It's All About the Crust....

I'm back to baking bread again.  In fact, on Saturday, I fixed a beautiful loaf.

I have been 'reinsured' by reading the book, In Search of the Perfect Loaf - A Home Baker's Odyssey by Samuel Fromartz.

Unlike Fromartz, I didn't grow up eating bread with crisp, crunchy chewy crusts.  I was a 'Wonder Bread' girl.  We did have cornbread often, or homemade biscuits.  And I will run you over to get a soft, hot, buttery yeast roll.  But nothing like you would find in a real bakery in Europe or now, in the United States.  It wasn't until I was in high school and went to Italy did I learn there was such a thing.

But Fromartz was in search of the perfect homemade baguette.  As opportunity would have it, being a freelance journalist, he did manage to travel around Europe and the United States in search of the perfect technique for the perfect baguette (and other breads).  

The book tells some of the history behind baguettes and the resurrection of them in France.  There is a lot of the science behind bread making included, a bit more than my brain really wanted to take in.  Descriptions of different grains and milling techniques are also delved into.

A couple of things stood out to me.  One, even if you don't speak the national language, there is a language of bread making which is universal.  Secondly, there is a minimal hands off approach to baguettes and bread in general.  I learned a new 'kneading' technique' and realize this is basically what Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day teaches.  Mix your water, flour and yeast then let it do it's on thing and then, with minimal handling, shape your loaf.

As you can see above, I was driven by the need for real bread by the book and created the loaf above.  I also when and bought a small package of rye flour and raw honey to try my hand at a sourdough starter mentioned in the book.  My starter is in a bowl in the closet with the water heater right now as it is suppose to be cold today and tomorrow and we don't really heat our apartment all that much.

Fromartz's book has me now on a quest to read more books on bread baking.  And to purchase a bread stone for the oven, although my cast iron skillet, inverted, does a decent job.  But it won't work for a long loaf of bread.  And a scale and scraper.

Then yesterday morning I received this link in my email - one on How to Make Baguettes.  The recipe used and the technique described is very, very similar to the one Fromartz describes in his book.

So now, more bread making and learning to leave it in the oven a tiny bit longer.

Mandala Monday and 30 Days of Lists

This is my wild background mandala.  I loved the black and white contrast of the giant chess pieces and created my mandala from those.  Of course, my method of chess playing resembles checkers.  I know the moves each piece makes, but the whole strategy and planning ahead...forget it.  Now challenge me to a game of spades!

Today's list is....

While I started off with good intentions, I haven't been tracking my 'stuff' like I wanted to.  Thus, I'm not drinking water like I should and I sometimes forget my vitamins.  The Documented Life 2015 and the 30 Day Flow journal will have to start after school is over with.  And because of my hand, I haven't made any monthly craft dates.  Although, this coming Saturday I will have an all day intensive  writing workshop.  The qualifies as an Artist Date in my books.

Week in Review and 30 Days of Lists

What! It's March already!  Can't be.  At this rate, the year will be over next week.  So far, North Carolina has been closed for another week due to winter storms.  Meanwhile, we have been cold with a bit of snow flurries every now and then, but nothing major.  I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop.

I did manage to spend a bit of time outside this past week.  I had an hour to spare before work started one day, so I strolled downtown.  This has become one of my favorite walks when I have a few minutes.

The wine store downtown shares this giant chess set with the library.  It's a lot of fun to see and when the weather gets nice, kids really love playing with it.

So this past week the following occurred:

• Savvy's first full week as manager.
• Picked up my 'new' 'old' car (basically all paid off)
• Writing group
• First meeting of a new nonfiction book group at the library.
• Wrote about 4000 words total this past week, about half on a new story
• Rearranged my bedroom and hung shelves
• Yoga 3 days in my room now that I have space
• Walked 50,419 steps or 23.06 miles
• Set up my altar in my room
• Assisted Texter is setting up 2 aquariums (10 gallon and a 2.5 gallon)
• Didn't do all the homework I was suppose to do

I am jazzed about the amount of walking and stretching I have managed to get in this past week.  I am a bit stiff today from the yoga stretches, but since I have the flexibility of a dry stick, it's a good thing.  I plan on doing another routine before work today (switched my days off with a co-worker so she could be out of town).

