Bread!

I haven't eaten bread in over a year, and now it's all of a sudden being discussed a lot!

I think it all started when Emily baked those biscuits for her friends to take for little pick-me-ups.  And then we found Cooking with Brenda Gantt on Facebook.
She's moved on to chicken and dumplings, but we're still hanging in there trying to make the perfect biscuit.

I haven't actually tried yet, because this is what our grocery store flour section looks like.

That's not really my excuse though since I think we have flour in the house.  I was just going to buy a bag of White Lily self-rising since that's what Brenda uses.  I'm not even sure they sell that brand here.  

I hid all my flour in the hall closet when I started Bright Line Eating, so I need to go see what we have.  I know Mike experimented with almond flour and coconut flour at one time, so I feel like we have some of that, and there's never been a time when I didn't have flour and sugar in the house.

I did use the last of my corn meal though, so I was going to pick up a bag of that to try Granddaddy's cornbread.  Guess what?  No corn meal either.  Except for this.  Let's see what happens.

Speaking of Mexican cornbread, our apartment manager sent us an email to tell us La Riviera Maya food truck will be here tomorrow to celebrate Cinco de Mayo.  Good-bye, Bright Line for another day.  Debbie texted to ask if I wanted to walk over with her, and I did, but I'm not sure why.  We have to stay 6 feet apart and will have on masks, but it's about the best we can do.  I walked up and had coffee with Noreen, another sweet neighbor, on her porch this morning, and she's going to join us - some way.  I'm going to ask Dina and Gaby to advise me what to order since it's primarily Guatemalan.

I got up early and went to the grocery store and got that over with.  It's so nice to go into an uncrowded store and take my time.  Most everything is in stock, even paper towels and toilet paper - except for flour and Elise's coconut milk.

They had a lot of veggie plants out front, and I got this.  Banana peppers for my Reuben salads.

  I put up the groceries and then went to Noreen's for about an hour and came back to find this.

I had parked my car out on the main street the other day when the workers were washing windows and just left it out there for the upcoming painting.  During the weekend, Elise parked her car there and didn't get it moved before the painters got here.

This is next door, but we should soon be having a nice fresh-looking exterior and painted stair railings.  Just in time for spring.  Ryan picked up my wicker rockers to paint them, so in just a few days, my balcony will be ready for enjoying.  Besides the flowers, I'm going to plant some peppers and tomatoes and more herbs.  I wonder how sugar snap peas would do if I made a trellis.

I spent so much of this weekend talking on the phone and video calls.  And so much laughing.  I talked to Debra for hours on Saturday morning.  I just woke up at 6:00 and called her, which was perfect for her - 9:00.  And then our Guatemalan family found us on Sunday afternoon for more talk.  Dina took me around their new house and showed me, and I got to see the little girls.  It was so good to hear from both Dina and Gaby.  We still are sentimental about our trip to St. George and have hopes that it might happen again one day.

Their quarantine is so much stricter there.  The aren't allowed out of the house at all, even to go on walks or go up on the roof (maybe a garden on the roof?  I forgot to ask).  They can go to the grocery store but are allowed only a set number of minutes in there.  I know it's hard for them, especially with the children at home, but their cases of Covid are very few, and hopefully they can ease up on the restrictions soon.  Here?  Who knows?

We seem to be making the best of it.  I have enjoyed more social interaction with people closer to my age than before since we've been cut off from our grandchildren.  I'm enjoying my leisurely days doing just what I want to (wasting time).  Emily and her friends are in contact more since no one is working as hard.  Every few days, I get a picture of some surprise that's been left on their doorstep.  Usually food, which is somewhat of a problem but still really thoughtful.  Homemade cinnamon rolls Sunday, doughnuts Saturday, and these beautiful cookies from across the street yesterday afternoon.

We had a funny exchange Sunday morning when Emily was once again making biscuits, Brenda's this time!  She said, "We are laughing so hard.  Brenda Biscuit Fail.  They are AWFUL.  Tried 3 times.  Failed every time.

Back to the catheads.  Saved the day."

After getting a full description of them, how they were made, how they tasted, etc., I said, "Are you SURE you were using self rising flour?"  Em:  Yes, I'm sure.  Ryan, what kind of flour were we using?"  Goes into pantry.  "See, it says AP flour."  Me:  "Ummm, that stands for all-purpose flour.  Plain.  Not self-rising."  Oh!

I guess she got that pan from her grandmother.  I'm going to have to borrow it.  Maybe.  Unless we get over this baking phase.  I can see why the grocery stores are out of baking materials.

Someone put together a message for Mrs. Kappen from the kids.  Graysen is the one with the pink umbrella.  It's nice that they're getting to have Zoom meetings.  Is it strange that my 7-year-old granddaughter has learned how to do conference calls before I have?