John & Anne Wiley

2010/10/27

Over, then Over Again

Filed under: by Anne,Has Photos,Random — Anne @ 04:18

Two posts from us in one day, but I have more to add:

The flying was FUN today!  Short but exciting – and another brilliant day.  It’s been so cloudy, foggy of late that the clear air is exhilarating.

The fresh sourdough bread was yummy and took me back many years when I made bread regularly while living in the Carnation farmhouse on the Snoqualmie River in Washington state.  That was before breads got good in stores.  Nancy brought a sourdough starter she made from the organic chardonnay grapes she got at the Santa Ynez winery, Alma Rosa, our fave! [Note from John: my recollection of Nancy’s story is that she used that hazy coating you see on grapes, that’s actually a yeast, and she’s used the haze from plums before too.]

She asked if I’d be a “tester” for an article she’s writing for Edible SB. She reminded me of how one develops a “relationship” with the starter. Well our relationship is off to a great start, this starter and me, and the first loaf came out beautifully!

0759 1st Loaf of Sourdough Bread

0759 1st Loaf of Sourdough Bread

The little holes are done with scissors before baking.  Next, I’ll play with the shapes.

0761 Sliced Bread, Texture

0761 Sliced Bread, Texture

Well, the Texture looks about perfect to me, and the butter melting on it agreed.  Looks to me like the directions Nancy wrote will create many more happy bakers!

More bread in our future, with various accouterments 🙂

Once Over

Filed under: Aviation,Flying,Happiness,Has Photos,People,Random,Relationships,SB Region,Tripp — John @ 02:40

We flew again today, though it was just once “around the pattern” (staying close to the airport). We left home just an hour too late due to tracking new lows in the SBCC incumbents’ dirty campaign (glad the four challengers have kept to the high road, and we’re looking forward to their improvements in SBCC community relations once elected). Anyway, by the time we got to the airport, the wind had shifted and picked up. As we drove in I saw the wind sock standing straight out and wondered how Anne would do with flying. We already knew winds had changed (though not how much!), but had decided to at least check on Tripp’s new tire (the old one had developed a small de-lamination of the tread in our last landing and we’d already been thinking about replacing it).

3027 Hope Ranch Shore

3027 Hope Ranch Shore

We did talk about it, and she decided to come along even though I offered to go around once first and see if it was turbulent. After standing by Tripp to watch another small plane take off, I found that Anne had been watching closely too. Since I was comfortable to fly in the gusty wind and it was it was to be short, she decided to join me. Offshore it was pretty smooth, but closer to the mountains we hit a few lumps. Before our landing a few minutes later I did one low pass over the big runway (parallel to the mountains) to practice crosswind technique, and it was fun to feel confident I could’ve easily landed if needed. Gusty winds like that are less enjoyable on a long trip, so we were glad to just be flying for a few minutes. Since I wanted to get this photo though, I continued on and turned offshore for this before turning again for a gentle landing toward the mountains and thus into the wind.

Now we feel all mellow from just that brief flight, and we’re about to enjoy another slice of the delicious bread Anne made with Nancy’s help (maybe she’ll post something about that).

Tasty Homemade Sourdough

Tasty Homemade Sourdough

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