But today starts the 30 Days of Lists.  I have decided to do mine on index cards rather than creating a book for it.  Something small and quick, which I can decorate or not.  Then I will slip them into my regular journal.

With the 'help' of Lady K, I created my first list...

I can't wait for the rest of the month.

Room Rearranging

I grew up in a room with furniture that my parents picked out.  I didn't have any input, it just appeared.  Then after I left home, my mother used it in her room when they moved to the farm.  It was good quality and durable.  Since then, I have not had a 'bedroom suite' of any kind.  It has been all mixed and matched and held together with hot glue.

When I moved to Montana, I splurged an not only bought a decent mattress, but also bedroom furniture.  I love my bed in particular.  It is high and has 4 X 4 'beams' framing it, acting as a ledge around the bed.  (That's how Lady K learned to climb early, so she could climb up into my bed.)   The downside of this furniture....IT'S HEAVY AS ALL GET OUT!

But then, Texter got raisers to put her bed frame on so she could use storage under her bed.  That made me want to do 'something' in my room.  I got two sets of shelves to hang on the wall to put my notebooks, pens, stuff which is now within arms reach of Lady K, up and out of the way (and off my floor).  That lead to wanting to move the bed....

With Texter's help, we slowly turned the bed 90 degrees.  Where it was basically sticking into the middle of the room before and I had little room to move my desk chair, it is now under the window on the west side of the room, in the corner.  After huffing and puffing and pushing and straining, stepping over each other, we did it.  And miracles occurred!

First off, I now of a ton more useable floor space.  To the point I can do yoga in my room now.  I can sit at my desk and move my chair in and out without running into the end of the bed.  And according to Feng Shui principles, I have improved my yin/yang.  What is funny is that it really confused the dogs and where they were suppose to lay on the bed.

This was all done on Sunday.  Monday and Tuesday I pulled the above Goddess card.  I feel better in my room.  Texter is set for school in the fall.  Savvy is now a manager where she works.  I think Vesta is watching over us.

My List: Places I Want to See in Montana

It will be two years next month and I will have been living in Montana.  And I have to say, especially after North Carolina has been iced in for a week and it looks like they are getting hit again today, I haven't really regretted the move.

I am a list maker of a sort.  Usually, I make a list, it gets shoved in my back pocket, used and then thrown away.  Mainly grocery lists or a list of errands to run or bills to pay (way to many of those!).
So I am participating with relish in the 30 days of lists in March and this is a preview of whats to come.

But today, they asked for a bit of a warm-up on the March 'madness' of lists and I decided to list some of the places I want to visit in Montana.

PLACES TO VISIT IN MONTANA

1. Waterfalls in Montana (some say 52, others say 120 named waterfalls)
2. Garden of 1000 Buddhas
3. Glacier National Park
4. Yellowstone National Park
5. The Sweet Palace 
6. Hot springs

It may seem like a short list, but there are a lot of sites within each of those items.  Well, except for the 1000 Buddhas and the Sweet Palace, there are only 1 of those.  

Morrell Falls, I have crossed off the list already.  Although we will be hiking there again this year, so I will probably see it again.  I have already seen Crow Creek Falls.  Not sure if I want to make that hike again.

Monday Mandala

Using the Percolator app to change up a picture and then creating a mandala from it.  Also using it as the background layer with a solid color over it at reduced opacity.  Now I want to go draw circles.

Weekly Review

...and boy, what a week it has been!

First, the library was closed on Monday for President's Day.  Which means the rest of the week was 'hectic' to say the least.  If you listen to all the statistics about how people aren't reading or using the library these days, I can tell them, at least in Helena, that's bunk.  We were swamped all week.  It's satisfying to know what an important role in the community the library fills.  For some people, it is about the books.  For others, it is the chance to get on the computer.  Some, it is a place to be during the day that is warm and dry and safe.  But let us be closed a day and we pay for it the rest of the week!

