Shopping for toasters

I’m starting to see some limitations to this new haircut. I mean, it’s cute, and I’m not ready to blow my brains out or anything like that, but this isn’t quite what I want for the long-term. Of course, one only learns such things after buying a plethora of hair products and tools one probably won’t use.  

Actually, I may use them until my hair grows back a little. With a little work, I can sort of fix it the way it looked when I left the salon, but I don’t like putting forth the effort. What I do like is the shorter length, but now I can envision it just slightly longer minus the layers. It will be easy to grow out. It’s not like I had anything else to do.

It would seem one can only evaluate a haircut through magic of the rearview mirror.

toast shouldn’t be this hard

If you have a toaster you like, keep it as long as you can. Ours was on the fritz, and I spent the better part of last week researching options and reading reviews. Nobody, and I mean nobody, is totally happy with anything currently for sale.

Oh, sure, there’s my friend, Carole, who has a fancy dancy Dualit handmade in England, but even they get terrible reviews these days. And Dale said he would not pay that kind of money for a toaster that doesn’t pop up. The heat cycle turns off, but the toast rests quietly in place until you pop it up yourself.

Carole said she doesn’t need a toaster to think for her. Well, yippee for you, Carole. We of fewer brain cells absolutely need a toaster to think for us. While I believe other Dualit styles have a pop-up feature, some are made in China, and they get even worse reviews.

If it were simply a matter of planned obsolescence, I’d be fine. Just get a cheap one and replace as needed. If it were just a matter of money, I’d drop a wad if that’s all it takes to get good toast. But regardless of price, my in-depth research indicates toasters just don’t toast like they used to. One side only, burned edges, bread actually flying out of the toaster (the opposite of Dualit).

We sent one back that scorched one side and left the other side virtually untouched.

Even the venerable Cook’s Illustrated is “reviewing” their recommendation for the Breville long-slot toaster after so many readers wrote to complain that it’s awful.  

We ended up with the Elite Gourmet long-slot toaster for $29.99. We had to turn it up to “dark” to get golden brown, and the edges are a wee bit toastier than we’d like, but overall, it’s fine. Wonder of wonders, you can toast a whole piece of oversized bread.

In our old toaster, I would toast it vertically by putting half down, toasting it, flipping it and then toasting the other half. Toward the end, depending on the bread, the toast shrinks enough to put it in horizontally for a photo finish.

This is more than I ever wanted to know about toasters. And it’s probably more than you want to know about toasters. Just keep whatever you have if it works. By the way, the classic Sunbeam toasters go for big bucks on eBay.

Apparently, back in the day, they knew how to make appliances that evenly brown and crisp bread. It is not advanced technology. Sadly, it would appear that time is gone. I could be convinced the Dualit Classic for a mere $240 might be good, despite the ridiculous price and negative reviews. Did I mention it’s handmade in England?

But there’s that pesky pop-up issue. For $29.99, our friendly little kitchen helper thinks for us. It’s a lifestyle choice.

A real haircut!

As promised, here’s a picture of my new hair … my first professional cut in more than a year!

My stylist says this is collarbone length. My hair is fine, so we always go blunt, but this time she added just a few long blunt layers for shape and movement.

Although this style is a good bit shorter than usual, it’s still quite versatile. I can wear it up, air dry or blow dry as the mood strikes me. It looks good under a hat. Everything can be tucked behind the ears if desired. And if the pandemic gets worse, and I can’t get to a salon, it’s easy to grow out.

Being shampooed was the most divine feeling ever. I should train Dale to do that.

Anyway, I like it a lot! Because it has been such a long terrible year, she missed out on a lot of business and yet responded enthusiastically to every crazy text I sent her with questions about my hair, I did not add the typical 20 percent gratuity.

Instead, I handed her a $100 bill. I thought she was going to cry. I did.

