You ever have one of those days?
Hardly any sun at all this morning, which means I shouldn’t even be typing this. I’ve been wanting to go to town for some time, and this would have been a perfect day for it but my one chance for a ride turned me down because they’re going on to the bigger town about fifty miles away.
Spend an hour digging in the mud before breakfast. Having finished setting the Lair’s end of the new conduit, and since the cables within are going in two different directions, I need to plug the end of the conduit with expanding foam before burying it. I’ve been hoarding one can of foam for just such an occasion. Pry off the wrapping, and discover that an essential part of the nozzle is missing. How that happened, I don’t know.
Bother. Well, let’s eat breakfast. Open breadbox, learn that my last half-loaf has gone to mold with startling swiftness. I can’t make more, because I’m completely out of yeast. Yeast was the main reason I wanted to go to town.
Grrr. Okay, oatmeal it is. At least I’ve got lots of that. Yar, but I used up the last brown sugar in the bag. That’s okay, I’ve got another whole bag back here…alllll the way back here in the corner cabinet…and yeah, it’s there, but it has dried to brown sugar-flavored concrete. Well, chip off a few chunks and put it in the oatmeal.
Laundry. Fill the sink and get some dirty clothes wet. Remember I’m out of soap because the big bucket full of it is at Landlady’s barn. Doesn’t matter anyway, there’s not a scrap of sunshine and it’ll probably rain before noon. But now there’s a sink full of dirty, wet laundry. AARGH.
I wanted to hang a sheet of OSB on the inside of the powershed framing, so I’d have something substantial to bolt the inverter and charge controller to now that the cable’s laid. All the OSB is in Landlady’s barn. Get ready for Jeep ride. Reach down to put Little Bear’s leash on, and notice that Little Bear has been cowering into a smaller and smaller ball in the corner as the mismanaged morning progresses.
(I suppose I had been stomping around just a bit, perhaps uttering expressions such as “oh, bother,” and “well, for heaven’s sake.” in a low, pleasant voice.)
Little Bear doesn’t like it when Daddy’s angry. Little Bear is also far too stupid to realize that although Daddy isn’t mad at Little Bear, a sudden show of fear-induced obstinacy at a bad time is the best possible way on the planet to GET Daddy mad at Little Bear.
Fortunately I am -just barely – that smart, and was – just barely – sufficiently under control to keep from taking my frustrations out on him though he does make it a temptation at times. He’d just pee on the floor. Peeing on my floor is not a good way to make things up with Daddy, but I suppose it’s instinctual behavior or something.
Load up the dogs, hitch up the trailer, drive to Landlady’s barn. Move a shitload of heavy stuff off the shelf where it sits on top of the OSB sheets. Load a heavy sheet into the trailer. Drive home. Drag heavy sheet out of trailer, across yard, into powershed, and only then remember that the interior of the powershed isn’t eight feet high and I have nothing, nothing at all I can cut it with. Since the last one burned up there’s not a circular saw among the three of us. In fact with the proceeds from an earlier gig I just ordered a new one from Amazon but don’t expect it this week let alone today.
YEEAAARGH. Well, it was probably a waste of good sheathing anyway. Get BACK in the Jeep, drive BACK to the barn, load up some OSB scraps. Drive BACK to the Lair. Unload trailer again.
It starts raining at precisely 11:32 AM.
Kick dog.
Sounds like a really good time for a book. Errr…if your pooter has enough power.
Once you do get to the store start a sour dough sponge. You don’t need more than a little yeast as those little critters occour in the wild and just need a good home and a little care to keep them happy. A little store bought yeast is great for getting them growing and it’s safe as the sourdough kills off the bad bugs/germs. Most bad germs hate a sour/acidic enviroment. How can you be a proper hermit, Joel living out in the desert with out a little sourdough?
The internet has all kinds of great recipes for starting a sourdough sponge. Plus how to make everything from bread to pancakes with sourdough. When you do buy yeast get the bigger 1-3 pound size instead of those little packets and then store it in your frezer and it will be good for up to 5 years at least.
Yeah, I know. I’ve tried my hand at sourdough, but haven’t learned the knack of keeping it alive or baking with it. I was thinking yesterday that I look a damned fool for not having sourdough along.
As for how to buy yeast in quantity, that I do know but I’ve been bad lately and now I’m paying the price. That, at least, will be corrected shortly.
If you post a mailing address, I’ll send you a one pound brick of instant yeast. Pour a month’s worth into a small canning jar (with a proper lid) and keep in a refrigerator. Pour the rest of it into another jar and put that into the freezer. Then refill your refrigerator jar as it gets empty. The yeast will last a lot longer that way and you won’t keep opening the freezer, exposing the whole mess to air and heat.
Don’t buy anything larger than one pound, however. You probably don’t make any more bread than I do (two loaves a week) and it takes me 4 or 5 months to use a pound of yeast.
And I’ll still send you (or anyone) my bread book, complete with sourdough recipes, if I can get an email address… Or I could print it off and send it with the yeast. 🙂
ML,
You’ve made this offer before and I keep neglecting to respond. Could you send me an email at johndwitt2003(at)yahoo(dot)com? Promise I’ll get right back to you.
Sent just now! 🙂