Ignoring the muggles

On Thursday after work, I stopped over at Barnes and Noble and decided to buy "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows." What a good read? I sat down on Thursday night and read some, but spent nearly all day on Friday the 4th reading the book. Finished it at 10:30 on Friday night. Needless to say, I had a lovely 4th. It was so nice to read something other than an academic journal or a text book. I can't remember the last time I sat and read something fun like that. For most of my leisure time is spent in front of the spinning wheel or knitting. Anyhow. More later.

The magic of sourdough

So during our solstice ritual last week with Dragon's Cauldron, each of us got a cup of Sourdough starter. I've never had sourdough starter before, but I fed it and stirred it according to the directions and it grew in size. Sunday was the final day of the mixing/feeding and I had time so I set about baking. The first thing to remember is that the starter grows fast. There is so much of it when you are ready to use it. So...I made some cornbread, which turned out fine, except I think it needed an egg as it was incredibly crumby. The other thing I tried was a Sourdough Black Bean, Chipotle bread. So here are the pictures, starting with the final product, then the sourdough starter, and the magic of the rising dough. It tastes really good and has a "kick" to it.

  

Only in the UK

Check this ad for Heinz Deli Mayo. I'd like a "Mum" like that to come home to.

I cried this morning

Take a look at this article and pictures. Can you imagine being together for 55 years. Notice the third picture in the series and their vintage photo.

Sunday driver

Yes. My friend Wendy and I are Sunday drivers. At least we were yesterday. We kinda knew where we were going, just not quite sure how far and such. But it was well worth the drive. In Northern Orange County lies a little secret, Sunshine Lavender Farm. 900 lavender plants are on about an acre of land. The farm is not open to the public as it is located in a community with a shared driveway. Once a year, there is a party. That party consists of tours of the farm, lavender crafts booth, lavender products, homemade lavender ice cream, and a special tent from the Farm Fairy. It was really cool to see how they "shuck" the dried lavendar from the stalk by hand. It was amazing to stick your hand down in a tub of lavendar flowers. I knew there were several varieties of lavendar (over 200 when you search on the web). However, she has about a dozen or so from Grosso and Provence (huge 3 foot wide plants) to the smaller Hidcote. She has Giant Hidcote, a white variety I can't remember the name of, Fred Groutin, Dutch and an ornamental one called Spanish. It was beautiful to walk around. And the bees. Oh my goodness those little guys were "drunk" on lavendar as they were al over the Provence lavender. Check out the web page, I think she has an open house in December for holiday gifts, but the once a year farm tour sure was something. Oh, and for you locals she goes to the Duke Farmer's Market and the Hillsborough Farmer's Market.