A month from now

So Monday after breakfast and data entry I went to the grocery for a few small things.

Back home for lunch and to pack and prep for work.

Took pictures of things that I'd like to sell: my GoPro Hero 4 and accessories, a nice trombone mute that I've never used, that Trtl neck pillow that wasn't for me. But upon researching, the only thing that seems to be of any value is the trombone mute.

I tried to do more data entry in the afternoon, but the site was down.
I kept checking back every 30-40 minutes, but gave up after the 4th attempt.
Read my book, scrubbed the shower, started some letters, watched some anime.
Packed breakfast and lunch, laid out clothing for work.

Somewhere in there one of my two remaining pins showed up, the custom Ringling logo.


When Jameson left for rehearsal I ironed some shirts, vacuumed, took the vacuum canister outside to spray a clog out of it with a compressed air canister, chatted with the neighbors, and watered my bananas a little since it didn't rain yesterday or today (because I opened my fat mouth and said "iT rAiNs EvErY dAy ThIs TiMe Of YeAr!").

Finished my letters, checked and found the data entry job is back up and running, but I was in a mood so left it alone.

I'm in a mood lately because A) I am still sad about my impromptu audition results, and B) I haven't gotten anything further from Tootsie.
Yes they still have PLENTY of time to get things to me, but I'm one of those people who neeeeeeeds information in advance.
For example, I've only had one covid booster and that was almost a year ago.
If I need another before tour starts I'd like to schedule it.

And other questions plague me like flies: what time/day is my flight to Rochester? What hotel are we staying in (because I want to ship some things to myself and also want to know if we have a fridge)? What does our route look like? How much flying vs busing? Have there been any changes to the script and music? When do we get the contact list?

I don't expect answers to all of these before rehearsal starts...but I kinda DO expect answers to MOST of them.

And most of all, I want to revise my Megan's Foodie Finds based on our hotel locations.

But, nothing I can do except try to be patient.

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Tuesday I got up very early for work only to find that my first hearing is already cancelled.
So I guess I'll be going in three hours early "for fun".

Whatever. By my estimation I only have between 10-13 days of discount court reporting left anyway before tour starts.

The day went well. Most cases showed up and were normal and were on time.
I did have one weird case where we couldn't reach the claimant and for some reason the judge had me "testify" on the record that several attempts were made to reach the claimant. So I did that, but was confused about how to handle the case. I should have asked someone. It turned out that I was supposed to still mark it as a cancellation. Later in the evening, at home, I had to go back and redo all of my paperwork.
More free work! These people are certainly getting the better end of this deal!

Not only that, I also got a note from the data entry job that I had things to correct on a resident I added weeks ago.
Thank god I had saved the audio files and it only took me a few minutes to make the changes.
I feel like a screw-up today because of all the corrections, but both jobs have assured me that I'm doing "great" and that this is "normal".

On the way home I stopped at Whole Paycheck for ingredients and for sushi for dinner.
At home we ate the sushi and I made my corrections, then we both moped around.
We are both in unsatisfying places in our work. We are both frustrated and annoyed.

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Wednesday. Someone bought my trombone mute already for $50. I'll try to ship it off before Friday.

I made another attempt at my own honey wheat bread recipe, this time with seeds.
Made the Tangzhong and while it cooled I ate breakfast.
Then into the mixer went wheat flour, bread flour, egg, molasses (was feeling dark flavor today), yeast, milk, the tangzhong, and salt.
Mixed until it was starting to pull away from the sides of the bowl, then added my seeds.

Before the rise, cute little brown seeded dough ball.


After the rise, big fluffy brown seeded dough ball.


A little bit of rolling out and shaping with my hands.
As I made the final loaf shape the top of the loaf stuck to the counter a bit, and I wasn't willing to redo it, so already I know it won't be smooth and perfect on top. But that's ok. As long as I know the cause; that's what bugs me, when the finished loaf looks weird and I don't know why.


Into the Pullman loaf pan, and I oiled it thoroughly so it wouldn't stick like last time.



I think it turned out great. I love how deep brown the crust got.
And actually I don't mind the split in the top either, it's kinda cute.

The seeds were well distributed, there was no sinking to the bottom or gaping holes or anything like that.
But I do want to get a tighter crumb for my end result. Something closer to the crumb you get in commercial bread.


One way to do this would be to reduce the moisture in the loaf.
I had raised the liquid ratio as part of incorporating a tanzhong roux, and I could try bringing that back down a few grams.

Another way would be to do a single rise, but I kind of don't want to swing that way for the sake of the person whose recipe I'm using as a base.
And a third way is simply to handle the dough differently.
When I roll it out for final shaping I could try to squeeze more air bubbles out of it.
There are also some people who suggest making a "third rise" by interrupting the second rise halfway through, punching the dough down, and letting it rise again for the other half of the time. I don't like that idea very much.

I'll probably reduce the liquids a bit + try to really knock lots of air bubbles out before shaping it.
Overall though, this was a very successful attempt.
I really like the flavor of the seeds in there, and will be happy to add them for future loaves.

As my loaf cooled we went for our 2.5 mile neighborhood walk.
When we got back I sliced it up and put it away, then made us macaroni and cheese, Omaha Steaks hot dogs, and fruit salad for dinner.
I was mostly using up old pasta, and the hot dogs that have been in our freezer for over a year.

After dinner we finally ate the apple dumpling I'd brought with me from PA.
With ice cream of course.

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Thursday. An early morning to get to discount court reporting.

The first case was not until 10, three cases were unrepresented, and one was a video hearing, so I did not have very high hopes for a productive day. However I did get my final pre-tour enamel pin, so that cheered me up. A cute flytrap.


And as it turned out, I got to have four of the six cases, only two were cancelled. Not bad.

Now Jameson is at rehearsal, and I'm making a to-do list for the next several days.
The main thing is that I need to start my tour prep.
Tomorrow I'll give notice at discount court reporting.
I'll start practicing trombone a little each day, and packing a little at a time.
Scheduling a haircut, prepping a box to ship to myself (mostly mutes)
There's still data entry work, and cooking meals, and cleaning.
And I have the lofty goal of making a banana cheesecake before I leave as well.