I have been able to read today...working on my book (technically book-and-a-half) for book club this Saturday: Black and half of Red by Ted Dekker (we'll be finishing up with the second half of Red, and all of White next time we meet. While the writing engaged from the first page, I had a hard time buying-into the books until two or three chapters in. They are a hybrid of fantasy, science fiction and Christian allegory. I just have to keep convincing myself that, like C. S. Lewis and Tolkien, not everything is a symbol...sometimes a house is just a house and a room is just a room. However, much of the book is allegory, and I had to seek out some insight from reviews on the web. Interesting books...Tom goes to sleep in one reality, and is immediately awake in another; the scenario swaps and he as confused as can be. An MMA phenom for a hero, a pandemic-level virus, trees that glow, fruit that heals, damsels in distress, ugly guys with bad skin dwelling in tents in the desert, screeching black bats, white furry flying creatures, green water, religious "compromisers" [sic] who turn out to be the truth-keepers. You know, everyday stuff. *If you don't know what this is, ask your hubby...he will know if he's anything like mine.
My new Peter Reinhart white bread recipe rocks. There used to be eight rolls, now there are four. The sandwich bread has a substantial crust, but the crumb is delightfully soft and flavorful. Rolls and bread from the same recipe. Mmmmmmm.
On Monday, I had made PR's Italian bread (a two day process) and it was so good that it disappeared in no time flat. Definitely a re-make.
The girls have been coloring all day. This morning they took their stuff outside and colored at the picnic table ala Princesses. You can see our tree behind Ingrid, leaning a bit east...but it didn't fall over in the serious monsoon storm yesterday. I would love to know how much rain fell. It was, by far, the most-substantial storm I've seen since the first year we were here. It rained consistently for about three hours. This morning, I went outside to check the condition of the yard (there was some heavy wind at the leading edge of the storm) and all was fine; however, I'm glad the wind led the 
storm and didn't follow, as the rain completely saturated the ground, and the mesquite is leaning a bit. We are definitely going to have to add a third support pole. By now (two years in the ground) the poles really shouldn't be needed, but for some reason, the roots have just not developed strongly enough to secure this tree upright. I think the ground dirt might not be dense enough as they probably scraped the entire caliche layer off of the front yard when they planted.
