Drowning...Send Floaties!

Let me be clear, here: It. Has. To. Stop. Raining. Has to!!! I'm still at home since there is no way to get the little kiddies to school down on the ME/NH border. Many people are still evacuated and roads are closed everywhere. This is not good. Not good at all.

As I'm a bit further north, things here are still pretty safe. I opted to head out to the good old Dept. of Motor Vehicles this morning as my license is due to expire in less than 24 hours and I'm thinking that I might need that. This is not the drama up here in the wilds of Maine as it may be in the more "populated" areas of the country. I was there by 8:25 and out well before 9:00. The biggest issue came when I had to choose between the two possible photos for my license. I simply couldn't understand how two pictures of my mother ended up on the screen rather than The Sheep's youthful visage. Most perplexing. I chose the lesser of two evils and headed back out into the deluge. It didn't seem worth arguing with them about the incorrect pictures. I'll just explain it to the nice State Trooper should I ever get pulled over.

And now I'm back home and working on my Jaywalkers:

The ziggies and zaggies don't show up too well here, but they are there! Such a cool pattern!

Yesterday's dyeing frenzy is almost dry. You can see the streaky effect here pretty clearly:

Remember: we have all agreed that this was done on purpose. Yup, that's my story and I'm sticking to it...

And, as promised, the recipe for The Sheep's Cheesy Bread. Now, I will take no responsibility for any issues around cholesterol and high blood pressure or the like. This is not a lo-cal, healthy, live forever sort of bread. But, if I couldn't eat this stuff, I wouldn't want to live forever anyway:

Ingredients:

7-8 cups flour, 1/3 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon salt, 2 tablespoons (or packets) yeast, 2 cups water, 2/3 cups milk, 3 cups shredded cheddar cheese (mild or sharp to taste) and a block of cheddar (8 oz ??? not sure, I just get the small package at the grocery store) cubed.

Combine water and milk in saucepan. Heat on low to 120-130 degrees. In a large bowl, combine 2 1/2 cups flour, sugar, salt and undissolved yeast. Gradually combine this with the milk/water mixture. (you will need an electric mixer, here) Add cheese and 1/2 cup flour. Beat on high for 2 minutes. Add enough flour to make a stiff dough. Knead, adding flour as needed until you have a smooth, elastic dough. Let rise in a greased bowl until doubled in bulk. Punch down, knead briefly then cut into 2 equal portions. To form the loaf, roll a section into a rectangle and then roll up jelly-roll style. (be careful to work out the air bubbles. ) Let rise for 30 minutes or so then bake on the bottom rack for 30-40 mins at 375. Makes two loaves.

I'm pretty sure I've gotten this right. I've fiddled and fussed with this recipe so much over the years and now can do it in my sleep. Oddly, it's tough to remember all the steps when writing it down!

Lastly, I leave you with a picture of my little gift to me. Remember, if my license expires tomorrow then it would seem it is a day upon which I can justify a little something special:

A new pink Razor Phone!!! Makes the aging process less painful.

SA