Ungodly hour....

I don't know why I woke up at 4am this morning.
Yes, I have been wanting to get back onto an earlier schedule.  I like to be home before dark, and now that the time change has settled that happens a lot earlier.  I was out early yesterday to get the one job done, and I do have to go out today.  But it's not like I went to bed last night with the aim of rising before the sun.  There's no alarm set, no definite aim for the day....
I'm in an odd sense of suspension in limbo.  I want to do something, and there's plenty to be done, but it's 5:45am and the rest of the household is asleep.  Sitting here, in the dark with the space heater whirring away in the background, Jethro sleeping on my lap, the 3 dogs sleeping on the bed, and not a sound from the rest of the house, it seems like bad karma to significantly alter the peace of the moment.

But I needed a second cup of coffee...
Luckily, disturbance of the peace was limited to Jethro and Luna, and Luna's disturbed anyway so she doesn't count.  Jethro, however, really didn't want to get down.  We had a moment of anti-physics cat.  You know, that moment when you're trying to get the cat off your lap and it's clinging to you with every molecule of being, and it suddenly becomes this giant, bendable, slippery magnet?
That was Jethro.  But he's already forgiven me and resumed his position on my lap.
Usually, my second cup of coffee triggers the feeding frenzy.  I have a deal with the animals.  I drink my first cup in peace and they get fed before my second cup.  Most mornings they're all ready to spring the moment I move.  I guess it's a little too early for food.  Even for Dusty.
A few days back, I got absent minded.  Got up, went  to the kitchen, made my second cup of coffee, turned around and had the 3 dogs and 4 of the cats in the kitchen looking at me like 'what the hell?!'
Had a Keystone Cops moment with Dusty the other day...
K had the horses out grazing in the front yard.  I don't let the dogs out loose when the horses are out, Dusty's too much of a pest and there's too much potential for negative occurrence. So they stay in the house when the horses are out.  But the other day I decided to turn the dogs out into the empty pasture and let them run unsupervised.  It seemed like a good idea.
The horse pasture has an electric line running inside the fence, top and bottom, to keep the horses from pushing on the fence.  It's not much of a current, but it is enough to get your attention.
I let 'em loose and waited to see what they were going to do.  Everybody went in different directions, exploring.  Doeman got zapped by the fence and of course that scared him.  Then Dusty got zapped, right on the nose.  She yelped and jumped behind me, and there I am, turning to see if she's OK, and, like something out of an old movie, she's moving with me so I can't see her...
We need to get a good video camera out here.  Then maybe we can catch some of the moments that would make good America's Home Video fodder.  Like the time K, who HATES spiders, was walking up to the house, I forget what she was talking about at the moment, but she was walking along telling us something, and she went between the trucks and suddenly there's a blood curdling scream and she's jumping around, slapping at her hair and cursing about the spider web.
Or the time Doeman was standing behind Oz.  He sneezed and Oz levitated a good 2 feet off the floor.
Or when Jethro tried to jump up onto the back of the couch, overshot and landed on Dusty's head.

So here I sit.  Listening to the dog snore.  Watching light creep back into the world, thoughts bouncing in 50 directions at once. 

OK, I just spent an hour organizing my graphics files.
Now, we're burning daylight and I've gotta get moving and get some stuff done.  Maybe I'll come back to this later...

Wow, it's Monday....

Well, we'll see how this goes.  I'm gonna start this post and see if I can get it posted by 12pm.  I'm not taking any bets...
The rough start just got more interesting.  The big strom system that rolled through spawned several tornadoes.  We didn't get a twister here, but the winds were bad enough.  Ripped the billboard up the
 road right out of the ground..

        

And,

Further damaged the back wall of the barn.

And shifted it a good few inches on the foundation.

The barn has been on the to do list since we first looked at the place.  The barn was one of the big attractions for K & me when we first looked at the place.  When K told me about the place that first time over the phone all she had to do was mention the barn and I knew which place she was talking about.  For both of us that barn is a land mark of childhood.  When I was little we used to go fishing almost every other weekend at a farm pond out this way and that barn was a signal that we were getting close to pond on the way out and the halfway home on the way back.  There are at least a couple pictures of it on the net and we have people stopping by to take more from time to time.  This old barn has a lot of meaning.
If you've read much of this blog at all you know I'm an Atheist, and while I don't necessarily agree with the letter of the whole sentiment I do agree with the spirit, and admire the work that went into the expression.  Believe me, it took a lot of guts to get up there and paint that sign on the barn.  I do want to get the barn repainted.  I'm not gonna be the one painting it.  It's way too tall for my liking.
Unless we can get a bucket truck.  Then I'll think about it...
I should mention that we tried to get the star down to restring it, and found out that the big extension ladder won't reach high enough.
It's a very tall barn, and it needs some major work.  The back wall was falling off before the storm.  The storm cracked a beam and now the whole thing is that much closer to falling off.  We did what we could to stabilize it yesterday and we're checking into options.
And it's yet another worry.
But what would life be without worry?
On the plus side of the day, our lone squirrel has a little friend.  I'm fairly positive that this visitor is new.  It's a little smaller than the one that's been running around for the last few weeks.  They were playing in the front yard this morning.  The storm cleared most all the fallen leaves out of the front yard.  There was another fat, full, orange moon tonight.
So there's some good.

