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December 11th, 2009
mirabile_dictu
 | 06:39 pm - Seriously self-indulgent post about bread
xposted to IJ and LJ
I love bread. I have always loved bread. Bread for breakfast, for dinner, for dessert, any and all kinds of bread. For several years, we went without because Webster had been diagnosed as having celiac's disease. Celiac's is "a digestive disease that damages the small intestine and interferes with absorption of nutrients from food. People who have celiac disease cannot tolerate gluten, a protein in wheat, rye, and barley. Gluten is found mainly in foods but may also be found in everyday products such as medicines, vitamins, and lip balms" (from here).
It was a pain, especially living here in the Wine Country where our artisan breads are known and loved. Within three miles of where I live is a world-renown bakery, and fewer than thirty miles away are a number of others equally well known. For my birthday, we go to a restaurant in San Francisco with its own bakery that puts the most delicious bread imaginable on the table, with fresh local olive oil.
We had to give all that up for years. I know that others suffer much more, and that we are lucky. And we were luckier than we knew because eventually Webster got a new gastroenterologist who ran the tests and discovered that, whatever is wrong with him, celiac's isn't it. We could eat bread again.
Almost at the same time, I discovered the New York Times's recipe for no-knead bread. When I was a kid I'd made bread a lot; I loved the kneading, and watching the dough rise, and oh, the flavor. But when I grew up I somehow lost the knack. The bread wouldn't rise. The crust was too hard. The bread lacked flavor. I decided that the yeast no longer loved me, and gave it up.
But now, armed with the NYT recipe and medical permission to eat gluten again, I tried my hand. We loved the results. Unlike me, Webster hadn't grown up in a house with fresh bread, so this was new to him. At first, he would eat about half a loaf at one sitting! Oops. Not good for his tummy, even if he could eat gluten. But it was soooo good.
Not long ago, I started hearing about another no-knead recipe, Artisan Bread, one that lets you make one big batch of dough and then bake whenever you want (recipe here). I think MRKinch mentioned it? Whoever did, I bless her. Now we have fresh bread literally every day, and if Webster wants something dessert-ish and quick, I turn some of the dough into little cinnamon buns or plain rolls that he slathers in strawberry jam.
I'm so enthusiastic about my breadmaking that I've documented it! So if you dare, here is ME making BREAD!
( Seriously, links to BIG pictures of me making bread )
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December 9th, 2009
mirabile_dictu
 | 07:18 pm - A bad decade
xposted to IJ and LJ
Why am I not getting my IJ and LJ notices? Do both services have it out for me? Dang. Still not going to DW, though. There has to be a third way.
Casa McShep is open! Yay!
( Some big photos back here )
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December 8th, 2009
mirabile_dictu
 | 09:21 pm - Teyla is beautiful
xposted to IJ and LJ
Oh my fucking god, but it's cold:
Just look at that. Already almost freezing and it isn't even 9:30.
My holiday shopping is nearly done except for my sister. What to get her? I renewed her wine club subscription -- she says she likes the wine, so I keep extending the subscription, but what if she's just saying that? How does one know? I'd like to give her something else, but what? ACK.
Please see my new icon made by Monanotlisa. I call it "Teyla is beautiful." It has inspired me to get back to work on my Teyla story.
I bet I'm not the only person who comes to associate a specific song with a story I'm writing. Am I? REM's "Nightswimming" is a perennial favorite of mine; it informs both Endings Unexpectedly Happy (I forgot my shirt at the water's edge / The moon is low tonight) and I Am Your Image Dressed as the World (The photograph on the dashboard, taken years ago / Turned around backwards so the windshield shows / Every streetlight reveals the picture in reverse). And now with Teyla's story, too:
You, I thought I knew you.
You I cannot judge.
You, I thought you knew me,
this one laughing quietly underneath my breath.
Nightswimming.
Here's an mp3 of Nightswimming. Isn't it lovely?
