Beef 2026

Early last November I ordered another quarter of beef from the same place we always use, Wisconsin River Meats.  They were about to shut down for the next several weeks for deer processing so we were expecting a call around the middle of this month, which was not a problem for us.  In fact, last weekend my wife used the last of our beef, a round steak, to make beef jerky, then we got the call on Sunday afternoon that our beef was ready for pickup.  On Friday, my wife drove up to retrieve it.

Now, beef prices have risen quite a bit just like everything else at the grocery store so we knew we'd be spending quite a bit, but still expected it to be better quality and a better deal than any local grocery store.  We got 4 boxes of meat instead of the usual 3, so it was a bigger cow, too.  About 16 pounds bigger than our previous biggest, two orders ago in 2023.

Total cost was $1439.13 for about 159.1 lbs., to make it around $9.05 / lb.

Quite a jump from the last time in August of 2024 ($906.54 / 136.8 lbs. / $6.63), but about the same price per pound currently for a good, lean ground beef from the grocery store, so still a good deal for all cuts of meat we received.  (That would be 77 pounds of ground beef and 82 pounds of steaks, roasts and more.)  Not only cheaper but so much better quality than grocery store beef.

She didn't get too many of their processed meats this year; two pounds of dried beef, regular and garlic ring bologna, and some wieners.  But she did get some super fresh cheese curds just made that morning that were super-squeaky fresh and absolutely delicious.  If you know, you know.

We've gotten a quarter of a cow now every year since 2016, skipping 2020 and 2025 since it tends to last us for a bit more than a year.  We did have to look at some grocery store meat last month which just reaffirmed our choice to buy in bulk from a quality meat supplier.

So far it has been a pretty quiet start to the new year.  There's been a few things I've  thought about writing but nothing spectacular or of note, until this.  I do have a few pictures I may share later this week with other ramblings, but no one is missing anything.

How is your year so far?

Snow Day!

As we got closer to Saturday the projected snow totals got higher, and now here we are.  We planned on staying in all day due to the weather anyway, and since it was a holiday weekend and still no responsibilities tomorrow, we had a bit of fun with it.

Homemade potato skins for the final Badger football game this afternoon.  And homemade-from-a mix chocolate chip cookies for dessert.  (Not to mention finishing off Thanksgiving's banana cream pie.)

And given a snow day's time to spare I decided to make a big and bubbly focaccia bread.  It was absolutely airy, crispy and delicious!  Don't worry, we froze half for warming up at a later time.  We're only two people, after all.

But it was oh, so delicious!

And as of right now, it's snowed at least 7 inches and probably even more more with the end several hours away.  It may still be snowing when I get up tomorrow.  

We've cleared the front and back steps about four times, plus knocking the snow weight off the front arborvitae, while doing a full snow removal twice so far.  By mid-morning we should be able to do a final cleanup, then hope for sunshine to help because the temperatures won't.  Welcome back, Winter, my old friend.

Yard Work Finished

This morning my wife and I finished all the yard work for the year.  It was a beautiful day, sunny and about 66ºF, and we probably won't see another day like this for several months so now was the time.

I started with cleaning the gutters, then moved on to strimming dead plants in flowerbeds to mulch them up.  My wife cleaned up the flowers we had left out front and raked all the leaves on the front lawn into piles for me to vacuum/mulch and put in the flowerbeds.  I mowed just a bit to mulch what was left but quickly ran the mower out of gas for the season, then made sure the snow blower was ready to go and started up easily.  Gardening supplies were put away and snow shovels, sand and salt are now at the ready.  It feels good to have it all done, but boy am I sore.  Tomorrow might be worse.

I never got around to carving the pumpkin for Halloween and the squirrels were starting to munch on it so it was moved to the stump.  I used my axe to chop a hole in it for them to get inside more easily and set up the trail camera at the base of the bird bath.  We'll see if I get anything entertaining enough to share. 

