Saturday, October 15, 2011
Adoption Tour Bike Ride
Stephen, Jacob and Nancy took part in the Adoption Tour Bike Ride today. They will write a nice description of it soon!
Saturday, Oct. 15
We've enjoyed beautiful weather this weekend with comfortable temperatures and plenty of sunshine. Friday night was the big football game between Hardin Valley and Oak Ridge. My parents and my older brother Mark came to see the game. Nancy and our pastor Amy also joined the group. Unfortunately for Hardin Valley, it was a big victory for Oak Ridge. 
We might have lost the football game but Hardin Valley won the contest to see who could collect the most food for Second Harvest. Second Harvest distributes canned and fresh food to food pantries and ministries around the area who provide food to families in need.
Today Mark and I went to see the Univ. of Tennessee play LSU, the number one team in the country. No need to go into detail but LSU beat Tennessee pretty badly. On the way to the stadium we waded into a huge crowd, which gathered to hear the marching band play. That was fun, as was joining our friends for a few minutes of "tailgating" before going into the game.
Here's Tim and Mark discussing the outlook for UT before the game.
Though it looks like I am enjoying a nice meal on my private balcony outside the stadium (complete with personal security guard) in reality there were other fans there too.
Many thanks to Tim and Leigh Ann for generously treating us to such luxurious seats. We won't even complain about the football team (that would be UT) being so bad.
Right before the game starts the marching band forms a huge T and the football team comes running onto the field, through the T, led by the cheerleaders carrying the UT and Tennessee flags.
This is the stadium view late into the 4th quarter. LSU fans wear purple, and you can see that there is a lot more purple than orange.
We might have lost the football game but Hardin Valley won the contest to see who could collect the most food for Second Harvest. Second Harvest distributes canned and fresh food to food pantries and ministries around the area who provide food to families in need.
Today Mark and I went to see the Univ. of Tennessee play LSU, the number one team in the country. No need to go into detail but LSU beat Tennessee pretty badly. On the way to the stadium we waded into a huge crowd, which gathered to hear the marching band play. That was fun, as was joining our friends for a few minutes of "tailgating" before going into the game.
Here's Tim and Mark discussing the outlook for UT before the game.
Though it looks like I am enjoying a nice meal on my private balcony outside the stadium (complete with personal security guard) in reality there were other fans there too.
Many thanks to Tim and Leigh Ann for generously treating us to such luxurious seats. We won't even complain about the football team (that would be UT) being so bad.
Right before the game starts the marching band forms a huge T and the football team comes running onto the field, through the T, led by the cheerleaders carrying the UT and Tennessee flags.
This is the stadium view late into the 4th quarter. LSU fans wear purple, and you can see that there is a lot more purple than orange.
Friday, October 14, 2011
Homemade Pizza !
We enjoyed some homemade pizza last night, a bit of a trial run for our dinner party event we have planned for Sunday night. Then we are hosting a dinner party for several other couples from our church. The plan is for them to create their own pizza, which will be a fun activity. Our "test" pizzas were delicious, with the crust made from my own special recipe.
I believe this was Betsy's pizza, featuring Pepperoni, Green and Red Pepper, and Onions.
We made four pizzas and we decided that they were all delicious.
We made four pizzas and we decided that they were all delicious.
Monday, October 10, 2011
Monday, Oct. 10
Summer is lingering, with the temperatures remaining quite warm for October. The leaves are beginning to change colors and I'll have to capture some photos to include soon. I heard today that the leaves at the higher elevations (in the mountains) have already reached their peak colors, and that our leaves in the valley will be at peak in a week or two.
This is a great week for teachers because we have three days of school and then Thursday and Friday are holidays. I'm not complaining, but I have to teach my evening class at Pellissippi (community college) until late Wed. night, then on Friday night I work at the Hardin Valley football game, so we'll have to wedge activities in between those things. I am looking forward to going to the UT-LSU football game on Saturday. Louisiana State University is the number one ranked team in the United States and should be entertaining to watch. UT is not ranked at all and will be doing well to just survive the game. My brother Mark is coming up from South Carolina to see the game and it will be good to spend some time with him.
In high school football, Jacob's team and my team both won last week and are having successful seasons. If you win more games than the other nearby teams then you qualify for the playoffs, which is the tournament to determine the best team in the state. Hopefully both of our teams will qualify. It would be bad if we end up against each other in the the playoffs (though I think Hardin Valley, my team, would win).
Nancy and I walked around the neighborhood tonight gathering berries, maple tree "whirlygig" seeds, acorns, and other seeds from trees and bushes for her science classes tomorrow. It was amazing the variety we were able to find in such a short time. Just imagine what we could have found walking around our neighborhood in Siantar!
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Saturday, Oct. 8
We enjoyed a beautiful day in Knoxville today, with the temperatures starting off very cool in the morning and then warming up with nice sunshine in the afternoon. Stephen and Betsy returned from a mini-vacation late in the afternoon and Stephen went with Nancy and Jacob for a bike ride. Jacob got to ride Stephen's racing bike and had a great time.
On Friday night we went to see Jacob play in his high school marching band at the football game. His team won, and the band played well. Jacob was out late since he and his band members clean the stands after the game. I believe this is how the band raises money to pay for their bus rides to away games.
On Friday night we went to see Jacob play in his high school marching band at the football game. His team won, and the band played well. Jacob was out late since he and his band members clean the stands after the game. I believe this is how the band raises money to pay for their bus rides to away games.We are looking forward to next week when we only have school on Monday - Wednesday. We have Thursday and Friday off as a "fall break". We don't have any big plans but will likely just catch up on work around the house.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Bread baking tour of New York City
We enjoyed some great bread during our visit to Manhattan. Our first stop was at the Sullivan Street Bakery. After sampling some really great bread we were thrilled to have none other than Jim Lahey, the founder and bread book author, arrive and talk with us for a while. What a treat!
