August This-And-Thats

I know I've lamented my waning use of the firepit each of the last few years, but it continues as I've only had the two so far this year.  The mosquitoes haven't seemed as bad this year, but that may be because I've spent less time outside with less fire pits.  Allergies have been present, but have been less severe as last year.  Again, less outside time, maybe?  We've had some good stretches of windows-open weather, but more stretches of heat and/or humidity keeping the air conditioning on.

Summer was at its peak when I mentioned it here, and a week after that it showed.  That's not saying there's not some good summer left, just that I recognized the peak.  Atwoodfest has normally been when I've accepted the season is waning.  It certainly doesn't mean that summer is over, but it's time to just appreciate the warmer weather while we still have it.

We attended Eken Park Fest yesterday for an hour or two.  A nice, nearby neighborhood festival, but small, and it actually snuck up on us.  When we realized it was this weekend we chose in the spur of the moment to go there to find lunch.  We chose a local Mexican restauranteur, and it was very good.  That morning we had gone to a pottery place where you can choose from premade pottery to paint/glaze yourself.  You pay, they fire it, then call you in about a week to pick it up.  It can get expensive so we started small to try it out.  Kate wanted to get a bear as a gift for a friend and they only had a small teddy bear one that will have a magnet on the back.  I did a small gnome in some common colors.  I had visited once before with a group of clients for work, and it was interesting enough I told my wife about it, and so we wanted to try it ourselves.  I hope they turn out well and we like it enough to get more adventurous the next time.

Roofing supplies were delivered on Monday, off to the side of the driveway in back.  The roof was done eventually on Tuesday, due to morning rain.  They got started about 11:30 in the morning and wound up leaving at 7:00 that evening with all roofing and cleanup finished.  Gutters were completed two and three days later.  Currently they still need to pick up the pallet with leftover supplies, add a water deflector above the walk-in garage door, and clean up the line of caulk above the porch where it meets the house.  More later as there is more to come.

The sunflowers took some damage from the roof and gutter replacement, but came out of it pretty good overall.  Some leaves snapped at most, from what I've seen.  The tall sunflower on the left has about 10 flowers currently, though tough to see in this picture, and more buds coming.  These multiple flowers generally get smaller and smaller as they bloom.  And the one in the corner has several blooms as well, but also has reached 10 feet and 2 inches as of today.

I like the idea of pure mammoth seeds that grow tall and have a large flower, but only the one.  But the unknown cross-pollination with the multiple flowers is more enjoyable, and for a longer time.  I must get the seeds of the first flower of at least one of the two I mentioned last paragraph, preferably the taller one but I'll try for both.

I've been making a different recipe of baguette recently, and I'm really liking the crumb.  I think I left this last batch in the oven a bit long, but the quest for the perfect baguette is a never-ending process, after all.  I made pizza dough this morning.  I'd been wanting larger portions so today I made the same amount of dough that I used to make for four crusts into just three.  Thicker than thin crust with 50/50 00/AP flour should be a good combination, I think.  Anyway this baguette made as crostini was absolutely fabulous.

I had some vague ideas when I started to write this, but it was mostly stream of consciousness.  Basically one of my this-and-thats posts, unformatted as such.  Oh well, good enough for me.  Go Brewers!

A Hot, Smoky Mess

I don't remember getting smoked out when I was younger, but we've had our moments over the last several years of smoke from wildfires moving in and depleting our air quality.  That's what's happening again now.

I took this picture while driving on my way to work this morning.  Looks like just a haze or a fog, but actually there's not a cloud in the sky, it's all smoke from wildfires in Canada and Minnesota.  And it got worse as the day went on, getting officially to 'hazardous' levels.  But should clear up to 'unhealthy' or 'very unhealthy' tomorrow, though I expect it to fluctuate a lot until we get a system to move this out.  This story has been national news the last couple days as it stretches from here in the Midwest all the way to the more important populated northeast states.

