Friday's Fave Five ~ September 10

Friday's Fave five 

September 10, 2010 
Check out Suzanne's blog Living to Tell the Story for more posts. 

I almost missed this weeks Fave Five. I am having a hard time getting into the grove and believing that it's actually Friday.
Here are my favorites from this week.

1. Fall smells and flavors. I love the smell of fall and the flavors that go along with them.  My most favorite flavor for fall is pumpkin.  Even though we don't "feel" fall here I still crave those scents. So I burn a fall candle or make pumpkin bread.  For the past few weeks I have been on a search for canned pumpkin in hopes of making some pumpkin bread. It is no where to be found. I left 4 cans of the stuff with my neighbor when we left California. Oh, how I wish I would have kept some for myself. I am aware of the pumpkin shortage that freaked everyone out last year, including me. Hawaii doesn't have pumpkin, not because of the pumpkin shortage, but because well, it's Hawaii. They only stock certain items at certain times of the year and that would include pumpkin. Since I was craving pumpkin and was a bit homesick I treated myself to a Pumpkin Spice Latte and a slice of pumpkin bread from Starbucks. Not sure it really did the trick, because now I am craving it even more and I still have no pumpkin!

2. Kind friends who are more than willing to mail me some canned pumpkin. I noted in my Facebook status my need for pumpkin and the struggle I had trying to obtain it. I had lots of comments and at least 4 friends offer to send me some canned pumpkin. It makes me feel very special when people are willing to go out of their way to do something for me.

3. Long weekends. I love long weekends when my husband is home and we have family time. It goes beyond having the extra hands to help, or a break from the normal (which I never really do get), it's more about spending time together as a family unit.

4. Kids who "play" what they learn in school.  It is so fun to sit on the sidelines and listen to my kids play. They often "play" the things that they read or the projects they do in their school day. It's pretty funny sometimes to watch and listen. But most of all its confirming to me that they really do get it, that they really are learning (and listening) and using that knowledge in their everyday life.

5. Homemade bread.  I love homemade bread. I love the smell of it, I love the texture and I absolutely love the taste. Today I really love it because my kids have now transitioned to eating homemade bread for their sandwiches more than store bought bread. I am making about two loaves a week at this point. My kids have always favored a wheat bread even when I was buying it at the store. It took me a while to find a tried and true honey wheat bread to make at home that really worked for us. I believe I have finally found the perfect bread recipe for us. That makes me very happy!