It's been a crazy summer so far. First, Sara and I did a lot of traveling, to Canada, to Minnesota, to Poughkeepsie, and to Indianapolis. Here are some unfortunates who capsized their canoe on Wappinger Creek, near Poughkeepsie:



Then, this past week, I've had the flu, which makes life very strange and not very enjoyable. Of course, at the same time, we've had extremely high humidity pretty much all day every day, so it's sometimes hard to know if grossness is due to the weather or the sickness. Still, I have had the time to do some good things. I've started the Lincoln biography that Grandma and Grandpa Chenette gave me for my birthday, and I've worked on the course packet for the class I'll be teaching in the fall. (There's a *lot* of work left to do on that. Too bad I don't get royalties.) And I tried out my second recipe from the bread cookbook I bought at the Culinary Institute of America, Old Milwaukee Rye:




Yes, Claire, the baguette-style loaf is the product of your birthday gift to me--thank you!

It's a beautiful loaf, and has a really rich, dark flavor. I prepared the sponge a few days ago, and it's a good thing it keeps developing flavor for three days, because I really didn't feel like doing anything with it the past couple of days. But I'm feeling a lot more normal now, and enjoying some good bread!