The Talvinen is coming along, now that the Rose City Mystery KAL project is finished. It's a little easier to see what I'm doing, although the chart is hard to see in dim light.
My scarf/stole for the Yarn Crawl turned out very nice.
We're planning to leave Wednesday to go up to Portland, but the weather forecast looks nasty. I'm hoping we don't have to miss it, although the Yarn Crawl has a virtual option. We did that in 2021. The problem is we pretty much have to go over mountains to get to Portland. Snow storms aren't very safe to drive through, and sometimes there's an accident, so we could get stuck. Find out next week if we went or not. It will leave you in suspense.
I made the bread a little differently this week, just to see if I could get the loaf a little shorter in height. I bought a slicing guide awhile back, and the loaves I make using two batches of sourdough starter are a bit too tall. They also make very large slices––more than I really need for a sandwich. I only used one batch of starter this time. When I take 113 g of starter out of one jar to feed, the discard goes into the bread machine. I have been using the discard from the second jar, too, with 1/2 C water, 1T each olive oil and honey, 1 t salt and 3 C flour (whole wheat mixed with 1/4 C each oat bran, wheat brand and wheat gluten). I was hoping that only using the discard from one jar would make a smaller loaf, and it did. With no added yeast, it took longer to rise, which was OK. I increased the water to 3/4 C and kept all the other ingredients the same. The loaf fit nicely in my bread slicing guide.
The larger loaf stuck out at the top, making it difficult to line up the guides. Here's the photo from last week's blog post. It isn't in the guide, but maybe you can get an idea of the difference. They were baked in the same pan, so the width of the slices is the same.
I used the second jar of starter for a second loaf, which went into the freezer for the trip. I was worried about having to take the starter along on the trip, because our trailer fridge is fairly small, but I found out that the starter can go up to a month without feeding, so it should be no problem. What I read said that you just need to leave it out to warm up a little longer.
I did some cooking for our trip to Arizona with the trailer.
The Mexican TV dinners (tamales, beans and rice) went into the freezer, along with a black-eyed pea stew, a pan of lasagne and a pan of potato Alfredo. I used the same 8" square pan for both the lasagne and the Alfredo. I lined the pan with foil, put the food into the pan and covered it with foil. when it was frozen, I slipped it into a plastic bag and reused the pan for the other recipe. I just need to remember to take the pan to hold the food when it's heating up. With a frozen pizza crust, we should have enough meals for 10 days in the freezer. I'll take stuff to "decorate" the pizza with.
Then I'll put some things in the trailer's pantry to make up easy meals, like rice, stir-fry sauce and an Indian pouch or two. We can take the rice cooker along, because it doesn't weigh much, and I've found a good place to store it.
Charlie has been shopping for the new puppy. We're calling him Rusty for now. The leopard-patterned pad is a self-heating pad for dogs and cats. We can put that into his crate. The breeder recommended a folding playpen, which is in the navy bag with handles, and some "potty pads." We also have a supply of food for the little guy, and Dusty will probably end up with some of it, just because he enjoys something new every once in a while. It's like having a baby!
My computer problems are mostly solved, but there are still some problems with syncing to iBooks. I have some PDFs on my computer but no longer on my iPad and some PDFs on my iPad but not on my computer. I still have 23 photos that wouldn't sync to the cloud.
Dusty and I have been walking when the weather isn't too cold or rainy. We're using the Walk for a Dog app, as usual. For this route we start out walking down to the entry to the Larkspur Trail. We head South on it, then get back on the sidewalk at the end of Bronzewood and walk around the block, including one of the cul-de-sacs. It's nearly a mile, and it gives Dusty a chance to brave walking by the sewer grates, which he's afraid of. I'm trying to desensitize him to it before we start walking with the puppy.
The app gives walkers points for every walk of 1/4 mile or more. It's supported by advertising, and a donation goes to your selected animal-related charity (chosen from their list) based on your points. It's free to use.
Now there's snow in the forecast for when we expect to be traveling north for the Yarn Crawl. We may not go. 😢
Finally, Daphne played her flute in a duet with a classmate this week.
If you have a few minutes and are willing, please go to Amazon and B&N and search for "Classic Tales Retold: Stories from The Doll's Storybook by Peggy Stuart" in Children's. Every click on the page for the book makes it more likely they will keep a good supply in their warehouse and stores. If you are outside the US, you may have a separate website for these retailers. If you have a copy of any of our books, including Emil and Mariah, please leave an honest review on the websites, especially if you bought from them.
Where's my blog: If you want to follow my blog, go here and sign up to follow.
What's on my needles: Finished the Rose City Yarn Crawl Mystery KAL. Now back to the Talvinen cardigan. The EmPower People Kerchief is still hibernating.
What's on my loom: Dust, but I still plan to make some placemats.
What's on my sewing machine: Still ready for back of T-shirt quilt.
What's in my hoop: Whole Cloth quilt, still no progress..
What's in The Doll's Storybook: In this week's story, the dolls find themselves again worried about The Writer, who seems perpetually behind in things that need doing. We hope you enjoy this story from The Dolls Storybook, "Taxed."
What's in The Doll's Storybook: In this week's story, the dolls find themselves again worried about The Writer, who seems perpetually behind in things that need doing. We hope you enjoy this story from The Dolls Storybook, "Taxed."
What's on my iPad/iPhone: Finished Das Vermächtnis der Drachenreiter by Christopher Paolini. I really enjoyed it a lot, although there was a lot of fighting. I'm hoping to listen to the next book in the series. Right now I'm listening to The House at the End of the World by Dean Koontz. I always enjoy his books, and this is a new one. I also have a few podcasts on my phone and iPad. I signed up for Spoutible a couple of weeks ago, and I'm enjoying it. Bots are pretty much screened out, and trolls can be blocked, although I haven't encountered any yet. Some discussion is bound to happen, but it's interesting, pleasant discussion. It doesn't function well on the iPad yet, so I'm looking forward to the app, which will be coming out in a few weeks.
What's in my wine glass: Cédez Cabernet Sauvignon 2019. Very nice.
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What's my tip of the week: I think this blog post is full of tips. Do I really need to add another one? I don't think so, so I'm going to leave it here.
Where are my books: The stories in each book first appeared in the blog and they are reproduced with a few changes.
Classic Tales Retold: Stories from The Doll's Storybook is available from BookBabyBookshop and other booksellers worldwide. The stories are Little Green Greatcoat, The Boy Doll Who Cried Wolf and Lost in the Woods.
Emil: Stories from The Doll's Storybook and Mariah: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are also still available from booksellers. The link for Book Baby is here. The three stories in Emil are Best Buds, Getting What You Want, and The Boys Cook Dinner.
The three stories in Mariah are Being Little, Besties, and Distraction.
If you don't get free shipping from Amazon or B&N, buy from the BookBabyBookshop, because 50% of the price goes to St. Jude. Other booksellers pay much less.
Note: This blog post was produced on the iPad and the MacBook, using the iPhone for some photos and some photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for, cleaned or broken. No animals or dolls were harmed during the production of this blog post.
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