Well, that was a boggling little trip.  Went over to YouTube to find a song and Google tried to switch my log in.  That kinda pissed me off.  If I wanted to log in with Google I'd choose to.  I don't appreciate being hijacked, really didn't appreciate the lack of choice in the matter.  Had to log out and log back in with my old profile.  So, that irritation was with me when I settled on 'Eyes Wide Open'.
I was really irritated when the whole end of the post got dumped cuz Google insisted that I had to log back into Blogger cuz I refused to let them switch my YT log in.
Repeated the process of logging into YT and went looking for my song.  Over shot and found No Doubt's 'Running'.  I shoulda known better.  That song always reminds me of Steve,  So we went on a sorrow slide.
But the whole thing ended with...



And the roller coaster heads up a hill.
On this note, I really have to go to bed.  Tomorrow's gonna be a long day.
And this is why I never bet....

Trying something different….

We’re testing the theory.  I believe that consolidating resources is the way to go.  It’s better for 2 of us to combine into one household rather than keep paying double the bills.  We’re getting off to rough start.  There should have been 3 of us, but that wasn’t meant to be.

So, this is a little more expensive than I thought it would be.  I’ve still got a bunch of stuff at the other house.  I have no idea what to do with the house in Granite.  But I’m thinking on it, and all things happen in their time.

The new place is not the ideal, but it’s pretty dam good.  The biggest drawback is that there’s an interstate out the side door.

We’re not right next to it, but it’s close enough.  There’s constant noise pollution from the road.  We’re close enough to a major population center that there’s still a lot of light pollution, so star gazing’s not all it could be.  But there’s room for the horses and they have some shelter.  There’s room for the dogs to run.

They just have to learn to run in the right places.  Doeman and Dusty have a tendency to want to roam far and wide.  Dusty does better about coming when she's called, but, if she really doesn't want to come she pokes and gets distracted.  Doeman's always distracted.

They’ve only taken off on me once, so far.  Was out with them on a Sunday morning and Doeman & Dusty decided to take a powder.  All I could do was watch their furry butts take off down the farm road.

Luckily enough they were headed away from the highway. 

They came back a short time later.  We’ve kept similar instances limited in duration and range.  Surprisingly, at least to me, Luna is the one I don’t have to worry about.  She pretty much stays in the front yard and comes when she’s called

But she also knows that I will leave her furry little butt out there.  She doesn’t want to be out there alone, and she doesn’t count the other 2 as company.  She’s still chicken dog, so she sticks close and makes sure she’s with me when I open the door to come in.  Doeman and Dusty are getting better, over all.  This morning they were both in a mood.  So, they got put on a leash and brought in.  I think they'll figure it out sooner or later.
And some day there will be a second fenced pasture they can go hang out in.

You know, don't you, that this post is rambling over several days....
I started it on Wednesday and due to one thing and another wasn't able to finish so it's still hanging out here in limbo on Sunday morning.
The last couple of days have been busy.  I worked, cleaned, and goofed off in varying degrees the last couple of days.  Yesterday we had a bunch of people over, friends and family.  We Barbecued and the post holes for the front pasture got dug.

L & K were out marking the holes on Wednesday.
And yesterday they rented a post hole digger and dug the holes and placed most of the posts.  They haven't done the concrete yet, cuz it rained last night and everybody figured it was best to wait on the concrete.

The front pasture is a step closer to reality.  Right now we don't have enough fence for the whole thing.  But one of these days there will be a pasture right out the front door.