This has been a pretty rough week for us, especially my wife.  She had been taking care of her dad for well over a decade, and he became more and more dependent on her each year.  It was very stressful for her, but she gave him a very good quality of life.  Since she was laid off in March, she was going over there or doing something for him almost every day.  Not to mention the phone calls, so many calls every single day whether she had just been over there or not.  This was her life, and now, suddenly, that all stops.  It will take quite some time to get everything wrapped up, and even longer to fully move on.

Now, happier thoughts.  Homemade pan pizza dough with homemade pizza sauce.  This one was pepperoni and Italian sausage.  Yum!

Fall Updates & More

We've had a much milder fall than normal so far, but cooler days are coming.  This morning was our first frost warning though we had none here, but a few more chances are coming soon.  I'm writing this on Monday but I think I'll set this to post on Tuesday, just to put a day between this and the Ace stuff.

My wife cleaned up the stump area on Saturday leaving only the wildflowers that were still blooming, a couple red ones, one cone flower plant, and there are still small yellow ones that appear from time to time.  We also got the new bushes caged for winter so the rabbits don't eat them down to the nubs like they did last winter.  Hopefully by the end of next summer they'll be big and strong enough that we won't have to do this again.

I spent 4 hours on Saturday morning making baguette, and 4 hours on Saturday afternoon/evening making loaded baked potato dinner rolls to go with steak for dinner.  Another King Arthur recipe, which is my first stop when looking for something different to make.

My wife thought I was just making potato dinner rolls, so this was a tasty surprise seeing all that went into these.  They were a lot of effort for only a small pan of rolls, but they're so very good.  So good that these will definitely be made again in the future.

On a side note, I also made my first batch of homemade taco sauce.  It seems to have turned out well, and we'll have tacos later in the week to verify.  But another thing that we have everything in the cupboard to make, so why the heck not?

After all that on Saturday I took Sunday almost completely off, except for making the taco sauce mentioned above.  But today I looked at the forecast (cold and rainy tomorrow) and so I went out after work to do some of things I had planned on doing yesterday.  First off, I cut up all the sunflower stalks.  There is only the one sunflower left out front by the bird feeder and I may leave that for some time yet until it is completely dead.  

Once the stalks dry out completely there's not much to them, but they'll be easy to light and will make good kindling.  The root balls I separated into another bucket.  Those I may just run to the dump as yard waste to get rid of them.  I like to keep organic waste right here and compost it, but sometimes it's just got to go.  And as you can see the gardens have been cleaned up, mostly.  The two parsleys will be removed when it is time to plant garlic in that garden, yet this fall.

We've been pretty windy lately so I had to pick up some sticks today, which I would normally put in the fire pit but realized the pit needed cleaning out, so I got that done, too.  Ready for a fire now, whenever the wind dies down and I have that energy.

The calendar has me itching to clean up everything for winter, but the mild weather has stretched that timeline quite a bit this year.  I'm not going to complain, once winter gets here it will drag on seemingly forever, then we'll happily do it all over again come spring.

Vacation Recap

I was looking through the pictures I took last week and found there weren't many.  I truly did just try to take it easy, and apparently I managed that pretty well.  Yet, there were some highlights so let's see what I can remember.

First off, we'd had fall-like temperatures for a few weeks, but as if on cue the weather started turning nicer and warmer during my vacation.  This looks to last for at least another week, which is good.  It was way too early to have to switch from shorts to pants!

I didn't mention it last post, but there was a bit of a bigger project on my list - actually more of a PITA than "big" - that I chose to ignore all week.  There is a drawer in the kitchen I need to figure out how to fix.  The old, outdated hardware simply wore out and my first fix, didn't, so I do still have that to do but I have a new plan and will get that started this weekend.

