counting the hours

the photo shoot officially begins on wednesday. between now and then, i must bake as much as possible so that i am ready. also on my to do list, any components that can be made in advance-things like cookies, biscuits and sauces. considering that these are my recipes, it shouldn't be hard to make everything-i know how things should turn out. it is also a chance to double check recipes, something i am pretty sure is not necessary given the amount of testing i did in the first place. the only hitch, it's 9am and about 90 degrees already and i have to turn on the oven in the house. such is the life of a baker; heat and lots of it-it's what makes it all happen...

as much as i am looking forward to the photo shoot and learning as much as i can about food styling, i am also looking forward to my former routine. one that left me with some time to myself in the afternoon and on my days off. as you may remember, our house took a pretty good hit from the flooding and it is a wreck. we had to move our home office upstairs to the kitchen table and things are in a shambles down there. the paneling needs to come off of the walls to make repairs to the block wall behind it and that will bring down the drop ceiling. then there is the floor to contend with-the vinyl was ruined and needs to be replaced. we need to have a pump installed in the crawl space and other things done to help prevent future flooding. we will need to refinish the family room-floor, ceiling and walls. and then there is the driveway culvert-the stonework needs to be replaced since it has separated and is now leaning down hill.

did i also mention that i am trying to organize a neighborhood watch? you may recall my mention of an attempted break-in here. my husband and i distributed over 100 notices to our neighbors encouraging them to organize and become more involved in the neighborhood in an effort to curb the robberies around here. so far, at least 30 families have signed up. at the very least, we will meet our neighbors and have a chance to learn just who belongs around here and who doesn't.

also on the agenda is a yard sale to help reduce the clutter, finishing the new herb garden at the ag center and reading a couple of books. so much for having time to myself...

and one final note-to garrett, while i was crawling around picking up marbles, i may have found a few of yours and i am pretty sure i lost a few of mine...