Not much else has happened since I last posted.  I took a stupid fall in the basement on Saturday afternoon, bruising my whole left side.  I took Monday and Tuesday off work, and when I went into work on Wednesday I used my cane, which just freaked out management.  I wound up being sent home and forced to see a doctor to fill out their paperwork before I could go back.  I knew a doctor wouldn't be able to do anything for me, but I saw one anyway and got their paperwork filled out.  I have some minor restrictions until Monday, and I'm sure I'll be good to go by then.

Meanwhile, our temperatures have been hotter this week than when I complained a couple posts ago, but should break soon.  The lawn needs mowing, weeds need spraying, and paint needs to be looked at and used/saved.  But it's very likely nothing will be done until the weekend.

Hope all is well where you are.  Cheers.

Sunflower Update & RANT

I originally planted 30 sunflower seedlings around the yard.  This batch was 12 days from seeding to planting, though they could have been planted on day 11, maybe 10.   Then the critters got many, so I seeded 24 more in cardboard tubes.  I figured I would fill in around the yard with half and take the other half to work for the clients to enjoy.  On Sunday, after only 8 days (but the nights had been warmer) I planted 10 seedlings around the yard, reseeded two that did not come up, and had 12 others to take to work.

Seeding to seedling came sooner than I expected for this batch.  I was busy on Monday at work, but I would have time Tuesday morning to take some of our early-arriving clients out to plant before classes started, so I pushed it 2 days longer than the seedlings would have preferred.  They were all more than as tall as the tube already and flopping over, but I felt they were still viable.

Then this morning came.  Well, someone called in sick so I had to cover their job coaching duties that morning, and I had my own duties that afternoon.  My boss said I was the only one that could, though I am well aware there was at least one other that could have if they wanted.  I told her about the sunflowers and how they had to get in the ground that day, and it fell on deaf ears.

This was personal to me.  I had planned this all spring (and they knew that), used my own time and resources, and looked forward to sharing these with the clients all summer.

Never again.  Never again will I donate any extra time or resources for this job.

I like the work we do, I personally like most of the people I work with - including management, and of course the clients are (mostly) great.  But this truly may be the most poorly managed place I ever worked.

I don't talk about my work much here.  It's mostly like any other place, with cliques and favoritism and gossip.  Whiners, slackers and assholes are everywhere.  (If I had to put myself in one of those categories it would be the latter.)  I was hoping to ride this out, but I feel I should find something else soon.  The only real hesitation to resigning is health insurance for me and my wife.  Even a one month gap could cost us several hundreds to a thousand dollars to remain insured, and it would more likely be 2-3 months that we would have to cover.  Healthcare in America is tied to full time employment, is rapidly declining, and the insurance system that supports it is rigged only to make money.  (As I write this I requested prescription renewals a week ago Friday.  I received a response on Tuesday to allow 48 to 72 hours.  Here it is a week after that and I've not heard anything yet.)

Anyway, I came home to a tangled box of seedlings that should have been in the ground days ago.  I got them all in the ground around here, someplace or another, but I'm sure not all will make it.

Yes, I could have waited another day or two and planted them at work and hoped for the best.  I  could plant another batch and try again in just over a week, too.  But no - just, no.  They knew, and that time has now passed.  My time for them may have now passed, too.  Believe me, this is not my first complaint.

Thanks for making it to the end of my rant.  I even got a good one in on healthcare there.  This weekend I'll take stock of the sunflowers and report back how many are still alive and how many I think will make it to maturity.  Thanks for listening, take care.

Schuster's Farm

I had the opportunity at work today to visit Schuster's Farm, a family-friendly local attraction.  I've driven by it many times but have never been, and today another staff and I took 6 clients for a several hour visit.  I tried to snap pictures when I could, and while they were quite busy today it is a large area so I managed to get some pictures mostly without people in them.  I can take pictures of our clients for work, but once I transfer them to work I'm supposed to delete them from my phone.  There's rules about pictures, and there were several other groups like ours there, as well, so just being mindful.

