half recipe, French bread, two boules
Mixed 1:15pm
Molded 3pm
Baked 4pm
Gave to Grandpa Dunn
I was on the phone with my friend, Joanne, the other day after I’d just been pulled away from a writing project. I moaned a bit, saying how much I’d like some time to just work! With the few moments I have each day to write, I can’t even imagine the luxury of having eight straight hours to type away, unhindered by requests for building marble tracks and yet another cup of milk…
She reminded me that some days she’d like to be home baking bread and going to the beach.
Thank you, Joanne, for that reminder! I deserve a sock in the nose.
Today’s boule is a loaf of gratitude, and a reminder to myself that I am where I should be, doing what’s set before me… even if I don’t always like it. But I do like it–that’s the rub. I love it.
Grandpa Dunn lost his house in last November’s Tea Fire here in Santa Barbara. And… he was a radio man during the Second World War for the navy. Though I’ve never met him, (his granddaughter lives across the street and is a very favorite neighbor) I’ve heard the stories of how he built his own adobe home in the hills, and that he’s rebuilding that house, even now, at over 90 years old. It’s Veteran’s Day, and the loaf is being driven up to the hills as I type. I hope he enjoys a taste of my gratitude for his service.
Yes, gratitude. I’m reaching into the air, grabbing that gratitude back and saying thanks right now, on this Veteran’s Day 2009, to all those who have fought for peace, and reminding myself to be thankful for the countless little things–like building marble tracks, and baking bread, and going to the beach, and pouring out cups of milk, and tending my pomegranates. I love my pomegranates…
…And if I were at work all day I wouldn’t have near as much time to make pomegranate syrup, and pomegranate jelly, and eat pomegranate seeds straight from the skin.
Those are just a few things on my list: What are you thankful for?
The Woman and the Wheat 
Right now I am incredibly thankful for you and this blog! Thank YOU for putting things in perspective and to EVERYONE who helps you realize the perspective that you pass on to all of us.
I am thankful for finally taking my MA exam and now having a bit of time to start making Christmas gifts before our next trip…where we’ll see our godkids! Lots to be thankful for.
I, too, am thankful today for your blog, Jane! How good to be reminded of all the blessings in my life. I am also grateful for coffee – for real. It’s the little things – steaming mugs of deliciousness, bubbly baths, getting caught up in a captivating novel, that bring me an extraordinary and surprising amount of pleasure as of late. I am also thankful for my health, right now, and the health of my kids.
I am thankful to have found your blog. I would like to find a way to capture a bit of what you have found through bread and give it to others.