Bread and other things

I generally like and enjoy my neighborhood, but last night it challenged me. With the police cars and fire trucks, the obscenity-laced screaming, and the squawking of the radios, sleep was a bit hard to come by after about 3AM.

But the neighborhood has its charms, too. At 3AM, the neighborhood is smothered in smells from the two nearby bakeries. Good smells, smells that make it seem like a home should smell, even when it doesn't sound like home.

The smells were inspiring. I thought if they can make a few thousand loaves of bread, I should be able to make at least one. So I did. Yes, it was from a box, but I did make bread. By 7AM, I had bread in the oven, and my apartment was filling with its own smells from baking bread. Wow, it smelled wonderful. I am guessing that this is the one of the absolute best, most comforting smells ever. By 7:40, I was pulling it out of the oven, and by 7:45, well, I was throwing it away. It looked more like flatbread, and while it was crusty, it was about 2 inches high and inedible. Completely and totally inedible. I of course blame the yeast--isn't it always the yeast's fault?

But it smelled good, and I did get a good story. It was something to do during a sleepless early morning, and I got to pretend that I can actually cook. Or bake, I guess. It reminded me of another great thing about my neighborhood, that I do live across a bakery that actually can bake.

I wondered around town with a camera for a bit today and tried to find a picture or two. Not sure if I found much, but here are the results. It was a bit of a dark morning, but I like the path. I have always liked fences and doors, and found these. I struggle when I make black and white photos--I need a class, I think. While I love the yellow flowers, my camera has challenges with that much yellow. I have to work on that, too.