Philotic Web

I couldn't find my original thread, the search is being silly.

So, I did my day in the life today. I decided to do a Saturday again, so both of us were around.

We started the day with breakfast - Ginny had peanut butter and banana toast.



Her pig, Olivia, got a bottle.



I looked at my heaps of clean laundry. I washed them last night, but they had yet to be folded. I hate folding.



Made myself some coffee in my Starbucks mug. These mugs keep things hot for hours and hours. This post is brought to you by Starbucks.



We decided to go grocery shopping, but by that time it was a bit close to lunch, so we walked up to Tim Hortons and had some lunch.



Then we went grocery shopping for the week. We don't have a car, so everything just gets hooked onto the stroller.


I love this rock, it looks like a dog howling. I also have no idea what "Crazy Slim" is (the business is a Hair Salon).


I went for a walk to mail my postcards to pwebbers.



The anchor proves we live near the ocean.



[not pictured] Me collapsing on the couch after all this walking.


I folded all the laundry! Here's the empty baskets to prove it!



We had an amazing supper. Mussels were on sale at the grocery store ($0.99/lb), so we bought 3lbs.


Paul steamed them up in coconut milk and Thai curry.



We ate them over some angelhair pasta with broccoli and peanut sauce.


Paul also made some fresh bread for dipping.


It was the yummiest dinner. So very good.

It was also Ginny's first taste of mussels and she LOVED them. Here's a little videoof her awesomely playing with the shell and eating the mussel ("Yummmm").

[Not pictured] Us watching Fringe and going to bed. Also taking an hour to post this.


And thus ends the day in the life.

I love the rock, too! I can totally see a dog in that.

And now I'm totally curious if I'm the puffin postcard or not (don't tell me!!).

Yay for tasty seafood! I am jealous of cheap and tasty seafood.

Also, those starbucks mugs really ARE amazing for keeping heat.

I hate folding.

I hate folding and hanging clothes up. Basically, I want a room dedicated to clean laundry, where I can toss it all and go digging through when I need something.

Made myself some coffee in my Starbucks mug.

If it didn't say Starbucks on it, I would be in love. Great color. Does the lid leak at all? All my coffee mugs like that leak on me, so I don't bother using them anymore. If I can't have Chai in a regular mug or in a disposable, I don't drink it.

I love this rock, it looks like a dog howling.

It reminds me of whatever type of dog was featured in the movie The Shaggy D.A. That really is a cool looking rock.

I went for a walk to mail my postcards to pwebbers.

One of those is mine! I'm excited.

Paul also made some fresh bread for dipping.

That looks yummy. That's also the only thing I'd eat from that meal unless I was feeling particularly brave/polite.


ETA:

Page 9

I can attest that those Starbucks mugs are the best most waterproof mugs ever. They're so good they are worth getting, even though they're Starbucks.

Paul also made some fresh bread for dipping.

As someone who really likes his bread and takes bread seriously... that looks like some damn fine bread.

I can attest that those Starbucks mugs are the best most waterproof mugs ever. They're so good they are worth getting, even though they're Starbucks.

Yup. Mine has never leaked. It also kept my tea hot/warm for an entire 5 hour shift at work one time. And it since it's metal, it doesn't keep the coffee taste in it, so you can switch between coffee and tea.

As someone who really likes his bread and takes bread seriously... that looks like some damn fine bread.

It was! Paul's also someone who takes his bread seriously. That's his very basic Italian (Flour, Sugar, Salt, Water Yeast), he makes tons of different kinds. We very rarely buy bread.

Does he make the bread on a pizza/bread stone?

No, just a regular pan. We used to have stoneware, but it was too heavy to bring with us.

Would he be willing to share his basic Italian recipe?

Would he be willing to share his basic Italian recipe?

I second this request.

I'm actually hoping to score a gently-used breadmaker when we move to England. We will keep it in our room and set the timer so we can wake up to fresh bread. Mmmm.

But for a loaf like Paul's, I would definitely do it the old-fashioned way! I do like making bread by hand, but I never have the time to do it regularly.

Paul will share his recipe when he gets home, but in the meantime...

You do have time to make it the old fashioned way.
He's made that bread numerous times and it's delicious.

That sounds fantastic! Bookmarked for trying out hopefully this week!

Would he be willing to share his basic Italian recipe?

There's really not much to it, and I don't actually use a recipe, but here's what you do, written out in lots of detail:

Mix 1 cup of hot [eta: tap hot, not stove hot] water with 2 1/4 tsp of yeast, 1 tsp of salt, and 1 Tbsp of sugar, all in a big bowl.

Let that rest for about 10 minutes until it's foamy. Then add 1 cup of white flour, and mix thoroughly with a whisk or a hand blender or something. Mix it until it is really, really smooth.

Add flour until it is the texture of bread dough. I'm sorry I can't be more specific, I don't actually measure it at this point. I think it's probably about 3 or 4 more cups, but I'm not positive. What you want is for the dough to no longer stick to things like your hands or your kitchen table. When it stops sticking, you've added enough flour.

Knead it for a few minutes. If you can't take a little ball of dough and stretch it out into a translucent film without tearing it, you haven't kneaded it long enough. When it's done, roll it into a ball.

Pour a little oil into a bowl and turn the ball of dough around in the bowl to coat it with oil Cover the bowl with a towel and let it rest for 2 hours or so, until it has doubled in size.

Turn the oven to 425.

