Monday was such a bummer finding Grandma’s house had been broken into. I sat with those feelings of disappointment, anger, confusion, disbelief, and violations for a while. Then, like I always do…I had a little conversation with myself. I could carry it, or I could do what I could and make it a good day. I called the Deputy Sheriff and answered all his questions then I sent all the photos I took and he said he’d look into it. I know it’s low priority and nothing may come of it, but I did all I could do and moved on.
My big chore of the day was baking bread. We were down to just a few slices of sandwich bread so that was on the docket. RuthAnn Zimmerman shared “Kate’s Soft Sourdough Sandwich Bread Master Recipe” from the blog “Venison for Dinner” the other day and I decided to try it. I’ve been getting mixed results with my sourdough. Sometimes it’s light and airy and sometimes it’s like a brick. I’ve had to throw too much of it away. When I made King Arthur’s Sourdough English Muffins last week, the recipe called for sourdough starter AND regular yeast. It was exactly what I was looking for in an everyday loaf…the tang of sourdough and the predictable rise of store-bought yeast.
The recipe called for whole milk, but we don’t really drink milk anymore. It said you could substitute plant-based milks or buttermilk. I had some buttermilk in the back of the fridge from baking biscuits the other day so that’s what I used. The dough was perfect, easy to work with and shape, and made a really good loaf. The flavor was wonderful and the crumb held up to spreading a shmear of butter and jelly. There is nothing like a warm piece of bread fresh from the oven!
My friend Loretta gave me a jar of black raspberry jelly the other day and I could hardly wait to use it. My grandma always made what she called “black cap jelly.” It isn’t made with traditional red raspberries. And black caps aren’t blackberries either. Black raspberries are smaller, more tart, and have a thinner skin than blackberries. Loretta went berry picking last summer and didn’t have time to make the jelly so she canned the juice. Now she can pull a jar of juice from the shelf and make this elixir of the gods anytime she wants. And I was a lucky recipient of this treasure.
I remember going berry picking with Grandma when I was a little girl. I wanted to relive the experience one summer when I came back for a visit. I took my berry bucket and hiked up on the hill to the old home place. It took me a little while to get my bearings and find the berry bushes. Everything was grown up and unrecognizable but I finally found them. It was a little late in the berry-picking season and I didn’t get very many. But I did get something for my efforts…chiggers!
I don’t know if you’ve ever had chiggers or not, but those little buggers are awful. They are a tiny mite that is so small you can only see them with a magnifying glass. They live in moist, grassy areas like lawns, brush, and out in the woods. To keep them at bay, you should wear long pants and socks pulled up over the bottoms of the pant legs. A long sleeved shirt is a must. The problems is, they’re active right in the peak of the summer heat and humidity and no one wants to bundle up like that when it’s hot.
It took me a while to realize what was wrong when my ankles and the tops of my feet were on fire. Itchy red spots broke out around my waist and ankles. I was miserable. Calamine lotion did nothing. I used an old home remedy and painted each spot with clear nail polish. I’m not sure if it was that or just the tincture of time, but they finally got better after several weeks and I was left with dark brownish purple spots for quite a while.
After our snack of bread and tea, I went out to help Mr. FixIt take out the old headlights on his truck and install the new ones my bonus son gave him for Christmas. It took a little trial and error but we got one side finished before it got too chilly. Mr. FixIt has a little trouble with the dexterity of his fingers so he’s my walking instruction manual and I’m his hands. We make a good team. I learn about things that really interest me, and he still feels useful.
I have to run to town today to get the tags on my truck and get it inspected. I also need to get the oil changed and the tires rotated but I’m not sure I can get all of that done in one day. We’ll see!
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“However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.” Ephesians 5:33 ESV
#baking, #mechanics, #marriage