I'm finding it hard to describe the place as I'd never been anywhere quite like it.  They have fields of flowers and pumpkins, and corn for mazes.  Several different farm animals to pet and even a bunch of parakeets.  Wagon rides, a haunted forest, and several different areas for kids to play and climb.  I didn't get pics of the other areas as I had to stay back with a couple clients while the more mobile ones explored.  Overall, lots for kids here though they sometimes have bands at night and do have a bar for the adults.

The day was mostly overcast with just a peek of sun here and there, while temperatures called for a light jacket or sweatshirt.  I found the day interesting and I believe all had a lot of fun, especially since we got to take them out to eat afterwards.  After the break are more pictures, if you're interested, and you can find more information on their website here.

Henry Vilas Zoo on Friday

I had the occasion for work to visit our local Henry Vilas Zoo again recently.  Not a group outing this time, just me and a client taking advantage of an opportunity to join another staff and client's outing for a few hours of strolling through the zoo on Friday morning.  

A beautiful day and very busy, as always, but if you can find parking it's a great way to fill time and spend zero money.  I was working so my full attention was on my client, but still I couldn't help but take a few quick pictures of some of the residents of our very nice local zoo.  It's easily taken for granted to have this in our city.  I didn't spend a lot of time getting every exhibit or even perfect shots, even though I managed to omit getting the many people, including many moms and lots of kids, in the pictures I did take.  Enough pictures I thought it would be good to share, so please enjoy.

There's a few of them, so after the break, of course.

Thai Pavilion at Olbrich

I had the occasion for work to be at Olbrich Gardens recently.  Our group was among a couple dozen people waiting for the doors to open promptly at 10:00 a.m.  The morning was overcast and windy, but warming so a light jacket was good for walking the garden's paths.  

It's early yet so only the early spring flowers were blooming, and still no leaves on the trees, but soon.  When it came in sight, shining through the trees, I steered our group over the bridge to see it.  Somehow, and taking random paths to find ourselves there, we were the first to cross the bridge over Starkweather Creek and approach the Thai Pavilion so, with no people in the way for the moment, I made time to take some pictures.

The pavilion is an impressive sight in person, very detailed and shiny.  The stone has a glare, but reads:  "This extraordinary Thai Sala, the only one of its kind in North America, was gifted to the University of Wisconsin-Madison and City of Madison by the Thai Chapter of the Wisconsin Alumni Association in 2001."

When I consider it more deeply I see the glaring affluence much more than the practicality, but it's one of only four outside of Thailand so another shiny object for Madison and the university to boast about.  Still, it is pretty spectacular and would look even better in the summer sunlight.  You can learn more about it here.

I was here last year but the pavilion was covered, closed and enclosed for renovations all season.  I thought I posted some pictures from that visit but I can't find that I did.  But you can see the the Bolz Conservatory at Olbrich in this post from 2018.

I'll put a few more pictures after the break, including a picture of the map for the curious.  I'm not sure I ever followed the map there, just wandered through, normally.

Cold Repair Work

It was -2ºF (-19ºC) when I got up this morning, and I believe we only got up to around 10ºF (-12ºC) this afternoon.  It was damn cold, the coldest of the season so far.  Still, this is Wisconsin; life went on as normal with no shutdowns or anything.  Just a lot of tongue-in-cheek complaining about the cold, but that's a winter past-time around here.  Thankfully we don't have any significant snow on the ground yet to go with it.  And we will get warmer again as there is a chance of rain on Saturday and Monday.

With snow being inevitable we had my wife's wheelchair van in the shop this week.  Her driver side back door would not open, so she always had to use the passenger side to load and unload, which would be an issue when that curb side has 2 feet of snow piled up.  It was an expensive fix at over $1700, the part alone was a grand of that, but it had to be done no matter the price.  Next up for her car is brakes and tires, so we'll have another hefty bill soon after the new year.

