I Shoulda Checked

This morning I started to make the onion bread for Saturday's Thanksgiving feast. I pulled out all of the ingredients. I had a moment of panic when I realized that the bottle of molasses didn't have 2 tablespoons in it but there was another full bottle right there. Whew. I pulled out the dry onion soup mix, an egg, measured out 6 cups of flour (plus a little extra), and the can of Crisco. I stirred the yeast into the warm water, added the salt, soup mix, molasses and egg, then I opened the can of Crisco and devils flew out of the can. It was bad! So bad that I recoiled and immediately threw it in the garage trash can. That meant I had to go to the grocery on the day before Thanksgiving. I was trepidatious to say the least but I found a parking place within walking distance of the door, went in, found the Crisco sticks (which I didn't want but otherwise I'd have had to get the BIG can), fresh pineapple, and a bag of clementines. I picked up a few gift cards (starting my Christmas shopping) and got the heck outta there. When I got home the yeast was merrily bubbling away in the mixing bowl so I chucked in the Crisco, added flour, and got busy making bread. I set the dough to rise after some kneading, shaped it an hour later, and baked it making the house smell great. It still smells great but I bagged the bread and didn't cut off a piece. I'll get out the slicer tomorrow and might have to snitch a piece but not today.

I was a good person and washed all of the mixing bowls and other things from bread making plus the stack of supper portion containers that I pile up instead of washing one every day. I stack them together until I can't stand looking at them anymore and then I wash them. I learned my skill at dish drainer stacking from my Aunt Lucille who was the champion stacker in the family. She would have been a whiz at Tetris.

For drawing today I started with yesterday's gratitude journal. I thought and thought about how to draw a furnace because I was most grateful for the furnace fixit guy so I drew a pot-bellied stove. Then I was thankful for my cleaner, MB, who is so much fun to talk to.

Then I segued into Dr. Seuss's Book of Animals and found this bird in a nest. I think it looks like it has on a grass skirt but, trust me, it's a nest.

Most of the afternoon I spent on the computer researching a couple sites I learned about on a Women's Fiction Guild Zoom this morning. One of them is a list of newsletter swaps and book sales, I think, but I can't figure out how to use the information. The other one is a paid review site. I'm thinking about it. Then I opened up the manuscript and finished going through it with ProWritingAid so that all of the spaces after periods are only 1 space and many of the passive verbs are changed to be more active. Some of them I kept because of the way I want my characters to speak.

I spent the evening knitting on the Christmas projects. I'm taking pictures but I'm not showing them to you because, sh, secrets.

--Barbara