Vaxed to the max

We passed our post-vaccination 10-day waiting period and are now vaxed to the max. My first foray into the “fully vaccinated” zone was quite lovely, although my next attempt fell short. Here’s what happened.

Although I’ve played golf throughout the pandemic, I’ve been quite cautious and have avoided certain events where it was assumed we would get together afterward. I was not comfortable getting too close to people, indoors or outdoors.

One group I play with is particularly social, and I have avoided them for the past year. But I found myself missing the fun and signed up to play in an event now that I’m somewhat immune. It was cold in the morning, but by the time we finished, it was sunny and delightfully warm.

The course had an outdoor patio, where everyone gathered. Some were socially distant, some were not. I purchased a beer and sat down near the hub of activity but far enough away to feel at ease. I took off my mask, and there in the soothing sun I sat, sipping and chatting and feeling pretty damned happy.  

I think this was the first face-to-face conversation I’ve had with anyone other than Dale in over a year. Such a simple pleasure!

On the way home, the radio played in order:

  • The End (The Doors)
  • Truckin’ (Grateful Dead)
  • White Rabbit (Jefferson Airplane)  

Great music kind of put me in the mood to party. We’ll have to wait and see how that unfolds. I’m not sure I remember how to party. But I do feel optimistic that Dale and I can enjoy a wider variety of activities without putting ourselves at undue risk. However, I’ll go out on a limb and share my prediction.

By and large, Americans are done with lockdowns, and they’ve told themselves this is over. Many are going to behave with wild abandon and COVID, in some form or fashion, will be persistent for another year. And yet there’s a chance enough people have either had the virus or the vaccine, and we’ll turn this ship around. We can only hope.

My next thought was a return to swimming. My three-year-old swimsuits are a bit saggy from wear and tear, so I thought it would be fun to go to Target and see what they have. I masked up and headed out. I have been to Target only once during the pandemic, and that was to buy kitty litter, which I later learned could be delivered to my door.

I collected a handful of cute suits and made a beeline for the fitting room. It looked like a crime scene, as in all taped up and not open for business. I stood there for a few minutes, just staring at the empty space, kind of in shock. The possibility of the fitting rooms being closed had never occurred to me. I turned around and drove home.

As it turns out, my sister-in-law had the same experience, and she said even if you buy a swimsuit to try on at home, you can’t return it. So, I’m back to Amazon. Free shipping both ways.

Next in the queue are haircut, dentist and dermatologist. We have some home improvements on the list, but we’re going to wait a bit and see how the virus behaves before we commit to having anyone in our home.

Oh, and last week marked 22 years since I was diagnosed with Stage 3 ovarian cancer. I’m in a small club of lucky long-term survivors, and no matter what happens, pandemic or no pandemic, I will be forever grateful for my good fortune.

You can read more about my experience in this post from a couple of years ago.

Bread camp in my future?

My second loaf of sourdough bread.

I baked my second loaf of sourdough bread today, and it looks delicious! We’ll eat it tonight with grilled sausages, cheese and a spinach salad. Perhaps some red wine? We’ve been tough on the wine rack over the past year. Our local wineries are fantastic, and many are open for socially distanced outdoor tastings. High on our list of post-vaccine activities.

There is hope if you are curious about sourdough but still rather intimidated. Sourdough seemed so formidable to me when I first got the itch to experiment, but even after only two tries, it doesn’t seem like such a big deal anymore.

The idea of creating starter scared me the most, but now that little blob of batter is done and sits in the refrigerator until I need him again. This time, I took him out before I went to bed and fed him in the morning. He was good and bubbly when I made the dough later that afternoon.

While there’s not a lot of hands-on labor, making sourdough bread does take at least a couple of days … at least the way I’m doing it. I mapped out sample schedules so I could determine when I needed to be home for a few hours and when the dough could sit there unsupervised while I played golf or otherwise goofed off.  The schedules set my mind at ease.

