Happy Weekend!

And the winner of the Best Belching Scene EVER in an Animated Children's Movie is . . . envelope please . . . Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius. ( APPLAUSE  APPLAUSE ).

Watched this little gem last night with the boys on Netflix. Sonwun, the elder, loved it from end to end. Sontoo, the younger, found it briefly "boyring" (still having a little trouble with the Rs) in the middle but found new interest toward the ending. 

If you've got kids in the 4-6 age group, I recommend this one. Without being a spoiler, it's about boy genius Jimmy Neutron, who sends a message into space. Evil aliens get said message, kidnap all the parents and it's up to Neutron and his friends to track them down, all while discovering and conquering their insecurities and relationship issues. But it's cute and the message is well disguised.

And the tacked-on belching scene, at the end, when Jimmy's parents accidentally consume his burp-guaranteed soda invention, had my minions in stitches.

So, Happy Weekend. Seems like a pretty good Saturday already.

Went to make Neomom's lunch this morning. Grabbed my home-made bread and went for my Henckel bread knife. You know where it was?? Middle slot, on the left, in the top block. EXACTLY where it was supposed to be. You know it's gonna be a good day when . . .

Discovered something strange though. Didn't know this about myself. But I'm pretty sure I've been making sandwiches the same way for about 40 years. 

See, after I laid out the bread, butt-end to butt-end, as is my way, I buttered the piece on the right side. But it occurred to me that I was making a ham sandwich and the mayo was supposed to go on the right. Butter on the left. No problem, said I, I'll just do it backwards. Honestly, my hands got confused. They were just not accustomed to doing it this way and they, all by themselves, started rotating the cutting board in an attempt to make things right in the universe once again.

But I wouldn't let them. I was becoming aware of the situation and I wanted to make the sandwich backwards. No, I don't know why. I just did. 

This really isn't going anywhere, I just found it weird. In the end I made the sandwich backwards, just to prove I could. I must remember to ask Neomom if it tasted any different.

Anyhoo, I have a lot of plans for this day and should really get started. The boys are getting pancakes for breakfast. As I type this, Sonwun is standing beside me reading along. He just realized he's getting pancakes for breakfast and he's pretty excited about it. So I'd better get started.

Have a great day!

7.0 Success

So, sandwich bread v. 7.0. Success at last.

I baked two near-perfect loaves of bread yesterday. After a week or two of researching on line, asking questions on baking forums and watching YouTube videos, I think I've got it beat.

I think. One success does not a baker make. But I'm encouraged.

Honestly, when I started this game, I had no idea how each little step impacted the final product. But I'm learning.

My first mistake, I discovered, was that I had the bread rising, for the second time, in an environment that was just too hot. The bread rose too quickly and the little yeasties got all hot and bothered and kinda burst, in bubble form, through the top of the loaf. Sometimes it happened during the rise, sometimes during the actual baking. But the result was a flat loaf. Still tasty, mind you, but not attractive.

My second mistake involved the shaping of the loaf, prior to the second rise. Pretty sure I was rolling the dough too thin before rolling it up to make my loaf. The result was similar to my first mistake. But a YouTube video set me straight. I no longer roll the dough out prior to shaping. I punch it down, gather it up and then shape it focussing on the outer surface tension. 

For most of you this probably makes no sense, unless you've tried the bread thing.

So I'll leave it at that. And this picture to illustrate:

From left is version 6.o, version 5.0 and, finally, version 7.0

Anyhoo, it's Saturday morning and we've got a trip to the library planned, with a stop at the grocery store.

Holy crap, I sound boring. But that's life.

Have a great day!

P.S. If you really are interested in the bread thing, this is the YouTube video that helped me out. He doesn't punch down his dough, but he's making a different kind of bread.