I began the week by going to my Mom's on Saturday for the Badger game.  We hung out, I cooked dinner, and I spent the night.  It was nice, but I got some wires crossed in my head about the Packer game that Sunday so left for home earlier than I needed to.  Not a big deal, but another lunch out with Mom would have been nice.

On Monday we had a new rug delivered for the living room, which led to maybe the biggest chore of this vacation.  The new rug was for the living room, so that rug was to move to the bedroom, and that rug was to move to the porch.  So, basically, we had to work backwards; clean up the porch for the rug from the bedroom, clean up the bedroom for the rug from the living room, then clean up the living room for the new (bigger) rug to be placed.  It was certainly good to get the cleaning done, but we wound up moving around most all of our furniture that day.

Some shopping, mowing the lawn, and plenty of time spent with my feet up all week.  Oh, there were a few little jobs done here and there but hardly anything else worth mentioning.  Now that I said that, I did want to mention the dill pickle bread I made.  It was interesting and not bad, a good baking exercise, but I may look for a different recipe if I make similar again.  

Most importantly, my wife and I did get to spend some good time together and enjoyed several lunches or dinners out, and several drinks out during the week.  It was nice to spend the time together, but later in the week the less I seemed to do, and that was good, too.  Now, sigh, back to work.

Saturday Picture Post

Cacio E Pepe Rolls

My wife's latest choice for me to make from King Arthur's Big Book Of Bread - Cacio E Pepe Rolls.

This appears to be a recipe reminiscent of a classic Roman pasta. It's a salty, peppery dough with pecorino Romano cheese.  Once baked, they are also tossed in a topping of salt, freshly cracked black pepper, pecorino Romano cheese and olive oil.  Big flavor in these rolls, half of which have been frozen for another day.  They took about 4 hours to make, start to finish, and was a good baking exercise even if I never make them again.  I can't wait to see what she chooses next.

My Basic Flat Bread Recipe

Basic flat bread has become a staple in our household, we always have some on hand in the freezer.  We use it for homemade gyros, sandwiches, personal pizza and I've even had it as the bun for sausage.  My flat bread recipe was taken from a ToYoube video, but I can't remember which otherwise I would link it here.

I did have to modify it a bit and convert volume to weight.  The smaller weights are trickier with scales, I've always read, so generally I do also use teaspoons and tablespoons but I can provide the weights here as well.  I remember it took a couple tries before I finalized it, but now I've been using this recipe for quite some time and we've been very happy with it.

240g hot water (115-118ºF or 46-48ºC)

370g all purpose flour

1 tsp instant yeast (~3g)

1 Tbsp olive oil (~13g)

1 tsp salt (~7g)

Combine and mix all the dry ingredients before adding to the wet in a mixing bowl, I normally use a spatula until no dry spots are left, then on a KitchenAid mixer using the dough hook, mix for about 5 minutes on medium-low setting 2.  If you don't have a mixer it would be kneading by hand for about the same amount of time, I presume.  Form into a ball and place into an oiled bowl, covered, for 1 hour or until the dough has doubled.

Empty the dough onto a lightly oiled work surface and divide into 8 equal pieces.  I try to keep the round shape from the bowl then using a bench knife or bowl scraper, divide it like a pie into 8 pieces, adjusting if necessary to make them all about the same size.  My note says about 80g each, but I normally just eye it up.  Form each piece into a ball by pulling the corners in, then turning it over and rolling it in a cupped hand.  Set them aside and cover with a greased plastic film for 10 minutes.  (Sometimes I skip the cover, doesn't make much of a difference since the outside should be a bit oiled, anyway.)

While waiting, preheat a dry, non-stick pan to very hot; your stove may vary so adjust as necessary.  Again, on a lightly greased surface and rolling pin, roll the dough into a round shape about 1/8 inch thick (3mm).  Carefully transfer the dough using the rolling pin to the pre-heated pan.  Right away while that first side is cooking, roll the second flat bread out and by the time you're done the one in the pan should be about ready to flip.  After a few minutes remove to a cooling rack and cover with a towel.  You're looking for good browning and 'leopard spotting,' but the pan is hot so be careful not to burn.  Repeat this process until complete.

