1. I had a newsy Thursday morning, thanks to the Pope's renunciation. Such a beautiful soul has led the Church these last several years. Emeritus Pope Benedict will continue to be in our family's prayers.
2. We are also praying for the upcoming Conclave, for the Cardinals who will be participating in it, and for the Cardinals we "adopted," Joao Braz de Aviz (from Brazil, but now Prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life) and Angelo Bagnesco (Bishop of Genoa).
3. I made these gorgeous sourdough boules using this recipe. They were far superior to the last round, though Charles thinks they could still stand to be a little more sour. I have a frozen loaf for later, and I'll be more patient with the pre-bake rise, so we'll see how it turns out. Probably not more sour, but more airy, perhaps. I've definitely been sold on baking bread in my beloved Dutch oven.
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| Fresh from the oven goodness |
4. On Wednesday, I gave in to the temptation that faces women of all ages. I cut my own bangs. They were too long and funky and I didn't have any desire to spend the time or money to get them cut. So . . . I grabbed the scissors and did the deed. I don't think they look too terrible.
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5. It has been such a joyful week watching Clare explore her new found "freedom" now that she can move around on her own, even if she does "limp crawl" on the laminate. She's discovered that she can get to various rooms of the house, her baskets of toys and books, all kinds of awesome (and awesomely tasty?!?) power cords, and other treasures. She's experimenting with pulling up, so I know our next adventures await. Now, she begins the lifelong process of learning that "ability to do" is not the same "should do." Oh, free will, you double-edged sword.
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| Finding her toys and books |
6. One of the things she has discovered is this basketball hoop that makes noise for a "slam dunk." Her beloved basketball actually goes with it. She sits obsessively slamming the hoop like older ladies in casinos pull the slot machine handles. At some point, she stops caring, but keeps on pulling anyway, mesmerized.
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| Basketball or orange? You be the judge. |
7. I know that most of the world is in the midst of their winter doldrums, but here, we have enjoyed the most beautifully perfect weather this week. This is why people move to (or winter in) Arizona. Why else would we endure months of 100+ (and 110+) degree days?!?
Have a lovely weekend, whatever your weather!
I'm clicking over to everyone who has pictures of food on their thumbnails today. That must mean something, n'est-ce pas? :)
ReplyDeleteI am totally m aking those boules. I wonder if I could pull them off today? I have a crab recipe I'm making for dinner that requires bread bowls...
As for the weather--(sticks tongue out). We have over a foot of white and not-so-white anymore stuff on the ground. Then again, we really really need the moisture in this drought-stricken region. And I don't envy you the 100 degree summers!