Loocy!!! You got some 'splainin' to do!!!

So in keeping with my move to the Small Town, I thought I would try some things generally associated with those who live in a Small Town; where life seems to move a bit more slowly, and there is more time to take time with things. My first attempt was to bake bread. Now, I realize that some of you may have never tried to bake bread, so just a bit of background here. There are generally two types of breads - those that are mixed and then rise and then are kneaded and then rise again before baking (aka kneaded breads); and those that are mixed and then rise and then go straight to the baking (aka batter breads). Both can be used for loaves that are roundish and baked on a cookie sheet, as well as for those that are baked in a loaf pan.

Seeing as it's been quite a few years since I've really had time to try and bake either type of bread, I decided to start with the deceivingly easy batter-type of bread. Hmmm, what recipe shall I use? Of course! Grandma's recipe always turns out well... or so I thought.

Let's get started. Do I have all the ingredients? Yes. Do I have all of the items required for mixing of said ingredients? Yes. How about a loaf pan? Well, I have a few of these, of varying sizes. Grandma's recipe says "Put into loaf pan and let rise." Hmmm, it does not specify SIZE of loaf pan. I can't remember from the making of this recipe in years gone by, so I guess I'll just pick one and see how it goes. Mix away!

Now, one thing I do remember Grandma teaching me is to turn the oven onto Warm whilst I am mixing up the dough. Then you turn the oven to Off, put in the dough to rise, and leave the oven door cracked open. Seems like a good plan to me. Into the pan goes the dough, and into the oven goes the pan. OK, set the timer for 5 min before said dough is supposed to be done rising (so as to heat up the oven for baking), and off I go. NOT a good idea. When I came back to turn off the buzzer on the timer, here is what was now occurring in my oven:


Not exactly what I had planned! Very reminiscent of the 'I Love Lucy' episode in which she attempts to bake bread and has it rise so much that it pops open the oven door. At least I caught my loaf before that happened!

Luckily I at least still had my pizza stone in the oven to catch the majority of the overflow. And luckily I was inside the house and could hear the timer go off. But, now, how does one detach a pan containing an overflowing and still rising loaf of bread that has sticky stretchy stringers from the pan to the rack to the pizza stone to the lower rack to the floor of the oven?? And how does one once said pan has been detached and set safely on the counter contain remaining overflowing dough and make it behave?? And how to get the raw sticky stretchy dough off of both the pizza stone and the oven floor?? Especially when one is alone in the house with no one to help?!?

Answer: VERY carefully. One must first detach all strings, and then flop the excess dough back into the pan. Then, one must try and pull all raw dough from the oven racks, and the stone, and the oven floor. All that is left must just bake off, and make the house smell like burnt dough, rather than nicely baking bread. Once this is done, one can then bake the originally planned loaf.

Note to Self: Choose a larger pan for the bread next time. Do NOT try the smallest sized loaf pan first, unless self is already planning on cleaning the oven!

Back to the Big City - Where the Sidewalk Never Ends

Well, I got to go back to my Big City for just over a week of city life once again. All kinds of sounds and people and parks and trains and buildings. However, it was a working trip, as we have been trying to get the City house ready to sell. Anyone need a house? It's very nice and roomy, and in a great City neighborhood. We just don't need 2 houses. For any reason really. I do not want to become one of those people who has a house in 2 places just because. If it were a cabin, that would be different. Also if it were closer to the Small Town, we could visit more often, and not be tired and cranky once we have arrived.

Being in the Big City was great - I got to see houses for miles and miles and miles. And there were more than 2 restaurant choices within a 5 minute drive. And things are open late - if you get hungry at 9pm there are a plethora of options. You can go to a bar, or have Chinese, or Indian, or Vietnamese, or Grill, or Neapolitan Pizza, or... Yay for Big City cusine!

Additionally, I got to see almost all of my friends, and most of the family. This was exactly what I needed after not really knowing anyone here in my Small Town - people I know to chat about random things with.

And, the big news, is that we got 95% of the interior housing projects done and the contractor scheduled for the exterior repairs, which means we might be able to actually list the house by the end of the summer. Another Yay! That will be a huge stress relief when things are out of our hands and we just have to wait.

We do have another trip to the Big City planned shortly, but this one will be filled with happy events - a family wedding. So it will be a quick trip with lots of excitement. Still, it's a trip to the Big City.