They are delightful to enjoy right away or, once cooled completely, freeze them to preserve the freshness.  They thaw quickly, still fresh and pliable for whatever you may need.

Thank you, delcatto!  This was interesting, let me know if I left anything unclear.

Vacation Projects, Baking, Street Reconstruction #19 and More

I've been busy this past week, resting and recreating takes a lot of time and effort.  I'm on my first real vacation in a year since being new at a job and other than having Covid when I was on vacation last September.  As usual, a staycation to take care of little projects and other things without the interruptions of work.  So far I've gotten a few things done and we've had nice weather, for the most part.  There's a lot to say so I may jump around a bit, and I'll likely add a break due to the length once I add pictures.

Vacation Start

I started this vacation by going to my Mom's on Saturday.  We got a few little things done for her, but it was more about spending the time, I think.  I was just there a few weeks ago, but an overnight visit allows for more time and relaxation while catching up on what's going on in her life.  I got back to town mid-day Sunday and I don't think I did much the rest of the day.

Lots more after the break!

Homemade Pizza

I got a wild thought last week to make my own mozzarella cheese.  I either looked up or saw a video in my feed that I watched, and it just seemed so simple.  So, yesterday morning, I made cheese for the first time.

And so few ingredients are involved:  Whole milk, vinegar and salt.  I also bought cheesecloth from Amazin', but that's it.  Heat a gallon of milk to 115-120ºF, turn off the burner and add about 3/4 cup vinegar.  Stir lightly for a minute or so, then move off the burner, cover and let sit for 10 minutes.

Then I scooped out the curds into cheesecloth in a sieve, finishing by pouring it all through to get all the curds.  This took 3 or 4 steps due to the size of the containers, and as the whey filled up I poured it back into the milk jug.

Using the cheesecloth, I twisted it tight and squeezed more whey out, as much as I could.  When it stopped streaming I opened the cheesecloth and broke apart the clump of curd, basically turning the inside parts to the outside before twisting the cheesecloth tight again and squeezing out more whey.

After a few minutes of this I put the cheese in a bowl and microwaved it for 20-30 seconds, folding it with a spatula for it to release more whey, stretch and come together.  I repeated this step a few times, adding about a teaspoon of salt along the way, until the cheese was getting smooth and melty.  At this point I put on gloves and kneaded the cheese in my hands like bread dough, forming it into a ball.  Once satisfied, I returned it to the cheese cloth, twisted it tight and put it into a bowl so it would retain a rounded shape and placed it in the refrigerator.  I should probably have used plastic wrap now, but came back and did that a couple hours later.

Later that day, we sliced it for a taste, then had it on a fully homemade pizza.  Homemade pizza dough, homemade pizza sauce, and now homemade mozzarella cheese.

The cheese was good for a first try, but I know I can do better.  I may have squeezed out too much whey and not kneaded or stretched it enough before chilling, and it didn't seem salty enough.  Then, to top it off, the pizza could have used a couple more minutes in the oven.  I will certainly be trying this again soon, but maybe only using a half gallon as that should be enough cheese for a pizza.

This was a first attempt taking information from a couple of ToYoube videos.  I will certainly be looking at more and am open to any suggestions.  Have you ever made cheese?

Easter This-And-Thats

I haven't really been in a writing mood recently.  I managed to post about the pavilion, but there are a few other topics I've been meaning to mention so time to sit, type and see what happens.

• Today is Easter, but this doesn't mean much to us.  I had a paid holiday for Good Friday and my wife and I may venture out later today, as we tend to do on Sundays, but will have to check ahead to see what's open.  I was going to go down to my Mom's yesterday as my sister and her kids are there this weekend, but things to do and I've been real sick of driving lately so I stayed home.

