hand rolled pasta and pregnancy skin

Winter has really come to us, today we had a wonderful snowfall, and everything is white, like in a fairy tale.  This is a picture of my patio taken this morning.  I wanted to laugh at my mom who suggested that we barbecue a piece of salmon, as my barbecue is underneath two feet of snow.  I did however bake bread, the first time in over one year.  I used to bake all the time, but stopped after Adrian's stillbirth, and now I felt the need to go back to it.  It's almost like some kind of life force is coming back to me, some kind of lost zest for living that was based on hope and simply disappeared this year.   This is the bread, or the one half that was left after last night's dinner with company, and after I had my morning coffee and slice of bread with honey.

It is a regular French loaf, made with three and a half cups of white flour, one and a half or so cups of water (I go by the feel), some salt and yeast.  That is it.  I let my Kitchen Aid do the mixing with the dough hook, then I let my dehydrator do the raising (because it has a temperature for bread raising, otherwise the house would be a bit too cool), and then I bake it in a Romertopf, a ceramic container which can be soaked in water and hence creates steam, which closes the crust and makes it crispy.  MrH said that it was my best bread ever, but I think the poor man was simply deprived by my long baking strike.  Nothing like that to make you appreciate what your wife can make, eh?

Then, because I did not have enough carbs for one weekend, I went over to my Italian friend's house and  we made hand-rolled ravioli (she made it, I made conversation) which we had with cream and prosciutto sauce.  I really am vegan, I swear.  But once in a while I must allow myself a little piece of heaven, and I must say, her pasta was THE BEST I have ever eaten.  I did not know that pasta can be this good.  I must get on with the rolling pin and learn how to make those works of art, or else I will miss out on good food in life.  All in all, I think I should lock the scale in the cupboard tomorrow.  And possibly for the next year, I think...

My ass is growing, but my skin is absolutely fantastic, like with my last pregnancy.  Three days ago, all my blackheads committed suicide and jumped off my face, and now I have these infinitely small pores with porcelain coloured skin.  No reddness, no acne.  Ten years of anti acne medication (which includes at least two courses of every medication known to mankind used for this purpose) did not do it for me, and now this one little change makes me look like I am no longer a teenager with pimply skin.  Got to love it.

Tonight from 7 pm to 8 pm there is a candle lighting ceremony for parents who lost living children.  Here is my candle for Tiffany who lost Julius to SIDS, and for all of those parents who lost their children or babies.  May we all find peace eventually.

PS.  My birds ate the wax off the candle!  That is why the bottom half looks like somebody sculpted it with an axe.

PPS.  In case anyone else has a newly found hobby in embryology, here is babyH today.