Painting Pictures of Egypt

Painting Pictures of Egypt

Sara Groves

I don’t want to leave here
I don’t want to stay
It feels like pinching to me either way
The places I long for the most
Are the places where I’ve been
They are calling after me like a long lost friend

It’s not about losing faith
It’s not about trust
It’s all about comfortable
When you move so much
The place I was wasn’t perfect
But I had found a way to live
It wasn’t milk or honey
But then neither is this

I’ve been painting pictures of Egypt
Leaving out what it lacked
The future seems so hard
And I want to go back
But the places that used to fit me
Cannot hold the things I've learned
And those roads closed off to me
While my back was turned

The past is so tangible
I know it by heart
Familiar things are never easy to discard
I was dying for some freedom
But now I hesitate to go
Caught between the promise
And the things I know

If it comes too quick
I may not recognize it
Is that the reason behind all this time and sand?
If it comes too quick
I may not appreciate it
Is that the reason behind all this time and sand?

Slowly But Surely

Well, a quick progress report on my project list: I"m getting there. Slowly. But it's happening. Since that blog post, I have finished the 2010 slide show, and finsihed reading the book I got for Christmas. So, two things done!!! But, I've been rather busy since Saturday, and haven't had a ton of time to work on them. However, tomorrow I will start again!

Also, just to fill this post up a tad more, I found some time last week to make Apple Cinnamon Bagels......and let me say, they were AMAZING! I seriously did not expect them to turn out as well as they did, because I meshed together two different recipes and my own ideas to create these:

Yummm!!!! It's a pretty awesome thing to be able to experiment in the kitchen and actually have the product turn out well! On that note, the recipe:

Ingredients

* 4 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
* 2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
* 1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
* 3 tablespoons white sugar
* 1 tablespoon salt
* 1 tablespoon white sugar
* 1 small apple, finally chopped
* Cinnamon

1) In large bowl, combine 1-1/2 cups flour and yeast. Mix water, 3 tablespoons sugar and salt together, and add to the dry ingredients. Beat with a mixer for half a minute at a low speed, scraping the sides of the bowl clean. Beat at a higher speed for 3 minutes. Then, by hand, mix in enough flour to make a moderately stiff dough.
2) Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic (8-10 minutes - this is important; make sure you actually knead it for this long). Cover, let rest for 15 minutes.
3) Knead in the cinnamon and apples. The dough will be kind of sticky now, and not all the apple will stay in the dough. Just leave the extra apple pieces on the counter.
4) Cut into 12 (I might have done 10....depends on what size you want) portions. Here is where you can mix some more apples into each individual ball. You will probably need some flour on the counter for this: Roll each ball into a "snake" slightly longer than the width of your hands together. Join the ends of the snake and squish them together well. Put them on a cookie sheet (again, some flour on here will help). Cover, let rise 20 minutes.
5) Meanwhile, start a gallon of water boiling. Put 1 tablespoon of sugar in it, mix it around a bit. Reduce to simmering.
6) When the bagels are ready, put 4 or 5 bagels into the water, and cook 7 minutes, turning once. Drain them. Place on a greased baking sheet, brush the tops with beaten egg and bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 35 to 40 minutes.

 Enjoy!!!!

Living in A Movie

I can't believe it's already that time of year again, but this past Sunday was the annual Jane Austin Ball. Wow, May 2011already??? It feels like the 2010 ball just happened! But, it has indeed come and gone once again.

This year's ball was a ton of fun! I'm not sure why, but this year I actually felt as if I were in a movie. Maybe it was the fact that everything sort of passed in a daze, or maybe the fact that I have my own "Mr. Bingley" this year.......I don't know; but, it was really awesome. It was also really cool to have not only my mom there but my dad, too. I never thought I would see him doing this, but it's wonderful to have him join us!

Of course, getting all dressed up like this requires some extensive photo shoots!

Some others were outside with us taking pictures as well, and they were a riot to watch!

 And after so many serious pictures, we decided to have some fun!

Somehow, the ball ended in a "fight" between these two =)

 

Yes, we are weird....but we had a lot of fun in the process!

And one last shot before heading home!

Thus, yet another successful Jane Austin Ball!!