Tools

What's your favorite tool? I have a few favorites, in each area of life I work in. In the kitchen, I am having a love affair with an awesome tool from Pampered Chef. It's a star shaped masher that works wonders when you are cooking ground meat. I also couldn't do without my Rada knives. My mom used to sell them for fundraisers with the AT&T Pioneers. They are just plain jane great tools.
In my beadwork, I couldn't live without my Ott lamp. I have read several blogs about other brands, and if I ever need another lamp, I'll certainly try a more economic brand. As my eyeballs age (not the rest of me, of course) I simply can't do the fine detail without that light.  My beading needle of preference is a Big Eye. In most cases, it will go through the beads just fine, and I love the ease of threading it!
In my homeschooling journey, I simply couldn't do my job without teacher manuals. Ya'll really thought I was that smart? Not a chance! And I don't have a bit of problem telling the kids I need to look it up in the teacher book.  My goal is not to fool my kids into thinking I'm the smartest person around, but in teaching them a love of learning. To be a lifetime student.
And, living in the U.S. anyway, my vehicle is a tool of necessity. At least, where I live. My current vehicle is a lifestyle choice, not a "I love that one" choice. So, with three kids, what is it? Yep, a van.
I've had lots of cool vehicles over the years. This is not one of them. But it does the basic job, which is to get me from point A to point B.
Last, but certainly not least, in my bread baking journey, my favorite new tool is my dough mixer. What is that, you ask? Let me find a pic for your viewing pleasure:
 This bad boy can mix up to 5 loaves of whole wheat dough at a time. That's a whopping 20-25 cups of flour, plus the rest of the ingredients. I could just kiss it, couldn't you? No? That's just because you haven't tasted the product of its labors, my friend! 
My panel of experts are........my kids, of course! Cause who else do you know that will tell you the flat out truth about how something tastes? Yeah, you know it. My oldest son's favorite is the cinnamon buns with Devonshire cream frosting.  My youngest boy just loves the garlic knots. And my daughter's is, naturally, the cheese bread!  See, ya'll thought it was just plain 'ole loaf bread, didn'tcha? Wanna see some?

Pumpkin Bread

Braided Cheese Bread

Garlic Knots

Science project: Make your own pizza!

Yummy Whole Wheat loaf

Ok, so now that I've made you hungry, tell me what your favorite tools are, and why!

Blessings,

Shirley