For What It's Worth


Tuesday, May 12, 2020

Currently: May


Currently is a monthly feature hosted by In Residence

Making


I decided to try my hand at baking bread. I tried years (decades) ago and usually killed the yeast or couldn't figure out kneading. YouTube is the greatest though!! And after watching sixthousandsomething yeast/kneading videos, I decided to start with a small batch recipe for focaccia recipe from Dessert for Two. This site has helped me so much in mastering techniques that are too overwhelming when done on a larger scale.  

It came out delish! My only mistake was thinking the oven was fully preheated when it wasn't - so the oven wasn't hot enough to give it that full rise. 

Missing

Puttering around stores. I'm not a huge shopper and I'm an introvert, so this hasn't been totally horrible for me. And I am able to get outdoors for hikes and fresh air while still staying away from people. 

But the spring is my time of year. I LOVE it. And I love plants and it's a bummer not to be able to just wander around everywhere plant shopping. I have ordered bulbs and our plant nursery is open but I don't want to go out too much and I plan my trip around when I think it will be quieter.  
So I just miss that carefree time where you could just go wherever without having to enact a whole plan.


Learning

Cutting Kevin's hair and coloring mine.  Kevin has a really short hair cut so it's fairly easy to just shave his head but he likes the sides tapered and even shorter so I was afraid to attempt it. 

Again - YouTube to the rescue!

I watched several until I found the closest thing to his style and started with longer blades and it turned out great! 

Then I needed to cover my grays. I usually do a quick touch up with the cheap stuff in between visits but this has to last longer (& it's been 3 months so more gray too!) 

I went with Madison Reed and took their quiz and bought their recommended color based on my results. 

The package comes with everything you need (except a brush but you can do it with your hands and bottle - I happened to have a brush & a cape but you can buy all that from them). It went really easy but I had Kevin do the back of my head. It had 100% gray coverage and left a nice multidimensional color overall. I'll assume the back of my head looks good and Kevin isn't lying lol

The one thing I hated was the included shampoo and conditioner. It was really strong and perfumy smelling. I;ll use my own the next time. 

Will I always do it at home? No. I'd rather let someone else do all the work but it was a good option to have. 

Loving


Being outdoors. The weather has been gorgeous! We've been eating outside on our little deck and taking walks by the water at sundown.



We also did this puzzle over the weekend. I love how bright and colorful it is. I have another one but learned the lesson to do it at the table next time. I'm too old to do puzzles on the floor now lol
#backpainfordays


Reading


*whispers* I think I'm reading again. I've already read 7 books this month and they've been a mix of review arc's, books from my TBR shelf and a few for fun that I sometimes review & sometimes don't. 

Today I'm finishing a review arc of Defy or Defend by Gail Carriger. It's the low angst fluff and sweetness that I can handle right now. 

I think I'm starting the Geography of Lost Things by Jessica Brody once I'm done.

What have you been making, missing, learning, loving, and reading?

31 comments:

  1. I LOVE home baked bread ....its the best. And so much better than anything you buy at the store. and Yay for reading again....Isn't it the BEST feeling ever? I am back into reading and I can't stop lol

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    1. I've been places that have had really great fresh bread so I was able to put off learning lol But not out here.

      I've been reading a book a day again and it feels both weird and great.

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  2. I've never baked bread but I found a Italian crusty bread recipe that is supposedly "no kneading" required. We'll see how that goes. I'm sure I'll screw it up! I feel the same way about puttering around- I want to hit the garden center and Barnes & Noble but I'm not going to risk it just to shop some.

    Cutting hair- I bought one of those clipper things so I do my own now and it's awesome. No more having to go get a haircut for me, I love it.

    And yes being outside has been a life saver!

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    1. I've had the clippers and when he just wanted his whole head shaved one length it was no big deal. In FL it was pretty much just shave my head lol

      Now he wanted tapered sides and a little longer on the top and that was scary to me lol But I did it!

      I have one of those no kneading recipes too! Thanks for the reminder because seriously, I've got nothing but time to experiment.

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  3. Your bread came out beautiful! Nice job! That's awesome that you are learning to cut men's hair. My daughter swears by YouTube (and google) for everything. I love Carriger's books. It's been a while, and I really have been wanting to start the Custard Protocol books. Geography of Lost Things is a favorite of mine. I hope you don't hate it.

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    1. It was tasty even if it didn't fully get that rise once I popped it into the oven. totally my fault for not realizing it wasn't hot enough. I did overcome the yeast and kneading though!!

      This one is pure fluff!Not a whole lot of plot but adorable if you're up for that kind of thing right now.

      I'm a huge fan of Brody so I have high hopes.

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  4. Kudos on the bread. And I understand the things you're missing; I am, too. We're all adjusting to a new life.

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    1. Honestly, it's not all that different for me but I worry about small businesses and people who can't adjust to this life (or have kids for example) as well as I'm lucky enough to be able to.

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  5. The bread looks delicious! My college housemate used to make jam, candy, and wine, and bake bread, but I never paid attention. I just ate the finished products. Ha ha. I wish I had paid attention because it would be great to have those skills. 🍞

    I counted and I haven't been out of the house in eight weeks! I can't even take my twice a week walks because I cannot be within six feet of my son. I guess he could walk behind me, though. Maybe I'll ask him tomorrow. I miss my once a month errands and lunch day with my sister. 😕

    You should cut Kevin's hair all the time! ✂✨

    Happy to hear you are all doing well. 🌞

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    1. We've been on socially distance hikes! We *meet* in a larger parking lot and head in 6ft (minimum) apart.