I also tweaked the cooking process. Last time, I used a cold oven and a cold bread pan. This time around I pre-heated both the oven and the pan. I like the color better with the pre-heated pan, but that might just be timing. This loaf was baked at 450 F for 30 minutes with the lid on and 20 minutes with the lid off.

Scoring the bread just before it goes in the oven helps it rise. You can use a razor blade or a little wooden thing with a razor blade on the end called a lame. My technique needs some work, but overall, I am pleased with the appearance.

I finished the book I mentioned in an earlier post – Beginners: The Joy and Transformative Power of Lifelong Learning by Tom Vanderbilt. Although his journey to learn new things such as chess, singing, surfing and drawing seemed overly indulgent to me, he told a good story about the benefits of pushing yourself into new territory.

I’m kind of a loner, and when I want to learn something, I tend to get books and check out various websites and then figure it out myself. That’s what I did with sourdough. I rarely take classes, but after reading that book, I’ve been thinking it might be good to explore online educational resources.

As you might guess, I’m thinking about cooking classes.

He also makes a strong case for group learning and the social benefits of connecting with other like-minded beginners. When the pandemic is under control, I could see attending some sort of cooking or baking experience in person. There actually is such a thing as “bread camp.”  

In Slovak, Pekar means baker. And I’m married to a Miller, so how perfect is that?

The chapter on drawing was especially interesting. I’ve always said the reason I burn abstract doodles on my rescued wood art is because I can’t draw representations of real things. Apparently, I am not alone. Most children, he reports, discover how hard it is to draw what they see and give up. But there are tricks such as trying to draw it upside down so you’re not looking at the whole but instead a collection of lines and shadows.

Although I was a little tough on the author when I mentioned the book earlier, I ended up liking it, and the book motivated me to think about what I want to learn as I age and how I want to approach lifelong learning. I have a bias toward going it alone, but he opened my eyes to the value of accomplished teachers as well as the atmosphere of people struggling through the experience together.

In the meantime, I will continue to dabble in the comfort of my virus-free home. But I’m still kind of excited thinking about what experiences might be just around the corner.

There must be a zillion types of camps and learning vacations for adults. The author and his family even went on a vacation where they learned to swim in the open water. I might need to make a spreadsheet of all the possibilities.

What kind of camp or learning vacation would pique your interest?

COVID-19 vaccination: Part II

We received our second doses of the two Pfizer vaccines, and it was a bit underwhelming. Having been through round one, you sort of know what to expect.

Although we faced the possibility of weather delays impacting our doses, everything went down without a hitch. We drove to the same indoor mass vaccination site, and the only difference was double masking.

Prior to entering the building, we were provided with a surgical mask to wear over or under our cloth masks.

Neither of us had any side effects. My arm was a little tender to the touch, but that’s it.

Still, it feels great to be fully vaccinated. I know it’s not a get-out-of-jail-free card, but as I understand it, of all the participants in all the vaccine trials, no one went to the hospital for COVID or died of COVID. That includes the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which gets a bad rap because it’s not quite as effective in preventing mild illness.

But if there’s a 100 percent chance you won’t go to the hospital for COVID and a 100 percent chance you won’t die of COVID, then I’d say the vaccines work. All of them.

I’m not a medical professional, so please feel free to correct me. I’m sensitive to percentages, and numbers aren’t always what they seem, but I do know 100 percent is good. I was diagnosed with Stage 3 ovarian cancer years after my ovaries were removed during a routine hysterectomy.

According to what I’ve read, there was a 99 percent chance I would not get ovarian cancer with no ovaries. I drew the unlucky number. However, the statistics indicated I had a 25-30 percent chance of living five years, and I’m about to celebrate my 22-year cancer anniversary.

If only they had a cancer vaccine that prevented hospitalization and death.

I’ve been reading about people cheating to get the vaccine ahead of schedule, and I can’t believe someone with musical talent hasn’t already done a parody of Harry Belafonte’s old song, Jump in the Line. I think one of the refreshed lyrics could read:

Don’t Jump in di line, jab your body in time

(Okay, I believe you)

In absence of said parody, feel free to sing it around the house.