I've not talked about my new job here much at all.  It's been over a year now, and I still feel a bit unsure about it.  I'm not sure why, but I've always kind of fallen into my next job and wound up being really good at it.  This is so different than anything I've done I think I still just don't have a ton of confidence yet, though certainly more than when I started.  Back then my head was still spinning from the last job and I knew someone who worked here and I needed insurance as soon as possible, so I took it.  I could look at the negatives about the pay, hours and insurance (and maybe I do which is why I still feel unsure), but overall I am much happier than I was before.

I spend about half my time in-house and the other half out job-coaching various clients one-on-one.  When I'm in-house it's usually just playing and entertaining clients with varying degrees of personal cares to do throughout the day, depending what classes I'm scheduled in.  And job coaching varies depending on the client, but normally isn't very difficult.  I've been getting one of our most difficult clients to job coach often, but he usually listens to me well and I know how to guide him so by now I'd actually prefer to be with him.

But, before I'm tempted to type specifics I should move on.  Thank you for the recent question, BW.

Meanwhile, frozen or not, these pumpkins are getting eaten.  I think they will slowly disappear into the belly of the beasts out back well before spring.

Flatbread, Flowers And Hamish

We had gyros some time ago from a delivery restaurant.  I got the regular gyro meat and my wife hasn't cared for their chicken version so tried the veggie, which is just more of the gyro veggies in a pita.  Unsatisfied, she recently wanted to try to make homemade ground beef gyros (since we still have lots to use before we can order another side of beef) with a Greek seasoning.  She found a recipe and it turned out really better than expected.  That seasoning also seemed to work as a binder so the patties were able to be cut similar to regular gyro meat and made for a rather good meal. And we love tzatziki sauce!  The only downside was the store-bought pita bread, of which only one choice is ever available at the local grocery store, as it is way too dry and bland.

So, for the leftovers I tried a flat bread recipe that I had saved but not yet made.  In fact, I hadn't tried to make any kind of flatbread previously, but I found this so quick and simple, and yet so good.  Like my homemade baguette, pizza dough and cheese pennies, flatbread will now surely be a regular homemade food in this house, though I may experiment with other recipes/techniques, too.

Otherwise, I've just been so tired this week.  I don't want to discuss my job here, but I've been doing it now for over 8 months without taking any time off for myself, only a few sick days when I've been unable to work.  I have a couple days off soon here which will hopefully recharge me until my week off in September.  After that I'll have to see what little time off I have left for the rest of the year and plan accordingly.  That's all I want to say about that for now, since I'm in a rather crispy state of mind at the moment.

Anyway, the tiger lilies by the porch are mostly waning, but for each end which are a different type and will continue flowering for a bit.  The tree stump area is doing pretty well with some of the wildflowers on the old stump starting to do what they do.  The day lilies are big and strong and many smaller plants are maintaining, at the least.  The newly planted bushes seem to be doing okay but not really taking off yet, but hopefully by next year.

The two sunflowers by the back corner of the garage are still doing their thing and growing tall.  About a week ago the remaining stalks of the peony next to it were bitten off by a critter, which is unusual for peony but wouldn't be for the sunflowers next to it at that stage so thankfully keeping that cage has kept them going.  That peony may not even come back next year as the lily of the valley has mostly strangled its roots, it seems.

And lastly for today, I've not posted any cat pictures in a while and I really ought to more.  After the break is Hamish, tonight, waiting on the back of the chair for me to come into the computer room and type this.

Yard Updates

Happy belated summer solstice, everyone.  Hard to believe the days start getting shorter already.  I took some pictures out in the yard last night and everything looks exactly the same today, the weather as well.  We've been stuck under a stationary front for days now that's been giving us sporadic rains every day, sometimes very heavy.  Last spring was super dry and it's certainly opposite this year, but good for fungus and toads (and mosquitoes) as we've seen both in the yard.  The toads are harder to get a picture of as I'm busy doing the strimming before mowing when I see them.  Oh well, on with the updates.

I finally got the back steps sealed last weekend, before this front came over us.  The "transparent" sealer does look good when freshly done.  I hope the color sticks better the more I reseal every year.  Tiger lilies are blooming and the alium are going to seed.

