For What It's Worth


Friday, February 23, 2024

Update: Baking, Reading (I read a book!), Watching...

 I swear, I will, one day, figure this posting n a regular schedule thing out lol 


Life is going pretty good right now, overall. We are having a "fake" spring. I say that because after this gorgeous week of sun and 60's, we'll be having a week of 40's, rain and possible snow next week. I take what I can get and enjoy it while it lasts. 

I'm still baking more than reading. Below is my 3rd sourdough loaf and I think it's fair to say I have the hang of it and I have a strong, reliable starter. 

I also baked an Indian dessert called Baked Coconut Barfi from The Effortless Baker cookbook by Janani Elavazhagan. 



Reading:

I saw Jenni talk about Remarkably Bright Creatures on IG, then on her blog & it gave me the kick in the pants I needed to a) read b) read this book I've had on audio since last year. 

I'm SO glad I did! It was such a poignant, delightful story that made me laugh, cry and everything in between.

It's a book that intertwines various characters at different crossroads in life through the unlikely POV of Marcellus, a giant Pacific Octopus living at a local aquarium.  

I listened o this on audio - there are multiple POV's, but Marcellus's droll start to his chapters "day 345 of my captivity" had me cackling.

I started a second book, I'm enjoying, today but I'll keep it to myself  for now in case it goes south lol


Watching:

We watched The Marvels on Disney - we meant to see it at the movie theatre but Kevin had to travel a lot and we missed out. The reviews (from people not the critics) were awful but I gotta say, this movie was a damn delight. It reminded me (in tone) to the first Ant Man. It was fun and about connections and characters over the big budget, hammy acting from big stars. 


That's all for now! Maybe...hopefully...(not likely lol) I will have a post again for you next week. 

25 comments:

  1. I love baking bread in my bread maker. I haven't tried making sourdough though.

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    1. My machine has a sourdough setting but I just do mine on my own. The recipe requires 0 effort other than throwing it all in a bowl, then int he fridge overnight. No kneading.

      For any recipe that requires kneading, I use the machine lol It's fantastic.

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  2. I love sourdough. I didn't recognize that book until you talked about it more, then I remembered seeing some bloggers talk about it too. And that is so good to hear! I remember now I never saw that movie! I LOVED the first Capt. Marvel so excited to see it

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    1. I hope you like The Marvel's too. It's lighthearted fun.

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  3. Your baking looks beautiful, and reading a cookbook counts. Marcellus was a fantastic character. I read that book when it came out and simply adored it.

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    1. Thank you. I'm so shocked that I was able to repeat a good loaf the times so far lol
      That book was so sweet.

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  4. I freakin love The Marvels. I will never look at cats the same - I almost pee'd my pants when I saw it the first time. Kamala Khan is a breath of fresh air and I simply adore her and her family. We need more of Ms. Marvel!!

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    1. I loved how, after the initial hesitation, they just worked as a team, no one made dumb choices. It was a lot of fun and had heart.

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  5. I'm happy you are finding the right pace to work some reading back in, and you couldn't have chosen a better book to start with!

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    1. Have you read it? I know it's been out for a while now, so I probably don't remember if you reviewed it. So many of my friends read and loved it.

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    2. Yes! Like you, I had to wait FOREVER for my hold to come through haha. I loved Marcellus. Here's my review, just in case you missed it: https://e135-abookaweek.blogspot.com/2023/08/remarkably-bright-creatures-by-shelby.html

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  6. I'm so glad you loved REMARKABLY BRIGHT CREATURES. I'm also so glad that you loved Marcellus. He was the best. I hope you enjoy whatever book your reading right now.

    I agree about The Marvels. I really enjoyed it as did Corey. It felt more like the Marvel movies we all fell in love with. :D I'm looking forward to Deadpool & Wolverine. I love Ryan Reynolds, Deadpool, and Ryan Reynolds' fake feud with Huge Jackman. :D

    I'm glad you've got the hang of your sourdough. I had a starter once and didn't take good enough care of it. I've decided to buy my sourdough for now. Lol.

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    1. Yeah, that's what I felt. It was just a fun movie with laughs, character development but didn't take itself too seriously.

      I completely ignore my starter lol If I'm not baking, it sits in the fridge, unfed for months. I failed with the whole daily feed/ discard thing. I just make what I need and put a tablespoon back in the fridge lol

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  7. Your baking looks FABULOUS! I wish I was good at baking but actually... maybe I do not? I would eat it all heh. Glad you found a book AND a movie that were wins for you! Hopefully more of both to come!

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    1. It's funny, because I've NEVER been good at baking. I also send most of it with Kevin to work lol

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  8. Yay for finishing a book! When you've had a streak of not reading I really feel like finding the right book is appreciated even more and what a relief that you enjoyed it so much! I've gone right off watching the marvel films lately and saw the bad reviews for The Marvels, but I do question if the reviewers are always the intended audience. They forget we don't always want award winning films sometimes we want an enjoyable film to escape into for a couple of hours.

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    1. Most of the negative Marvel reviews were from fan boys who didn't like that it was "woke" & it's really just a fun super hero movie with a lot of laughs and bonding.

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  9. Those little bundt loafs look amazingly delicious. I have heard of Remarkably Bright Creatures but am not sure if I will be able to suspend my imagination enough to get over the whole octopus part.

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    1. It's hard to explain, but even though there is an octopus pov, it's firmly rooted in facts lol

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  10. Of course we're not going to have snow in my corner of the woods (it's still unseasonably warm, too), but this week we're having horrible weather...it rains every day - cats and dogs, as the British say - and the wind is quite strong.

    Love the bakery pics! and yay for reading a book!

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    1. It's POURING here today and tomorrow. They say we'll get 3-4 inches and maybe 1 inch of snow that will quickly wash away with rain. It's cruel to do after 3 days of sunshine. Rip it away lol

      Get your act together nature!

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  11. I watched marvels too. I still do NOT like Cap marvel, but Miss marvel is awesome

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    1. I'm kind of indifferent to both TBH lol but I enjoyed the movie.

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  12. That sourdough looks divine. Like something right out of a fancy bakery. I'm kind of drooling over it right now. :) It's 80 here today but will be 65 tomorrow. Welcome to winter in Florida.

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    1. Thank you! I'm so happy with how my starter already tastes like that good bakery sourdough. I remember FL winters well lol I used to love winter there but I feel like they've stayed hotter instead of being a relief the past few years.

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