Can you stand one more picture of sourdough? I only wish I had taken one after Dale and I tore it apart like animals. I’ll leave it to your imagination. Sort of like breaking bad only we’ll call it breaking bread.
Yes, I violated the bread rules and am I ever glad I did. When I make sourdough bread, I always let it cool for several hours, and then we either eat it with dinner or save it for toast the next morning.
My bread came out of the oven around noon, and it was a really beautiful loaf. My last one had issues, so this came as a pleasant surprise. Dale was hovering over it, raving about how good it looked and said he was trying to decide if he should cut into it.
Although it had only been cooling for about 20 minutes, I said, go ahead, have at it! So he sliced off an end, and we both tore that hunk apart with our hands. First we ate it plain, and then we tried it with a little butter and salt. The crust was perfectly crisp, and the bread was soft and warm and dare I say fluffy on the inside. Then there’s that tang of sourdough.
I’m glad I didn’t die without eating sourdough bread right out of the oven. And with the way things are going on the political front, this may become a regular thing. In times like this, we need more cowbell.
My birthday has come and gone. I’m officially 70 and damned glad I made it this far. We had company, and I got caught up in events, so I didn’t make the cake, but it’s on the docket for tomorrow.
As I previously explained, I usually make chocolate cake for Dale’s birthday in May and coconut for mine in September. This year I’m making one cake and going with chocolate because we both missed it. I like the idea of one cake for both birthdays. We seriously don’t need two cakes. I will cherish every piece.
I mentioned politics, but I’m trying hard not to dwell on it or let it defeat me. I’ve been talking about this for a long time, but I have finally stepped up to help out an organization that is fighting the good fight. I’m on the mailing list for our local Indivisible chapter, and they had a call for volunteers, so I sent them a note.
Looks like I will be joining their communications team. Even though comms is my professional background, they have writers and right now the co-chair needs back-office support, so I volunteered to help her out for starters. She and I are going to meet this weekend to see what she actually needs done and whether I can do it right out of the box or will need training.
I’m feeling quite positive about the whole thing. And I actually think this will be good for my other side hustle, which is being on the board of my golf league and becoming captain next year. Somehow, I feel there’s symmetry between the two. I’ve been retired eight years and have enjoyed having no real responsibilities, but there’s a part of me that still needs a little something.
Of course, I’m still a professional goof-off, but I like to think these two roles fill a gap in my retirement resume.
Dear Donna, I so look forward to your posts. Please continue writing as long as you can. You are an excellent writer and I share many of your sentiments.!
Thank you so much! I hope to be doing this for many years to come.
Ditto what Mary said!
Thanks!!
Hey Donna, Happy Belated Birthday! 🥳. Please post a pic of the chocolate cake when you bake it. It’s ok if you put candles on it too. I will be celebrating my 75th next month. I don’t know how that number could be possible but I’ll gratefully accept it. Good for you volunteering your services with the Indivisible group. Hubs joins a Zoom call with them on a regular basis. Sounds like you are feeling quite positive about your time commitment. I’m still feeling territorial over my free time. The news cycle is horrendous. I did have a big rant about Kimmel being shut down. But on the positive side, I enjoyed reflecting on all the amazing things that Robert Redford accomplished during his lifetime. He was incredible at using his platform to promote saving the environment and supporting people in the arts. What a man! Also found out his wife is an amazing artist who shared his vision. Keep enjoying the hot sourdough. Eating it warm is also a treat.
I was nervous about the time commitment but decided to go with it and start slow. We’ll see how it goes.
The news blows me away. But thank you for reminding me about good people like Robert Redford.
Happy birthday to you!
I admire your fortitude in letting it cool 20 minutes before digging in and am amazed that you’ve always let it cool for several hours before. The smell of bread out of the oven is intoxicating.
Good for you for volunteering for Indivisible. If we all do something, anything, we just may turn the tide. Ever hopeful.
I made the oatmeal cookies with your changes, and they were a huge hit. The orange zest and juice in the icing really elevated it. Thanks for sharing that recipe.
I’m such a rules follower. It says not to dig into the bread while it’s warm, so I didn’t. But damnn. Whatever the downside is, I’ll take it.
Great news about the cookies. We still have some in the freezer!
There could *never* be too many photos of freshly baked sourdough, and I so agree with you that I’m glad to still be on this earth to appreciate that simple pleasure. Even before I discovered sourdough, I used to buy a freshly baked loaf every few days, tuck it under my coat, walk across the bridge to my little shared apartment where I would then tear into it both unadorned and then laden with butter with my flatmate. It was a ritual I’ll never forget.
Your new “job” sounds excellent – I don’t doubt that you’ll both enjoy it and deliver them great value.
I love your bread story! Thank you so much for sharing it.
I’m looking forward to my volunteer role. At least I’ll be doing something for the good of our democracy. I never imagined anything like this could happen here.