A Little Wood Shop Work
Sue away, but not before rustling up a tasty quiche.
Sue away, but not before rustling up a tasty quiche.
…and no sign of the sun.
Who has been rooting around in the garden?
And look at all the birch seed.
…Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
Completely off-the-rails experimentation.
In addition to King Arthur all-purpose flour, Bob’s Red Mill whole wheat, rolled oats, flaxmeal, chia seeds—along with sourdough starter, a little yeast, and a touch of honey and olive oil and salt.
The baker was thoughtless and careless, but the loaves turned out; and while heavy and dense, not only edible but tasty, with each slice pretty close to a meal in itself.
If the process is refined and controlled, this could be the start of something good.
…with neighbors at the Irish pub in Fort. Followed by a lively game of Schwoop.
Foggy, rainy, soupy.
And, about that word meh. Fairly new to me, but now everywhere. Apparently from Yiddish, but popularized by the Simpsons. Hope I don’t have to use it much.
Driveway good for skates this morning. Melting everywhere by afternoon.
Who needs bread when there’s a cookie baker in the house?
…briefly. And now a winter storm advisory.
Pagoda dogwood
Dove birds
Brisk SW wind trying to bring warmth up from balmier climes.
A few quotes from Shakespeare :
Barren winter, with his wrathful nipping cold,"
"Hideous winter."
"Beauty o'ersnow'd and bareness everywhere."
…and just a little ping pong.
While good for the environment, and for setting up ice for boating, not always the most pleasant or convenient kind of weather.
Lake Geneva, wide open.
Delevan, frozen and snow covered, but sailable.
…but not outdoors.
When riding indoors music is necessary, and today it was Bach. And that reminded me of visualized Bach. Extra special, imho, to both see and hear, and to try to hear all the (so visible) parts, and to anticipate what’s coming. Check the link. Toccata and Fugue
…if by circuses you me going to a bank and grocery store. But we did get a break from cabin fever.
Second attempt at baguettes. These look pretty good.
Peak temperature of one today. And now a biting wind.
Cold is hard.
…Christmas in Canada?
The roads around here, including the highways, are exceptionally bad; don’t know if I’ve ever seen worse. Inches thick, hardpacked cap replete with humps and holes. The result, I think, of heavy wet snow being driven over before plows could get to it —then flash frozen. Looks like a good week of going nowhere fast.
Meanwhile, Sue baked a cake and put it out to cool, and in less than a minute it was frosted.
Serious cold. Necessary, but hard…on wildlife and domesticated persons.
We did venture out mid-morning, for a bite of breakfast and to pick up some birdseed. The breakfast was probably silly, but the birdseed necessary.
A great many birds along the shoulders of every road. My theory is two-fold: one—birds don’t like settling in deep snow and prefer the more solid ground where the plow has passed, and two—it’s warmer down along the roadside, especially on the occasional bare spot where solar energy has warmed the ground.
Lots and lots of snow.
This morning’s snow removal was a neighborhood effort, everyone helping everyone else. The somewhat fragile older neighbors several door down were unable to get their blower out of their shed and were trying to dig by hand. The plow pile at the end of their drive was waist high and packed hard. Even two-stage, gas- powered Big Bertha had to chew on it a while. And nothing is going to get softer over the next day or two.
But, that would be uncharacteristic, so I’ll have to switch to complaining about winter, especially with the deep cold coming.
Had to drive to J’ville for a derm. appt. at 7 this morning. Not exactly a sleigh ride or what you would call easy sledding, but with new tires and all-wheel drive, pretty much a piece of cake.
Above, dough ready for forming into q pizza crust. The dough turned out good, but the rest of the pizza making should be left to the experienced experts.
First try at sourdough/yeast baguettes. Still too hot to handle, but looking better than expected.
And, once tasted, crunchy and chewy, and pretty tasty.
Collected a few bits and bobs while doomscrolling.
Total less than 3 inches. Maybe not a reason for a snow day?
Heavy going with the blower, but the machine is capable, and a lot better than shoveling. Slush is heavy.