WINTER GRUNGE

   

The melting snow is leaving behind the soot and salt and sand and grunge that is part of winter.  That's outside.  Inside Gabriel seems to be a magnet for all kinds of winter grunge both from the outside and the inside.  I am reluctant to bathe him as the house is quite cool.  It is time for the groomer. 

Last evening I watched the last of the Westminster Dog Show.  What beautifully goomed dogs.  And last minute grooming touches were being applied even in the ring before their judgement walk.  These dogs love this grooming process.  It is part of their lives.  A BIG part.  For Gabriel, not so much.  I actually started out with him as a pup with the comb and brush and kithen sink baths and the hair dryer and the clippers.  He just never did take to it.  As time went on it became more and more of a struggle until I finally caved and found a groomer for him. 

I don't know if he likes the grooming process that he gets every six to eight weeks.  I don't care.  It is going to happen anyway.  I can't do it, so let a professional do it. 
 

BARGAINS

 

I love a bargain.  And 30% off is just too much to not use.  Not that I need anything.  Mostly don't even want anything.  But, coupon in hand, I peruse the the store.  The whole store.  Generally, I end up purchasing baby clothes for the new babies at Malta House.  Or maybe some white socks for the homeless shelter.  Just can't let that 30% off go to waste.

During the Christmas buying season there were numerous 33% off coupons at Borders.  I used those to purchase Spanish children's books.  OR I bought Christmas presents for the family.  Never could let one of those suckers go to waste either.

Now that the Holidays are past there are fewer and fewer coupons and bargains are hard to come by.  Then I got to thinking this morning that the most splendiferous bargain that I have is God's love.  And that's FREE.   
 

SUNSHINE

 

We have sunshine.  We have shadows.  We can see sprigs of green out there.  And if you squint a little you can see the garden cupid out there by the tree emerging from the snow.

The warmth on the back is like a kiss from God.  Yes, there is a tomorrow, and, yes, there will be spring.  Oh, we will have more cold, to be sure.  And rain.  And a lot of wind.  We have to have the wind to dry up the rain.  And then we will have sprouts and leaves and eventually even flowers. 

Really, it is so good to feel God's love and hope in my life.
 

IT'S STILL WINTER

 

It is still winter.  There are still mounds of snow.  The snow is dirty.  Parking is miserable.  It is still cold.  And I am CRANKY.

LEFT OVERS

 

Last night's pizza.  Even better for lunch.

 

IT'S FRIDAY

 

So yesterday I got right up, had my coffee and a yogurt, dressed and was off for my dentist appointment.  I arrived there at eight thirty for an eight forty-five appointment (I'm always early.  I get that from my dad).  After unbundling -  earband, hat, mittens, coat and settling into my book, the receptionist poked her head around the corner, "Barb," she said, "What are you doing here?" 

"I have an appointmet.  It's the tenth, isn't it?" 

She consulted her computer, looked up, and said, "MARCH tenth, honey."

I bundled back up and went home, had another cup of coffee, finished the daily puzzles, wrote my blog for the day, and, of course, adjusted my calender for March.  Don't know how I got that wrong.  Must have just not been paying attention when I wrote it in my Day Runner.

I am usually pretty good about keeping my calendar in order.  I try to keep Birthdays too.  But just because I write the Birthday in doesn't mean that I am going to remember to do something about it.  I am really bad about Birthday greetings.  AND I have been known to miss lunch dates completely.  Just blow them off.  Be in the car on the way to anywhere, look at my watch and realize I shoud have had lunch with 'x' an hour earlier.  Those gaffs are really hard to face.  I haven't done that in quite a while because the last one was such an embarrassment.

Life is full of mistakes.  Seems like I make more than my share.  And I chew over them horribly for days, tieing myself up in knots, condemning my poor behavior, and generally being in a huge funk.  Then I remember about grace and forgiveness.  God forgives everything.  I remind myself that having made the amends that I could, I just need to forgive myself and move forward.

Forgiveness is freeing.
 

A SUCCESSFUL FAILURE

 

This is my second attempt to bake bread in the crock pot.  At the same time I was trying to get away from the white bread thing, thinking that Bill might be allergic to wheat.  The first attempt was a gluten free bread mix.  My mistake on that attempt was that the setting on the crock pot was on Warm instead of High.  Well, the yeast really worked -- gooey, sticky up and over the sides of the pan.  When I realized my error, I scooped it all up and plunked it back into the pan and turned the setting to High.  The loaf baked, tasted good but was a galumpy, funny looking loaf.  Forgot to take pics.

This time around I did the scratch thing with spelt four.  Yes, I know, spelt has gluten but some people can tolerate it.  This was my first experience with spelt flour.  My first mistake here was that I was proofing the starter and forgot to add in the yeast.  Once the yeast was in, it bubbled up and I was able to make a decent looking loaf.

 Here is is going into the crock pot -- on High this time.




 
 

 
 
 
An hour later and it is rising well.

Two hours later and it hasn't risen any more at all and the top is beginning to crack.  I'm thinking that this has to be the spelt flour and not the crock pot.  But I am open to whatever happens.

Three and a half hours and it seems done.  Not a spectacular looking loaf even on the inside.  Pretty dense.  I haven't tasted it yet so don't know how that will be.  It will probably make great croutons or snack toasts.


I am out to lunch on spelt. I am delighted that I can bake one loaf efficiently in the crock pot.  I wouldn't have known about this except for reading about it in "Make It Fast, Cook It Slow" by Stephanie O'Dea.  I am anxious to get another of the gluten-free mixes and see how that does.  Maybe next week.