It was a definite "hole in the wall" place with just a few seats along the front windows, and bread displayed behind a glass counter. It would have been interesting to see the "behind the scenes" but the bakery wasn't organized for that.
Even though the rest of the group was dragged along for the ride, they all seemed to enjoy the bread!
On Saturday evening we went to the Chelsea Market and visited Amy's Bread.
The entire bakery is visible from the main hallway of the market. The oven section is quite impressive, with multi-level ovens for loaves of bread.
This is a circular oven. The bread or rolls are loaded into the oven on metal racks, which revolve during the baking time. The baked loaves are cooling on racks to the right.
Dough that is rising is on racks right next to loaves and rolls that are cooling.
The baker, with his insulated gloves ready, checks on the progress of baking before removing the rack of rolls from the circular oven.
We enjoyed watching a team of four bakers splitting the batches of dough into equal sizes and then shaping the loaves.
The leader would cut a loaf of dough and then weigh it. If it was too little he'd cut some more and add it, if too much he'd cut some off with his dough knife and return it to the big batch. The containers in the background hold dough ready to be formed into loaves.
I didn't completely understand this, but with batches of whole wheat dough, they'd dump a batch into what appeared to be a vacuum machine.
They'd add some flour, close the lid, pressure was applied, flour would fly out of all the gaps, then the lid would be cracked open and the dough would have doubled in size! Plus it would be cut into loaf sections.
The leader would scoop up the sectioned dough and fling it onto the forming table. Some of the loaves were small,created from just one section, while others were created by combining two sections of the dough.
It was a definite "hole in the wall" place with just a few seats along the front windows, and bread displayed behind a glass counter. It would have been interesting to see the "behind the scenes" but the bakery wasn't organized for that.
Even though the rest of the group was dragged along for the ride, they all seemed to enjoy the bread!
On Saturday evening we went to the Chelsea Market and visited Amy's Bread.The entire bakery is visible from the main hallway of the market. The oven section is quite impressive, with multi-level ovens for loaves of bread.
This is a circular oven. The bread or rolls are loaded into the oven on metal racks, which revolve during the baking time. The baked loaves are cooling on racks to the right.
Dough that is rising is on racks right next to loaves and rolls that are cooling.
The baker is transferring loaves from the rising boards to the mechanism that slides the loaves into the oven. About a dozen loaves at a time were loaded onto the mechanism and loaded into the oven by extending the arm of the mechanism.
The baker, with his insulated gloves ready, checks on the progress of baking before removing the rack of rolls from the circular oven.
We enjoyed watching a team of four bakers splitting the batches of dough into equal sizes and then shaping the loaves.
The leader would cut a loaf of dough and then weigh it. If it was too little he'd cut some more and add it, if too much he'd cut some off with his dough knife and return it to the big batch. The containers in the background hold dough ready to be formed into loaves.
I didn't completely understand this, but with batches of whole wheat dough, they'd dump a batch into what appeared to be a vacuum machine.They'd add some flour, close the lid, pressure was applied, flour would fly out of all the gaps, then the lid would be cracked open and the dough would have doubled in size! Plus it would be cut into loaf sections.The leader would scoop up the sectioned dough and fling it onto the forming table. Some of the loaves were small,created from just one section, while others were created by combining two sections of the dough.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Sunday, October 2
We enjoyed a great weekend in New York City. We went there to participate in a wedding of a close family friend. The wedding and reception itself was great, plus we enjoyed spending time with Craig and Brooke. I'll post more pictures when life calms down a bit.
The wedding reception was held at a spectacular location with great views of Manhattan.
This is the view of Manhattan as we flew in on Saturday morning.
Our first stop was at the Sullivan Street Bakery, where I met one of my baking idols, Jim Lahey. He is the founder of the bakery and is the author of a best-selling bread baking book. Those of you who have enjoyed my bread have this man and his methods to thank! And of course we ate a great variety of bread while we were there.
On Saturday afternoon we caught a matinee of "Sister Act" which was quite entertaining. We stuck around afterwards since it was pouring outside, and grabbed a photo in the gorgeous lobby.
Our hotel was near Times Square and we swung through the global gathering place several times.
The wedding reception provided a great opportunity for dancing, and everyone joined in. It was a multi-generational gathering, and the oldest couple there has been married for over 55 years! The youngest on the dance floor were barely in grade school.
On Monday we had the chance to visit Jacob's favorite spot, the American Museum of Natural History. Run for your lives!
I hung in there at the museum for a long while and then departed for another famous bakery.
This is the view of Manhattan as we flew in on Saturday morning.
Our first stop was at the Sullivan Street Bakery, where I met one of my baking idols, Jim Lahey. He is the founder of the bakery and is the author of a best-selling bread baking book. Those of you who have enjoyed my bread have this man and his methods to thank! And of course we ate a great variety of bread while we were there.
On Saturday afternoon we caught a matinee of "Sister Act" which was quite entertaining. We stuck around afterwards since it was pouring outside, and grabbed a photo in the gorgeous lobby.
Our hotel was near Times Square and we swung through the global gathering place several times.
The wedding reception provided a great opportunity for dancing, and everyone joined in. It was a multi-generational gathering, and the oldest couple there has been married for over 55 years! The youngest on the dance floor were barely in grade school.
On Monday we had the chance to visit Jacob's favorite spot, the American Museum of Natural History. Run for your lives!
I hung in there at the museum for a long while and then departed for another famous bakery.
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