it has been SO HARD to NOT talk on Mumday. Yikes. So, won't post till Tuesday, but must write now.
SUMMER PANIC/baking blather
1. Who turned on the "HOT" and "IT'S SUMMER" switches while I was away? Holy cow!
2. I now MUST buy the swimming pools for my hens, who can experience heat stress at 80-something degrees and it's already hitting 90. And it will def. get over 100s this summer, like every other summer.
3. I am NOT kidding re: kiddie pools. They LOVE to cool their feet in the cold water and drink it up. It's adorable. And then they stop standing with their wings held away from their bodies, and their beaks open. It's good. And, really, SO adorable.
4. I'm not ready!
5. My garden isn't started!
6. Farewell to spring (the flower, a.k.a. Clarkia spp.) is on OUR PROPERTY! Spring is OVER! =(
7. I need cooler clothes. Jeans are WAY too hot. And I never shop. Hm.
Anyhow, we didn't make it to Yosemite Valley Sunday.
Had some required chores 1st thing and by the time we would have left, it would have been Major Zoo, so skipped. I'm thinking I'll try to get there this week some time M-F so it'll be quiet. Might need to bring my swimsuit in case it's bakey.
I'm also thinking of taking up biking 'cause it generates a breeze and is different and fun, so maybe I'll see if I can get my bike a tune up (and new tire) and bike my buns around the valley.
Okay. So, I am now vowing to YOU to get the YARTS bus schedule so that I can take public transportation to the park this summer, also bringing my bike if possible. How cool would that be? And of course my camera for y'all =). And $$ for the world's largest iced tea.
Got (as in bought) my Healthy Bread in 5 Minutes a Day book (Hertzberg and Francois, St. Martin's Press) and I'm psyched to try it.
A wee bit warm for baking, but why not? Life's too short to adhere to seasonal styles if they don't suit you. =) Just so long as it doesn't mean you're taking the planet down with you (as in eating blueberries from another hemisphere...). Actually, talked with a friend re: you wanna bake bread when it's cold, but it rises better when it's warm. So, there ya go.
To show you that I am actually serious, here's what I bought today, and I'd not even HEARD of it until I read it in my new book yesterday. =) More yeast experiments coming up!
Okay, is it me, or does Bob's Red Mill rock hard, or what? They have the coolest stuff, sometimes fairly uncommon ingredients that I suspect would otherwise NOT be locally available to me in the sticks, so even we hillbillies can bake cool stuff. AWEsome.
And their Mighty Tasty Hot Cereal (which happens to be gluten free) is AMAZING. Honestly. YUM. (I assume you'd guess but this blog is SO not underwritten. Mostly powered by enthusiasm and chattiness.)
So, how's that for your random update?
=) bb
P.S. Are there any summer (or winter for you down southers) traditions you've already busted out for the season? What are they? Any you're looking forward to?
P.P.S. We may go to "the east side" this weekend (Mono Lake and vicinity). Hoping!! (that's a summer tradition I adore!)
I'm a bit glad that I don't have to partake anymore in the ritual of the swamp cooler rejuvination. Although, there's a certain amount of nostalgia that goes with the first big whoosh of wet aspen wood when you finally turn it on "for real."
ReplyDelete=) I bet you are.
ReplyDeleteSO TRUE re: the smell! I was SO hot when I 1st turned it on this year I soaked the whole thing (outside part) with my garden hose. So, aspen wood? How very interesting.
Cooled by clones.
I like it. Kind of futuristic. =) Thanks for the edification, CP.