Tuesday, April 07, 2020

Four weeks


I'm keeping track of the days since I went into voluntary quarantine, and each morning I mark off another one.  Tomorrow begins my fifth week.  There were 64 new cases and two deaths yesterday so we'll still not at the turning point.  I read an essay in a recent New Yorker about how China handled the pandemic aggressively and now have lifted the quarantine in Wuhan.  Our Administration bungled this so badly, I just can't think about it too much.  People are dying unnecessarily.

My sister-in-law Rochelle made masks and sent us two of them.  We just got them in the mail and Ian used his today when he went to Safeway.  It's hot!!  Maybe it's the body heat trapped in the mask that kills the virus. 

I read a helpful article that a friend found, listing things to be aware of during this crisis and helpful actions we can take.  One item was to take on a long-term project like learning to play the piano.  I don't have a piano but I haven't woven in a month either.  Bingo.  I finished winding the warp this afternoon in tide pool colors.  Sadly my inactivity has left me with weakened back muscles and I kept having to take breaks to let my back rest.  My super longterm goal will be to use my weights and get my strength back.


And I decided to get my bread mojo back, but it appears that a large portion of American has turned to baking as a comfort activity.  Ian called me from Costco to say that this 25-pound bag of unbleached white flour was the only flour he'd seen, did I want it?  I've always used unbleached white, whole wheat or bread flour but said - buy it!  That might be the only flour we see for the next month.


He has a list of items to look for whenever he shops, including toilet paper of course.  Yeast was always just an empty shelf, and then at his favorite grocery store, employee-owned Newport Market, he found King Arthur bread flour and this one-pound brick of yeast.  It's a completely new yeast to me as is dry mixing it with the ingredients.  I was disappointed with my first try so am going to make some single loaves from the bleached white flour to get acquainted with this altitude, cooking times and temps.  I used to bake all my own bread and I've forgotten how much I enjoy it.

Delaney turned one on Friday.  She is my sunshine in this viral storm.



1 comment:

Michelle said...

That's the kind of yeast I use, but I do proof it before adding flour, etc.