The weather has set in here, and it has been cold and rainy since yesterday morning. There was a touch of snow early yesterday, but it warmed up enough to melt it all away... so at least there is no shoveling to be done just yet.
    I spent most of the day yesterday and today inside where it has been dry and warm. Yesterday I made my first real pot roast ever. I have done something like a pot roast a few times, but never one that was done in the oven with all of the fixin's. It turned out to be very tasty to say the least, the only problem being that there wasn't enough of it. By the time Rima and I ate our fill of meat and root veggies there was just enough left for a couple of roast beef sandwiches today. I ate some of it for dinner this evening, but I was hoping for enough to make some beef and potato hash like my mom use to. Guess I'll just have to make a bigger roast next time.
   I also started putting together some materials to make some sour dough bread. My brother in law, Martin, had given me some starter way back when I was out in the state of Washington and I even managed to keep it living since then. I started putting together the stuff needed for a couple of loaves yesterday as it takes many, many hours for it to 'proof' a couple of times before finally being baked. I am now waiting for the final rise before baking and it seems to be going okay, although the dough has not risen as much as bread I have made in the past with regular yeast and ingredients. On the other hand this batch smells delicious, slightly sour and slightly sweet. It will be interesting to see how it finally comes out.... it may take some tweaking before it really works the way it is suppose to.
    I did spend some time driving into the city this afternoon, partly to get out and about,, and partly to do some grocery shopping before Christmas gets here. Found that many of the staples, flour, sugar, brown sugar and eggs were in short supply and would be needed at some point in the next few days. So I got a chance to get rid of my cabin fever and a chance to do something productive at the same time.
   Right now though it is time for another cup of hot tea and a couple of chapters in my current book.


brk*