      You can still learn to bake! lol I managed to bake something so you can too!

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  6. Wow, that looks good. I've been seeing so many of my friends turning to baking this quarantine times. Yay to learning new things!! and oh gosh, seeing that puzzle makes me want one for myself. Gotta get one once the malls are open.

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    1. I've resisted because yeast/kneading scare me lol but also...I miss fresh bread lol

      That puzzle was from the B&N online store!

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  7. MAKING ... I can't say I've been making anything as delicious as your bread. We do have a bread maker that we used to use a lot but haven't for a while and, now, an ideal time to start again, we can't get hold of flour for love nor money. I have however been colouring in things which I've then scanned and printed onto card to make cards that Mr T has been posting through the letter boxes of friends and neighbours.

    LEARNING ... Wow! To cut hair. No way would I be safe let loose with a pair of scissors. I get like yourself and just about everyone else I'm learning to live a different existence at the moment.

    LOVING ... Without a doubt I'm loving having Mr T work from home. Something I find guilty about when I think of all those friends who are Key Workers and thus don't have the luxury of safely working at home.

    READING ... As I'm getting a lot less requests at the moment, I'm actually reading my way through my TBR mountain ... and looking forward to when I can get out and stock up again.

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    1. We can't find bread machines anywhere so I had to cave lol I had bought a 5lb bag of flour and yeast before all this and I don't bake much so I have it on hand. I probably won't be able to restock though. I've been enjoying your coloring!

      I don't trust myself with scissors either and he cuts his hair very short - military style - so it's a bit less scary.

      Kevin is at work for 2 weeks after being home for 2 months and I liked it when he was here too. Once he's done at work for this project (he works at a power plant) he'll be home for the foreseeable future.

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  8. Great job on making bread! It looks yummy. I could really use some warmer weather so I can get outside more. Yay for reading a bit more - my focus goes back and forth, but I'm doing okay. It's still a nice escape. :) Yay for cutting Kevin's hair and dying yours! I'm glad it went well.

    -Lauren
    www.shootingstarsmag.net

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    1. We seem to have a gorgeous sunny week balanced out by cold dreary for a few days lol

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  9. I am not big on stores either, but sigh, I miss it

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    1. I'm a browser and I miss it lol Or just when you need one little thing - you can't just go out and get it anymore.

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  10. What a gorgeous view you guys have! I'm so jealous! We just live next to a road at the front of our house. Exciting! Garden centres are open in some parts of the UK but I'm not very green fingered personally so I'm just amusing myself indoors instead!

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    1. I was really looking forward to starting my butterfly garden again. I pick up stuff here and there but I don't want to keep going out for something like that.

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  11. Yeah, I'd say you're reading again... seven books already is awesome! Congrats on the bread. The foccacia looks amazing. I cut Robert's hair about a month ago. I did the same... YouTube videos to the rescue. And he helped me color my hair last week. I couldn't take the roots anymore. Puzzle on the floor? I want to groan just thinking about it. Too old for that anymore. LOL

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    1. My gray's were getting baaaad lol

      Don't do the puzzle on the floor. lol Lesson learned!

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  12. I've never made bread, other than in one of those machines. Maybe someday I'll try it. Yours looks wonderful! The puzzle is beautiful. We don't do too many, which makes me sad... but we don't have a safe place to leave it - the kitties enjoy pushing the pieces on the floor! Eep!! Happy mid-May to you!

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    1. I tried to stick with a forgiving dough and a smaller batch so I wasn't trying to knead so much. This was 1 1/2 C of flour vs the 5-6 of a regular recipe.

      I've left everything on the floor because we don't have a dog to mess with it and Figgy is too old to care.

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  13. Yay for reading again, I know my readings been slow as late so I celebrate every book I finish. How annoying you got everything sorted for your bread and one small mistake meant the rise wasn't quite there, glad it tasted good though, that's what truly matters. I feel like everyone has had to become an amateur hairdresser so I'm glad you had success with your attempts. I am just allowing my hair to grow crazy and wild and I've discovered I've got grey hairs! Probably not enough for folks to notice unless they're looking but I might have to start trying to dye my hair and I am not happy about it.

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    1. I had a LOT of grays lol Not coloring wasn't an option hehe

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  14. I'm missing puttering around stores too! We got to go to a garden centre yesterday and it was lovely... In a pre-covid world, I hated the garden centre! lol

    Baking breads has definitely been a theme of lockdown. I've gotten very used to all the kneading. My arms will come out of lockdown all toned but the rest of me has definitely suffered!

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    1. I'm not a big shopper but I do love browsing and dreaming about buying things. lol

      it's my first summer in our new place so I had all these plans for gardening and all that. I did order a few things and get a plant here and there but it's not the same thing.

      But I really can't complain because we're so lucky to be able to get out and explore while not seeing anyone lol

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  15. I love spring and summer and I love being outdoors any moment I can be when the sun is shining. I hope that with restrictions easing I will be able to spend more time out and about even if it is on my own and reading in the sun. I have been too scared to bake bread even though I love baking. But I am glad that yours turned out so epic :D

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    1. The yeast and kneading scared me - I have failed in the past -lol YouTube videos are really a godsend!!

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  16. Your bread looks delish! I love that everyone is becoming a baker and a hairdresser now lol.

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