There are places in and around Corvallis that I enjoy, but I honestly don’t spend enough time there to have a good sense of the Beavers fans. Learning that is a bit disheartening. I always thought of OSU as the more “serious” college.
@Maus_Magill, I hope all continues for you as you need it to be. Your wife is a true companion and I am sure you treasure her for it. My best to you!
coppertone, must’ve been a cookie kind of day yesterday. I made a batch, too.
red, sure hope things smooth out for both you and Nelson soon. Still, it must be good to be in your own environs at last.
piper, the Christmas Carol production sounds really fun! Glad you enjoyed it!
Lily, the “standard of care” has changed a lot for our pets nowadays, hasn’t it? Not a bad thing, I don’t think, but there is a lot more to do now. I’m struggling to think about boarding Ollie next time I leave town because his current diet is so… involved. No more dumping a bit of kibble into the bowl, no sirree! And I love the new proposed kitten names, too!
That’s funny.
I guess we can all get into habits about which dish is the best one for a particular purpose, but perhaps it’s going a bit too far to insist everyone else see it the same way. Hope you get through those last 60 pages so you can move along to a new book you enjoy more.
Spot is an uber-character, like his papa.
My parents once had a cat, name of Mallow, who also liked to open cabinet doors. He opened drawers, too, by inserting his paws in the top of the drawer and then leveraging his body weight to pull the drawer open. He didn’t slam anything shut. The first time I visited and got up before my parents to go into the kitchen and make coffee, I was sure there was a poltergeist!
metal mouse, hope the bladder settles down again soon. Did your doc ever offer an explanation?
Yes, yes it is, and baking bread is one of those things that will be very different. I can make bread of all sorts in my sleep where I live now, but boy, did I struggle when I tried to work out a recipe that would work for my parents, who live at an elevation similar to yours in AZ. I did finally get there, but many batches were baked to get one right!
For any yeast breads at your current elevation and weather, you’ll want to use more yeast rather than less. You’re fighting air pressure now you didn’t have at higher elevation. You’ll also need less moisture in your doughs than you’re accustomed to, and the first rise period will be longer rather than shorter. Most recipes are written for lower altitude, so you’re safe to use them as a good starting point. I like to start with a drier dough and then add water 1/2 teaspoon at a time until I get the right texture. For sourdough, I find a drier dough holds its structure a bit better.
I asked about a Dutch oven because if you had one and it was well seasoned, you could forego the parchment paper with no problems at all. Your stainless steel stock pot sounds more than equal to the task, though.
During the bake, so long as you’re not peeking at the loaf until after the initial oven-spring baking period of about 10-15 minutes, you won’t hurt anything by opening the oven door. Even letting out the steam (I assume you’re using a pan of water to create the proper crust) at that stage won’t affect anything. You can also paint the loaf with a mixture of cornstarch and water for that customary sourdough crust if you wish.
Last tip: If you create a sourdough starter that makes you very happy – one that smells perfect and is very active – there’s a way to keep from having to use it or waste it every day to keep it going. Take a baking sheet and paint the back of it with your starter, then leave it to thoroughly dry. Flake off the dried starter and keep it wrapped in the freezer until you’re ready to reanimate it. Then just mix it with a bit of warm water and feed as usual. It will be back to a usable state within a couple days. It keeps this way for a really long time.
Now I want to reanimate my own sourdough starter and play with a couple of loaves! We can compare notes. 
52, you did not. I have not yet even reached the stage of disassembly on the table. I decided it will be better to have my handyman pal detach it from the gate so I don’t mess up any electronics with my abject ignorance about such things. He’s coming by tomorrow, so hopefully he’ll have time to do that and I can get started on my project. I promise I’ll keep you posted, even if the outcome is just me throwing in the towel and calling a per-feshunal! 
fly boy, I hope the prayer request helps or at least gives you a bit of hope. Cool about the bald eagle. Your wife is awesome, by the way.
Another very rainy day here with temps topping out around 50F. I made a quick dash into town this morning to re-provision and got home before Ollie even noticed I had gone. Groceries are put away and I’m planning a dinner of chicken and sun dried tomatoes, basil, cream, mushrooms and pasta in a red wine sauce. A little salad alongside.
I tried a new cookie recipe yesterday and it was great! There will never again be another wasted overripe banana in this house. The banana mostly takes the place of an egg in a traditional cookie recipe. This recipe calls for all sorts of additions: Rolled oats, chopped pecans, chocolate chips, cinnamon. The cookies are easy to stir together and delicious! I’ll make them again.
Off to reanimate my sourdough starter. JtC, you’ve inspired me! 