So….

I heard from several people from far and wide asking me to please continue writing my blog. So, I will, although I warn you it may become tedious and boring! If so, I hope you will let me know.

So, today I I took the dogs on a long walk during which Henry managed to corner something. I don’t know what because it was in the underbrush and I couldn’t see it, but I couldn’t get him to leave it alone. In the end I came home. Polly appeared almost immediately but it took Henry about 10 minutes to show up at the house. I didn’t think anything of it and he let me wipe the mud and wet off his paws before he laid down. Tonight, however, he wouldn’t get off his bed to eat dinner, which is very unusual. About an hour later he limped onto the rug in the dining area and I could see he was favoring one of his front feet. I was able to get him to eat and drink by putting the bowls right in front of him and then I carried him back to his bed. I’ll have to see how he is in the morning. I don’t know if he stepped on something or got a bite or what. I’ll have to ask my neighbor to help me get him to the vet if he’s not better in the morning. Wow, this is when I really miss Happy Pets on Camposol!

Today was damp and chilly so I decided I’d have soup for my supper, and wouldn’t a nice homemade loaf of bread go very well with that? So I decided I would make Italian bread this afternoon. Got down my big stand mixer (which seems to be getting heavier and heavier) and assembled everything I would need. I made the sponge, covered it with a tea towel and left it in the mixer bowl to rise after I lifted up the “head” of the mixer with the dough paddle attached. After about 5 minutes I heard a loud noise and realized that the head had come crashing down with the paddle right onto the tea towel and into the rising sponge, parts of which were now stuck to the tea towel. Tried to sort that out, let it continue to rise, and following the recipe directions added the rest of the flour, sugar, and salt. I didn’t notice the small bowl of vegetable oil sitting on the table that was also supposed to go in. I turned on the mixer to get everything blended when my fingers slipped on the speed control, the mixer took off like a shot shaking the table all over the place and I heard a crash. At this point the flour had literally gone EVERYWHERE and the crash I heard was the bowl of vegetable oil smashing to the floor. I was wearing slippers and as I stepped around the table to look, I stepped right in the oil which had mixed with the flour. There was very soft, semi-mixed dough hanging off the table and 2 chairs, oil all over the floor mixing with the flour and I was now wearing a slipper coated in oil, flour and nasty dough. Honestly, I didn’t know what to do first! Well, I eventually got the floor cleaned up, added more flour to my dough and was able to produce 3 round loaves for the oven. It took me the better part of an hour to get the rest of the mess cleaned up. At this point I discovered I couldn’t get the bowl disengaged from the stand mixer. Try as I might, I could not get the thing off. I finally admitted defeat and asked my upstairs neighbor, Francisco, to come down and get the damn thing off – which he thankfully did. This ends the tale of my bread making today. Except that I did end up with 3 beautiful loaves of Italian bread, so I guess it was worth it in the end (although I’m damn tired!)

I’m having a glass of wine now that I’ve enjoyed my soup and bread. Stay tuned for further adventures!