The very full day

[altivo]

Gary went off to a seminar on machine knitting today, so I did barn duty myself. Also went to my spinning guild meeting, where I spent longer than originally intended because a friend needed a little help putting the heel in a sock, so I stayed and walked her through it. Dashed to the grocery, came back, put Tess out in the pasture, put the groceries away, cleaned barns and yards, brought Tess back in, fed everyone and closed up the barns.

Back to work on NaNoWriMo only to be interrupted by Gary's arrival home somewhat earlier than I expected, so I stopped to make stir fry for dinner. Then back to the keyboard while he baked cookies and bread, the smell of which is tantalizing but I'm trying to resist sampling.

Progress? My word count is close to what it should be for today, but I'm too tired to get the last four hundred or so words down. I have a feeling it would just be such gibberish I'd have to delete it all and rewrite anyway. Fortunately I'm left on the verge of an interesting and detailed scene for tomorrow, and Gary will take my regular turn at the barns so I should be able to catch up or even get ahead (hooves crossed) tomorrow.

Anyway, the next complete chapter is here. I may rearrange the sequence of some chapters in the end, so don't worry about whether this one really belongs before or after Chapter 5. They overlap timewise no matter which way they go.

Comments

[goldenstallion.livejournal.com]

Dear Rider.

Shakesbear?!

Imp

[schnee.livejournal.com]

I hope you don't mind me commenting with an entirely off-topic question, but... just out of curiosity, how much will the recipe for Gale's dark fruit cake yield? ^^ I'm just wondering because I bought the rest of the ingredients yesterday (including a cheesecloth and a bottle of rum ^^), but I have a feeling it might be a good idea to use more than one baking pan, and I've only got one so far.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

It depends, of course, on the size of the pans. I'm sure it was originally intended to be baked in a round bundt pan or tube pan to make a ring-shaped cake. In that case, a single pan should be adequate and the baking time will be somewhere near the full length of time given in the recipe. More typically, my mother (and I) have divided the heavy batter into smaller loaf pans of the kind usually used for bread. Then you will need at least two, and perhaps three or four depending on the size. Two large loaf pans (say 12 x 24 cm or so) will do, or more if the pans are smaller. It bakes more quickly in the loaf pans, and cakes in that form have more surface area to absorb the rum. :)

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Heh heh. You know me well enough to realize that I can't take a tale of fear, doubt and potential loss entirely seriously. The calm, resigned, and reflective character of Argos is of course a projection of my own self.

Less than a week now. I can't wait to see you and play with Steed.

[schnee.livejournal.com]

*noddles* I just checked again, and I've got two loaf pans - 30x10.8 cm (12x4.25") and 25x10.8cm (10x4.25"). I suppose that'll be OK - I'll likely have to use them twice, but that's no problem, fortunately. :)

Looks like I'll have to buy a second cheesecloth, though - the one I got is large enough for two loaves, but not more than that (at least if you want to cover them completely). But that's not a big problem, fortunately. :)

I'm already looking forward to the cake, too. ^^ BTW, how long does it last? And also, do you need to keep it in airtight containers to keep it fresh and keep it from getting dry?

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Since you're planning to use rum on the cake, it will keep quite well. I'd recommend refrigeration if you plan to extend the lifespan of the cakes beyond a couple of weeks, but my mother used to just use airtight tins and every week or two she would check and add more rum or brandy if the cloth was dry. The alcohol is an excellent preservative as well as adding flavor and character of course.

[schnee.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I'll keep that in mind. ^^ (Mmm, I hope I'll have enough rum, then; I only bought a small bottle of 0,375l. But on the other hand, it's good rum, at least - the cheap stuff only comes in large bottles. :))

[altivo.livejournal.com]

If the rum is only for the cakes and you aren't going to use it in other ways, that should suffice. I think the cakes will be gone by the time the rum disappears. The first time you wrap the cake up in the cloth, you will use a noticeable amount, perhaps 50 ml of rum for each. After that, it needs but a spoonful for each cake about once a week, or perhaps less if they are suitably enclosed to prevent evaporation.

[schnee.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm not going to use it for anything else - I don't generally drink alcohol. :)

I'll just have to find a good way of storing them now. Hmm, maybe I should just get a pack of 6l ziplock bags - that's probably going to be the easiest way.

[hellmutt.livejournal.com]

Shakesbear. <3

A couple of typos...
"had siezed upon the idea"
"presumable to discourage him" (presumably?)
"disguise their meaning.while tipping Fennec off"

Argos is smooooth. Dropping in all those "psst, let me out for a walk!" hints. :) And I found the last comment about caged animals affecting, FYI.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

You will find a lot of typos, I'm sure. I don't spend a huge amount of time proofreading, it takes too much energy just to keep up with the word count for now.

Yes, Argos is a sweet old guy. Obviously, he's at least part me or someone I'd like to be.

Glad you liked Shakesbear. When the question of what the books would be arose in my mind, Argos distinctly told me that he was fond of Shakesbear. Obviously he's both literate and has excellent taste. ;p

[altivo.livejournal.com]

P.S. You should join the Forum on the FurRag site. Lots of good discussion in there about writing and reading and critical thinking too.

I can't resist telling you that Shakesbear's audience often refer to him as the "Beard of Chatton" and they pronounce "beard" to rhyme with "bared"...

[hellmutt.livejournal.com]

I've been breaking out my Complete Shakesbear recently, trying to write a short 'in the style of' sort of quote for an unrelated project. I think I shall call it Shakespaw, since mine frequently do. ;)

(Is it helpful to snare the typos, by the way? I'm never sure if it's liable to annoy folks.)

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Sure, if you see 'em and have time to point them out, go ahead. I'll probably catch them eventually anyway, though. If it's so garbled you can't make sense of it, definitely give me a shout, that's really important. :)

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Now you've got me started. I think two of the other books that Anson brought to Argos just might be Bearistotle's treatises on physics, metaphysics, and natural history, and Hare Oddotos' History of the World.

[hellmutt.livejournal.com]

I am slain, slain, sir!

[cabcat.livejournal.com]

*you hear the sound of rapid paw patterings* Did I hear bread and cookies baking not to mention a tasty stir-fry. I'm sorry Horsey you know that I do enjoy the food slightly a bit more over literature, although they do go really well together :)

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Books have zero fat and zero carbs you know.

[cabcat.livejournal.com]

But some of them have way too much roughage ;)

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Most people need a lot more roughage than they get.