The two sunflowers are still doing well.  They've almost outgrown the cage but I'm not going to remove it until I have to or they get much bigger.  I also added a stake in the ground to the left, in case support is needed later this summer.

And all sorts of things are growing in the tree stump area, some unknown wildflowers seem to be doing well but no blooms yet.  I moved the solar lights to this area from the back, but not sure it will make a difference.  I'm noticing these six turn on much earlier than sunset, so don't have much battery left after dark.  I believe they are on in this picture.  I don't think I can do anything to fix that.

It's a good time of year, just too wet recently for firepits.  Otherwise, life goes on as usual, so no news is good news, I guess.  Work is good, and there is so much less stress in this job.  I baked more baguette this morning and prepared two rolls of cheese pennies this afternoon, so I'm still baking but just the same things over and over for now.  And less than a month until street reconstruction starts.  Yay.

I do have to call and cancel cable internet sometime this week.  Wish me luck.

Fire Pit Visitors and Zoo

Shortly after starting the fire on Friday night I had two interesting visitors, as a welcome distraction.  A Brown-headed Cowbird couple came by, he to keep watch while she foraged along the flowerbed, not many feet away from me and the fire.  A good start to the weekend.

I visited my Mom again on Saturday, and we've kept busy today with a brunch downtown with friends and getting some more plants to cover the bare ground patches still along the fence and between the new bushes.  New batteries installed for new solar lights that came with bad batteries, and more spikes installed on the fence to discourage squirrel damage.  Four on top of the fence in strategic areas and now four on the cross bar beneath them as they would just go around the spikes on top otherwise, I hope this helps.

I got the opportunity to visit our zoo for work last week.  It had been several years since I last visited, one of those things that are so close and easy to do yet neglected, taken for granted.  It's still an animal jail but they do continue to make improvements to their habitats.  Two of us had several clients to keep an eye on and wheelchairs to push, but I still managed to take several pictures, I'll put some after the break.

Final Fence Prep

The last thing to do before having the fence installed was to move the firewood, and we dumped it to the ground this afternoon.

We put down a tarp with cardboard on top of it to try and prevent any of it tearing up the soft sod, and we just pushed it over.  It fell neater than I expected, so it was just a matter of moving the rack and bringing up the ends of the tarp where we could and covering the whole thing with other tarps, using some logs to hold it all in place.  Then just a quick rake of the lot line and we appear to be ready for the fence installation (tomorrow, as noted in the comments of the last post).  The rain should be mostly over for today, but we may get a little more overnight then a better day tomorrow for the installation, though I expect it to still be pretty muddy.

Now, my back has been an issue for the last few weeks, and this prep for the new fence hasn't helped any.  I don't have much time off at my new job but I'd like to be here when the fence is installed, so I think I will call in tomorrow for my back so I can be here to oversee and answer any questions they may have - and I do remember they had several questions when they did the back fence a few years ago.  It may be stretching the truth just a little bit to call in, but it's not a complete lie and I will feel much better being here to supervise everything.

Google calendar just now reminded me that tomorrow is my 15th blogday, too.  I'm hoping for a smooth fence installation and a better back for my blogday, please!

Fence Delay

It started snowing by 2:00 this afternoon, a heavy, wet, accumulating snow.  It's due to snow through tomorrow and into Thursday morning, per the forecast.

I called the fence place this afternoon to see if they still planned on putting in the fence tomorrow.  I told them I wanted to be there for it and didn't want to take a day off work unnecessarily, so I wanted to know today.  My ultimate response was that they normally look at the weather in the morning before making that decision, but understanding that I wanted to be there and the probability that it would be put off anyway, they rescheduled the installation for Thursday.  Temperatures will hover around or just above freezing so I don't expect too much snow on the ground, but it will certainly be muddy.  And might make the firewood dump more difficult, now tomorrow or maybe early on Thursday.