Punch the dough down, knead it a little bit more, then shape it however you want to and put it on the pan you will cook it on. I made a baguette last time, you can make a football, or a round loaf, or put it in a loaf pan and make a standard shaped loaf. It doesn't matter. If you want to, you can spread a layer of cornmeal on the pan to give it a cornmeal bottom, which is what I did.

Let it rest until the oven is hot, or about 10-20 minutes.

With a sharp knife, slice the top of your loaf in lines or "X"s. Then put the bread in the middle of the hot oven.

If you want to you can boil water and fill a pan with boiling water and put it in the oven too to raise the moisture in there.

Turn the bread every 5 minutes or so, and it'll be done in about 20 minutes, or when the top is nicely browned and the bottom sounds hollow if you tap on it.

Eat it immediately because it will start to go stale by tomorrow.

Thanks, Caspian! It sounds pretty tasty. If I hadn't made bread before, it might have been too vague, but as it is, I think I can manage. Mmmm tasty bread.

Day in the Life of me! Part three!
Instead of a Saturday, I did a regular weekday. Today was Monday and this is what I did.

Paul got up with the girls and fed them breakfast and we did our usual routine of attempting to stay in bed while getting up every five minutes to get the girls something. For some reason, we think this is better then just facing the day at 7. We were up by about 7:30. I changed Maggie and got her dressed.

Maggie's Bed. Missing: Child.


Paul went to take a shower and I checked pweb and thought "Hmm, maybe I'll make today my Day-in-the-Life post."


Ginny and Maggie were busy climbing the shelves looking for craft supplies.


I put the kettle on for coffee. My lifeblood.


Paul left for work to a chorus of "Bye-bye Daddy!" from all of us.


Breakfast consisted of an English Muffin with Marmite and coffee.


While I ate, I balanced a book about dinosaurs on my knee for Maggie to look at and me to half-assed-ly read to her.


She really wanted the camera. WHY CAN'T I HAVE THE CAMERA!!?


After breakfast, it was time to get dressed. Ginny wanted me to pick out her clothes (she usually does this herself). So, for today, they matched.


She then wanted to pose several times for the camera before getting dressed. I'm pretty sure she's into this because of all the Batgirl pictures we had taken this weekend.


By 9:30, I had the girls in the car.


We arrived at our playgroup and stayed for a few hours. Mostly, I drank coffee and talked to the other parents. Adult conversation is always at a premium when you're a stay-at-home parent.


Ginny did a craft. She called it "engraving" and people were impressed she knew that word. I wish it meant I was a good teacher, but really, it's from playing a game online.


I read a book to Maggie. "Fish!" she says. "Fissssssssh" .


Home we went. I buckled the girls into their car seats again. I long for the days when my kids can do up their own seatbelts.



We have a cat on our door for Halloween. Maggie gets excited every time she sees it. "Cat! Cat!"


After lunch, the girls watched Blue's Clues.


While I put the beans on for supper.


And started doing the dishes.


I put the Maggie down for her nap and Ginny into our room for a quiet time, then went downstairs to put the laundry in.

Lots of Loonies and Quarters to make these machines go!


While the girls were quiet, I worked on a blog post.


Then I put the kettle on for some tea.


I barely got a chance to finish my blog post before Ginny was out from her quiet time (I'm lucky if it lasts for half an hour these days). So I let her play some games online while I did more dishes.
While I was doing the dishes I broke a wine glass. Glassware hates me, I swear. It leaps from my hands. Paul does it to, but I'm a bit worse. I would say I have broken no less then 10 glasses (wine or drinking) in the past year.


I did a bunch more dishes, then remembered my kettle, which I then re-boiled and made my tea. While it was steeping, I went downstairs and moved the wash into the dryer.
I took advantage of this moment to sit and drink my tea and read a bit of my book.


I read about 5 pages before Maggie was awake. She was very unhappy to be awake.


So I gave her some rainbow goldfish crackers.


If you give a Maggie some goldfish crackers, Ginny has to have some too.


While they snacked, I wrote my meal plan for the next few weeks, so I'll know what to buy when I go shopping tomorrow.


Maggie was much happier.


I started supper (bean burritos).

Then I remembered we had no cheese and that was unacceptable. So, I called Paul to see when he was coming home. He was feeling sick and crappy today, so he was happy to come home half an hour early.


The girls were so excited to watch him come home.


I ran out to Sobey's to get cheese (and avocados).


And when I came home, we ate supper.

Finally, a picture of me!


Not long after supper was bathtime, then pajamas for the girls. They wrestled with their Daddy, post-bath.


Then put toys away, had a snack and went to bed.


I waited for a pregnant friend of mine to pick up a bag of baby clothes I'm getting rid of.


Then I watched Walking Dead from last night, wrote this long post and (I assume) went to bed.

Ginny and Maggie were busy climbing the shelves looking for craft supplies.

Your day looks pretty exhausting but it looks totally worth it; your girls are charming. Even when crying.

Also, my eyes zoomed to your box of cereal (Honey Bunches) in the picture with you in it. Feel free to come feed me real food anytime.

Also, my eyes zoomed to your box of cereal (Honey Bunches) in the picture with you in it. Feel free to come feed me real food anytime.

Haha! I totally thought of you when I bought it. It's become Ginny's favourite.

The thing to know about the Honey Bunches of Oats is that Jayelle bought TWO kinds (one with almonds, one without) and every morning Ginny specifies which one she wants. It's the most ridiculous example of false choice. "Would you like Honey Bunches of Oats, or Honey Bunches of Oats WITH ALMONDS?"

Edit: Also, she totally did NOT go to bed after writing this post, but instead stayed up for a long long time.

But they are both delicious in their own ways! One has almonds! One does not!