Good day

This morning, I crawled out of bed as slowly as I could, careful not to wake the sleeping hubby next to me. As I opened the door to let Lola outside, I shivered.  Although it was officially morning, the darkness was hanging around and the air crisp and still. I knew what I had to do. I crept back to our room and found a pair of slipper socks and then quietly logged on to the computer to search for a pumpkin pancake recipe. After a few minutes, I found one on allrecipes.com that had 1,164 reviews and 4.5 stars, good enough for me! I read through the reviews and decided to add an extra egg and used pastry flour for extra fluffiness. Also, I added extra spices for a bolder flavor. Try adding chopped pecans and pure maple syrup as toppings. Mmm, I can’t think of a better way to start a cool fall day.

Pumpkin Pancakes:

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups milk (I use Coconut Milk)
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 egg (Many reviewers used 2 eggs)
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons vinegar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour (Try whole wheat pastry flour)
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. In a bowl, mix together the milk, pumpkin, egg, oil and vinegar. Combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, allspice, cinnamon, ginger and salt in a separate bowl. Stir into the pumpkin mixture just enough to combine.
2. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.               

After pancakes, I slipped into my jeans, a cozy sweater and my beloved scarf. My hair went up into a quick pony tail and I scrambled to put my face together before I rushed out the door to Eastlake Community Church (ECC). I have been attending the morning service for a while and absolutely love it! On my way in, I stopped by the tea station and grabbed a peppermint herbal tea with a few shakes of raw sugar. I found a seat and swayed to the soulful music.  The lead singer has the most beautiful voice. You can't help but feel lifted no matter what you're going through. ECC has recently opened two new locations, but still uses the same pastors to deliver the service. How do they do this you might ask?? By using hologram technology, of course! They have a modern message and do great things for the community. Plus, it's just around the corner from us, for now anyways. Come November we'll be in moving to a house in Edmonds. This weekend we've been painting a few of the rooms and working on packing all of our stuff. We sure accumulate a lot of stuff! But speaking of painting and packing, I better get back to work!!

“Everything that is done in the world is done by hope.” Martin Luther