Today was gorgeous weather-wise. I pulled some weeds and putzed around in the yard. Went to my hair appointment yesterday and sadly, no miracles were performed. I still have "Sophia from the Golden Girls" hair; it's just a little shorter than it was yesterday. Oh well. My son received the warrant door mat; he called and we laughed and joked around for 10 minutes. We did a little more "sprucing up" around the house. The hubby took down the exterior light fixtures on the front porch and next to the garage; we cleaned them, sanded a bit, and painted them. They turned out really well and look like new again. Lots of activity on the street this week; apparently some cable company (Frontier??) is running cable in this area. It's pretty interesting to watch them and the specialized equipment. I expected there to be a bunch of trenches screwing up everyone's lawns, but they are using some kind of tunneling thing to run conduit with barely a ripple on the surface. We did get a small meter box of some kind installed in the front easement (between sidewalk and street). It's about a foot square and some kind of access spot I suppose. My husband and several other retired guys stood around "observing" and critiquing the job. Some of our neighbors have had generators installed so we are back to discussing those. The guy next door is getting an estimate tomorrow so we'll be interested to know what kind of numbers he gets. One guy in the cul-de-sac bought his generator from Lowes and paid to have it installed, which sounded like a money saver. I got my new Kitchenaid bowl-lift mixer this afternoon and I'm like a kid on Christmas. I'll have to come up with a name for the new addition... It has a 6 qt bowl and 525 watts compared to my tilt-head that is 5 qts and 325 watts... Comparison of attachments... Tomorrow I'll be trying out that recipe for the sub sandwich rolls to test it out. So exciting to have a new kitchen toy!! Yay.
I like the design of that larger dough hook, although I've not noticed any shortcomings with the original.
I wish it had the "collar" flange thing like the smaller one. That keeps dough from climbing into the mixer gears.
I hadn't thought of that. I have to push the dough down with the regular attachment...the corkscrew is gonna pull it up even more aggressively. Looks like it's time to stake a paper plate through that sucker and make your own flange. Heck, I might give it a try with mine.
Today was a day of "scattered showers". I decided to drive to Macy's to make a return and when I left my house it was sunny. The local Macy's closed permanently a few months ago, so now I have to drive over 20 miles (on the toll road) to the closest store. By the time I got about halfway there, the sky opened up pouring rain and the already awful Houston traffic got that much worse. I finally arrived and found the parking lot jammed, so I parked out on the north 40 and hoofed it to the store. I didn't stick around to shop since it was so crowded; just made my return and got out of there. Next time I'll take advantage of Macy's free shipping on returns and let UPS handle it. Got back home where it was still sunny so I decided to temp the rain gods by watering the plants on the patio. I peeked in the birdhouse close to the patio and was thrilled to see the little sparrow sitting in there staring back at me. I quickly made my getaway, not wanting to disturb her. I don't know why I get so excited over birds nesting. My husband said some doves are building a nest in the palm tree so I hope they will be OK. I know that snakes climb that tree because several times on very windy days, snakes have actually fallen out of there and onto the concrete pool deck. This everyday life seems so satisfying lately; I feel so happy and content. I guess my cancer experience showed me just how wonderful "normal" really is. For years I have bought kitchen gadgets, yarn and knitting needles, garden tools, etc. thinking that "someday" I'd learn how to properly make good bread and do all the things I pictured myself doing as an old woman. When I realized that I might not have the privilege of being elderly it was a sobering revelation. So these days I am happily mixing up breads and rolls, working on pie crust, and attempting different pizza doughs. I also bought some semolina flour to bust out the pasta rollers for my mixer and make a few different pastas. I'm having so much fun; I can hardly wait to get down to the kitchen and make a mess.
Thanks, @Mary Stetler and @John Brunner . (Hope you're having a happy birthday, John.) Today's another busy day. I've done some laundry and re-arranged the freezer in the garage. Threw out a ton of old expired food and got it looking pretty good. I moved all my chicken and pork to that freezer so the fridge freezer only has beef. That will keep me from having to dig every time I want something specific. I ordered some freezer baskets from Amazon yesterday evening and they were delivered at 5:25 this morning!! The Ring doorbell woke me up!! Sheesh. Now I'm baking bread. The loaf is on the second rise and then it will go into the oven. With 2 stand mixers sitting there, I still couldn't resist kneading the dough by hand. Speaking of mixers, I ordered some Kitchenaid accessories... the pouring shield for the 6 qt and a set of graters/slicers that will fit both mixers. Those attachments are $49 on the Kitchenaid website and Amazon, but KA has them in the "refurb" area for $29 and free shipping. The reviews say the refurb stuff is good/new condition so we'll see. Time to go check on my bread!
Changed my mind. It is time for my nap after I plant a few tiger lilly bulbs I always wanted. You are making me tired!
Sometimes we get a big dose of reality and the unfairness of life. On the breast cancer forum, there's a young mother of 4 who was diagnosed with the same cancer as me (IBC). She is only 32 years old and her little ones are 7, 4 and 11-month old twins. She's in the midst of chemo right now and I cannot imagine having to go through that horror with 4 babies to care for. She's usually sweet and upbeat, but today she is sad and afraid. Her surgery is scheduled for the 17th of this month and she's feeling the fear. You all know I am not a religious person, but I pray for her and I hope you will, too. Maybe someone up there can hear me. I HATE cancer.
you need to let her know you will support her journey thru this. Your experience and the things you went thru can be a help to her in many ways.
That's the only reason I stay on the BC forum; it really scares me and keeps cancer on my mind. But the newly-diagnosed and those in treatment have so many questions and concerns. I remember how much I appreciated people taking the time to explain things and keep me calm through the process; it was invaluable to me. So I'll continue to stick around there, at least for a while.