Distraction Number One: Sourdough Bread

Fresh Baked Bread *

Mmmmm.... Is there anything more comforting than the aroma of baking bread? 

Back in October, I decided to try making sourdough bread from a starter called Herman. The recipe calls for the addition of milk, sugar and flour every 5 days to keep the yeast alive and "discarding" a portion of the starter to ensure the natural yeast flourishes. Because I am frugal, I used the starter "discard" to bake with. 

So every five days I was baking.  Can you say, "hello bigger thighs and belly and buttocks"? The neighbors next door and down the street sure did enjoy sharing in the fruit of my labor and I was always happy to brighten their day with fresh baked goods. I simply got tired of baking all the time and let the starter die. 

This time the discard will more than likely be discarded. Perhaps not all the time, but enough that no more weight is gained by yours truly.

One of the great things about sourdough is its versatility. Bread. Cookies. Rolls pizza crust. Crackers. Etc. Am personally looking forward to sourdough pancakes.

Did a lot of research on sourdough starters and this time will use whole wheat flour and water for the base. Mostly because I thought the whole purpose of sourdough was that you didn't need yeast. Silly me. Will be using the Sourdough Starter recipe from  the website for King Arthur Flour. It's a great resource for recipes and baking education.

First bake will be  in a couple weeks. 

* Fresh baked from frozen, store-bought dough. Still good bread.

Happy 2021!

Fell asleep last night around 10:30ish so never got to see the ball drop in Times Square. Woke up around 3:30a.m.... Strolled through the house and opened the kitchen and living room curtains on the back side if the house. The moon was just shy of full, so  the bunnies saw me watching from the window and quickly put the butterfly bush between us. Glanced at the "kitty cam" and there sat Kiki. No doubt surveying his kingdom now that Oreo is gone.

For those of you not in the know, Kiki is an abandoned cat that I have been feeding off and on for a few years now. (He's a typical wandering tomcat.) Oreo was a neighbor's cat and has been wandering the neighborhood since his owner passed away. Yesterday I captured him and took him to the SPCA. Knowing he was inside and warm last night eased my mind. I can't save them all, but I can help when presented with an opportunity.

Today I'm finishing cleaning the house, burning a bit of sage, cooking up a batch of pork and sauerkraut for a no-contact meal  share with nephew and will have my first visitor since the beginning of November... All masked, of course.

Decided to make myself a Blessing Jar. The plan is to write what makes me smile or laugh or when something good happens on a scrap of paper and put the scrap in the jar. Then, whenever I get sad I can read one of the scraps (or several). Wonder how full the jar will be by the end of the year.

Later on in the afternoon...

The cold, rainy morning turned into a freezing rain afternoon and the dinner-share was postponed. Travelling is hazardous and folks are warning others to stay home after witnessing the slip-and-slide happening on the highways.

Nice to be home safe, warm and fed. Praying for those who aren't as blessed tonight. 

Here's to a happy and prosperous new year.  May your Blessing Jar overflow.

Change Is Hard. Tuesday, 29 December 2020

Having come to the realization that in order to move forward in a more positive manner or risk wasting the time I have remaining on Mother Earth, I'm resolving to change.

For a myriad of  reasons, I seem to always expect the worst of any situation. Borrowing trouble from a non-existent future. They call it "stinking thinking" in AA, and I hold a Master' Degree in it.

The problem is this: changing a lifelong habit. 

It took me years to give up smoking (a 35 year habit). And, truly, that was Divine Intervention in response to a prayer. No, really. I prayed God would take away that desire and when I woke the next day the desire to smoke was gone. Although from time to time the craving hits my psyche with such urgency 

Not sure praying will work this time (I am not quite right with God at present.)

So... Am gonna try to replace all this negativity with some type of positive activity. Because I get bored easily, there's gonna be quite a few things to choose from for good habits to cultivate and perhaps incorporate into a routine.

Wish me luck!

When Five Years Seems Like Yesterday. Saturday, 26 December 2020

This is a hard time of year for me. For years I have had a condition known as SAD, Seasonal Affective Disorder. This has been compounded by the death of my mother five years ago today. Add in the COVID-19 pandemic with its associated anxiety, necessary paranoia and social isolation... Well. You get the idea.

Change is difficult to accomplish. There are so many reminders of losses close to my heart. Lots of crying going on in this house right now. Five years apparently isn't long enough to stop this heart from mourning. 

I miss you, Mom. Every day.

I try to count my blessings because I know many people are going without while I have so much. I have a roof over my head, food in the cupboards and just enough to pay the bills with a little bit of folding money to save for a rainy day. Plus all these furry, loving animals to keep me entertained and from being too lonely.

Happy Birthday To Me!

Sunday. A typical day of rest... Or not, as the case may be. This time period is something I want to remember.

Have been a bit ill for a few weeks. Sick enough to phone the doctor for a prescription (which did not resolve the issue after a week of use). Which prompted an actual physical visit to the doctor's office in the middle of this pandemic. Good move on my part, because this could have gotten out of hand without antibiotics and steroids. Bad for sleep because my already lacking sleep schedule is interrupted to take medication (300mg of Clindamycin every 6 hours). 

Speaking of the COVID-19 pandemic: Son-in-law and lover have been exposed to a person with a confirmed diagnosis. Lover has been quarantined for 14 days by the CDC and will probably be required to get tested. Unclear on what will happen with son-in-law. 

Lots of anxiety (and some panic attacks) all around. More and more cases being diagnosed and admitted to hospitals whose capacity in many cases has reached 85%. Soon they will be unable to accept any patients. Health care workers are stretched to the point of breaking.

Because of political reasons (think tRump), Health Officials, essential workers and folks experienced with the loss caused by this horrible virus are being ignored by much of the population even after begging folks to follow safety measures (i.e., wearing masks, using sanitizer, maintaining a 6-foot social distance, limiting exposure by refraining from unnecessary travel and limiting both indoor and outdoor gathering sizes). 

Rather than coming together to find a common solution, lots of folks are bickering about shit that doesn't matter (the election results).

Happy 2019! New Year. New Beginning.

Today a barberry candle is scenting the house with it's sweet, pine-like fragrance in remembrance of past family traditions. Scent is so often linked to memory. I close my eyes and can see the dining room of THE BIG HOUSE with its worn linoleum floor, peeling wallpaper and pink-painted cabinets. Memories both good and bad.

So many people make resolutions at this time of new beginnings. To lose weight, eat healthier, exercise more, get right with God...

To that end, this year I'm going to practice kindness until I get it right. Including being kind to myself. 

On other matters...

This is a painting begun Easter of 2014. I was happy with the hills, barn and foreground. However, the apple trees were not good - to say the least. I walked away from it for a couple years.

When I came back to it, I added fall foliage to the hills in the background and goldenrod and Queen Anne's Lace to the foreground. Then I walked away from it for a couple years. 

Was watching watercolor tutorials on YouTube and finally decided how to finish the painting so the apple trees look real. Started roughing in the general shapes a couple weeks before Christmas and work on it a bit at a time. Although the painting is far from finished, it finally looks more like what I had in mind from the beginning.  What do you think?

Sunday Watercolor.

Took a week to paint this little 4 1/4" x 6 1/4" watercolor. Sprayed with acrylic sealer to keep the color from fading. Not impressed with the finish.

Back to the drawing board.

Y'all have a great day.