Oh my god, did I mention it's cold?
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December 7th, 2009
ngaio
| 01:15 pm - Today
So I'm not carrying a stone baby. Which is good. ... OK, so it's not like I was expecting to be told I was carrying a stone baby but it was an ultrasound and I had weird thoughts/dreams last night and then freaked Allegra out in the car. In fact the answer is that my insides are fine and dandy. Which I am happy about. But at the same time it'd be nice if there was something small wrong which could be fixed and solve the problem you know? Or at least give me ammunition for my 'please just remove my womb' argument.
There's this t-shirt I want making. When my dept. were out on Thursday I was slapping my boss (Wizard) upside the head every time he got too loud so we didn't get chucked out of the restaurant. And then was sitting with my hands in boxercise guard position threatening to hit him. I forgot that Wizard used to teach martial arts and can kill you with his pinky finger, and he told me my guard position was wrong and corrected it. So I'm there with my right hand in the right place and my left hand in the right place and him going 'and your elbow has to be close in to your side' whereupon I looked down and uttered the immortal words: 'I have topographical issues' ... so now I really want a t-shirt, possibly scoop necked, which says 'topographical issues' on it!
Thank you ![[info]](http://www.insanejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) phoebesmum, ruric, and llaras for the snowflakes. I'm now really wanting shortbread but luckily we've not got any in the house so that's OK.
It's raining. But the birds have discovered the feeders so I'm happy.
Current Mood: awake
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December 6th, 2009
mirabile_dictu
 | 09:22 pm - Lovely weekend over too soon
xposted to IJ and LJ
Brrr! I woke up to find this:
I love the rain but I'm not so crazy about the cold.
Why do weekends fly by so quickly, yet workweeks drag on forever? One of life's mysteries.
Nice people have tried to send me one of those snowflake cookies but I have LJ gifts blocked. I did so because their gifts usually cost money and it seems the most generous fans are those who can least afford it. But the cookies are free, so I'm missing out! But thank those of you who have tried; it makes me very happy that you did.
( Here are things I want to share: )
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ngaio
| 05:35 pm - Cards
So I managed to actually send cards to everyone who answered my poll (technically I've actually just written them, tomorrow I'll send them!) though not the possibly planned parcels (I'll do those in the new year).
So - if you didn't answer the poll and would like a card, please let me know. Comments here are screened or you can email me at ngaio dot wimsey at gmail dot com
Current Mood: calm
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ngaio
| 05:32 pm - Wow
I have been, for me, amazingly productive this weekend.
I have:
Washed and refilled the bird-feeders, including mixing suet and meal worms (ew!) into the seed for some proper winter food for the birds.
Rehung said bird-feeders. Hopefully the birds will find them again soon.
Put all my clean clothing away (which could be a problem when the next lot of washing dries as I'm out of hangers).
Had my lip, chin and eyebrows waxed
Reduced my open tabs down from around 30 to my usual 8
Washed up (I'll admit, I don't normally do this, Henry does, but I was feeling virtuous!)
Watched Mansour Bahrami my sexy Iranian tennis playing boyfriend 'perform' at the Albert Hall (OK, that's not productive per se but oh boy was it fun!)
Visited fandom-colleague (with Allegra and Dylan) and introduced him to the world of fanvids, and watched The Plan and a few bits of BSG ephemera and now I really need to watch the whole thing (I stopped about a quarter of the way into the first series) - my February holiday may be entirely TV based!
Organised all my fanvids on my hard-drive as I realised that having grabbed a whole lot in October I'd never sorted them
Written and addresses Christmas cards to all people who answered my poll ages ago (there will be a related post after this on this topic)
And tomorrow (day off) I have to:
Go to the hospital for an ultrasound
Possibly go to the gym
Do a bunch of brought home work
*Post* the Christmas cards
Answer LJ comments
...
Remind me to tell you about my t-shirt I want somewhen.
Current Mood: accomplished
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