We're in the time of flocking birds out here.  They are flocking and picking over the empty fields.  Some mornings it's like something from Hitchcock out there.  But I've always liked watching the aerial maneuvers of large flocks.  So I don't mind the car getting bombed.  It washes off.
It's been a busy morning out my front window.  There's a big flock bathing in the puddle out on the road and dinning in the field next to the pasture.  Our one resident squirrel just put in an appearance.
And the resident hawk was in the tree right out front for a good length of time.  If I don't miss my guess we have a male kestrel hunting mice around the place and he's coming closer to the house cuz they are.  Still couldn't get a good look at color cuz the light was wrong, but he's definitely got spots, I could see that much when he landed.
I'm surprised that there aren't more squirrels out here.  We only have one running about the place, a large red, that travels quite a bit.  He's been out picking corn bits out of the fields and bringing them back to cover for snacking.  Dusty and Doeman get way too involved in trying to track him.
And now I'm just rambling cuz this post really had no focus to start with.
The grand experiment has begun.  It's not perfect.  Life is never perfect.  As Steve and I decided long ago, life's not perfect, it's cute.
And we have an abundance of cute and beauty here.

The view from my computer chair.

Riley is getting comfortable

Daisy, trying a new style.

 

Koda is a handsome gent.

The synchronized sleeping routine is not going well...

Well, that was rather freaksome.  Sitting here about to finish this post and I hear thunder, and the wind, which has been blowing since yesterday kicks up several notches.  I look up to see what looks like a dust cloud coming off the field and all of a sudden it's pouring rain and looking like Armageddon out there.  Storm rolls through and blows crap all over the place.  Then it rolls out and now we're bright and sunny again.

The wood pile has been there for a while, but all the rest of that stuff was up by the house.

That was a bed frame that was going to be a chicken coop.

The trailer was on the side of the garage....

We've got more branches down all over the place.
We might be setting records for more than just the highest temperature.  Living out here is a bit of an adventure, with something new everyday....

Baking bread...

I know it's kinda sad, but I'm excited cuz I think I'm closing in on the ideal bread recipe.  Last year I gave a loaf of homemade bread as Christmas presents.  I got the recipe out of the handy dandy Betty Crocker cookbook....

This has been the go to book in my kitchen for decades.  Unfortunately, this isn't my original copy of the book.  I bought the first copy way back in the 80's.  But somewhere along the line that copy grew legs.  I don't like this edition as much  I think it's an earlier printing.  It still has all the conversion charts and general information.  I just don't like the layout.  But if you're new to cooking this book is a very wise investment.  It's loaded with lots of basic food facts and general information.  If you're a seasoned cook, it's got lots of interesting recipes.  There's usually a couple of different editions of this book in the cooking section at the bookstore.  There's usually a larger format hardbound version and you could probably find that and the paperback editions at most used bookstores.
But I digress...
Back to the bread.
I wasn't happy with that recipe.  It had a good flavor, but all the batches were on the dry, crumbly side.  I'm ultimately looking for a recipe that can be the daily bread and that recipe didn't hold up to slicing as well as I'd like.  I've tried a few other recipes and none of them were quite right for my daily bread.  The recipe was too complex or the flavor wasn't all it could be or the texture wasn't right, etc.  I'm not asking for much, really.  All I want is a recipe that doesn't require gadgets, a cooking degree from the Sorbonne, or a whole day to make.  A bread with light fluffy texture, good taste, that stands up to slicing and toasting.
That's not really that much.
My Grandma made bread like that.  I should be able to do it.

We're gonna sidetrack to a related topic, here.  Cuz this is where a general style preference kicks in.
I don't do gadgets when cooking.
A. I can't afford them.
B. They take up too much space.
C. As I reaffirmed the last time I experimented with a food processor, the labor saving devise is time consuming.  With the time it takes to setup and then clean said gadget, I coulda done it much easier and quicker the old fashioned way.
The fanciest I get gadget wise is a hand mixer.  I learned how to bake from my Grandma.  She rarely used even a mixer.
And maybe it's just me, but I find that most of the gadgets are way more work than a good knife.  You pull it out of the drawer and it's ready to use.  You rinse and wipe whit a sponge and it's clean.  Learn how to handle a knife correctly and you'll wonder why you ever bothered with anything else, for the most part.
I do use a hand grinder for nuts and the like, and I have a little grater for shredding.
And with a nod towards reality, if you can't cook without the gadgets, you really can't cook.  Go out to your kitchen, pretend you have no power and make a loaf of bread.  If you can't do that, what are you gonna do when a storm knocks out the power?
Yes, the kitchen here is electric.
And we have a barbeque and a fire pit, not to mention fireplaces.  I've got a dutch oven, I could still make a loaf of bread.
And the other thing about me that you should know when it comes to cooking, I don't follow directions, not exactly.  For me, they are more guidelines.  For example, when I make chocolate chip cookies, there's none of this 2 bowl crap.  I ain't dirtying a second bowl just so I can mix the dry ingredients separate from the wet.  It all gets thrown in one bowl.  Just like Grandma used to do....

