Stalked...

I'm tellin' ya, its like a horror movie. I live in fear. Places that I thought were "safe" are not. There is no respite from the terror.

They are everywhere.

Just after returning a phone call today, I was reveling in the all-too-brief moments to myself while the students were off doing all that first day of school stuff. I hung up the phone, took a deep breath and started to stretch out the kinks induced by a solid hour of gesturing helpfully in the hopes that one or two kids might actually see the correct path to their classrooms. And then I saw it...a slight movement to my left.

It was an all too familiar wriggling kind of movement.

There, descending towards my Sheepie head, was a gi-normous spider. Legs a-wigglin', silk thread shimmering in the sunshine, it seemed nothing short of gleeful at the thought of it's having stalked me from my home to my workplace.

After having spent an entire summer vacation battling creepies and crawlies of every creed 'n breed, I'd hoped that there might be something of a break in the horror. To date, I've gone up against hornets nesting on my window screens, spiders breeding in the corners and cats sporting fleas as fashion accessories. There have been ants and fruit flies...it has been a nature documentary gone wrong.

And they are stalking me. They are everywhere. This time, its personal. There is one more dead arachnid in this war. When will the madness stop????

On a lighter note, there was a request for the Cheesy Bread recipe and The Sheep is happy to oblige. For some this is a repeat as I put it up a while ago, but it's yummy enough to earn a second showing. There must be the usual disclaimer, though. I take no responsibility for any hardening of the arteries or thickening of the thighs that might result following consumption. This is not a bread for the calorie conscious! It is also one that I have done some "tweaking" on over the years. My family happens to prefer that I cram in as much cheese as is humanly possible. Thus, I use more than the recipe indicates. You may want to play with it to get it to your liking.




Cheesy Bread

7-8 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon salt
2 Tablespoons yeast
2 cups water
2/3 cups milk
2-3 cups of shredded mild cheddar and 1 cup of cheddar chunks (more if you desire)

Combine water and milk in a saucepan. Heat on low to 120-130 degrees. In a large bowl, combine 2 ½ cups of flour, the sugar, salt and undissolved yeast. Gradually combine above with mixer on medium speed for 2 mins. Add cheese and ½ cup flour. Beat on high for 2 mins. Add enough flour to make a stiff dough. Knead and let rise in a greased bowl until double. Punch down and let rest for 15 mins. Form 2 loaves ( I roll the dough into a rectangle then roll up like a jelly roll, squeezing the air bubbles out) and let rise until double. Bake on bottom rack at 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes.

Great for sandwiches!!! Even better toasted!

Enjoy,

SA