I've Got Herpes AND Tuberculosis!

... and blue-green algae, and now I have a basketball-sized rhinovirus! It is bright blue with big black button eyes - very cute. The other plush viruses I have are the basic size, which is supposed to be one million times life size. They look surprisingly like the actual photos of the microbes they represent, except that they are in cheery colors (herpes is sunshine yellow and TB is lime green) and have bright eyes. I gave my father hepatitis and my mother mad cow disease last year for Christmas, and my niece and two nephews got the small-sized giant microbes that come three in a large "petri dish." They got neurons. This year I gave my brother Black Death (at his request) and my sister-in-law a red blood cell, since she didn't want a nasty disease. Now they have come out with GIANT Giant Microbes, so I took my 20% off coupon and went down to the bookstore to choose a big giant virus. It was a difficult choice between the cold and the flu, but the round shape and vibrant blue color of the rhinovirus won me over. Next time I have a cold, I can cuddle up with my giant cold virus!

Last night I made bread using a bread machine Hardingfele gave me when she upgraded. Since I started this project at 10 pm, I thought my neighbors might shoot me. First it sounded like a helicopter was landing in my kitchen for 45 minutes while the bread machine went through its "knead" cycle. Then it was quiet as the dough rose, except for two brief shakes as it pressed the air out of the dough. I fell asleep as it was baking; just before two in the morning it let off a series of beeps to tell me the bread was done, but I just rolled over and went back to sleep. This morning I took the bread out and made a sandwich for lunch today. It tasted pretty good but was awfully crumbly and messy. I will have to try some more recipes and see if I can find one that stays together better.

Now that I have succeeded in making my own bread, the next frontier is granola. Someone at the Farmer's Market this summer told me it is ridiculously easy to make. Who knows? Maybe with Plant World I can start growing my own wheat and oats and sugar cane and really make all this stuff from scratch! Or why don't I just train for a triathlon? Which goal is more realistic? I'll tell you after I run another three miles tonight...

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