Feelin' Irish

Three months

Man does not live on bread alone

But it certainly doesn't hurt. Now that I am a stay-at-home mom, I figure I might as well indulge my more time-consuming domestic and do-it-yourself urges. So I bake bread. My bread repertoire is expanding to include soft, swirled sandwich bread; chewy, porous rustic loaves, and long, shiny-topped Italian feather bread. I also make cheese, although so far I've only made microwave mozzarella.

Mr. Incredible says this is one of his favorite things about my new vocation--that I make bread and cheese. I'm not sure what he's more excited about: that he knows my diaper-filled days are also filled with kitchen fun, that he gets to eat my delicious experiments, that we're saving money and still enjoying artisanal food, or that we've moved one step closer to living off the land.

Next, he says, he'd like to start bottling his own perry from our remarkably prolific pear tree. And in between loaves of bread and canning the summer harvest of our 5-gallon bucket garden, I think I'll lend him a hand.

Contemplating my return

Well, I've hit the three-month mark. It's hard to believe, but I am now a seasoned veteran of motherhood, having made it through those challenging first three months. And now I'm thinking about returning to my blog after a long absence. So stay tuned! Hopefully, I'll have something to say (and some time to sit down and type it) soon!