KS, WY, OR; northern winter 2011 2012

James

Elizabeth ready to rock!

Porch progress

Other side

E's handiwork

More of E's handy work: the insulatable door header

And more

Almost 70 years exactly between when the nails were driven in the weatherboard [clapboard] [1942] to when the screws were driven for the porch [2012]

A's handiwork: the hurricane straps

Woops, where's the door?

Woops, where're the the windows?

There it is !

Frieze blocka being fitted

E getting it right

Working into the night on the facia

...and the barge rafters

E driving through Wyoming: oh surprise, it's snowing and blowing

Indeed

Might look like the middle of nowhere but it isn't

The Road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet [wheels],
Until it joins some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say [actually I can: Philomath!].
...apologies to JRR Tolkien

Reduced speed and blowing snow

Windpower [didn't get a picture of the even bigger wind farms in Kansas]

Sunshine in the distance

The road [still] goes ever on and on...
Door to door: 1723 miles [2773 km] of which we did 1213 miles [1952 km] this day

First time over the continental divide

Once more with feeeeling

 MEANWHILE IN OREGON

It is sunny at the coast from time to time

...but not in the valley

Smowy construction

The view out the great room window

smiles turn to frowns

Laundry chute in position: can't be raised once the beams are placed

Beam hanger preparation with a dummy beam

Beam me up: beaming smiles, we lifted this without mechanical assistance

Another beam we lifted without mechanical assistance. This one jammed and had to be taken down and re-sized and put back up again.

E on the walky-talky directing our skyhook! We wish!

Beaming again: putting a raincoat over the morticed intersection: a portent  of things to come.

I'd like it just here thanks: directing the skyhook.

Not quite a skyhook: but these were way too heavy to lift with out mechanical assistance.

Kind of in place: large beams create seemingly intractable problems at times , this one is being stubborn about getting into the correct alignment [still not resolved]

Frowns: the shop-vac raincoat says it all!

Sunday 5 pm

Kneading conference west photos

50% barley flour pita: with help from Leslie Mackie of Macrina in Seattle. Leslie showcased some of her breads made with barley and gave her own workshop on her breads. Leslie's bakery is extremely well regarded - Macrina was named one of the USA's top 10 bakeries in 2011 by  BON APPÉTIT

Fairhaven mill whole barley flour, pita, & barley  bread in the style of a baguette,.

Barley pretzels, getting ready for the lye [NaOH] dip.

The evening before: getting pain au levain with 10% barley ready for the next mornings workshop

Eat your wholegrains: barley that is!

Photos courtesy of Patrick Hayes, the leader of BARLEYWORLD

There's gotta be bread sometime

We [everyone I think] had a ball at the Kneading Conference West. There have been a couple of blog posts about it

http://www.farine-mc.com/2011/09/back-from-kneading-conference-west-2011.html

http://reallygoodwriter.com/uncategorized/kneading-conference-west-over-and-out/

http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/25147/kneading-conference-west-2011

I had 2 shared sessions. One with Lee Glass on science and testing that was remarkably well attended with enthusiastic bakers. The second was with Leslie Mackie of Macrina bakeries in Seattle on barley in bread that was also well attended by an enthusiastic audience [the promise of warm soft-pretzels was too much for them!].