One week closer to a haircut

While I thank you very much for your most helpful comments about my hair, I hate looking at that picture, and I hate thinking about my hair. I’m no closer to a solution, other than to just get the trim next week as scheduled. As one wise reader said, the hair in my profile picture is probably the right length.

Barbara, a long-time reader from when I used to write about gray hair on my blog Rock the Silver, has suggested in the comments section on my last post a hairstyle she calls Fuchsschwanz. It sounds great, so I’m going to do a search for that and then see what happens.

I was happy with my hair for years, so I don’t know why I’m all of the sudden riddled with doubt, other than pandemic wear and tear. Is it possible there’s an end in sight and perhaps we shall be released from captivity?

In terms of re-entering the world, I’m ready to look good for a change. Even if it takes a little more effort.

Travel bragging

My foursome in golf yesterday included a woman I shall describe as a “travel bragger.” I don’t know the exact roots of this affliction, but I’ve seen it before, and I think it’s about fulfilling life’s dreams, and I certainly shouldn’t be critical of that, but …

She cannot stop name-dropping all the exotic places she’s been and where she’s going next. I could see having that conversation afterward, perhaps in a post-pandemic world with clubhouses and cocktails, but I prefer a quiet game regardless. About the only words I want to exchange during golf are, “Great drive” or “good putt.”  

After hearing about the holy land, Bratislava and wine tasting in Portugal, she said, “Do you travel much?” I said no. I wish I had just stopped there. I find one-word responses minimize the flow of chatter. But always the pleaser, I added, “We traveled a lot when we were younger and lived overseas for quite a few years.”

It’s like I opened the floodgates. Where? Oh, what was it like? To me, it was a complete distraction. I guess it’s not travel bragging when it’s your passion. I do recognize golf is a social game, so I will continue to work on conversation management. Once the clubhouse opens again, I might say, I’d love to talk about it – are you staying for a drink afterward?

Might work.

Does hair need a style?

My grown-out pandemic hair.

I have an appointment in a couple of weeks to get my first professional haircut in over a year, and I can’t tell you how many hours I have squandered surfing the Internet in search of the perfect hairstyle. Bobs, lobs, bangs and pixies. Gray hair. Glasses. The struggle is real.   

I’ve enjoyed low maintenance hair for several years now. I was ready for retirement, and I was ready for the pandemic or at least my hair was. My hair is fine in texture with a little bit of wave in it. No layers, no dye. I don’t use heat or special products. If it doesn’t look good on any given day, I wear it up.

It seems over the past year I’ve lost more hair than usual, although it appears to be growing back. My hair is a little thinner at the temples, so I’ve been experimenting with a middle part. I like it.

Just as I thought I was ready for a big shift, my hair started cooperating, and now I’m not so sure I want to change it at all. Interestingly enough, I get more hits on my signature scrunchie man bun than any other post on this blog. I re-read that post yesterday, and all the comments I made about my low-maintenance approach still resonate with me.

The top candidate for something different is a neck-length bob with maybe some-face framing layers or long bangs, but I’m pretty sure that style requires more frequent haircuts, styling products and a blow dryer. While I think it would look very attractive on me, I do not want to stand in front of the mirror every day blowing my hair to smooth perfection.

I like the French girl look – long and untamed – although I guess I’m too old to pull off anything with the word “girl” in it. Plus, those French girls all have bangs but don’t wear glasses. I could see keeping it long and getting some sort of funky bang, but again, that’s extra maintenance and then there’s the glasses problem.

With all this doubt, I’m inclined to skip the transformation and just get the ends trimmed up neatly. I could probably coax more wave with some sort of product, but that’s a slippery slope. When all is said and done, my hair seems to look best if I leave it alone.

