I’m not sure why it’s been so long since I last baked any bread, as I usually make a loaf every week. I suppose I’d frozen quite a lot – anyway, I have made my usual multi-grain, seeded loaf today. Again, I added the salt at the last minute, with the final slosh of water and, again, it’s turned out better than usual. Although I can’t see why a couple of minutes without the inhibiting effect of salt would make an appreciable difference, I’ve done the same thing with the sourdough that is proving overnight (I dissolved the salt in the last 100ml or so of water) and I’ll find out how that does tomorrow. I could only prove it (haha) one way or the other by trying several different methods in controlled tests, several times and that certainly isn’t going to happen. But anything that might help is to be encouraged. Won’t harm and is no trouble, at any rate.

I’ve been shirking on the drawing front. But today I finally braved a quick sketch. Nothing to bother to post, but at least it’s got me started again. The Just Do It, is isn’t a competition thing wasn’t convincing me for a couple of weeks – actually, I think that’s more a general ennui than anything else. Days are drifting by and it’s hard to engage with anything much. However, a few things have taken place.

On Friday, the blood donor appointment was fine, uneventful. Later, I found a text from a friend, who’d been in the waiting room while I was drinking my lemon squash and eating my chocolate Club biscuit (indulgences I save for this specific occasion), but I didn’t find it until after I was home. She appreciated my red shoes! I didn’t feel faint, as has happened later a few times, but I came home and went to sleep. I had an early night and, the next day, slept heavily most of the afternoon. I don’t know if this is because of the blood loss or coincidence and I felt quite well – and am over it now anyway – but I think that the age of 70 is when you’re signed off from donating and I can see that, as you get older, it could have a greater effect.

On Saturday, it was Squiffany’s 16th birthday. She was a baby when I started blogging, not quite a year old. I threw caution and The Rules to the winds and visited with her presents. It’s a good ten miles away and not strictly a necessary journey, though I fitted in a necessary shopping trip on the way, so it wasn’t much further. It was, anyway, lovely to see her. She’s in the process of deciding on her A Level options and her brother is choosing GCSEs. He advised on the guitar playing – he is not a chatty boy but, if you pick a subject that he can engage with, he’s very interesting to talk to. He’s also kind and helpful. I’ve had three brief guitar sessions today, it’s still quite hard but I’m doing better and getting more focussed.

I also spent quite a long time caring for neglected houseplants today, soaking them in the kitchen sink, trimming off dead leaves and getting them ready for the spring. So, if Spring is springing, so is Z.