Oh, my aching head

I'm a little under the weather (literally, I believe) with a bad headache and just a tad nauseous. It hurts to look at the computer monitor. We've had one storm come through after another these past few days, including tornado sirens going off night before last... and yes, as we were praying for protection for us, we knew they were heading straight for the county where the dance was being held! Thankfully, we were spared any twisters and by the time it reached them, the warnings had been reduced to just a "Severe Thunderstorm Warning" instead of the "Tornado Warning" we had in our county.

I should mention that Christopher did not have an actual date for the dance. We have highly discouraged dating in high school (as in really, really discouraged) and the beautiful young woman he was with is a good friend.

He has various pictures of dancing with other pretty homeschool friends at the party (prom). He told me ahead of time, by not actually taking a "date" as such, he was free to dance with many of the girls he has known. He hasn't done much dancing through the years but he seemed do fine.

The other "couple" that went to the dance with them are actually twins! They all had such a good time. We are fortunate to live in an area where there are so many homeschoolers, there are a lot of good activities. All are originated and put together by homeschooled young people and their parents.

I received my first Amazon "gift certificate" through e-mail today! Thank you so much for everyone who has purchased anything by clicking on the widget (especially the special person who ordered all those big math books!). I decided to "save" this amount and add it to what will come in next month. They run two months behind so I've had a lot of time to ponder what to do with it. Even those nickels and dimes add up!

Patty asked a question about where I store my knives. I do have a small, wooden holder that I use next to the stove. It can hold only a few knives. I keep the rest in a drawer. I saw on a Martha Stewart episode where she says it is fine to store them in drawers as long as they have space around them. I believe that is how she stores hers, except she has a whole lot more than I do (knives and drawers!). They can be damaged when they are always knocking into other items stored too closely.

I love my new Henckel bread knife, it cuts through homemade bread so well. The Henckel knives sold at Target are from the same company as those sold at expensive gourmet shop but they are not forged steel. If I remember (having read somewhere...) these knives are made in China while the original Henckel knives are still made in Germany. However, I have been using a set of Henckel steak knives made in China for a few years now and they have worked just fine.

Just as if I'd purchase All-Clad and a new Le Cruset dutch oven if I was a young cook (and not on a budget!), I'd purchase the German made Henckel chef knives for the kitchen or the German made Wusthof knives. They will last a lifetime if taken care of (and NOT put in the dishwasher). I'd still go with the inexpensive Target Henckel bread knife as they are hard to sharpen so purchasing a new bread knife every five years or so saves money in the long run. I found a brand new Kitchen Aid chef's knife at Goodwill last year and it has worked great. Betcha' didn't expect household hints on a Sunday?

I was happy to receive a new "Laine's Letters" in the e-mail Inbox today. If you haven't already, do sign up to receive her e-mails. Even though she doesn't write new letters often (she does send out repeats of her archived e-mails), she sends them enough that I look forward to them. I still have a folder of her "letters" beside my bed, along with the new Victoria (they get prettier every month!), and the book Inklings... which I am rereading.

That is where I'm headed right now, after brewing some mint tea first. I think a Benadryl and a couple Excedrin are also needed this afternoon. I still plan to write a Sunday Afternoon Tea post but it may not show up until Monday. :) It requires more thinking and I can't do that until the pounding in my head stops. Such is sinus pressure in the Midwest.

This next week, I hope to spend a lot of time talking about the pantry, stocking up, and recession proofing.