Today the sun peaked out for a few minutes and what an elixir for the soul it was!

This time of year is quite dreary and I find myself looking for anything to bring me humor as I have discovered laughter truly is the best medicine.  With the sun shining I once again was distracted by the beauty this place holds.  Even with the ice, brown leaves and bareness of the birch trees that are currently sleeping I seen frost on the branches highlighting the intricate lace patterns of the bark. Once again I was side tracked from doing the tasks at hand but it was so worth it!

I then found myself sitting on a stump giving the pigs a good old belly scratching and when that was done was rewarded with their silly antic of getting across the ice.  How I wish I would have had my video camera as they decided it was much too difficult to coordinate 4 legs so decided to sit on their backsides and pull themselves along on the ice and when the little hams got cold they would jump up and squeal twisting, dancing and squealing with joy that only pigs can experience.  It was an amazing show and I do believe they too were enjoying the warm rays of sunshine.

I did take a minute to run inside and grab my phone before the goats came to visit-the met me at the steps not about to be out done by the pigs they needed their time to shine too.

The day was not truly wasted as I had completed my baking by 5 a.m. and my family awoke to the aroma of fresh baked bread which I later sliced thick and dipped in cinnamon egg batter for French toast.

Here is the recipe for this no fail bread if you would like to try it

My best soft wite bread

3.5 c hot water 1/2 c honey 1/4 c lard 1c milk 2 tbsp yeast

melt honey and lard in water Add milk (temp of liquid should now be around 105 degrees then add yeast let sit until it’s foamy.

In seperate Large bowl measure out 12 cups unbleached flour reserving 4 and putting 8 in the bowl make a, hole stir in liquid add a cup of flour at a time stirring in until well mixed when you can no longer stir it grease your hand and work in the remaining flour keeping in mind this is approx measurements if it looks like it’s getting too dry stop at 11.5 cups

Kneading right in the bowl (10 minutes) it gives you a softer bread great for slicing. After kneading remove from bowl and oil bowl well put it back in cover let rise an hour then punch down split and put in well oiled bread pans or form buns cover and let rise till almost double bake at 375 for 20-30 minutes makes 3 loaves

Another day on the homestead done I am sitting here listening to my childrens laughter, enjoying the warmth of the stove and the comforting popping and crackling the fire is emitting I know that my life may not be glamorous but it is a life so complete with the beauty of this Alaskan wilderness and I am Thankful God has blessed me with being here.