a day at home

this morning found me thinking about bread making during my drowsy state. tim gets up, does his school work, showers, dresses and leaves - it doesn't always register that he's left the bed but he always kisses me good-bye and depending on how awake i am we might chat for a few minutes. this morning he left at 5:15. i dozed after he left reviewing plans for my day, fine tuning a particular project and enjoying the feline decadence of drowsy warmth. and because bread is on my list for today i followed several bunny trails. bread makers i have known and the assortment of memories that each name brought with it -kathy martinson, judy wager, lois halbakken, roxanne and priscilla, sarah brown, lavon mendenhall, naphtali, florence tewksbury who makes the lightest, fluffiest baking powder biscuits in the high plains, the sourdough rye from the farmers market in des moines mmmm. is there anything as evocative as the smell of baking bread?? and i haven't even made mine yet!! today i'll be using sarah's recipe with the addition of some herbs. i need dinner rolls for friday but the question is what shape?? the recipe makes 3 loaves so i can try several things. we'll have clam chowder and fresh bread for supper tonight. mmmmm

a change in the air

another week gone. i feel that january has gone very slowly. (though my co-workers gasped when i said that the other day) i've been getting things ready to mail - an anniversary in connecticut for jacob and kate on the 31. jacob's birthday on feb. 1. and of course - valentines. i send my packet to the post office in loveland co. to be stamped with their special cachet so it has to go in the mail from here around the 1st. and this year i did watercolors for most of the cards so i had to get an early start and kept thinking isn't it time to mail them, yet?? my grandson will be turning 4 shortly so he's having fun with all the holidays and will enjoy the box of goodies i'm sending. tim's general antipathy towards valentines day has taken on comic proportions over the years - so for a week or 10 days before i do daily cards, or other small gestures just to pile it on....he takes it all in good humor. and i get to indulge an impulse to irritate without causing any damage. the post office is on my list of stops before work today. i finally get to mail jacob and kate's package - congratulations to you. and the birthday card will go out also.
we've had nice weather for the last several days. charlie and i have been walking outside - rather than on the treadmill. we both prefer outside walking. tim grilled yesterday. and if they could somehow reproduce the smell of charcoal smoke for men's cologne... the birds are becoming rather active and noisy in the backyard. my finches are still coming to the feeder but the gackles are starting to look for nesting spots. and yes, i thumbed through a seed catalogue yesterday. turned the corners on more than a few pages. i thought about plans for that side of the garage with the hollyhocks while i enjoyed that half-dozing state before i actually roused myself from bed (one of my favorite and most productive times of the day). i have 'herb garden' on my mind for this year's major project and find my self playing with designs and locations at odd times through the day.

sunday is a double -duty day for us. i finish up tasks for the week - laundry, ironing (although tim's penchant for sweaters this winter has drastically reduced the amount of ironing i do), thorough cleaning, sorting mail etc. we also do some cooking to have meat started for those after work meals when no one feels like spending time in the kitchen. yesterday tim sauteed some chicken snippets with fresh ginger, leeks and garlic - tasty - to be used in fried rice or something later in the week. phone calls with family are a sunday highlight. naps. and usually a list as i look forward to the week's allotment of free time vs projects. this weeks list includes finishing a tablecloth, working on some cards, a garden club award submission, and getting several things in the mail.

in a phone conversation today with my daughter she laughingly said that of all the people she knows i was the last one she expected to have a blog. and on the one hand i agree with her. of all the people i know i'm the last one that i would ever expect to have a blog.....
then again - in the last several years i have done a variety of things that would be considered 'out of my comfort zone'. i drove from nebraska to connecticut. i've hiked mountain trails. i walked a 1/2 marathon. i have a dog. a big dog. in the house. so why not a blog??

i'm still at it. still trying to get this product in some sort of shape to be used. just learning the new terminology is taking more time than i expected. and for the 1 or 2 things i have figured out - there are plenty more waiting......

looking for miss linda

linda where are you????

experimenting

this is an experiment that my coworker and i are trying. we work at a smallish library and are trying to adjust to the additions - daily it seems- of technology in our field.