• My wife was laid off from her job this past week.  She found out about it 2 months ago, so had to endure all that time knowing, but meanwhile her anniversary came and went so she got all her time off back which will be paid out, and a severance package as well.  Another bad decision by a terrible company that keeps losing contracts, but it was her career.  She does not plan to look for a new job until her dad dies, and we're in a good enough position she can do that.

• 
  Also this past week we had to take Basil to the vet twice.  He'd lost weight, had a UTI and we already know he gets crystals real bad.  He'd also stumbled at times, and started withdrawing from us and eating less.  He got an antibiotic shot, a pain shot, and was already on medicine for hyperthyroidism but that dose got doubled.  It's taken several days but he does appear to be acting normal and feeling much better now, thankfully.  And today both the cats turn 13 years old.

• We recently bought two new computers, a laptop for my wife since she had to turn in the one she was using and a desktop tower for me because of the display driver issue this one has, plus it often shuts itself off.  Never while I'm using it, but while it's in sleep mode, and it seems to be happening more.  Both are made by Lenovo, a new brand to us but great reviews so we just went for it.  I'm going to have to take my wife's in for help getting it out of S-mode - Microsoft's new security that goes overboard in trying to save you from yourself.  I just hooked up the desktop and got that going briefly, and thankfully I don't have it on this one.  I did hook the old computer back up because I have some work to do before making the switch.

• 
  I've taken a few weekends off from baking recently, but I did make a cheesy garlic bread yesterday that I saw in a ToYoube video.  It just looked so good, so I made it and it was, but it made a mess of the oven.  I used a frozen bread dough loaf so it was quicker and easier for me, but this is one of those recipes that was fun to try but I may never make it again.

We still may get out this afternoon, but it is raining now and the day seems destined for rest and relaxation indoors.  I hope everyone is having a wonderful Easter weekend.

Slowly Spring

Slowly but surely spring is springing around here.  While no trees have leaves yet, there are buds, some plants are coming up and the grass is turning green again.  We also have one daffodil plant flowering and another just about to open.  Still seems pretty chilly most days, though about normal, I guess.  Recent days have started below freezing and may get close to 50ºF in the afternoon.  So yes, it is spring here, it just seems to be coming on very slowly.

We put cages around the new bushes we got to go along the fence last year.  Even with a mild winter, the rabbits have eaten them down terribly.  Maybe the outside ones will come back if protected, but I'm not seeing any sign of life from the middle one yet.  The critters just have no fear back there so can and will eat everything they fancy, anything we try.  I even had to cage a small area of lawn I'm trying to reseed but it kept getting dug up when I did.  I'd like some ornamental grasses, too, but those would stand no chance at all.  

I've also not had a fire yet this spring even though there were a few opportunities.  But nights are cold, and I've just begun to do some outside spring chores.  Pretty much just those cages, seeding, and cutting up the lilac wood for burning, from what I had to remove for the new fence last year.  The garage got swept out, and I considered putting the snowblower away for the season, but didn't.  No, not quite yet.

Green olive focaccia bread

Spring Plants And Flatbread Fun

When I got home Friday afternoon I found myself surprised that I saw plants starting to come up.  It's been a relatively mild winter and we've had mostly above average temperatures recently.  But it is still March and I guess I still expect freezing temperatures and at least one more snowstorm.  We do have days forecast with low temps below freezing and high temps above, but I've put away some winter clothes already.

That same day, Friday, I found the first crocus to sprout in our yard, in the bed along the dark side of the house.  After taking this photo I went to the back yard where we get scores every spring and I couldn't yet find one.  It's still March, though.

March Madness.

I've been watching a lot of basketball recently.  My Wisconsin Badgers have been on a run in the B1G tournament and will play in the championship game tomorrow afternoon.  Hopefully a great win and a good seed in the NCAA tournament, to be announce tomorrow evening.  Go Badgers!  

