Thankful Thursday: bread and friendship and other happy things.

Yesterday I got home with Joshua at about 1:00, and other than an hour of work at the library I was home the whole afternoon and evening.  So I made bread: Italian flatbread (for which I will post the recipe) for supper, and two loaves of white bread because we needed bread.  I bought bread flour the other day, hoping it would make my bread lighter, softer and less crumbly.  In the white bread I used half bread flour and half all-purpose, and oh. my. goodness.  It turned out absolutely perfect.  It's easy to cut, it doesn't fall apart, it's light and soft, and it rose so high!  Plus it tastes fantastic. :)  I can hardly wait to try whole wheat bread with the bread flour (which will end up being about 1/3 whole wheat, 1/3 all-purpose, 1/3 bread flour).  I know this might not seem very exciting, but I've been making bread for five months now and it FINALLY turned out the way I've really wanted it to.  I'm hoping to find a place to buy gluten to add to all-purpose flour (which is basically what bread flour is); I just need to see if it's cost-effective.

Anyway, so that's #1 for Thankful Thursday:  beautiful bread!

#2: The fantastic supper we had last night: the flatbread, cheese that my mom sent in a care package this week, and roasted asparagus.  Soooo good.  I love fresh, simple, wholesome food!

#3:  I am so thankful, as always, for our wonderful friends.  We spent the evening with Ruth and Joe again last night.  I know, we're with them all the time, but they are such blessings, and we just love being with them!  You know those friends who love you for exactly who you are but encourage you to keep growing into the person God made you to be?  And they always make you laugh?  And they appreciate your cooking?  And they're supportive and generous and kind?  Yeah, Ruth and Joe are two of those friends. :)  And they're just two of quite a few amazing people in our lives.

#4: It is SO great to have a car again!!  I feel like I've regained independence and adulthood, in some ways.  Amazing what having a car can do for the self-esteem.

#5: Coffee.  From our own coffeemaker.  Which we just used for the first time yesterday after five months of marriage.  I can't believe I put it off this long.  Thank you, Eva!!  It's even programmable, so it started brewing while I was making french toast this morning (one of Joshua's favorite breakfasts).  Bliss.

#6: My incredible husband.  I love him more every day.  Can't praise him enough.  He is the best thing that ever happened to me!!