness of the flour this machine makes for me as it grinds whole wheat kernels into flour. I use this to make cookies, waffles and pancakes, muffins and breads. I love the nutty taste and texture! In this way I keep all three parts of the wheat berry and all the nutrients it holds. If I don't use all I grind I will keep the rest in the freezer until I need it since there are no preservatives in it. Which leads me to.....

Artisan Bread in 5 minutes a day and the new Healthy Bread in 5 minutes a day cookbooks. I recently discovered these and shared them with several friends who are equally thrilled. The concept is that the time it takes to mix, rise, knead, rise again, etc isn't as important as we thought. By using their master recipe you can make up a batch of dough for 4 loaves in minutes and after allowing it to rise for a few hours, stick it in your fridge until you are ready to have freshly baked bread. On baking day it will take you 5 minutes of work to prepare it (not baking time of course). I'm here to tell you it works. I love it and the variations to it like using it as pizza crust. Today I am using the modified whole wheat recipe and have it on my counter top as we speak. I can't wait to sample it after it bakes!

Obviously I like to bake. I know my life it too hectic when I don't have time to bake. Then I'm miserable! I also like to cook and lucky for me my family likes to eat. My most recent cookbook purchased is Jamie Oliver's Jamie's Food Revolution. My favorite chapter is the Indian curry. After going to an authentic Indian restaurant last week and eating their stuff which was Fantastic it was confirmed that these recipes ain't too shabby. Love it.

On our trip last February to Mexico we had TV screens at each of our seats that had a choice of various shows and movies. It was then we discovered the Office. We became hooked ....fast. Since then we've become slightly obsessed. We've purchased and watched all the seasons so far. It's great for when there's nothing on TV which happens often. We'll often make quotes from the show to each other that we find hilarious - people around us are sure to think we're nuts. We had passed by this show previously thinking that it looked so stupid and the camera moved around too much (both are still true). We think one of the funniest episodes is from Season 5 called "Stress Relief" when Dwight sets the office on fire for the purpose of a fire drill.

Bath and Body Works has finally come to Canada and more importantly to me - Ottawa. I had to wait 7 years but by golly, it's finally here. I entered this abyss of lotions, soaps and air fresheners days after it opened to find the Christmas music playing and surrounded by people just about excited as me. I thought I was going to cry.

www.shutterfly.com is my new favorite website for all things picture. I've made two photo albums, a calendar and my Christmas cards simply by uploading the digital photos I want and dropping them into a pre-existing layout and adding the text I want. It's quick, easy and makes no mess. I'm all over that.

Books - specifically the ones I am reading with Will through Sonlight this year. We are studying American history (with some Canadian supplements, of course!) this year. Sonlight is the curriculum we use and there is a lot of reading both for Will and me to read aloud. Their motto "the way you wish you'd been taught" is true for me. I've learned more than I ever imagined. I'm fascinated by history and by what we can learn from the past. The Bible is the best history book out there with the way world history is intricately weaved through and in and among it. And now as we study the discovery and history of North and South America and the very beginnings of the United States and Canada I have a growing appreciation for it all. Will and I are reading about different Native American tribes and learning about them, where they're from and praying for them. The novels I read to Will I just can't get enough of - I read until my voice goes hoarse! We are currently reading "The Witch at Blackbird Pond". Before that was "The Sign of the Beaver". There are not enough hours in the day!!!

These are a few of my favorite things!