k-brow: of werewolves and baking

I took a day off today, as I've been deliriously busy at work; teaching, attending inservices, giving inservices... it looks like I'll probably be used at my school again next year, as the reading resource teacher and all around data geek. Not my dream job, but tolerable enough, and far less stress than being a classroom teacher. Less fun, too, but I'll take what I can get. So, I planned for a very festive domestic goddess-y type day of baking and knitting, but awoke with my old friend, the menstrual migraine, at 5am. Decided that I'd be damned if it would establish a beachhead in my day, and immediately began to medicate. I have it at bay, now, and have been reasonably productive, toiling away at my latest project:

I've never baked bread, for real, from scratch before. I used to own a bread machine, and used it quite often, mostly for pizza dough, but got rid of it when I went packing away to Hawai'i. I've been really enjoying the breads of Great Harvest a lot, recently, especially a millet-sunflower bread they make on Wednesdays. But all this homemade bread has served to spark my curiosity about the process, and I decided to do a bit of experimentation myself. I'm using the basic recipe from the Tassajara Bread Book, and spent the morning mixing, kneading and baking. I haven't tasted it yet, the loaves are still cooling. I know already they're a little too brown for my tastes; a bit hard-crusty, but they smell heavenly and seem to have risen nicely. One thing about this book is that it is explicit in its directions about kneading and mixing. It doesn't tell you how long to knead the dough; instead, it lets you know how the dough will look and act when it is ready to be set aside for a rise. Hard work, but fun to play with, and I'm really looking forward to that first warm slice!

Here's my other little project:

It's baby Icarus! One repeat of the first chart and then some, and coming along enjoyably, if a bit slowly. I cast on for this on May 1, and completely wrecked it, after about 20 rows, ripped it out completely, and cast on again and have been chugging away on it, since.

Another look at its bones; that's what this first chart reminds me of, is a spine, with ribs running off it. Nice thought.


Last night, I went over to Acornbud's. She lives just about a mile from me, as the crow flies. Except there are no crows to speak of, on Oahu. As the Mynah bird flies. We had an evening of knitting, tea and a most enjoyable viewing of Kibakichi 2. Maybe not the best samurai film available, and possibly not the best werewolf film, but one would be hard-pressed to find a better samurai werewolf film. Old Japan sure was full of monsters, and I've gotta say, since my induction into Kibakichi fandom, I'm rooting for them. Oppressed underdogs for the most part, and just trying to get along. Kibakichi the first is a better movie, but I can't complain, and indeed am hoping for another offering in the near future. Acornbud was rocking the impossibly beautiful alpaca; we've both been sampling the sale offerings at Webs, this month, in light of the fact that Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival is just too far away.

A birthday shout out to my baby sister today! Hope it's a blissful one, and sorry I couldn't be around to liven it up!