On the home front, I spent yesterday making a ton of soup and realizing I REALLY need a soup pot.  French rolls, crescent roll danish and banana cake were also made.  I packed Savvy a dinner to take to work, with some to share with a co-worker.  They were happy campers.  Tonight, twice-baked potatoes for dinner with probably a bit of BBQ chicken.

Also, BIG news....Savvy got a promotion.  Actually, it was a promotion by fire.  She was in training to be first assistant manager.  Then the manager quit on Monday.  My little girl is General Manager now!  I know she can handle it and am so proud of her.  It's nice to know I semi-succeeded in raising her well or she is doing well despite me, one of the two.

AND Texter is gearing up and getting all the paperwork in and testing and waiting for August when she will go to school.  Ultimate goal - nursing.  She has always been interested in EMT and the like, so hopefully this will be a fit and she will have something were she can take care of herself and Kayden all on her own.  

This semester (hopefully) will see my Associates Degree.  I currently have 4 certifications in Web Design and Graphic Arts too.  I am going to stop my college study after this semester for a bit so I can play baby sitter to Lady K while Texter is at school.  This will give me a chance to work on my art and writing more.

In the meantime, and I normally don't pay for apps for my iPad or iPhone, but I spent my $2.99 for this one.  Percolator.  I have played with it just a tiny bit and am having fun.  I love circles.  

View from the Info Desk at the Library

Basically, Percolator adds these neat circles to your pictures, using the tones in the picture.  You can dial it up or down for the amount of circles, opacity and a couple of different designs in the circles.  I am having a ton of fun with it and can't wait to use it within other designs.  My only issue is that I wish it was for my computer and not just for the iPhone and iPad.  But I can deal with moving it over.

Before the cold weather hit us again, I did go for a long walk on Monday.  It felt so good to be out in the quiet, walking in nature for 3 hours.  Did about 5.5 miles.  Can't wait for even better weather.

So homework is on the agenda today.  Tons of it as I have been playing hooky.

Memorial Day Hike

Sunday, after dropping Savvy off at work, I decided I needed to get out and take a bit of a hike.  Never mind it was a bit nippy and there was some 'snow showers' going on and off in the area.  I haven't been outside for ages, just for a walk, and decided to take the camera and head out to the reservoir nearby.  Unfortunately, while I had the directions to get there, I neglected to notice the mileage around the lake.  But the 5.5 miles was worth it.

Other than someone ice fishing on the lake, I had the place to myself.  And a few dozen Canadian Geese.  And some mallards.  And Northern Flickers and a flock of magpies.

But this is why I got engrossed in the walk and forgot about the distance, the cold and the time.

So the views around the lake are fantastic.  I am in a 'bowl' and there are mountains all around.   The lake is iced over and in the top picture you can see a guy in red out on the lake, fishing.

What a great day. 

Reaching a Milestone!

Wow!  I hadn't realized it until just recently, I am coming up on a milestone.  Between my main page and my secondary pages, I am only 16 postings away from 1000.  This main page is only 96 away from 1000 posts.  Hmmmm....seems something special should be in order, don't you think?

Anyway, here are a couple of homework assignments I finished up last week.  We were suppose to create 'typographic portraits' to express the word using our name (just go with it).  So here are a few I did.

I like what I came up with, now let's see if the instructor feels I met the requirements of the assignment.

So back to thinking about what I want as a celebration of 1000 posts.....

Mandala Monday

I missed last Monday...it started out that kind of week.  Today is going well (so far), especially since I have the day off for President's day.  But a lot of homework which I am not looking forward to.

This is a flower, my rendition of a purple aster, and how I am feeling.  A bit ragged and jagged, but centered.  

I have a postcard swap I have to get postcards ready for to send out by the 28th.  Luckily, it is a mandala postcard swap so I have it pretty much done so far.  I just need to create the postcard and print them out.  Need to get some postcard paper from Staples.

So hopefully, I can breeze through homework and get onto some writing and organizing.