Many years ago, we visited friends who served us fresh, hot bread – it was a real treat. They made it in a bread machine that they’d bought from DAK Industries – we liked it so much, we bought the same machine and named it R2. We made a lot of bread over the years; eventually, R2’s paddle got scratched up, but we were able to buy a replacement on eBay and we kept using the machine. After Jeff left for college, we used it less and less, but it’s always had a place on our counter.

We didn’t have any bread in the house for Shabbat, so Diane plugged R2 into the wall and made one of our favorites, English Muffin Bread. Even though the flour and yeast were fresh, it didn’t rise a lot – but it was tasty, and that’s what counts.

Shabbat Shalom!

It’s been a very busy day – I’ve felt like I’ve been running behind ever since I woke up.

As usual for a Thursday, the day started with a Toastmasters meeting followed by a walk, a trip to the chiropractor, and grocery shopping.

By the time we’d made and eaten lunch, it was almost 1:30pm. We were going to watch a “Sip and Sail” presentation about Portugal from Ama Waterways (we had planned to take their Portugal cruise in late August; we’re now booked for 2022) at 2, so I hurried to put away the last of the condiments.

As I turned the top shelf of the lazy Susan, it suddenly dropped by nearly a foot. Nothing spilled, nothing broke – but this was clearly not a good sign.

We emptied the shelves and I looked at the problem – eventually, I discovered that a set screw had come loose allowing the shelf to drop under its own weight. I pulled the shelf back into place and tightened the screw (and all the others I could find). Since everything was out of the cabinet, we got rid of some items we didn’t need (like cornmeal that was six years past its “best before” date) as we reloaded.

There’s more room in the cabinet now. And I’ve put a note on my calendar to tighten the set screw in five years or so.