Bacon Cheddar Cheese Bread

1/2 pound back bacon or Canadian bacon

2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat graham flour (used whole wheat flour)

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp kosher salt (used course)

1 cup grated sharp or extra sharp cheese

1/4 cup lard

2 Tbsp sugar

2 large eggs, beaten

1/2 cup whole milk (used skim)

3/4 cup buttermilk

1 tsp worcestershire sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F; spray a 10" loaf pan

- cook bacon, set aside to cool, dice or cut in small pieces

- in a large bowl, combine flours, salt, baking powder and sugar; add lard and mix until looks like course salt; add the cheese and combine

- in another large bowl, mix eggs, milk, buttermilk and worcestershire sauce; mix

- pour the wet mixture over the dry and incorporate; do not over mix

- fold in bacon

- pour batter in prepared pan and bake 50-55 minutes or until the top of the bread is lightly brown and a thin knife inserted comes out clean.

- let cool for 10 minutes and remove from pan (to plate or wire rack) and continue to cool

- slice and serve warm with Irish buter (Kerrygold).

- Enjoy!

Artisan Bread baking..........

I found this wonderful recipe for Bacon and Cheddar loaf bread on The Fresh Loaf forum and so this morning, I set out to try it. I made just a few adjustments and will post instructions and photos later. Right now, it is still warm out of the oven, the Irish butter is out and we are going to feast! Yummy!

AJ's team takes 2nd Place at SECME Competition

On March 21, 2009, AJ's team from Kanapaha attended and competed in the SECME Olympiad at the University of Florida, sponsored by the College of Engineering and Tau Beta Pi. His car was selected to compete for his school in the Mousetrap event and took 2nd place for the middle schools, traveling over 37 feet. Needless to say, he was excited and he and Grampie had a fun filled day.

Farewell to Chaz

Uncle Charlie is headed to South Korea for 10 months. He will be working for EODT at Camp Casey and will return sometime around the end of the year. We had a nice dinner at our favorite Japanese steakhouse.

We will miss him and wish him the best on his new adventure.

Regional Science Fair Day at SFC

Today was the Regional Science Fair in Alachua County, held at Santa Fe College in Gainesville. From all the schools, 218 students were selected to represent their schools at this event....and because of that, the event organizer said they were all winners! AJ was one of six 6th graders to attend from his school and that is an honor for a first year participant.

We do not know any results of the judging and will update when we do. The awards ceremony is tomorrow evening.

UPDATE: AJ is grateful for a wonderful 1st time experience and will look forward to working on new projects in the future!

Fit Kids Marathon 2009 - Five Points of Life - Gainesville FL

AJ ran 1.2 miles this morning to complete his marathon. The first 25 miles were ran in increments since October 2008. This is his third year (started with the first one offered in Gainesville in 2007) and he enjoys it very much. They run a course on the University of Florida campus and they have a health expo set up at the Shands/UF Ortho Center at Hull RD/SW 34th ST.

This year, Coach Smith joined them to cheer them on and we all stayed to cheer her at the end of the 5K.

Do you know what the five points of life are?

So how is this for LOVE!!

Happy Valentine's Day!

The wonderful love we have in our lives make us grateful everyday
......AJ and Speckles....

In Memory of.....

Officer Scott Baird....of the Gainesville Police Department...who died eight years ago today in the line of duty......He is missed!

Just a D.O.G.....

Please click on imagine to read - wonderful!

AJ with Grandparents

AJ with Grandpa Everitt, summer 2008 in Crystal River FL ...

















AJ with Grammie and Grampie Jensen at a family wedding in Clearwater FL in October 2008....

AJ's 12th BD

AJ turned 12 and we held his party at Adventure Landing in Jacksonville.....all the boys had a great time!

AJ's Science Fair Project

Last fall, AJ being in gifted/advanced science, was required to complete a science project. The students were given two months of step-by-step to turn in until all completed and due in November 2008. It was optional to particpate in the science fair. I captured some photos of the trail of experimentation (above).

AJ decided he would participate for the experience since science is one of his favorite subjects. He received an "excellent" from the judges and was one of two selected for "2nd place"...which meant he was going to Regionals. Needless to say, he was pleasantly surprised. The dates for regionals is Feb 24-26, 2009, held at Santa Fe Community College in Gainesville, FL. He is very excited but also knows that this will help him with future projects more than winning now. We both look forward to receiving his "Official Abstract and Certification" for his project, from the judging committee.

Additional links for information:

http://tlc.sbac.edu/scifair/ - Alachua Regional Science Fair

http://www.floridassef.net/index.htm - State

http://www.societyforscience.org/isef/about/index.asp - National

Bird Seed Wreaths

For the holidays, AJ and I made bird seed wreaths. They were easy and fun to make.

The first batch recipe:

1 1/2 cups boiling water

3 tbsp cold water

7 1/2 cups of bird seed

4 packs of knox gelatin

The second batch, I decided to use agar agar that I got from the Asian store, that I use in bath melts. It is widely used in food products for providing a stiff gel. I thought this would work better than the knox and be more cost effective. After calculating the ratio of agar agar to use, I made the next batch which turned out much better. Had fewer loose seeds and easier to manage. The unwrapped wreaths in the photo above are from the second batch. And yes, it was much more cost effective.

President Barack Obama

I just watched the inaugural address and swearing in and just can't wait to see what changes occur over the next 4 years. I am anxious to see progress, the economy improve and our troops back home. I have dreams that we start taking care of America first - not the rest of the world while people do without the basics in this country.

I think President Obama has proven to be a strong leader - at least he showed that throughout his campaign. I truly look forward to change and recovery of the economy and progression as an intelligent species.

One can hope!

trishsmecca at Enchanted Memories in High Springs Florida

Enchanted Memories, located in High Springs Florida. A wonderful antique shop downtown carrying both old and new.

3 Swirl Soap - Bamboo and Teak

Soaps with lots of colors is such an art and I am enjoying playing with a variety of colorants such as micas, clays, oxides and ultramarines. Here is a batch of oxides I made and the fragrance is Bamboo and Teak from Simple Soothings.

The soap batch was made with coconut, palm, rice bran, babassu (my fav) and shea butter and made a 5 pound batch (18 bars).

Oxides prepared in individual glass cups.


Saponified soap poured in each colorant and mixed.

Colored soap lines the bottom of the mold.

And here is what remains to pour in the soap batch.

Colorants poured in the soap batch before poured in mold.

Soap poured in mold and remaining colorants poured on top.

The final poured batch, swirled and ready for cure.

trishsmecca on Facebook

It is amazing to me the amount and volume of info that is placed on the www and the networking that is both positive and negative. The www offers a wonderful outlet to grab information needed and I credit it for the continued and advanced learning many of us do. Sites like Facebook have connected me with lots of people that I know from other forums but also those in my past. It is nice to hear from someone that you went to high school with. Stay connected and continue to learn!

So it is 1/1/2009.....

So it is the first day of a new year and time to think about perspectives in life and what the new year brings. For me, it is always about moving forward, creating new and appreciating what I have already been given.

I am thankful for the peaceful and productive lives we lead and continue to strive to be better and do more!

So here is to another year of reading great books, education, soapmaking, biking, scouting, science fair, traveling, walking, hugging the dog and keeping in touch with friends and family!