Of course, that means I don’t have a “style” per se. Most of the time I’m OK with that, but then I see these makeovers of women in their 50s and 60s, and there’s something to be said for a cute haircut. They look great! It’s easy to get sucked in, except you have to imagine all the work that went into making them look that good.

It’s hard to decide. Do you think it’s worth the trouble to maintain a so-called “modern” haircut, or are you more inclined to take a simpler approach? Does hair need a style, or is it just more beauty hype?

Two days and a wake-up

OUr second vaccines

Dale and I have been counting down the days until we get our second Pfizer vaccines. While there were some delays due to weather, it looks like we’re on track to get ours on schedule. As we used to say in the military, it’s two days and a wake-up!

Then it’s a two-week wait, and of course, we understand nothing is risk-free. It’s not like we’re changing our lives. Still, I have an appointment for a haircut exactly two weeks after. That appointment is the only thing between me and an ugly episode of Hair Clippers Gone Wild.

Unless it gets really bad again, we’d like to go camping when it warms up. I need art supplies, and I’m looking forward to wandering around a store instead of ordering it on Amazon.

A home for my art?

Speaking of art, I’m still a little cautious about sharing my woodburning art projects with people who may not like them. My sisters-in-law each received one for Christmas, and I understand they were not impressed. I get it, art is personal, blah, blah, blah.

I wondered if I could donate them to a thrift store that benefits a non-profit organization I’d feel good about supporting. I found one shop that benefits a cat shelter, and that might well be my first stop.

As for the art, they may love it, they may hate it or my little creations might not be a good fit for their clientele, but once I’m in the immune-zone, I plan to pay a visit.

A cooking failure

We had a rare cooking failure this week. Dale and I both love fried oysters, and it’s one of the few things we don’t make at home. We have one of those big home deep fryers but rarely use it. I made onion rings in it a few years ago, and they were greasy and soggy. I thought the temperature gauge was off.

But we kept it. This week Dale decided to test it. He filled the fryer with oil and heated it up, setting the temperature to 350 and then 375 degrees. The thermostat registered the proper temperature after the appropriate amount of time, and he used a separate instant-read thermometer for cross-reference.

Then he bought fresh oysters and shucked them himself. These were tough to open, and it was quite a task. He also decided to make homemade French fries and coleslaw to go with. There was some sort of coating made with buttermilk and cornmeal, but I wasn’t paying attention at that point.

He cooked it all up, and the oysters and French fries were inedible greasy soggy messes. I also had the audacity to say he put too much mayonnaise in the coleslaw. That did not help. I believe he described it as “piling on.”

It seems the machine heats up properly but can’t maintain temperature. So totally not Dale’s fault, although he felt terrible. We both get quite devasted when our food fails for whatever reason.

Anyway, the fryer (not the person who fries) is gone, although we will probably look for another one. We don’t do the big fry often, but those jumbo-sized things are handy.

Books and TV

I’m almost finished with Schitt’s Creek, and I have enjoyed it much more since I basically told Dale he had to binge-watch it with me or pass. In other words, Schitt’s or get off the pot.

I just can’t get into a show when he only wants to watch it once a month. I love it, but I do wish David would get married already. This is taking forever.

I highly recommend Lupin on Netflix but with only six episodes, it was over way too fast. It’s a French show, dubbed, about the son of an immigrant from Senegal who grows up to be a world-class thief with a heart of gold and a penchant for amazing disguises. I understand there are more at the ready, but they are waiting until summer to release them.

I’m on the waiting list at the library for Jussi Adler-Olsen’s Victim 2117, the last of the Department Q series about Danish detective Carl Mørck. The previous book in the series told the back story of sidekick Rose, and I believe this one is about Assad – a great character with a secretive past.

Also from the library, I’m reading Beginners: The Joy and Transformative Power of Lifelong Learning by Tom Vanderbilt. I should probably do a complete review, but I’m not sure I will. I like it, and I suspect a lot of retirees will be inspired by it, but the author sort of annoys me. He’s a journalist with a wife and family who decides to learn to sing and surf, among other activities.

