A couple of flops

Wide awake at 5 a.m. again. I went to bed about 9:15 last night after I put Nell down. She slept until 4:55. Sam gets up incredibly early and offered to take care of her so I could sleep in. But, no go.
The Multi Grain Struan was a flop. It didn't rise well in the first place and then I was careless when putting the loaf pan in the oven, which caused what little rise I had to fall. So, I baked a Multi Grain Brick. Sam was sweet and sliced a piece and said it still tasted good. So, into the trash it went. Too bad you can't frog a loaf of bread and salvage something. I'll still try to make it again in the future. The picture looks wonderful.
I had trouble concentrating yesterday. I was waiting to hear from Caitlin. I guess she was one of the few that received a cot to sleep on at O'Hare Airport. Her 8 a.m. flight was canceled too. She made the 10:30 flight and arrived at KCI about an hour later. Since she didn't have a cell phone I had to wait for her to call me until 12:30 or so. So, most of the morning I was distracted and puttered around the house.
I decided to make Chicken Enchiladas and Guacamole for dinner last night. I was inspired to make my own corn tortillas like Barbara does over at Tigers & Strawberries. So, I took off for a Latin American grocery store not too far from here for Masa and a tortilla press. What a huge surprise! It had been some time since I had been there and the whole store has been remodeled. Plus, the front of the store was a Farmer's Market loaded with local produce. I've never seen so much produce in a grocery store. They even had hatch chilies for a fraction of the cost of what they sell them at Whole Foods. They had tons of chilies, every kind of fresh Mexican produce, greens, eggplants, etc. It was wonderful. And they are all labeled with the local farm from which they came. I'm switching grocery stores!
Sam and I were eager to make the fresh tortillas. But, they were only about four inches in diameter. Certainly not big enough to use for enchiladas. Since everything I've made from Barbara's recipes have been a huge success, the error must have been on my part. I think it's probably the cheapo tortilla press. I've sent Barbara an email, and maybe she'll respond with some advice. The tortillas tasted good, but a little thick in my opinion. So after making a few tortillas, that dough was trashed as well.
Today, I am making a bread recipe from Beard on Bread. It calls for rye, whole wheat, and all purpose flours, plus soaked whole wheat berries. It makes two large loaves of bread, so I'll finally have some extra to give away to my friends that I've promised to give any bread overflow.
Nell is coming dangerously close to discovering the cat door to the basement. She's small enough to fit through, too. On the other side of the cat door are the stairs to the basement, which poses a huge danger, considering that it takes her about three attempts to make it up the one step from the patio to the sliding patio door. It wasn't much of a consideration before because she never went too far and seemed to be afraid of the slickness of the Pergo flooring in the kitchen. But, now she's all over the place and seems to find the one thing she should not. Just like a regular baby. I think I'll head over to Target today and get a baby gate.
All Hell is going to break loose over here when she gets big enough to get off the big chair or the couch. At this point, we can put her on the couch or chair with some toys and she'll settle down for a nap. When she wakes up, she whimpers to get down. Once she is big enough to get down, we'll have to come up with something new. Any thoughts?

And Pfft, it was gone.

Just like Verbal Kint says in"The Usual Suspects." The tree debris was removed and it looks as if the microburst never happened. Except half of the tree is gone. Sadly, the entire tree will have to come down soon.

When we moved in this house some 23 years ago, my neighbor, at the time, would wait until the most of the bright orange leaves had fallen and rake them in a huge pile leaving it for my kids to jump in. Then she'd go out and rake it up again and again until they tired of jumping in the leaves. I also remember looking at that tree during my pregnancies. I'd sit on the couch and stare at the various stages of the tree while wondering about the baby inside of me.

Caitlin never made it in last night. All flights were canceled out of O'Hare Airport due to weather. She had opted not to renew her cell phone contract two days prior to her trip because her reception was crappy. (Her house is to close to the ocean. Wahh. ) So, there she was stuck in O'Hare Airport without a cell phone and about $5 dollars on her. And I guess it was near to impossible to get a hotel room since all flights were canceled. I'm sure she'll be wiped out when she makes it in today.

I'm beginning to wonder if I'm the one who is getting housebroken. I put Nell to bed around 10 p.m. last night. I woke up a little before 5 and tried to be as quiet as possible not to wake her up. It was raining pretty hard. I was NOT looking forward to standing in the pouring rain waiting for her to piddle and poo. Sometimes, it takes a few attempts to get the latter to happen. She'll run to the door, so I have to take her farther and farther out in the yard until there is success. When she woke up at around 5:15 the rain had calmed down. So, it wasn't all that bad. But, here I am, wide awake.

I made the Multi Grain Bread again yesterday. We had BLTs made with the fresh bread for dinner. I also made the soaker and biga for the Struan, which I will bake today. I've been enjoying the new bread book. Peter says to try a recipe three times before you give up on it. My first attempt with my own sourdough was a flop. It just wouldn't rise. So, I guess I'll take his advice and try again sometime.

