Monday, November 9, 2015

A pack too close to home

     This morning was the usual Monday with the alarm starting at 5:30 am and after hitting snooze 3 times, we finally crawl out of bed at 6:00. First thing Kota wanted to go outside so Shawn throws on his robe and heads to the kitchen to make our morning cup of Joe, while I head to the bathroom to begin the daily regime.
     The mornings have been extra dark since daylight savings and before any lights get turned on, I look at the sky on my way to the bathroom. There has been so many stars and it even looks cold and crisp lately. The winter is coming, and with that, our dogs natural love to sit out in the cold. I normally head back out of the bedroom right about the time Shawn walks by with a mug in each hand. Ahh he's so wonderful...
     He says very nonchalantly, "Can hear the coyotes howling in the distance..." And sets my coffee down.
     Apparently I found this more of a shock then he did, though we have come face to face recently with a coyote while out walking Kota in the dark. "Did he come back in? Where is he? Do they sound close?"
     Shawn just shrugged, "He's hanging outside. They sound like they're in the distance."
     Ok... Shawn can't hear like he once could and I could be right next to him carrying on an entire conversation only to realize he has no clue I'm even speaking to him. That's usually followed up with him looking at me and saying, "huh?" So right now, I don't trust his assessment of howling in the distance. Luckily, he senses my not-so-hidden panic and he heads back out to check on the dog.
     "He's fine. He's sleeping on the porch."
     I guess I'm good with that... And eventually he did come in. I'm sure he was enjoying the sounds of the howls and I'm a little surprised he didn't answer those calls. It's not odd for him to be outside laying quietly in the yard in the cold and dark, when he's feeling closest to his natural roots, that he decides to howl like a wild wolf. His howl is subtle and smooth. It's gorgeous. So I was definitely surprised he wasn't howling back at the posse calling out this morning.
     I made bread over the weekend. I've been trying to use my bread machine weekly and make home made bread and trying not to buy so much store bought. Just another small step to us trying to be more self sufficient. We have a million ways to improve in that area, and in some ways, we're wasteful. Any small change I can make in lowering the grocery cost and just making what I need, adds up to larger change over time. So I've just been making a combo white wheat bread once a week. I'm focusing on just getting better and familiarizing myself with dough and the machine before I branch out to other loaves.
     This weekend I decided to toss in some butter toffee covered sunflower seeds. It came out so good that I couldn't take a picture fast enough! The loaf is already half gone. So now that I know, I'll do it again in the next couple of days and not only post pictures, but also the recipe. Tune in if you like home made bread!
Chat soon
Penni

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