Handwritten Letters

Some of my dearest friends are Mennonites that do not use computers let alone email. In order to stay in touch we send handwritten letters to one another. I can't tell you how excited I get to receive one of these very special "gifts"! I love seeing their familiar handwriting and ooohing and awing over the choice of stationary or card it is written on.

Reading the latest news in a letter, to me, is so much more precious than an

email. A letter can be kept in a pocket and pulled out to read again at will with no turning on of a device. They can be kept in a box and enjoyed over again....years later or put on the refrigerator for all to enjoy. They are so much more personal and thoughtful.

What a pity it would be to lose this wonderful custom!

Obviously, I do send out my share of email, blogs etc. but to not receive such a devine thing into my own hands would be so sad but until then I am going to keep my eye out for the mailman.

One of My favorite places to get writing supplies is Victorian Trading Company. Their products are beautiful and they even have fountain pens and ink!

Sourdough

My son recently let me know that I had not made anything with sourdough since we moved to Arizona and that it would be really nice if I could start doing so again. He was right but it has actually been since I was called and told my father was dying and that I needed to get to California asap. We were there for about a week and when I came back I found my start had died along with my dad. My mind set for so long has been that I associated it with my dad's death. Well, I am ready to "start" new.

For now, I am using a very basic sponge from a sourdough cookbook we got while we were in Alaska that you make with 2c. flour, 2 c. water and one package of yeast and let sit out overnight. (No metal please.) I am, however, going to be on the lookout for someone willing to "share a start" with me. If that fails I will try to "catch" my own because it is sooo worth the effort. It can take several tries before you catch one worthy of keeping and you will NEVER forget those bad ones!!

King Arthur has an awesome Sourdough Primer If you are interested in trying either of these sourdough starts.

I am looking forward to my first batch of waffles and I know my family is going to be pretty happy to have them again too!

P.S. Hey daddy! I made a start today!!