So, I failed to write anything since the first week or so of April. Which is surprising because it’s not like I wasn’t busy! And while I did take pictures, I don’t remember all the details, but let me just give you some pictures anyway as highlights of what I’ve been up to! I will post additional catching-up entries as well.

My bread has been improving steadily. I would say that it is bakery-quality now, which pleases me very much. The favourite in the house is cinnamon raisin, though I do make a plain one, adding a bit of coarse rye for added flavour, that I like to eat. Since I don’t eat a ton of bread all the time, I slice that one and keep it in the freezer, then when I want some, I take out a slice and pop it in the toaster. The results of that keep reminding me that I have got to make grilled cheese with it at some point because I think it would be so, so good. (I have got to learn to make cheese, too.)

April 18th. Out of nowhere came snow. Kinda pretty though, eh?

Snow just means either “time to go skiing” or “yay! indoor projects!” Skiing was still out of the question. Drat?

See what I mean? They look really good! I’m pretty happy with my bread progress. So happy that I ended up wanting to eat quite a bit of it. With butter. That is spreadable. Which meant finding my butter keeper. But alas! It is so well packed away that I couldn’t find it without completely unpacking all my kitchen stuff, which would be…a whole other project I don’t yet need to get into.

So I did the next best thing: I bought one. When I finally find a place of my own, I will either donate it to someone who needs one, or I will keep it and use both that I now own.

It was still at the beginning of the pandemic restrictions (no, they haven’t really changed at the writing of this entry…states are trying to ‘reopen’ but then they’re finding that outbreaks are occurring, so they’re closing again…), but a local shop was doing curbside service, so I ordered one sort of via email and the phone and picked it up literally on the curb outside the shop. I really like this shop – the service is great and they have a good variety of kitchen tools. (Plus, I worked there a lifetime ago.) Yay for soft, spreadable butter!

I’d been practicing gamba regularly:

Six strings! Gut strings! So many strings!

But I’m sorry to admit that after a few weeks, I stopped again. Practicing two instruments while working a full time job and having other very time-consuming hobbies made it slip off my daily list. Also, I no longer had a class to go to. When I started cello, I knew I was going to need lessons, both for instruction (which is, yes, super important) but also for a person to be answerable and accountable to. I had tried to teach myself to play the harp a billion years ago, and practice was…irregular. I did try, but since there was no one to be accountable to, it didn’t stick. On top of that, there was no one to play with, which is what I think I was aiming for without knowing it.

I still have the gamba in my possession for the moment. When the university figures out what it’s doing, I’ll give it back. Or maybe start another class. We’ll see. I still want to learn to play it. I just need to figure out a practice schedule. Maybe.

One of the best parts of living where I do right now:

Someone decided to hang out with me while I was practicing. Awwww!