Home baking

My family & I have enjoyed home-baked bread for many years. I buy buns for the kids but rarely buy a loaf, other than one to keep in the freezer for emergencies. Every weekend I get out the breadmaker and knock up a couple of loaves to see us through the week.

Most of the time, they come out well. Sometimes not. I've no idea what I do differently, but there are so many variables that it's impossible to control them all precisely.

Today I set one going. Came home from walking the dog, opened up the lid. Uh-oh, hasn't risen anywhere near enough. Darn it!

I was pissed for a while, but then I thought: it's still fresh bread. It'll taste OK anyway. Whatever's left will be good for breadcrumbs. And, when I think about it, I'm lucky to be able to enjoy fresh bread at all. How many people in the world would envy me this luxury, even if it didn't come up to my usual standard?

From your optimistic political correspondent

Election fever is finally over. For a while.

I don't pretend to like Stephen Harper, but in a choice between him, Michael Ignatieff, or Jack Layton, there's not a lot to choose as far as I can tell. So with no particular axe to grind over which of them becomes Prime Minister I can't feel too dismal about the outcome.

So that leaves me free to celebrate the positives in yesterday's results:

1. We have a majority government. I may not agree with the Conservative policies, but at least we can get past the endless dance of the No Confidence Tango that's dogged politics for so long.


2. Finally the Bloc Quebecois have been put in their place. To my mind, they are an exclusive Provincial interest group with no place at the Federal feeding trough, especially not in the number of seats they enjoyed that was disproportionate to the actual votes cast.


3. The Green party has finally got a well-deserved seat. For rationale, see #2 and flip all the arguments on their head.

Political rant over. Time for bed.

The gift of writing

In my spare time, I write science fiction. This started out rather late in life (compared with most writers, who've had stories bubbling out of their heads since they could string sentences together) so I've always felt a bit of a fraud. But I'm slowly gaining confidence to think that, in fact, I am not a bad writer.

This is a warming, but fragile, realisation.

For this I can thank the harsh but supportive groups of critiquers who've helped me develop my skills. Their comments have evolved over the years from outright ripping-apart, to glimmers of serious encouragement.

Being able to string words into stories is a great gift.

Hiking

I feel lucky that, just 5 minutes drive from home, I can get out onto miles of woodland trails like this...

Eye to eye with the wild

I grew up somewhere where the closest I got to a wild animal was the occasional rabbit. This morning, I'm cycling to work along a quiet suburban road (not exactly wilderness) when I suddenly find myself eye to eye, as in less than a car's length away from, three deer grazing nonchalantly on a grass bank in front of someone's house.

This is not an isolated occurrence.

It makes my heart glad whenever it happens.

Time for reflection

I like to cycle to work as often as my body, schedule, and the weather allow. Sadly all three conspired to put an early end to cycling last summer, and to make a slow start this year after the winter darkness.

The trouble is, it's a long way to work. It involves an hour-long cycle each way, which is physically demanding, and requires time and preparation.

But, on days such as today when the planets align and I get on my bike, that turns into a number of blessings. I am getting exercise and fresh air. The ride is beautiful. I am often delighted by the sight of wildlife.

Best of all, I have two hours in the day free from demands. Time to myself. Time to reflect. A precious commodity.

Count your blessings

I came home from work feeling OK, after a not-too-stressful day, planning out what I was going to do with a hour or so free time. Thirty seconds later, all the good will evaporated. My wife was feeling ill, the kids were arguing over who was going to do what to get themselves some food before my daughter had to go off to Guides. Now, two and a bit hours later I've finally sat down for a few minutes after getting started on some food for my wife and I after the kids are to bed, and clearing a pile of dishes that's been depressing me for days. I feel wretched. I feel like I spend all my time looking after everyone around me and have no time left over for myself.

But I strayed on to this blog that I've been neglecting shamefully after such a good start, and I am reminded of all the things I should be thankful for. I'm lucky that I have a wife, and two wonderful children, and a home in a beautiful part of the world.

And after all that tiring effort, I did actually manage to do the one thing that I planned to do when I first arrived home, and the kitchen is clean again, and I have a tasty meal to look forward to.

Cup half full!

Thank you, blog!