The drive home from work this afternoon was a bit tricky and slow as the roads were covered and slippery while traffic was ramping up to rush hour.  But work has been going well and I'm becoming more comfortable with my role and responsibilities.  Not unpleasant at all, but still feels just very different for me.

Winter Freakin' Wonderland

Well, winter finally caught up to us.  We got about 8 inches of snow on Tuesday and about 2-3 inches overnight last night.  There has been a white blanket on everything - and every branch of every tree and bush.  To many, it looks pretty as a postcard no matter where you look.  But enough is enough.

Tomorrow is due to snow all day long for a total of 8-13 more inches.  Local school districts already announced closures or virtual-only classes, just like they did on Monday afternoon.  My work goes by the Madison school district, so we will have our second snow day this week tomorrow.  It's nice to at least have the time off to deal with all that snow and not worry about driving anywhere (even the state police are saying to stay off the roads tomorrow), but we either have to use a vacation day or take it unpaid.  As I'm starting over in a new job I don't have much vacation time so I'm taking these days unpaid.

Then, to top it all off, on Sunday we begin a stretch of very cold temperatures with highs Sunday and Monday right around 0ºF (about -18ºC) and staying in the single digits for at least a week.  

Sure, we've seen these kinds of snows and temperatures before, but that doesn't make it any easier.  I'll try to post another pic on Saturday.  My guess is the fire pit and outlines of anything else in the back yard will be pretty much totally obscured.  I should have brought in the gnome and solar lights last weekend.  Oh well...

For Tuesday's snow day I made homemade cinnamon rolls.

New Job

If you know me then you'll know I've not been happy with my job in a pretty long time.  New management came in after the beginning of the pandemic and there were many changes, not all for the better but square pegs were pounded into round holes anyway.  It wasn't the best employer to begin with (rated low on all job sites I've seen), and I had a hard time playing along with the new, ruthless management style.  I wasn't the only one; I watched as others in our department retired, found new jobs, got fired, or just rolled over and fumed in silence.

I got myself in trouble standing up to management in late 2022, which basically put me back on probation for a year.  I looked for another job on and off, but was unwilling to give up the benefits I earned over several years to start all over somewhere else.  But on October 16 that decision was made for me.  Rather than allow me to come off that probation, I was fired.  It was my own fault for staying too long when I could not get along with the management.

My health insurance would run through the end of that month, then my wife and I would be without (she is considered part time as she works less than 40 hours to allow her days to take care of her dad, so is not offered health insurance).  Since health insurance is very important in this country and is tied to employment, I needed a job ASAP.  I knew some people who needed help where they worked, so the day after I got fired I went there to apply and wound up getting the job.  I started work on November 1, but it would be at least a month until my new insurance started so I got an expensive policy through the government's marketplace (Obamacare).  Thankfully I was eligible for my new insurance to start on December 1 so only had to pay for one month of that expensive policy.  And while there were several issues with the new insurance they all got straightened out as of yesterday, so that is finally settled.

Meanwhile, I was working a new job unlike anything I had ever done before.  I'm not going to say where it is, I'll just say it is basically a daycare for adults with developmental disabilities.  I spend a lot of time playing as you would with kids, and also taking some to their jobs and coaching them throughout the week.  Overall, it's pretty easy and I'm growing to like it more and more, but it doesn't pay the best.  Still, I'm so much happier not working where I was, so it has advantages and disadvantages.

And nothing says I have to keep this job forever, but for now I will continue and see where this path leads me in the new year.

Cuts Like A...

I managed to bake two types of bread on Sunday morning, classic baguettes (left) and simple French bread (right).  Thankfully I was able to keep everything straight as, of course, the timing of the steps for each are different.  I think both turned out well but for the French bread getting maybe a bit overdone.  And while the demi baguette size is handy it is more of a pain to make.  I've tried making them from smaller cuts of dough and regular size cut in half, as here.  I think I may just stick to making the full size 15-inch baguettes going forward.

The last thing I really need to figure out is the cuts.