So I usually end up adapting recipes to my style.
This recipe I got off the web somewhere.  I'm not sure where.
And I adapted it a bit.
I made it the first time the other night to accompany K's awesome chorizo corn chowder.  For which I will get the recipe and post it here.  The stuff was almost addictive.

Excellent meal for a cold day.
I was rushing and the batch got split into a bunch of oddly shaped loaf /rolls.  But it couldn't have been too bad, cuz there wasn't much left when I finally thought to take a picture last night.

The consistency is a little on the dense side.  But it had a good flavor.  It sliced well, and it stood up to chunky peanut butter pretty well.  Everybody liked it and we already have a list of  variations and additions to try.





So I decided to give it another go.
 I've found the basic recipe:

4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 teaspoons yeast (Or one package)
1 1/2 cups hot tap water
1 egg
1/3 cup softened butter

And now it's time to pursue the perfect batch.
I gathered my supplies and equipment:

I set the oven and buttered my bowl.
I'm a butter believer.  I don't do margarine.  Colored plastic isn't my thing.
And I use a trick my Grandma taught me.  I save the wrappers from the butter and use them to grease all the things that I'm called on to grease.

Like the bowl that the dough goes into to rise.  There's usually enough butter left on the wrappers that 1 or 2 will butter just about anything.  Just whip the wrappers around the bowl or pan and then toss.  Saves time and money.

The first step is mix the flour and the rest of the dry ingredients together.  So into the bowl goes 2 cups flour, 1/3 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon salt,  2 1/4 teaspoons yeast.
I buy yeast in a jar.  It stays in the fridge and keeps for a very long time.  I like the jar.  If you are using the little packages, 2 1/4 teaspoons is one package.
Mix the sugar and the flour well, otherwise the flour will have a tendency to clump.
Next blend in 1/3 cup softened butter.

Make sure your butter is very soft, not melted but almost melted.
Now the recipe I was using was written for a bread mixer.  As I said, I don't do gadgets.  So this is where I really started changing things.  The first time I used a hand mixer.  But that's only gonna work through the 3rd cup of flour.  So the second time I just used a wooden spoon to mix it up.  I didn't notice any difference in the bread.

When the butter is well blended add 1 1/2 cups hot tap water.

The recipe called for the water as hot as it comes out of the tap.  Out here our hot water is on the verge of scalding so I backed it off a little.  You want it hot but not boiling or anything.

Add the egg and blend well.
Then add the last 2 cups flour.

The recipe said to let the mixer knead the dough for 10 mins.  Since I wasn't using a bread mixer there's no way that was gonna happen.  Kneading it by hand was a bit different.
This recipe makes a very wet, sticky dough.  I added four when I was kneading, and did the best I could to keep the dough from sticking.  I only kneaded it a minuet or two.  I was afraid to overwork it.
After kneading I wrangled the dough into the buttered bowl, turned it to coat the dough, covered it, and left it to rise for 2 hours.

Our kitchen is a little on the cool side so I let it rise just a little longer.

Can't really tell from the picture, but it was about doubled in size.
Then I punched it down.

And turned it out onto a heavily floured board, and added in quite a bit more flour during the kneading and shaping.

I didn't work it too much, it was starting to feel a little rubbery.
For this try, I split the dough in half and put it into 2 greased loaf pans.

 

Cover and leave it to rise again, till it doubles in size.
The recipe called for a 350 degree oven, but didn't give a time for baking.  All it said was just till the bread was starting to turn brown.  Which means that I'm checking the bread every 5 mins.  Next time I'm gonna let it go for 10 mins. before I check it the first time.  Our oven is a little funky and I'm still trying to get used to it.  Things cook a little unevenly, and it's best to shift things around during baking.  I let these bake till they were a little browned.  One loaf baked for about 18 mins.  The second was in for about 22 mins.
Right out of the oven they looked and smelled pretty good.

Both had a good flavor.
But one of the loaves had an unbaked cave in the middle of the loaf.

I scraped all the unbaked dough out of the center and the rest of the loaf was fine.

 
  The second loaf was fine.

Good flavor, fair texture, and it sliced well.

It made a very good PB&J.
So this run was a qualified success.
I think my Grandma would be proud.

 

Next time I'm not going to use the pans, and I'm not going to split the dough.  I'm just gonna shape the whole batch into a loaf and bake it on a cookie sheet.  I'm not going to keep opening the oven to check the color.  I'm gonna plan on baking it for 20 mins. and play it by ear.

I'm also going to make a batch for our Thanksgiving dinner and try it as dinner rolls.

We're getting there.  I think this is a recipe that would be good for daily bread.  I've just gotta work out the kinks.