More Free Stuff!

(I hope you didn't hear the maniacal laughter after that title.)
Yes, free stuff today! But first, here's a picture Brad took at the Air Force Museum here in Dayton. Nice, huh?

We went there on Saturday for a few hours. It was a gorgeous day--everyone in Ohio was incredulous--this is November! Nice isn't normal! November is monotonously nasty: drizzle, clammy cold, and dreary. But here we had a weekend full of sunshine and today the temps will hit 70!

Which leads me to the freebies. When we got home from the museum I could have gone on to enjoy the great outdoors, the weather, the fresh air . . . But do you know what I had to do?

It was DAY 10 of the Amish Friendship Bread starter: baking day. My life has been revolving around this stupid plastic bag full of goo. Every morning, every night I had to squish and squeeze it, then I'd burp it. I even had to feed it. This goes on and on. After a while I started to grow fond of the little bugger, what with the feeding and burping, you know--motherly instincts/hormones or whatnot kick in, and then what do I have to do? The directions say put it in the oven, bake and eat! Does that sound sick to you? I was burping and feeding this thing--if it had diapers I would have changed them! It's the dark side of the Amish, I tell ya!

So I'm stuck inside baking on this beautiful weekend. Of course I don't want to inflict a bag of starter on anyone else so I decide I'll just figure out the math and bake off the entire thing! (The first step of the process is to scoop out four cups of starter and give them away to four "friends.") Which means I'm going to end up baking FIVE times or more! (The bread recipe actually only uses 2/3 cup of starter).

Beautiful weather--I should be outside--but, no, I gotta bake. Waste not want not--oh the burden of my upbringing and so-called "Friendship" bread.

Cut to the chase: There are 4 loaves of Amish Friendship bread in the freezer, 2 dz. cupcakes, and then I quit. I ran out of bread pans and some of the other ingredients (besides starter goop.) I am now feeding and caring for 2 bags of starter. I hope 2 of you people out there will be kind enough to take them off my hands. FRIENDS DON'T GIVE FRIENDS AMISH FRIENDSHIP BREAD. My new rule.

So, anybody want a bag of starter? I've got 2 left, and I'm squishing, squeezing and feeding the little darlings for you. (It kind of reminds me of that movie "Gremlins.") Somebody stop me!

It really does make lucious bread. Cinnamony and moist, with a crunchy, crystallized crust because you sprinkle the pan with cinnamon sugar. yum. yum. Come n' get it.

WRITING UPDATE: It's crunch time. Seven chapters to rewrite and seven weeks left in the year. Writing day this week is Thursday and/or Friday. On Thursday night I get to speak at the Dayton Scribes writers group about the book proposal and marketing stuff I learned at the conference I went to two weeks ago. I'm looking forward to it.

Thanks for checking in on me, and I look forward to you taking this bread starter off my hands.