I mean, sure, he wrote a book about it and will hopefully recoup some of his expenses, but I can’t help thinking about his wife, and what it must have felt like for her as he went off on this mid-life journey disguised as work.

Sorry about the mess, honey, but I’m late for choir practice! It feeds my soul! Oh, can you take me to the airport next week? I’m off to Costa Rica for surfing lessons!

I’m probably not being fair. I’ve been sort of cranky lately. I mean, I’m more relaxed and sleeping way better with The Former Guy somewhat out of the picture, but there’s still a lot of bad stuff going down out there, and I have to force myself to let go of things I can’t control.

Note to self: Stay away from the hair clippers.

My first loaf of sourdough

My first loaf of sourdough bread.
Some big holes but still delicious!

As promised, here’s a report on my first sourdough bread – mission accomplished!

First of all, the bread is delicious. The texture is chewy and crusty, and you can taste that yummy tang of sourdough. This is by no means a step-by-step guide, but I wanted to share a few highlights in case you decide to experiment.

  • I was originally going to use the recipe from Tartine but switched to Foodbod Sourdough because it was easier for a beginner. Except for the starter, which was from Tartine, I followed the master recipe on Foodbod. I used more salt – 10 grams.
  • The dough rises on the counter first and then in the refrigerator. I probably should have allotted more time for both rises.
  • Sourdough isn’t kneaded in the traditional sense. You go around the bowl folding the dough onto itself. I rushed this part, and my dough most likely needed more folds and turns.
  • This was my first time using a banneton basket. I sprayed it with water and dusted it with rice flour the day before and let it dry overnight. Then I dusted it again with rice flour, creating a non-stick surface. It worked perfectly.
  • My starter, the homemade equivalent of yeast, was a 50/50 mix of whole wheat flour and white bread flour, but the bread itself was 100 percent white bread flour. No problems.
  • I didn’t score the dough properly. I had a lame (pronounced LOM) that came free with my banneton but didn’t realize until the last minute you’re supposed to slip a special razor blade over the end. I had the wrong kind of blade, so I used that by itself and didn’t go deep enough. But it still worked to some extent.
  • Most recipes call for pre-heating a cast iron Dutch oven inside the main oven as it pre-heats. You can also use a cold Dutch oven and put it in a pre-heated main oven.
  • The Foodbod site recommends putting your dough in a cold Dutch oven and then putting it in a cold main oven and then turning on the heat. It sounds crazy, but it worked. I would still try it other ways to compare and contrast.
  • In terms of technical presentation, the holes are too big. However, they did not impact the taste! While the holes are not a deal-breaker, I will continue to tinker with the process to see if I can fix that.

All in all, it was a huge success. The no-knead breads are easier, but so far I haven’t made one delivering that unique sourdough taste. Gollum, my starter, is now resting in the refrigerator. All I need to do is pull him out of the fridge and feed him to get him up and running again.

Now that I’ve done it once, it doesn’t seem so hard, and I’ll probably bake some sort of sourdough something every few weeks. And I’m not giving up on Tartine, I just found the other recipe easier to follow.

I’d say the biggest thing to figure out is timing, what with our busy retirement schedules and all. While a bit time-consuming, making sourdough bread is actually not labor-intensive, and I imagine you could develop a simple routine with a little planning and practice. I’m thinking it’s a three-day project.

I hope this has been helpful. Even with mistakes, there’s nothing quite like homemade sourdough bread.

Cloudspotting for beginners

My cloudspotting guides tell me these are Cirrus, high-altitude clouds composed of ice crystals but usually associated with fair weather.

Sourdough Saga

Today is bread day. While Gollum, my sourdough starter, is ready for action, I’m still not completely confident the bread will rise as it’s supposed to.

