Quarantine Check-in

Where are you on the scale today, friends? I’m somewhere between 3 and 4. But Thursday. Oh, Thursday was bad for me. I was a solid 6 with moments of 7 in there. I covered the basics for homeschooling and only left the couch to raid the pantry for carby goodness. And that’s okay. I was fine the next day. Some days are good, other days are well, not that good. 

Guess where else I’m at? Yeah, on that sourdough starter bandwagon. But, in my defense, learning to make our own bread has been on my “to do” list since January. Seriously. 

Between The Finn being allergic to baker’s yeast and me being gluten free, it’d be nice to make bread instead of buying various loaves that cost $8. Besides, all the store-bought gluten-free bread is sad and full of crap ingredients. 

This my third sourdough starter. I feed them regularly and weigh the flour and water on a kitchen scale. I keep it in a warm spot, talk to it and love it more than I do my children. Yet, nothing happens. It bubbles a bit for a day or two, giving me false hope, then dies no matter how much feed and water it. Those Instagram accounts touting their “easy sourdough starters” are liars. Or witches. But, I have a good feeling about this starter. 

The most surprising part of this past month has been The Finn baking. He’s not a baker. He’s the grillmaster, occasionally makes eggs, and bakes a raw ham at Christmas. The timer on the oven is the closest he comes to using the oven on the regular.

He made mämmi at Easter (Check out the link. It’s amazing the dish is considered dessert.) He attempted gluten free crepes that resulted in mushy on the inside, yet burnt and crispy on the outside globs. And he’s made rolls twice that the kids gobble up. We’ve been married 14 years. Where have these skills been hiding? 

For the most part, I’ve enjoyed this forced reflection on life. I’d been so busy playing by society’s standards of what I should be doing with my time and with my kids, that I’d forgotten what it is that I actually want for myself and my family. 

I don’t want to go back to how things were before. My goal is to keep a slower pace of life. I want to become more self-sufficient. I mean, we’re already the “wierdo homeschoolers” in the neighborhood, so why not add to the label by planting that garden, baking all our bread, and offering friends remedies of homemade elderberry syrup and lotions. Think I could convince the HOA that chickens in my backyard are my emotional support animals?