I’m about half finished with the bread baking, but I needed to take a break and have some lunch … and do something other than hover over bread in various stages of preparation. Oh, I’m enjoying myself, but my mind is not designed to do any sort of really repetitive tasks. I start making mistakes if I don’t take some breaks.

Looks like I’ll end up having to make about four batches of bread in order to get what I need. Though it’s not necessary for all the loaves to look exactly the same, I want them to be, and there have been a couple of oddball loaves that rose unevenly. Still beautiful and tasty, but not identical! Whatever extras I have will be taken to the neighbors’ doors later today when everyone is home. I’ll be spreading the bread around!

Once I get done with the small loaves and they are all wrapped up in plastic and ready to go, I need to make the one large round loaf for the crab dip bowl. Since a whole batch will be too much for that loaf, I’m going to make a few pretzels with the leftover dough. What’s Xmas without pretzels? OK, maybe that’s not a tradition, but I think I’ll start it this year.

While I usually get up super early on Xmas morning to make the crab dip, I think I am going to throw it together tonight in the glass bowl it will bake in, and then in the morning, when the bread bowl has gotten nice and cool and crusty, I’ll bake the dip and pack it into the bowl. That’ll give me an extra hour or two to sleep in, which will be nice. We have to get up early enough anyway to hit the road to get to my cousin’s house.

The wind is just awful today! Seriously just gusting and blowing like crazy. When I get around to transplanting my poor broken tomato plants, I’ll have to drag them into the laundry room to work with them. It’s insane out there. How Lin and I are going to get the plastic over the garden beds in wind like this I do not know, but we have to do so, because it’s going to be getting very, very cold. I don’t want to lose anymore plants, especially since some of the stuff in the garden is starting to look like it’s doing well (finally).

As tired as I am and stressed out about getting everything done that needs to get done by tomorrow morning (the bread, the dip, tending the plants, and also taking a shower and making myself pretty), I’m actually starting to feel cheerful and in the holiday spirit. Maybe it’s the wonderful smell of fresh bread baking all day! The house truly does smell fabulous right now.

I suppose I should get back to the kitchen now and press onward. Much to do! Much to do!