blue artichoke

Eye of newt, and toe of frog,
Wool of bat, and tongue of dog,
Adder's fork, and blind-worm's sting,
Lizard's leg, and owlet's wing,—
For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.
Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and caldron bubble.

The eye of newt might be hard to find, and the adder's fork difficult to obtain, but I could probably whip up a nasty magic potion with all the critters hanging out around my house. There are frogs (or toads, I don't know the difference) in the front plot (can't be called a garden), scorpions on the front porch, wasps in the hanging lanterns, spiders in the house, ants around the sink, mosquitoes swarming around me, crows in the back yard and ticks imported from the woods around the disc golf course. I haven't seen snakes, but I've been trying not to look. Add to that Gentleman Caller's chronic poison ivy, and we've got ten modern-day plagues.

When not scratching my bug bites, I cleaned out my craft area. It was more difficult than I thought it would be, deciding to abandon already started projects or grand ideas for other projects. It become less the question of "Can I do it?" to "Will I do it?" So, I got rid of my fabric scraps collection and am busy crocheting scarves with leftover yarn to donate to the homeless shelter for next winter.

I'm also in the middle of the first rise for homemade focaccia bread. My baking repertoire is expanding beyond quick breads, cookies and brownies to include yeast breads. I had good luck and impressive results with the braided challah I made last month, so I'm trying out a focaccia recipe today. I've never made a cold rise bread before, where you use cold water and let the yeast rise slowly in the refrigerator overnight. I checked on the dough last night and it had doubled to fill the bowl. This morning, it is bulging over a bit. I'll shape it and bake it later this afternoon.

Dinner last night: lemon-rosemary grilled chicken; green garden salad with herb vinaigrette
Dinner tonight: pesto chicken salad sandwiches on homemade focaccia bread; garden pasta salad