Weekends always seem longer than they are on the calendar. I think back to what I did this weekend: gardening, baking, farmer’s market, park visitor’s center, constructing compost pile fencing, garden festival/fair, and it doesn’t seem possible it fit into 2 ½ days.
The first highlight is the serendipitous discovery of better bread. I was in a rush to get two loaves of sourdough baked on Friday, so I didn’t give the oven enough time to warm up. Plus I kept the temperature lower since my sourdough crusts have been tough enough to pull the teeth out of your jaw. Turns out my haste made a better loaf of bread! I was baking too hot before, so the bread couldn’t spring to its maximum potential before a thick crust bound it into place. I got better color, texture, and three perfectly formed ears. It just makes it harder to wear hats. Hey-o!
Toddler Harbat oscillated from extreme cuteness to infuriating disobedience all weekend. She’s asserting her independence like an impoverished colony, i.e. with intense pride and very little practical experience. Usually she surprises me with her ability to do things. Unfortunately those things often involve running naked through the house when we’re trying to get going somewhere.
She’s also extroverted and willing to share her pride with anyone in earshot. “I GO PEE PEE!” she announced to a guy in the men’s bathroom in REI. “I GOTTA DATE!” she yelled at some hikers in the park while waving some brown mush squeezing out between her fingers. It’s hard not to take some joy in watching pure happiness so uncontainable in a small vessel. When she got her tutu on Easter she danced around like Gollum when he finally got hold of his precious ring.
She’s growing up fast, our little munchkin. She had chewing gum for the first time, the hyper-mint flavor making her drool like a St. Bernard, but she chomped away for a good ten minutes before giving into instinct and swallowing it. She even got her toenails painted, though she found it incredibly difficult to stay still until they dried, despite my wife’s pleas. You’ll see the results of a fidgety girl and semi-dry nail polish below. Please note the gray spots are TH’s experiments with face painting, done with watercolors mixed into sludgy gray and inspired by the clown lady who painted a climbing vine with ladybugs on her arm at the garden festival on Saturday. She showed that off to everyone in earshot, naturally.
Writer, architect, father, husband.
That bread sounds wonderful!
I love the posts on your daughter. My husband and I don't have children so I feel like I'm living vicariously through you! 🙂