25 September 2002

I've been threatening for about a month now to buy some bread flour and make use of my bread machine. Matt hasn't argued, and I don't honestly know why I've been putting it off.

But last night I finally decided to do it. I flipped through the bread machine's recipe book and found a couple of recipes, and when I went to the grocery store I bought a bag of bread flour and a few packets of yeast.

Cheddar-Onion Bread. Water, sugar, salt, flour, shredded cheddar cheese, dried minced onion, and yeast. I turned it on, and the display told me I had three hours and forty-five minutes to wait.

Halfway through the process, I peeked in the little window and saw that the dough had only risen halfway to the top of the machine. Not a good sign. I fretted, but there wasn't much I could do. I went back to the writing I was working on.

Rising or not, it certainly smelled good. With an hour left to go, I went to peek again. I didn't need to cup my hands around the little window - the bread had risen so high it was about to lift the machine's lid! Whoo-hoo!

My gods, the smell. I love onion bread. When the timer went off, I was waiting with a knife.

I did goof up a little, though. I was impatient to get the bread off the counter and into the 'fridge - the cat has been known to get up on counters and eat things he's not supposed to, and he likes bread. So I started cutting slices before it had cooled quite enough. Oops. All but two of the slices have completely shredded centers. So much for that idea. Note to self: Next time, let the bread cool a little longer. Ah, well, it'll still taste good.

Yesterday's writing was much less tedious than Monday's, though it shouldn't have been as long as it was. I was supposed to be poking at the edges of an already-written scene to make it fit certain changes that have been made.

It wound up demanding a complete re-write. I got about halfway through yesterday, at 2500 words.

To be honest, I think the previous version is much more moving, but it didn't fit very well. This version, while less emotional and more expository, suits the characters and their situations much better.

Gonna be up late tonight. I stayed up last night to watch the premiere of Presidio Med, 'cause I'm a great big enormous Oded Fehr fan. Oh, happy day! - I actually liked the rest of the show, too. Even if I did have some trouble telling a few of the doctors apart. (Wait... Was she the one with the short, reddish-brown hair, or the one with the short, brownish-red hair?)

Anyway, the first regular show is tonight, so K.T. and I will be watching it down at her place, which means I won't get home until 11:30. That's about when I go to bed normally anyway, but somehow the hour always feels later when I've been out.

--Liz