Misconceptions?

   It fully befuddles me how the brain works or, at least, how my brain works.  I see things in a totally different way than most folks.  Perhaps, this is due to the time spent in solitude where I can ponder things without the interruptions of the world happenings.  This solitude, even self-inflicted (such as mine), is wondrous once you get accustomed to it.  Pondering is equally wondrous.  Still, there are times when others brains and their thinkings purely bemuse me.

  Others often see me as eccentric or even downright odd and I am quite ok with that.  Still, there is no obvious reason to overthink that I am anything but myself.  I am eccentric but that is not necessarily a reason to jump to conclusions.  All of this leads to the bemusing part simply because of an odd arrangement of items on the old woodburning stove.  The stove (when not in use) is a convenient "catch-all".  The top is sturdy cast-iron so it can withstand even heavy items being placed on it.  This time, however, nothing was heavy just an  melange of knickknacks that reached that handy spot as I was cleaning the shelves.  

 "You really should not be doing this!  You are going to get into things that are evil!"  Well, now!  I am all for not cleaning but I had to wonder how this was going to bring the forces of evil upon me???  Then...a fit of giggles as I realized that my hodgepodge was misconstrued as a perfected arrangement. I suppose I am now an enchantress?  Awesomeness!  The "brains" of the world will never cease to bewilder.  Selective perception totally blocked out any reasonable explanation.

  In all fairness, my living room is kept quite dark with only a few small funky lamps and an oil warmer going at any given time.  Perhaps the lighting lent a mysterious aura to my pile of junk?  By the harsh glare of overhead lights, the old stovetop look just like it actually is...a mess...nothing magical...nothing mysterious...nothing but a pile of junk waiting to be put back the shelf or stowed in a closet until the next clue hunt calls for props.  I do think it looks a little more offbeat without the overhead lights which may be why I hate using them!   

Midnight Baking

   Last night was interesting, to say the least.  It was chilly so I had the old woodburning stove chugging away.  Several nice sized hickory logs would slow burn for most of the night keeping the Little Bayou House somewhat warm.  Along about midnight, I awoke to the delightful scent of bread baking.  Hmmm?  Was I dreaming?  Did Son decide to try his hand at baking in the middle of the night?  Had a burglar entered then opt for making cinnamon rolls instead of thievery?  Since the only logical scenario was that I was dreaming, I promptly put my head back on the pillow and tried to sleep.  Nope.  Somewhere in this house, bread was baking and I was hungry!  I might as well get up and investigate.  Plus, the fire probably needed stoking anyway.

  My "dream" was not a dream at all and, no, neither Son nor any intruder was making breakfast.  Instead, I found my delectable aroma.  Earlier in the week, I had longed to bake sourdough bread but had no starter.  I had given my last bit away and needed to begin again.  Well, I did.  My sourdough starter had been put together three days ago and, since the house gets rather cold at night and I was in a hurry, I placed the starter on the back of the old woodstove.  There it would stay a nice 80 degrees and could grow rapidly.  It was far enough away from the heat not to spoil nor scorch yet stay almost lukewarm.  Sourdough starter does not smell like much for the first couple of days but give it a few and it starts to give off that nice, yeasty smell.  That was what I was smelling...not bread baking but yeast making!  My brain just twisted the two together and left me with hunger pangs!

  This morning, the sourdough starter looked divine.  A few more days and this will be the beginning of many tasty treats.  There is something oddly satisfying about creating your own yeast from scratch.  Try it!  It is not hard at all but you do need a bit of patience as it takes a while.  Happy baking, folks!