This turned out great each time I used it. I made a few adaptions though. For one thing I adjusted it to make just enough bread for two people.

Judy's Homemade Bread

Stir 1 teaspoon sugar, and 1 tablespoon (1 package) of yeast into 1/2 cup lukewarm water.

Combine

1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup lard (I used canola oil) 2 teaspoons salt 2 tablespoons vinegar 1 1/2 cups water and 1 cup milk into a large bowl. Add yeast mixture.

Add about 8 cups of flour and slowly add more, working in to make a not to sticky dough. Knead well.

Let rise in a warm place until doubled in size. Punch down. Form into buns or loaves and allow to rise in greased pans.

Bake at 400 degrees for 30-35 minutes (until the loaves or buns are slightly browned)

There is something sad about checked (losing) lottery tickets. All the possibilities are gone from them and they are just bits of paper, outlasting their usefulness. I put off checking my tickets so I can think of all the things I will do if I win. It's great to have that little fantasy. But, once you check the tickets you have to let go of all of that.

Right now I have five tickets to check. I wanted to make sure to check them before I move. I'm not sure if it would be a problem to collect winnings if I'm not officially living in the US, or even the state of Illinois. So I am going to the Illinois State Lottery site to check them. They are not too old, from the past couple of months. It would be so nice to win...

I would first of all tell Todd we need to take a long weekend trip to collect the loot. Todd says it's over in some town by the Missouri border, near St. Louis. So that could turn into a nice trip before the divorce is a done deal. Once I have the money I would put it into my Union Planters bank account, all but for $20,000 or so which I would use to buy a truck for moving and travel expenses including insurance for the truck. That way I could pack up the truck and just let Mom know I'm on my way up there without needing to wait and wonder any more. It would be so nice to have the drive up to Canada myself. I could take my time too, dawdle a bit, have a look at the Raggedy Ann museum in Arcola and wander up north to see Wisconsin before I cross the border. Wisconsin looked nice when I was chatting to a guy from there last month. It didn't work out with him but I still wouldn't mind the drive up there at all.

The rest of the money would go into travel, a house of my own (maybe the first place that I could really feel was my home) and of course savings so I could keep payments for electricity, taking some college courses, my eventual old age and etc. I would give money to family if I won a really big amount. Other wise I would be more careful about that and make sure I was ok first. I'd love to never have to worry about that whole bag lady thing. I could just freelance write without listening to family telling me I'm wasting my time.

Well, now I should check those tickets. It's nice thinking of what if but you have to come back down to reality. Walking around with your head in the clouds is a sure way to stub your toes.

"If you can get people to ask the wrong questions; they'll never find the right answers." - Thomas Pynchon

"The devil himself gets in my inkstand." - Nathanial Hawthorne

Heard on the Montel Williams show...

"There is no such thing as love at first sight. You don't see love, you feel it." Montel Williams.

... and you probably thought I didn't watch trash TV. Montel is probably upper scale trash but he takes advantage of people's pain to make a buck, even though he does try to help get the message out about some issues. Here, the Maury Povich show comes on right after Montel, I turn that off, I can't stand it any more.

"Success comes to a writer as a rule, so gradually that it is always something of a shock to him to look back and realize the heights to which he has climbed." P.G. Wodehouse

"I have never thought of myself as a good writer. Anyone who wants reassurance of that should read one of my first drafts. But I'm one of the world's greatest rewriters." James A. Michener.

"In composing, as a general rule, run a pen through every other word you have written, you have no idea what vigor it will give your style." Sydney Smith

"Only a mediocre writer is always at his best." Maugham

"There is no great writing, only great rewriting." Justice Brandela

"It took me fifteen years to discover that I had no talent for writing, but I couldn't give it up because by that time I was too famous." Robert Charles Benchley

"Writing is like prostitution. First you do it for love, and then for a few close friends, and then for money." Moliere

"Television has proved that people will look at anything rather than each other." Ann Landers

"A room without books is like a body without a soul." Cicero

"I myself have never been able to find out precisely what feminism is: I only know that people call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that differentiate me from a doormat." Rebecca West.

"Women constitute half the world's population, perform nearly two-thirds of its work hours, receive one-tenth of the world's income, and own less than one-hundredth of the world's property." United Nations Report.

"Women have always been the guardians of wisdom and humanity which makes them natural, but usually secret rulers. The time has come for them to rule openly, but together with and not against men." Charlotte Wolff.

Once upon a time I bought the premiere issue of a magazine called Perspective. It was to be for women who are not your everyday supermodel type woman. After that it seemed to disappear. I never found another issue.

Here is what they wrote about their magazine, how they intended to go on.

Finally, a women's magazine that honors all women and celebrates the essence of who they are, beyond how they look.

She raises children, maintains the home, follows her own career path, and supports many relationships. Yet with so many fires to tend, the one most neglected - the one most important for the sustenance of the rest - is the fire of the spirit of the woman herself. Beyond the hairdo. Underneath the make-up. Aside from fashion. There is a real woman, living, loving, and creating. She is on the path or discovering and developing her true self. She is cultivating her femininity while reclaiming her power, her voice, her body, her life - so she may experience her journey to the fullest and most joyous extreme. Perspective offers information and tools to assist in the processes of self care, compassionate living, passionate loving, and joyful fulfillment, helping today's woman realize these principles as a mean and an end to meeting her deepest needs and desires as a woman.

Mission Statement: Contemporary and intelligent, Perspective is an informative guide empowering today's woman to embrace their femininity and connect with their spirituality. Our mission is to provide a vehicle for premium editorial to reach mainstream women currently lacking a resource for messages and products of substance. Assisting women on their journey toward fulfillment, Perspective supports the value of every woman. It is our goal to give each reader the empowerment and inspiration to realize her own greatness.

High ideals, it's too bad they couldn't get it off the ground.

"And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk to blossom." -Anais Nin