The sourdough is not going well. I didn't end up dealing with it for Thursday after all (I know, huge surprise, right?) and instead started the dough/baking process yesterday. The first rising went splendidly - the dough looked exactly as it was described it would. Punch down and loaf formation was similarly smooth. What I'm regarding as a potential Sourdough Waterloo came in the form of the second rising, which, well, didn't. In an effort to salvage the operation, I rekneaded the two loaves together and am now attempting a third rise. After four or five hours, if it's risen at all I will bake and report back. Sourdough, I am told, is at once fussy and forgiving. Fussy in the sense that it requires a good starter made with good yeast but forgiving in the sense that rising times and baking windows are flexible. So we'll see. All is not lost, but I'm not exactly discouraged. If this doesn't work I will start again from square one with very fresh yeast and then move on to other troubleshooting.

We've got a busy weekend planned of GETTING. STUFF. DONE. The Boy Wonder needs new sneakers with which to partake of his soccer lessons and he's been invited to a birthday party, which will require the purchase of a present (something in the construction genre, I've been informed). There's also the matter of writing thank you notes and finishing the birth announcements, as well as marking the photographs of the babe (four rolls so far) with the who and what - I am nearly fanatical about this, no boxes of mystery photos in this house. Then there's the usual house stuff, vacuuming and so on. I'm also planning to take the kids ("The kids" - how strange to write that) to the park tomorrow to get some walking in. It's supposed to be a beautiful day and it will be nice to get moving.