If you missed my last post, I named my starter Gollum, because when it comes to sourdough adventures, I find myself thinking about Gandalf, who said, “My heart tells me that Gollum has some part to play in it, for good or evil, before this is over.”

Now would be the time to mention Monday was also bread day, but my attempt was aborted by Gollum. The Tartine book said to discard all but a tablespoon of starter and then feed it again with the flour/water mixture. I’m not sure what happened, but Gollum failed to yield his precious bubbles after I fed him again, so I gave him more time to gather strength.

While Tartine is a great resource, it gets complicated fast, and I find Elaine at Foodbod Sourdough to be more approachable. Although I made the starter from Tartine, I’m following Elaine’s recipe for my first loaf of bread.

The dough is now experiencing the joys of “bulk fermentation” in the refrigerator. I will bake the bread later this afternoon. You may expect a full report in the coming days.

Happy in the middle

I’ve always wanted to be great at something, but greatness has eluded me, and the reality is that I’m adequate and sometimes pretty good at lots of things. This used to make me sad and envious as I read accounts of gifted and accomplished people with tremendous passion for their crafts.

As I’ve gotten older and experienced the simple pleasures of retirement, it turns out I’m quite happy in the middle. I don’t have a singular focus that drives me and see myself as a dabbler of sorts.

Dale is the same, and we were discussing it over drinks one evening. What is the name for people like us? He thought Renaissance man might fit the bill – a person of broad talents or expertise. But then I would hardly put us in the same league as Leonardo da Vinci.

Then whilst Googling around, I read this description of the modern Renaissance man or woman:

In the simplest terms, a Renaissance man is a person with genuine competence in and understanding of multiple different fields, all of which complement one another to make him a more talented and productive person.

I also discovered fellow blogger Patricia Doyle at Retirement Transition addressed this very same topic in 2019. She wrote:

Modern day Renaissance woman (or man) loves learning (has a mindset of continual learning) and enjoys discovering more. She/he is not “meandering” but delving just deep enough to gain knowledge; she/he recognizes that not everything has to be “mastered.”

Sounds good to me!

cloudspotting for beginners

As if I don’t already have enough to amuse me, I have become a fledgling cloudspotter! This is a great pandemic hobby, much like bird watching, and you don’t even have to leave your house.

I’ve always loved clouds. I vividly remember taking swimming lessons as a child. Floating on my back between sessions and trying to give name to shapes I saw in the sky. Was it a dog? A horse? But I never made much of an effort to learn more about them. Until last week.

I was playing golf and distance-chatting with one of my partners, when she mentioned a podcast that talked about the Cloud Appreciation Society. It’s a cool website with lots of amazing cloud pictures. I haven’t joined yet, but I definitely want that Cloud Selector Identification Wheel.  

In the meantime, I purchased The Cloudspotter’s Guide by Gavin Pretor-Pinney, founder of the Cloud Appreciation Society. He’s a very entertaining writer with lots of good stories about clouds, but it is quite techy. Dale can’t wait for me to finish so he can get started. His brain absorbs details better than mine.

Me? I’m looking for quick results, so I downloaded three free Android apps on Google Play to help with cloud identification.

  • Cloudspotting
  • Cloud-a-Day
  • Cloud Guide

My favorite so far is Cloud-a-Day, which has an Artificial Intelligence feature. I photograph a cloud formation, and it returns with a message:

Out of the 10 main cloud types, the Cloudspotter AI thinks it is this one.

Although there are 10 main cloud types, there are tons of sub-types and amazing rare cloud formations that even have special names. I’m just scratching the surface, but I’m seriously enjoying this new pleasure.

No aspirations involving greatness, but I’d like to get good enough to look up at the sky, and casually confirm, “Ah, cumulonimbus, thunderstorms likely.”

Here at the homestead

I’m still daydreaming about what I’ll do different after I get my second dose of the COVID vaccine and the immune effects kick in. As always, the virus is in charge, so we’ll assess the risks as we go. First stop is a haircut, followed by a dentist appointment.