On a side note, Cuba City won the division 4 girls state high school championship this afternoon, coached by my cousin.  Congratulations, Cubans!

Before the games today I did a lot of housework and made some of my flatbread, which has become a staple in this household.  Now, flatbread and pita are two very similar recipes but different cooking methods.  My flatbread is dry fried in a hot pan on the stove, and pita is baked at high temperature on a baking stone.  The last few of my flatbreads today did wonderful pita impressions, though, so I grabbed my camera.

After the break are photos of that last flatbread-posing-as-pita, and that batch.

New Dishwasher

A week ago our dishwasher died, the pump stopped working.  This one lasted almost exactly 7 years, and the one prior lasted only 5 years, but we run it almost every day and sometimes twice a day when I'm baking.  I got online and researched dishwashers and determined the one I wanted, and matching the range and refrigerator was a factor.  Not the most expensive one available, but certainly not the cheapest.  The first place I went did not have the one I wanted in stock and said it would be 1-3 weeks, but really he didn't know.  Not exactly a vote of confidence, so I said I'd have to get back to him and left.  Before I even left that parking lot I was on my phone looking for the next place to shop.  I found a place, they had it in stock and it could be delivered and installed on Saturday.  All in all, it cost about the same as the last dishwasher, about a grand.  But this process couldn't have gone smoother and this retailer will be my first stop next time I need a large appliance.

I took yesterday and today off from work, so got some more baking done.  I made another round of the new baguette recipe, a batch of flatbread, and pan pizza dough over the weekend.  And yesterday I tried the recipe again for hamburger/hot dog buns.  The first time I tried the buns came out flat.  This time the hot dog buns turned out better but the hamburger buns were still flat.  I've come to the conclusion that the recipe calls for less dough than needed for the buns I want, so I'll have to adjust next time, if there is a next time.  I'm not crazy about this recipe so I may look for another recipe for buns.

The pan pizza dough is awesome.  It doesn't make much, but plenty for dinner for two people.  My wife likes it, too, and it's easy to make so looks like this is another recipe that will get made more often around here.

Other than that, I won 200 bucks on the Super Bowl.  Came close to winning more, but I can't complain.  Overall, I feel I came out about even for the season with this win.  Much better than last year, but it's all in fun, anyway.  And we got a couple dustings of snow recently, but tomorrow looks like it will snow all day and we're expected to get 3-6 inches, total.  That would be our biggest snowstorm of the season so far.  We need it as it's been mostly dry all winter, but I hope mother nature doesn't try to catch up too much this late in the season.

Recent Baking

King Arthur's 2025 Recipe of the Year

For the second weekend in a row I made King Arthur's 2025 recipe of the year, a big and bubbly Focaccia bread.  I made a Focaccia bread recipe a couple months ago from their Big Book Of Bread, and it was good but ultimately forgettable compared to this one (though I did only make it once).  This recipe is so good the bread was gone on the same day I made it last weekend.  The big bubbles and the moist crumb with all that olive oil baked in - oh so delicious!  Yesterday's bread would have been eaten up, too, but my wife wanted to see what it was like the next day so we somehow saved a bit overnight.  It's still very good today but just a tad drier, maybe better if I was to use it for a sandwich, but I wouldn't feel guilty just eating it plain and it only lasts a day again.  This is certainly one that I will continue to bake.

Pizza sauce and last week's Focaccia.

I also made pizza dough and pizza sauce last weekend, so we have that ready for meals during the week.  We've been wanting to try a pan pizza recently.  I tried with the dough I make now but it's obviously meant for a thinner crust and didn't turn out great.  So then I found KA's 2020 recipe of the year, a crispy cheesy pan pizza crust that sounds promising.  I may make that this afternoon as it can stay in the fridge up to 72 hours so we can have it for dinner Monday or Tuesday.