I started with various sharp knives that we have, settling on the serrated bread knife.  It does give some good cuts most of the time, though I don't really get an 'ear' on the cuts during baking.  It's also a pretty big knife for a small job and I wanted something better.

Eventually I bought a UFO lame - which is one of the most dangerous things I think I've ever had in my kitchen.  Two round pieces of wood that screw together with a razor blade between them.  One slip when tightening and your finger would go right into the blade, or if a corner of the blade is left peeking out, or if it loosens and the blade moves outside the wood - all of these can spell bloody disaster.  I tried it anyway but it seemed to grab the dough much more than the knife, resulting in ugly and ineffective cuts.

Recently I picked up a baker's lame, which has a curved razor blade that is supposed to help in creating that 'ear' on the cuts, those raised ridges on either side.  Similar to the UFO lame, I found it grabbed the dough more than the serrated knife and also resulted in ugly, ineffective cuts.

My wife says I'm too hard on myself, the cuts don't affect how the bread tastes, after all.  But I know it can be done so I will keep trying.  I do know that it should be sharp, quick cuts, so maybe I hesitate because I'm expecting it to grab.  I think next time when it's still early in the process I will practice my slices on raw dough.

In other news, we went from high temperatures in the 80's to highs in the 50's within a week, with a frost warning last night and tonight.  Autumn is definitely upon us.  Yard work beckons but this weekend will be cold and wet, and there still should be plenty of time yet.  I did mow again today, so now I think I've mowed the whole yard 5 times and only the back yard twice this year.  I'm losing track, not that it matters.  I just find it notable for how few times it's had to be done this year.

I'm planning on going down to my Mom's on Saturday in time for the Badger game that afternoon, then coming back Sunday to relax and fix the refrigerator.  I'll talk more about the refrigerator later as I'm planning on posting about it.

My work situation has not improved, but I just deleted the rant I wrote to spare you.  Suffice it to say I am not a happy camper, but you knew that.  So on that note, I guess that's enough writing for now.  I hope everyone is doing well!

It's Been Awhile...

It's been awhile since I've written much of anything online since I last posted here.  It was nothing I planned but just turned into a bit of a break, anyway.  Since then, I've had a vacation and a birthday, and, well, life just continues to happen whether we write about it or not.  Nothing bad, mind you, but I did want to break the seal and catch up with writing this weekend.  But now the weekend is almost over and truthfully I don't feel like much like writing much at the moment.

The Packers just won with a fourth quarter comeback, and you can probably tell from the picture that I was much more attentive to the game than Hamish.

My wife and I both did some baking today, and often my Mom and I text during the games so I was sending her pictures as I made baguettes.  They turned out pretty good though I've been experimenting with my technique, so I may share that here soon.  Otherwise, back to the grind in the morning and fiscal year is just a week away so the headaches are coming.  

We did go out for a fancy dinner with friends Terry and Becky last night.  The parking lot was between the restaurant and the lake, so we parked right up to the lake and I got pictures of when we arrived and when we left that we found interesting, if not quite level.  I'll put those after the break.  Cheers, everyone.

Exhausted Sunflower*

The sunflower looks exhausted.  This holiday weekend is the second heatwave since it was at peak bloom, here, and still not much for rain chances in the extended forecast.

I haven't mowed the front in a month, since August 4, but I have mowed the back since then, on the 17th.  There is still green in the lawn, though starting to tend brown in areas.

Otherwise, I worked a 12 hour day on Thursday to get some mandated overtime hours in so I didn't have to work on Saturday, only to have overtime canceled on Friday.  I still hate my job - my employer, to be accurate.  But, it is what it is for now.

I made baguette yesterday but inadvertently preheated the wrong oven, top instead of bottom, so it didn't turn out quite the same due to the missing steam.  Instead of 3 baguettes I made 6 demi baguettes to give some away, but we'll keep these.  They're still real good and I'll give it another go tomorrow morning.  It's hard to keep them short, and short enough for two per row on the tray, so the practice will be good for me.

Happy Labor Day weekend, everyone.