Meanwhile, here at the homestead, I continue to dabble in self-sufficiency. It’s fun to try new things, and I am forever grateful I could retire and enjoy this lifestyle. Even with limited social interaction, I’m having a damned good time.

Cannabis

Cannabis Ruderalis at 27 days (from seed).

I tossed my last cannabis plant because it never entered the flowering stage. I have a new one going, and it looks healthy. It will be another couple of weeks before I see signs of flowering, but I am ever hopeful.  

As I’ve described before, I start with autoflowering (Ruderalis) seeds and grow the plant in a pot by the window with additional overhead lighting. This is an easy and inexpensive way to grow cannabis, but the plants aren’t as productive as Sativa or Indica.

To grow Sativa or Indica indoors, you have to completely block out light for 12 hours during the flowering period, and that requires specialized equipment. Assuming I would only grow one plant at a time, I’d need a small tent and a fan, which I’m guessing at around $200 – more if it turns out I need a new light.

While I have both the space and the money, I’ve resisted this impulse because I didn’t want to get in over my head. Throughout the years, I’ve been known to squander money on what otherwise might be called a passing fancy. But same as my woodburning, I’ve been at it for more than a year now, and I’m starting to gain confidence in my skills, as well as my long-term interest.

The biggest advantage is greater yield. I mostly use cannabis to make balm, which I slather on religiously for creaky knees, post-mastectomy pain and an itchy place on my back called notalgia paresthetica.

I need an ounce of cannabis to make a batch of balm. My best Ruderalis yielded an ounce, but it’s usually less than that. I’ve read one Sativa or Indica could yield a pound!

The average price of an ounce of cannabis in California is around $257, so I would easily make my money back in one grow. I’m still on the fence, so more to come if I should decide to go down that rabbit hole.

Sure, I could just buy the cream, but what fun is that?

When neighbors hand you lemons

Candied Meyer lemon peel. Gorgeous but not delicious.

I made lemonade by juicing a bunch of my Meyer lemons with ginger root and adding simple syrup before freezing in medium tubs. I take a scoop, melt it and add some water for a great-tasting juice.

Then I candied some of the peel. I’ve never done this before, but it has always been on my dream sheet. It was a major pain in the ass to remove the pith, but I went at it like I was on a mission from God. My peels were pithless.

They look gorgeous, don’t you think? But they are not delicious and leave a weird taste in your mouth. I can’t quite bear to toss them yet, but I won’t be making them again.

sourdough adventures

Gollum, my fledgling sourdough starter.

I’m told you should name your starter, and so we now have Gollum. When it comes to sourdough adventures, I find myself thinking about Gandalf, who said, “My heart tells me that Gollum has some part to play in it, for good or evil, before this is over.”

Gollum and I have been tinkering for about 10 days now. Starting with just a bit of flour and water, I waited a few days before he started to bubble. Then every day you toss 80 percent of the batter and feed it by mixing in more water and flour. I’m keeping a journal to document my progress.

At first my batter was too thin and not very active. Then I started weighing instead of measuring equal amounts of water and flour, and that was a huge improvement. I also had it covered with a dishtowel, and I got rid of that so “natural yeast” from the air could join the fun. Now he’s just topped with a loose plastic lid, slightly askew.

Gollum is bubbling ferociously again, and I think I’m close to being able to bake.

However, the telltale sign is whether you can see that it rises and falls daily. Because that’s what starter is – a substitute for the commercial yeast one typically uses to make bread dough rise. They say you should see evidence of this within four to 12 hours after feeding. I haven’t actually witnessed it, although I saw dried starter on the bottom of the lid.

I do not want to mess around with bread until I personally see the rise and fall, so my next step is to move it to a place where I can easily view what’s going on. Gollum is currently banished to a side room, so he’ll be moving into the kitchen later today.