Most of the heavy cleaning is done, so now I'll have time for fun stuff. I started a Secret Project, which I want to compete before our knitting club meeting in September. It's a fun one using an unusual technique that I can't wait to share.

Microburst

Yesterday afternoon we had a storm pass through, which was more than likely a microburst. It just came out of nowhere. Don'tcha just love the Midwest? It rained incredibly hard and the wind blew like crazy. Large chunks of hail fell. The whole thing lasted about five minutes. It woke Sam up from his nap. I commented that he almost missed all the excitement, when he pointed put to the front of the house and commented, "No, I didn't."

So, the neighbor's ancient sugar maple split in half and crashed onto our driveway. Good thing we couldn't get the old basketball goal post out, because it saved my car from getting crushed. Amazingly, I only have one tiny dent and some scratches. Oh, and I left the windows open. I'll have to open them and let the thing dry out. I called my insurance company, and the burden is mine. It's called "An Act of God" and it will cause my insurance rates to increase if I make a claim. Thanks, God.

This arrived in the mail yesterday. I've only thumbed through the book, but most of the breads are made using a two-day process. The first day you prepare a soaker and a biga to ferment. On the second day, these are incorporated in another dough. This is much like the Multi Grain bread that I've been making except there is no biga in it. I'm going to make the Multi Grain Struan first.

Last night, I made Lemon Grass Beef over Broken Rice for dinner. Except my rice wasn't broken. It was delicious.

Caitlin arrives tonight around 6:30 p.m. I can't wait to see her. Though, she will more than likely spend her first evening with her brothers and sister, partying like a Rock Star.

The Piddler slept a bit better last night. Going to bed at 10 and then up at 5:30. I put her back in bed after a brief trip outside, and she slept until 7. It occurred to me that my aches and pains may just be from lack of sleep. When I was pregnant with Tate (my fourth) I remember being so incredibly tired that I ached all over. Just like the flu. I was convinced something was terribly wrong, so I went to the doctor. I was certain he was going to tell me I had cancer and that I was going to leave my three kids motherless and the child I was carrying was going to die with me. He just smiled and told me I was just exhausted. It would make sense that some 20 years later, the old body just can't pop back after lack of sleep.

It looks like Nell thinks she is a cat, too.

Time Off

Today is the first day of many days off from work. Yippee!
I plan on spending today and tomorrow cleaning like a Banshee. I had to take a block of time off this week to wage war against the ants in my kitchen. I walked in there, and they were all over the place. It was disgusting. So, I had an emergency cleaning of the pantry. Everything is contained now. I have tried everything to get rid of ants this summer. Nothing seems to work. I sure as hell don't want them around when I have guests in the house.
Over the past few days I have been obsessing over http://www.goneraw.com/. I loved the green smoothie and then tried and loved the watermelon cooler. Then, I found this recipe. After I used this recipe, I looked up information on Ann Wigmore and found that there are lots of recipes for Energy Soup and you can add different stuff to it. The main thing is to use lots of leafy greens, some sprouts, some seaweed, a fruit, part of an avocado, and Rejuvelac. I didn't know what Rejuvelac was either, but found the recipe on her site. It's now completely finished and ready to bottle. I really like the Energy Soup and have been sipping it for four days now. We'll see if it makes me feel a ton better.
We have also been doing the Colonix program for a little over a month now. And a few days ago I bought some detox foot pads. I had heard that detox foot pads can help you quit smoking, which is one on my goals. However, ever since I've been using the foot pads, my joints have been hurting pretty bad. I'm chalking that up to the detox. Everything was hurting so bad last night, that Sam suggested I take a ginger bath, which seemed to help.
When I first started working from home, I had all these grandiose plans for self-improvement. I must admit I spent the first few months sleeping in. The Beagle has recently put the kibosh on sleeping in. And I get even less sleep now since Nell came into the picture. So, the diet change and detox are now in high gear.
Taking care of a puppy has eaten into a lot of my spare time. I know this won't last forever. They're only puppies for a short time. But, alas, not much to report on the knitting front. I've been working on the KP&S cardigan. I have about 14 inches of the body done. It's supposed to be 25 inches in length. The sleeves, collar band, and button band are added next.

After I get Nell settled for the evening, I've been working on the crochet blanket, too. It's a no-brainer thing to do.
The Beagle and Nell are getting along a little better now. At first they played Keep Away and Tag. Nell always being the chaser. Now, they play a little better, though The Beagle usually tips her over on her back with her paw and sniffs her. And they bark at each other. They will also sleep on the couch together.

Tomatoes!

The tomatoes we planted by the patio are the ones that seem to be undisturbed by the rabbits and squirrels. I think we can thank the trusty Beagle for that. We planted Italian plums in this area. But, one of the plants turned out to be a cherry tomato plant and the other just a plain tomato. Fine with me. So, I'm making tomato soup. It's nice to have the homegrown tomatoes for this. The ones you buy in the store are always waxed, which is disgusting.

