A Back Porch Present and a Bun in the Oven

There it was, dead as dirt. A large mouse (not a rat - I know my rats) lying down on the walk from the back porch. Obviously had been bitten a lot and toyed with, which means "cat". Good cat. Left me a present. Wild cat. Not a resident. Maybe hoping? Hence the present? Or just force of habit?

I had suspected we had a cat when I found the grackles in the barn. Hate grackles - the poor white trash of birds. Loud and rude and always attacking the smaller species. Good cat. Then I found a bluebird. Bad cat; but how do you tell them to tell the difference? They can't and they won't and that's that. Take the good with the bad.

Saw a calico come darting out of the open basement door a couple of weeks ago, and Mike has seen a black cat wandering about. Whichever, whomever. Glad I have one that isn't demanding food, but doing his job.

Decided to bake some bread today. Unbeknownst to Mike, I ground up some oats to put in the 'white' bread. We need grain, after all. Also used honey and eggs; honey because the yeast reacts so much better with it than with white sugar - and I like the flavor; and eggs because it adds body and a better texture to the bread. Only problem is that I can't remember the last time I actually baked bread, and so had to follow a real recipe. Sort of. I always add stuff or take stuff away or change stuff out... Well, it said it made one loaf or two small ones - by the time I was ready to shape them, I had to divide it into thirds. So - two loaves of bread, and one pan of cinnamon rolls! I had the streusel left over from the blueberry muffins, so I spread most of it on the dough and rolled it in, then put the rest on the bottom of the pan in a honey-butter mix.

So now we'll see if I'm as good as I thought I used to be. Everything's in the oven right now, and the smell of warming yeast fills the air. Hopefully that'll change to cinnamon, soon, but I really like that yeasty smell. Wish I hadn't waited so long to bake my bread. I really like doing it, even though it takes time and forethought and yes, effort, too. Ummm... smells lovely.