Weather, Baking and Work

Today's weather report is seasonable temperatures and mostly cloudy, still long pants and jacket weather.  On Sunday we had very light snow flurries at times, still.  But the plants know what time of year it is and are coming in well.  I've even seen signs of mowing around town the last couple days.  Our lawn is getting green but always begins getting longest around the edges, so I will be strimming before mowing, but not until the weekend, maybe.

I've been baking baguette lots, even took some down to my Mom the other day along with some jam swirl bread that I made with orange marmalade this time.  I'll be making more baguette this weekend, almost a weekly thing now, but I ordered some diastatic malt powder to try adding this time.  It's supposed to help the rise, crust and flavor.  If you've baked with it let me know what you thought!  I'm hoping to keep improving and I hope this helps.

Here are our red tulips, flowering amidst tiger lilies in front and alium in back, both coming in nicely.  I took yesterday and today off to get away from work.  Things have not been going well and I have been looking at other jobs.  I just hate to have to start over somewhere else but I can't see staying where I am, either.  Not sure what will happen, only time will tell.

Have a good week, everyone.

Cold, Cold Nights.. Again

Temperatures are about the same as around 1 year ago when I posted this originally, but more snow and icicles now.  At least the sun is out, but that's part of the reason we're so cold.  Anyway, this seemed appropriate to post again today. 

I took the rest of the day off today due to headache/mental health.  My counterpart at work has driven me nuts for years now, and after all this time I still just don't know what the hell they're thinking or why they do what they do much of the time.  Sometimes I just have to excuse myself from their company.  Despite the weather, I think I'll bundle up and go out for lunch today, and I may have a few drinks, too.

Last Tiger Lily, Ramp Project

I did this last year, too, but I'd been watching the last tiger lily to see if it would open, and happily it did.  There are plenty of fall-blooming flowers but tiger lilies aren't really one of them.  Still, this last, little lily was able to complete its lifespan before the inevitable.  

Today is cool, windy and it rained a little this afternoon, thus all the leaves that have freshly fallen.  Cool and wet enough after work that I took my half-hour after-work walk on the treadmill for the first time.  I started at 1.6 mph, quickly going up to 1.8 and by the time I was done, 2 mph.  Still a little awkward, but I think that will get better the more I do it.

I talked to neighbor Jane, and she says she was told they probably won't remove the stump until this time next year, so she found it odd they marked the utilities already.  But it is municipal work, meaning they keep their crews busy.  Whether it's leaf pickup, yard waste pickup, tree trimming, plowing snow or whatever else they have to do, if there's not one task to keep them busy enough then they move on to the next, and weather decides a lot.  It doesn't really matter to me how long it takes, I'm just watching the process.

My Mom moved closer recently, back to the town we lived in for my formative years.  A smaller place, one level, and less than half the drive I had before to see her in Iowa.  It sounds like she's been reconnecting with many old friends, relatives and acquaintances, so she's had lots of company already and moving day was just last week.  I was down there to see the place and help her with a few things last weekend, and there is still more to do.

I mentioned her new place is one level, and is pretty much zero entry but for a step down into the garage.  She's 75 so doesn't move around quite as she used to and asked me if I could build her a ramp.  I agreed, of course, so took a few measurements and I've been planning the build.  This week I'll have to get a few pieces of wood and some hardware, otherwise I have most of the wood and tools ready to go.  A miserable afternoon and my counterpart has been out so far this week so work has me a bit frazzled and so I haven't gotten everything I need yet, but surely before Friday so I can get started building that day or Saturday.  Best case scenario, I get it fully built on Saturday and delivered Sunday morning, but we'll see how it goes.  It's only 6 1/2 inches, but a ramp - with handrails - will make it so much easier and safer for her.  She'd asked me to do projects for her when I was much younger and I'd normally avoid it if I didn't know how to do it.  Now, I'm older, wiser, have a bitchin' set of tools and the internet.  I'm looking forward to building this for her and, of course, I'm sure I'll share it here.