I also made more of the multi grain bread. I added ground flax seed to the grain mixture this time. This loaf turned out huge! I also worked on the sour dough. After reading the recipe a little more carefully, it has to ferment at room temp today and spend the night in the fridge before baking day. I also check out "Beard on Bread' from the library and plan on making a whole grain recipe using whole wheat kernels. Probably later in the week when I have my time off.

Our air conditioner stopped working lat night around 7 p.m. It's amazing how these things ALWAYS break after business hours. We couldn't get anyone out until this morning, so we had to tough it out last night. Fortunately, it was about 78 degrees last night an only around 80 in the house. I was a little hacked off because I replaced the air conditioner around three years ago. I was hoping to avoid having the damn thing break during Kansas August weather. As it turns out, one little piece had worn out and it was a quick and inexpensive fix. Here I was thinking it was going to be hundreds and hundreds of dollars but it was just a little over $100 because of the service call.

Nell (aka The Piddler) was up a lot last night. Man, I was tired this morning. I've figured out it was because of the heat. All of the pets have slept peacefully all day long.

After winding the Bonkers yarn last night, I really wanted to cast on for a new project. I even had Sam choose the next one. But, I stuck to my guns and worked on the KP&S Cardigan today. The Addi Turbo has helped tremendously and the knitting is much easier. I'm a little nervous about the yarn yardage.

Machine Gun Nell

Here is the reason I haven't posted in a while. Introducing Machine Gun Nell, the Basset pup. The Beagle isn't too happy about it. I hope this blows over, as I was hoping that they would be playmates.

Other than taking care of Nell, I have been working on the beading of Nikko. I wish I could say that I have been enjoying the time beading. I went back to the bead store and got a bead needle threader and a magnifying contraption. It's still slow going. I remember when it was no big deal threading needles when I made jillions of smocked dresses for the girls. But, that was over 15 years ago. Maybe I'll figure out why this is a favorite past time for some folks.

I also bought an Addi Turbo needle to use for the KP&S Cardigan. The Denise needles are hugging the yarn too much, and I have to spend a lot of time rearranging the yarn, which takes its toll on my wrists. Since I spend most of my day typing, I have to do what I can to preserve my wrists. I have over 7 inches done so far.

Today, I made the barm for my sourdough bread. I should be able to bake it tomorrow. I'm also soaking the grains for another load of the multi grain bread. For some reason, the last loaf went fast.

Caitlin comes home on August 23. I've taken a big block of time off (over a week). I'll get the house nice and clean before she comes. And then I'll have time to spend with her and her partner, Danny. I think the last time I took a week off was in December of 2006. And lots of time to have fibery fun.

The Bonkers yarn is wound, beckoning me to cast on for the Cobblestone Pullover. As you can see, there are two dye lots. There is tons more of this yarn. It just wouldn't fit in the picture.

And yet, I do want to cast on for the Eleanor Wrap. This is the Soy Wool Stripes yarn.

What's a girl to do?

Playing with String Some More

My dang computer was down yesterday.

We had a busy morning with Sam's folks. In the afternoon, while Sam took a nap, it was time to play with string in a different way.

I had made all the pieces for a v-neck sweater some time ago. But, the size was all wrong and the colors turned out wonky. I used this fabulous hand dyed yarn I bought from Bonkers Fibers. It's the picture of yarn I have at the top of my blog. At the time, I didn't realize that you need to alternate every row of knitting since hand dyed yarns never really match. So the back, front and one sleeve were all one dye lot and then the last sleeve was a different more brilliant version of the colourway. So, to the frog pond it went.

First, I ripped out the knitting and wound the yarn around an old packing box. You have to tie the loop of yarn in a couple of places to hold it together. It's best to use a contrasting yarn. I used a bright red mercerized cotton yarn.

Then, a soak in the sink with Eucolan. The yarn will look like Ramen Noodles and you want to relax the yarn so it can be knitted again.

Then, squeeze most of the water out, place on a towel and roll up to get more water out and hang to dry. After the yarn is dry I will wind it up for a different use. This is the second time I've ripped this yarn out. I just haven't found the project that does this yarn justice. I'm thinking of doing the Cobblestone Pullover by Jared Flood in the current Interweave Knits.

After frogging the entire sweater, I looked in my closet and found my Haiku sweater that I made several years ago using Peace Fleece. I never really wear this one either. So, I started frogging this one too. This one was more difficult to frog because I had actually put the sweater together. Hopefully, I'll salvage enough yarn to make a vest or something. I love Peace Fleece yarn. It's just too dang hot to wear indoors.

After an afternoon of ripping, I was pretty hungry. Caitlin had mentioned that she prepares her own juice concoctions when she gets hungry in the afternoon. I don't have a juicer, so I made this green smoothie. It was delicious. I'm definitely having this again.

I've reached the stall wall an the Nikko wrap. I've purchased the beads and the beading needles. But, I cannot for the life of me get the damn needle threaded. The eye of the needle is so small I cannot see it! I even bought a damn needle threader and it got stuck and broke off in the needle. I guess I'll have to call the bead shop and ask that awful woman what I'm supposed to do. It's frustrating.