GOOD DEED UNDONE

 It was a beautiful cool morning.  There's nothing better than opening the door wide, taking in a really deep breathe and then smelling DAIRY.  Those of you who know, know it well.  Frances knows!!  It all depends on how the wind blows around here.  There's garlic, onions, chicken manure on the orchards (the absolute worst), neighbors burning their trash ..... and DAIRY.  

It didn't seem to bother this guy at all, which is the reason I got scratched.  He likes to hang out in the mornings and is the cause of lots of yowling.

Kitters then runs out the back door, MAD, as you can tell by her ears ... and surveys her territory.  

I got caught looking.  HOW DARE I!!  I snuck back in and closed the door.

It was baking time.  I preheated the oven to 500 degrees.  That is the problem.  I never know for sure exactly what temperature my oven is.  I've used three different gauges inside, and none of them seem to be correct.  

Having been dumped out onto parchment paper, it was ready for slicing, making the beautiful structure on top which never seems to appear on MY loaves.

It's dropped in the now scalding hot cast iron pot, covered and baked for 20 minutes.  Though it should bake at 450, I set the temperature for 445.  Lower, right?  WRONG!!  Not low enough.

Once the lid is removed, it is baked for another 20 minutes.  I've no idea what happened, but it is almost burned.  Oh it's edible ... the inside is fabulous, but the outside crust, not so much.  You can't tell here, but it is pretty black on one side.

I sliced it up, forgot to take pictures, and stuck it in the freezer.  The crumb is not as good as the previous loaf, though this time I followed the directions exactly.  C'est la vie.

I sat with Kitters for awhile, before coming up with a great idea to celebrate the holiday.  I would look on Facebook and find a few cottage bakeries selling their goods out of their house.  I would go to said house or houses and buy them out, just to surprise someone on Labor Day.

Off I went with a list, down our newly paved road.  For the last two weeks, I've had to navigate through the back side of my neighborhood just to get to a street not blocked by asphalt trucks.  Oooooohh it's so smooth to drive on!!!!

I got completely lost because my phone all of a sudden went ballistic and not only locked up, but all the icons changed to just words.  What the heck?  There must have been something there that scrambled everything.  That has never happened before.  It was just too weird.  

Three blocks over, my phone finally came back on and directed me to this address.  I had even stopped to pick up a bundle of cash.  This would be my good deed of the day.  I was so excited to see what they had for sale and to see their surprise.

NOTHING ... they had nothing.  They were closed up tight.  Gosh ... it's a holiday ... why aren't you taking advantage of that!!

I drove away, trying to think of somewhere else to go.  Ahhhhh the Mix Bakery!!  The best cupcakes in town.  CLOSED ... THEY WERE CLOSED.  Someone was telling me it was not the day for a good deed.

Totally frustrated, I stopped in at the smallest taco shop in town ... a tiny little drive through that I barely squeaked through with my truck.  I haven't ordered here in ages and really didn't know what to ask for.

So here we have 5 taquitos smothered in guacamole and lettuce, with rice and beans ... one HUGE egg and potato burrito and two crispy tacos.  Yikes ... it came to $40.00.  I gave them a HUGE tip and told him it was for being open on a day everyone else was closed.  It's a small family owned place where the entire family works.  They deserve it.  Too bad bakery .... too bad.

I ate three of the taquitos, but nothing else.  Boy did they fill me up fast!!  Too sad the bakery was not open ... they could have taken advantage of everyone else being off work for the day.

And so my good deed was undone and done again!!  Maybe next time home bakery ... maybe next time.

My sweet boy would have made it all better had he still been here when I got home.  I love Mexican food, but not near as much as I love this guy.