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When you wake up to Betty looking like this you have to make bread.
The starter she made later that morning was equally anxious to get to work.
And here's where things went haywire. I bought these cute little 6.5 inch banneton baskets right before my back gave up on me and I'd been itching to use them. I needed to increase my little loaf recipe just a tad to fit in them properly and when I did, I increased the hydration percentage of the recipe too much. In baker's speak, I used a 80% hydration ratio when I should have used 70%. 80 is not for beginners.
I had to wrestle a very wet dough all afternoon and thought I had won the battle when I realized I had not seasoned my new bannetons so I couldn't use them after all. You have to wash them, dry them, mist them with water and then coat them with rice flour. I hadn't done any of that so I had to hurry up and figure out something else for its overnight cold proofing which turned out to be a glass bowl lined with a coffee filter.
After baking, I knew by looking at it that it wasn't right. It sort of looks like a brain doesn't it? I was scared.
When I cut it, it looked okay but it was gummy. Disappointing.
I toasted a slice and it made a decent little sandwich. The good thing is, as long as Betty is enjoying this warm weather, I can try again. Like today. I'm getting right back on that horse.
After a good workout on my exercise ball, I gingerly walked the yard with The Mister as he watered all our new babies. The new rose has settled in nicely I'm happy to report.
I haven't been out there for days and was surprised to see that the little White Pines were covered in new growth. My sweet little babies are growing up!
The Loblollys seem to have gotten over their funk. A while back I had to paint them with a concoction of Neem oil and dish soap to kill whatever gooey thing was happening to their trunks. It seemed to work. They have also been sprouting new growth.
This is a terrible photo but you can kind of see the little fans on my Ginko tree. I dearly love this thing. I've always wanted a Ginko after reading (about a million times) The Witch Family by Eleanor Estes. The two main characters live on a Ginko lined street in Washington DC and I thought it was charming.
The two red maples are putting out a lot of leaves.
I wish I could say the same about the little dogwoods that we planted around this big dogwood on the side of the house. It looks like a deer snacked on them and ate many of the leaves. I hope they recover. It made me awfully sad. I ordered some fruit tree netting for them which should be here today.
The two magnolias that arrived broken are finally showing signs of life but they still look pitiful. We've still got six more trees to plant but with my back issue there is no way I can be digging and hauling right now. If the city shows up with a beef about it, they are just going to have to fine us. We're doing the best we can just to keep all these babies alive.
I had two tasks to accomplish yesterday. Putting the dry goods away from the grocery order that's been sitting here and putting away the laundry The Mister did yesterday. After they were done I did some ball time and actually knit a few rows on the heels of the pink socks. It didn't feel too bad.
I picked up the Hue Shift later that afternoon but it didn't go so well so I gave up. When The Mister went off to his birthday lunch I had a good cry and felt better for it. It's funny how so much of who we are is wrapped up in what we do and right now I feel like I'm hobbling around in the twilight zone.
The Mister's birthday might not have been much fun but I did make it up to him by buying him this self propelled mower. Our big riding mower isn't going to get around all the little trees we planted so to keep weeds down we have to have something smaller. It'll be delivered on Friday and I even sprung for it to come assembled.
My big accomplishment of the day was getting Betty back out of the fridge. I'd stuck her in there for the duration and even if I have to deal with her sitting down, I think I can go back to caring for her now. I also put some chili in the crockpot. Real food. I've been living off bowls of The Mister's cereal. Those of you with partners that can cook should count your blessings. We never think of being old and infirm when we choose our mates. We most certainly should.
I knew I was finally getting on the other side of this when I woke up caring about what my house looked like. The first thing I did was blow up my exercise ball anticipating that I would soon be needing it for some rehab. I like to sit and knit on it. When I was teaching, I always had one in my classroom. After missing the entire second week of school one year, I learned my lesson and took all this back stuff very seriously. I started and ended my day with a good stretch out and sat on it when I had the rare opportunity to sit.
There were so many things that needed catching up on. The floors were a disaster. Vacuuming with my little cordless wasn't a problem but mopping would be so I did the washrag shuffle. The rest of the day was spent recuperating but at least I had accomplished something.
The poor Mister had to create his own 72nd birthday celebration yesterday. I sent him to the store for a cake and this is what he came home with. I was expecting something a little more festive tbh. His old work buddies are taking him out to lunch today so there's that. We do what we can at our age.
There's no way I could bend over a project knitting, stitching or otherwise so I've got nothing to show off this week. I did make a trip across town with The Mister to pick up an online order of groceries yesterday and make a brief run into PetSmart to get Pup's food. It was too much, too soon and I paid the price for it yesterday afternoon.
I have added these to my collection of back pain remedies. I should mention that this particular episode isn't worse than the others, it's just the first time I've ever had to go without an anti-inflammatory. I can't take Motrin or any NSAID with another medication the doctor put me on in January. I swore I wouldn't go down the interaction rabbit hole I saw my parent's go down as they aged but here we are. To say I'm furious with this old body after living my life in a way not to get to this point is an understatement. If I'd have known, I would have enjoyed myself more.
It's always a good sign when my little pig friend comes out to rub those sore spots away. I couldn't think of it on Friday or Saturday but yesterday it hurt so good. Him and I have been through a lot together. When I had my first episode many years ago after a fall that sent me to the ER, massage was suggested and this guy would do it all.
Another good sign is that I was hungry. I hadn't eaten much over the weekend. I was too overwhelmed with misery to think about food but yesterday I sent The Mister out to get me a veggie sandwich from Subway or as he calls it "a lettuce sandwich" since I only have veggies on it. No sauce. I know it was too many carbs for one sitting but I ate it all. I'll be more careful tomorrow. Right now I'm going to enjoy a full belly.
I've had the good luck of having all of The Mister's hip and knee replacement doo dads to use while I am hobbling around with my bad back. I took his cane out for a brief stroll yesterday.
This is not my first rodeo with this bad back thing. I do it from time to time for no apparent reason but it's my first time with all the toys. The pincer thing is really handy when it comes to feeding the critters. The walker gets me from points A to Z. I'm at the phase now where I have to walk and do several sets of dead bugs, bridges and windshield wipers a day. Those of you with back issues know exactly what I'm talking about and if you don't consider yourself lucky.
In between all that PT I've been spending time on a heating pad watching old movies and trying to do some knitting but not getting very far since I can't get comfortable. I'm losing patience with being down and out. I'm not going to make a good very, very old person. Doing nothing is absolute torture and Pup and The Mister are getting the worst of it I'm afraid.
I do have to thank Lucy in Kentucky for brightening my day by sending me this year's Derby pins. She also enclosed this Taylor Swift book knowing what a big, old Swiftie I am. I've got a bad case of wedding fever at the moment wondering what that wedding gown is going to look like. You know I'm going to have to make a copy for Taylor Barbie. Thanks, Lucy!
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