We still have a couple wheat baguettes in the freezer for now.  We've been using them for baguette pizzas, tuna melts, and garlic bread recently.  Next weekend will be time to make that new baguette recipe again, also from KA's BBoB.  It's been several weeks since I last made it so I look forward to that.

Also yesterday, I made a new (for me) hamburger/hot dog bun recipe.  This is one type of bread I've dragged my feet on a bit, but if I can get a good one down then we won't have to buy from the store anymore.  This recipe felt a little more ambitious for me, especially since it lacked a video or pictures to help the process, but I found it very manageable to make.  Still, adding flour "until the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl" seemed subjective to me.  I was a bit unsure how much they meant.  Also, I flattened them a bit before baking as the recipe called for, but a bit too much it appeared as the buns came out of the oven flatter than I wanted.  Still, a promising recipe that I will try again soon with some modifications and hopefully improve my technique.  

Sometimes making a recipe for the first time doesn't come out perfect, but the experience will hopefully ensure a better result each consecutive time it's made.  I still enjoy the journey.

January This-And-Thats

Well, time to break the seal with the first new post of 2025.  The holidays have come and gone, and we've settled back into daily life here.  I don't have any big news or anything like that, and I haven't done one of these posts in a while, so time to start typing and see what spills out onto the page.

• 
  I've been baking quite a bit again recently, though still only on the weekends.  Most recently I made cinnamon rolls again, though this recipe is a bit of a cheat as I used the frozen bread dough.  Still, they turned out very well and were a nice, sweet treat with whipped cream cheese frosting.  I also made another batch of flatbread yesterday, and for the first time in a while I made the classic baguette recipe that I used to make all the time.  Also yesterday, I tried a new whole wheat baguette recipe that I modified a bit from a ToYoube video.  While it tastes good, I did not get the rise from them that I should have so wound up with skinny baguettes.  I believe the water was too warm, though I waited for it to cool some it evidently was not long enough and likely killed some of the yeast.  I should know better by now, but I'll make a few tweaks and try this recipe again soon.
• 
  We had Kate's van in for new tires last week, so another hefty bill.  Thankfully the brakes are still good for some time so we didn't have those done.  Now, my light just came on in my car so I'll have to get it in for an oil change soon.  Always something...
• Sometime during the last week the last of the pumpkins on the stump were fully consumed.  Though we've had cold, we've not had a whole lot of snow here yet (*knock wood) so they haven't been buried much.  I'm fine with not much snow, but come spring we'll miss the water if we continue like this.  I sometimes feel bad for putting our veg compost in the bin rather than leaving it out for the critters, but we do not need to attract more animals to our yard.
• 
  The latest project update for our street reconstruction just tells us that trees will be planted in spring, and they still plan on going ahead with the bike/pedestrian bridge over the creek, scheduled for summer this year.  I still believe it is a waste of our taxpayer dollars as there is a bridge 2 blocks north and 2 blocks south of the site.  This current city administration has plowed ahead with unpopular projects and I highly doubt will win re-election.  But I still can't fathom how our voters approved the city to raise our property taxes above state-mandated limits - and with no end date!
• Last month we replaced the suet feeder with a double suet feeder for winter, though we seem to get less birds now.  Perhaps they migrated or just have different habits for winter.  But we have been getting more woodpeckers visiting, which is kind of neat.  I'd also consider a hummingbird feeder next spring as I know they're around and nice to watch.
• 
  I bought my wife a birthday present recently, for a week from today.  I couldn't get it through Amazin' because she would see the notifications, so I went through another popular online retailer.  It was pretty expensive and the box is oddly shaped, so I never figured it would be delivered in its original box, but it was.  And my wife retrieved it, when delivered, so she knows what it is now.  But she said she didn't look closely and does not want it early.  She expects it on her birthday, and wrapped, so that's what she'll get.  I was kind of proud of the gift and I hope she truly likes it.  Maybe I'll share what it is after next week.
• Playoff football is upon us.  Ohio State and Notre Dame will battle next week for the college championship, and the NFL playoffs began this week.  My beloved Packers will be playing the Eagles this afternoon and I'll be watching the game closely and cheering on my team.  Go Packers!
• The day after my wife's birthday is inauguration day.  He's already distracting from false promises he made while campaigning ($2 gas, cheaper groceries, no taxes on overtime, etc.), the things that made many people vote for him.  Why they think these rich, white men care about them is beyond me.  Oh, well, what's done is done.  The circus is about to begin.

