Yesterday was a day.

Both kids, now teens, were in a bit of a fuck. Our youngest in a mood that we don't usually see. I hope we can help them sort that out.

The oldest, just getting hit hard with teenagerness. They haven't ever really enjoyed school. Almost resent it even. However, the pandemic elearning at home mode isn't helping things. Even with a spouse that used to be a teacher isn't helping. So, we are doing the best we can and hope to just get through the next 2 weeks.

I rushed the start of a preferment 2 days ago for some bread for last night's dinner. I also cooked down some vegetables in preparation for making meatloaf.

After my spouse got back from the weekly grocery store run I had the bread I needed to make the panade for the meatloaf. I mixed everything together for it over my lunch time. When all was finished I ended up with 6 pounds 10 ounces of meatloaf mix. It got to hang out in the fridge until I was ready to bake it.

Speaking of baking, that preferment was mixed into the final dough and rested over night. Then yesterday I pulled it out around noon and shaped at about my 3pm break. Then baked just before dinner. No fun to time the baking of the bread at 500F (I should have dropped it to 450F after I put it in and steamed it) and also bake the meatloaf at 350F.

So, the 3 one pound blobs of meatloaf got some time at 500F and then dropped to 350F.

The bread didn't get much of an oven spring and had a really overdeveloped crust, for me, and I like a good crust. It was still tasty. I sort of knew that this was likely to happen. In the end, it doesn't matter because home made bread is usually better than grocery store bread.

We have been watching Agent Carter. My spouse and I really enjoyed it when it came out. We still enjoying it with our kids. I think I dig the spy nature of it and my spouse likes the period piece setting of it. It really deserved another season or two. The kids are really swept up in who the story just twists and turns and reveals the various conspiracy threads.

I wish we had started a few weeks ago so it would have integrated better with our watching of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. I still think the kids will pick up the crossover in content that happened.

I also did a little prep for tonight's gaming session. I still have more to do but that is task for..well today.

Helped my spouse with some garden work today. It was mostly moving mulch that we purchased last year, 4 yards worth. If I had to guess we started that day somewhere between 2 or 3 yards of mulch in the pile. At the end of our work it is around 2 yards.

I also cleaned out the gutters for the porch on our house. The second story gutters and warehouse gutters are way more risky and involve a bit more safety gear.

Once again I had forgot to add salt to the dough I prepped last night. It turned out ok. I add some more water and flour into it and kneaded it in. I took half the dough and fried it up. Everyone liked it and it did have enough salt in it. The rest I shaped into baguette/batard shapes. They didn't get baked until after dinner. They turned out ok. Too dense to be something a proper baguette.

I'm going to try to make some sourdough pancakes tomorrow. So I'll need to make up the batter before I go to bed tonight.

We had thought the rain was gonna arrive some time around noon. It seems to have started raining some time before I started writing this post, just before 9pm eastern.

All in all a good day. Just enough work to get worn out and just enough relaxation to call it a weekend.