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Last week, I Made Bread.

Last Week I Made Bread
Published 8/3/15

It doesn't sound like much, but I was just beginning to make some decent bread when the move interrupted all of that. So actually needing to knead some dough was a real-life situation. The report on the first loaf of simple white was B+. It should have been a little lighter in its texture. The taste was a little on the sweet side. However, it passed the toast test.

Weather
It continues to be hot. Since the month is over, we can report, we lived through the second hottest July in the New Orleans records. The temperature reached at least 91 degrees each and every day. As I mentioned in my last blog, I'm looking forward to August, typically the hottest month of the year.

Registered Voter
I now know my government representatives and election day draws near. No more Jindal.  He is off trying to become President. Unlike Walker, Bobby is term-limited and can not run for Governor again. If you think Walker's record will be tough to run on, read this New Yorker article about Jindal. The biggest difference between the two is that Walker has a chance of winning. To me, that is scary.

Lucy Stinks And We The Answer
Lucy got her first bath in Louisiana. She doesn't like it any more than she did in Wisconsin. All in all, she has adjusted pretty well. She still prefers to pee on the grass, so the backyard is welcome. She even spent some time out there on nonelimination ventures. She likes her new pal 'Sam.' Sam is too big to be a purse dag and not big enough to see from the seat of a riding lawnmower if the grass is long. He has a lot of nervous energy. Lucy has abandonment issues. They are a pair to draw too.

Scooping out the neighborhood
I'm expecting an E-Mail any day from Lowes. I suspect it will have in the subject line something along the line of "Is it something we said?" With the message being, "We haven't seen you for a while. Trust us, your preferred parking place is still being held." But our needs are becoming more pedestrian. Today I went to the local library to get a card. I started as a new experience as a customer of Humana Healthcare. My United Healthcare Plan terminated on the first of August because we moved, and they can't cover me down here.

I also took an extended moped ride through Old Mandeville along the lakefront. Some of the smaller simple homes are located in this area. However, next door to these "cottages" can be stunning and lovely homes. The size of a home is often not easy to see, as many of the homes in this area are raised on pilings. They can be naked pilings, or they might be incorporated in such a way as to look like part of the living space.


Notice from the side of the ground level of these two homes. The solid front with garage doors is merely a facade.

The first floor of homes in this area is often a more or less sacrificial space in the case of flooding. The primary living space is on the upper levels of the house. Flooding in this neighborhood would be from heavy rain and wind-driven wave action climbing over the break walls of Lake Ponchartrain. Typically, I'm told, this only happens in Hurricane conditions.

My understanding from emails and conversations I've had with folks in the Milwaukee area is you guys have had a couple of hot days, but generally, the weather has been good. I hope you are all enjoying the one hundred and twenty days of possible good weather. I look forward to my return in September.


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