HOUSTON - WE HAVE ANOTHER PROBLEM!!

It seems we can't make up our mind.  One day it's 80 degrees, the next day it's 60.  Maybe it's a typo, but by the end of the week, 95 is here.  YIKES!  I suppose that means I have to turn on the sprinklers.  Hopefully there are no problems there.  Yeah, that's never happened.

As for Mr. Cooper .... he's doing VERY well.  I'm so thankful his leg is healing up fairly quickly.  He's now running in and out of the house, despite my hollering to slow down!!  I will still have to be very careful since he's always around my feet.  He doesn't see me well and gets too close.  That causes him to scramble ... not good.  BUT ... Mom is a happy camper once again! 

Well at least I WAS!!  Until I saw THIS IN COOPER'S MOUTH!!  Yessiree ... my little hunter dog had snagged this from the floor and jumped up on the couch with it.  OMG NOOOOO!!!  It's NASTY!  I instantly grabbed it and headed for the outside trash can.  That's when I discovered the even WORSE part.  

It let go ... if you now what I mean ... and it was all over the kitchen floor, which of course I stepped in!!  

Guess who almost got strangled!!  Sitting there so proud watching the melee!!  I will definitely be glad when all the gophers are GONE GONE GONE!!  This Houston does not need any more problems.

I locked the doggy door, closed the back door and went for a run.  Maybe that will get the sight of Cooper on the couch holding that thing in his mouth out of my brain.   He was not willing to let it go by the way!!!

Things are definitely blooming.  These sunflowers were over six feet high!!  Two miles later, I was back at the house, STARVING!

But FIRST ... let's check out the starter.  But what's this?  It's in a box?

Yup ... it has its own house now.  I keep my house too cold in the winter and spring for it to work very well.  When the temperature isn't quite right, I can just MAKE it right.  Only wait ... Houston, we have ANOTHER problem.

Good grief ... this sourdough stuff has almost become more trouble than it's worth, though it does keep me off the streets.  It was as runny as could be, and smelled slightly of vinegar.  I hit the internet.  IT'S HUNGRY!  What?  When it gets runny like that it means it needs to be fed.  Apparently I will have to feed it more often, or stick it in the fridge.  I fed it the required breakfast and away it went.  It now looks like this and is in the fridge.  

That's when it dawned on me.  You feed it early, let it rise and bake with HALF while feeding the remaining half for the day, instead of baking with ALL of it.  No one ever said I was good at figuring out BAKING stuff.

What's this you ask?  Why another kitchen gadget to stuff in my already full to the brim cabinets.  THIS is a bread slicer.  I could have gone for the electric model, but I would probably cut my hand off, so I got the manual one instead.

This thing is the BOMB!!  My fancy dancy bread knife doesn't hold a candle to this baby.  

Turn the handle with your right hand, push the bread ahead with your left.  It slices like butter.  You can even change up the thickness if you want.  It will slice up other things as well, but then I'd have to take the blade off and chance losing a finger.  

Just look at this!!  This is the loaf where I actually followed the directions correctly, and it has a much more sourdough flavor.  Maybe, just maybe I have corrected the problems and will be able to make my own bread from now on.  WOOHOO!!!

With nothing else on my plate ... well there was, but I'll show you that disaster tomorrow ... I spent several hours squaring up eight of these panels and sewing borders on this one.  I changed up the colors after the picture was taken.  I tend to like a solid outside border instead.  So much indecision goes into that process.

I also watched the Kentucky Derby run.  I don't miss too many programs that have horses.  I'm sure someone got fired on this run, but I'll post pictures tomorrow.

Here's hoping I have NO gophers in my house when I limp into the living room in two minutes!!  Running does that to you!!