Halloween 2023 and First Snow

Happy post-Halloween, everyone.  It was mostly a quiet night around here, so thankfully I got only about a third of the candy we had last year.  We got just 9 trick-or-treaters this year, but were only one of 3 houses on the block that I noticed had their lights on.  The last two kids were growing mustaches and it was pretty cold so I shut it down about 7:00.  It barely got above freezing yesterday with occasional light snow flurries off and on all day for our first snow of the year, though it didn't stick.  

I carved a pumpkin again to display on the front steps last night, and today it is on the stump in back waiting to be ravaged by the squirrels and rabbits.  I have the trail camera aimed in that direction but I got a pretty good video of it getting eaten bit by bit last year.  The mummy in the windows was showing wear on the fold seams, and I was getting tired of it so this was the last year for that.  I also pulled out the mask with the moving mouth LED lights to wear again but that wasn't working right so is also in the trash now.

We had a good run, but I'm not sure I'll do so much next year.  It doesn't seem worth it for just a handful of kids so maybe just candy next year, and maybe the flickering flame light bulb again, too, since I have it just for this holiday.  Hope you had fun if you chose to celebrate.

More Sidewalk Wisdom

 From today's walk, same place as last post.  It rained hard early today so this must be new.

And an interesting epitaph for this poor bloke, from a few blocks away.  Halloween's a-coming!

Good Timing

Saw this written on the sidewalk during a walk yesterday.  I needed the smile.

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!