I started typing this morning and my wife and I went out for a bit this afternoon.  A rare weekend day that she didn't have to go over to her dad's.  She had the kitchen this morning for cooking otherwise I would probably be trying that whole wheat baguette again.  But I baked pretty much all day yesterday (though a lot was rise time), and was pretty tired last night so good to take today off.

Have a great week, everyone.

Baking/Cooking Weekend

Two batches of baguettes yesterday.

Flatbread made today.

A fresh batch of pizza sauce made.

And not made today, but homemade pizza dough fresh from the freezer to thaw and rise for dinner.

What did you do this weekend?

Street Reconstruction Part 17 & More

Yesterday they installed two No Parking signs near the top of our street and the next one over.  Today they installed more down both streets, but spaced further apart.  There is a sign two houses up and two houses down from us, which makes me happy we don't have one on our terrace to mow around.  So rather than take a picture of one of the signs in front of a neighbor's house, here is a stock photo of what they look like.

I'm thinking all that is left is for the extra poles to be removed and trees planted in spring, but they may surprise me with something I didn't think of again.  Happily, it appears people are heeding the signs and only parking on the other side since I'm not sure how many neighbors looked into the work to be done as I did and knew about this change.  And while I'm happy parking is on the other side, that means I'll have to back out a bit more carefully on this narrower street since we're pretty much guaranteed to have a car across the street now, and it may be my wife's at times.

When I got home from my Mom's on Thanksgiving Day I caught this fat squirrel eating from the frozen pumpkins on the stoop, picture taken from the car.  Well, they lasted out front for about a month and a half, through Halloween and Thanksgiving, so it was time to put them in back and let them decompose or be eaten.  

I've had trouble with my display driver on this computer so haven't used the trail cams lately as reviewing all that video does bad things, but you can still see the squirrels eat up our pumpkin from a couple years ago here.  Question:  Does anyone know if you can download a new display driver?  I haven't found anything when I looked, so I fear I may need to get a new computer to fix the issue.  And yes, the driver is fully updated.

I placed the pumpkins on the rotting stump in back, near the frozen bird bath.  (We've been below the freezing point for several days now, though we might manage to get just above tomorrow so we can get some rain that can then freeze for us.  Wonderful.)  Whatever the squirrels leave of the pumpkins can help nourish the wildflower seeds we plan to spread on the stump again next year.

After the break is just some recent baking, if interested.

Happy Thanksgiving Weekend 2024

Happy Thanksgiving weekend, everyone.  A much needed 4 days off from work here.

I wasn't feeling the best yesterday, but I traveled down to my Mom's house.  I wasn't sure if I was getting sick or not so I wore a mask the whole time and cut my visit short, leaving shortly after my sister and nephew got there early afternoon.  

My wife made a traditional Thanksgiving spread with a large turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce and dinner rolls.  Kate then took some to her dad, but they wound up going to their family gathering.  She's been his caretaker for many years now, and he just gets more difficult as he gets older.  Anyway, there's plenty of leftovers for us to eat, plus she'll make up some freezer meals for her dad.

There's a dusting of snow on the ground and it will be cold, but there are some outside chores I could do.  And we'll see if I have a fire pit tonight or tomorrow, but otherwise the time will be spent inside.  There's a lot of football on the next few days, but otherwise I have some inside chores to do, maybe some baking, and lots of relaxing.  Cheers!