Hello my lovelies! Two weeks to go. The last week has been a blur of small jobs and preparations. All the Christmas odd-jobs. It’s been mega hot. Sleeping has been a challenge. I had a lovely end of year dinner with the GBB HQ crew. And we taught our last bread class for the year.
You guys I’m on schedule! I think. Cakes are doused and iced. Crackers are made. Cookies are baked. Gingerbread house dough is made. Friendmas gifts are ready. Apricot Mustard Fruits are maturing. This week will feature gingerbread house construction, mince pies, baguettes, Paris-Brest, last bits of shopping and Friendmas! Fun busy. I love all the little bits of stuff. The chance to craft and decorate. To bake things that seem egregious at other times of the year.
NZ is having one of the hottest summers on record. Wellington has had nearly a month with no rain. It was supposed to rain yesterday. It totally didn’t happen. Every city and region is on some level of water restrictions already. I’m not built for this. I live in Wellington because it never really goes above 25C. Among other reasons. But I’m not a hot weather creature. Aside from the depressing broader implications of the weather it’s a pain. It’s hard to sleep. Both because it’s hot and because the birds can’t sleep either so they sing. At 3 am. Up until this weekend it’s also been very calm in Wellington. I have never heard so many people begging for wind. In Wellington. The breeze is back and it’s feeling a bit more normal now.
I had my first end of year do. The GBB HQ team had a relaxed and hilarious dinner at The Arborist. There were homemade gifts handed round. We’re those people. Conversations were wide-ranging and laughs were abundant. I’m so lucky to have been welcomed by such a fabulous bunch of ladies. It’s never easy to have someone new come in and boss you around but they’re all amazing and supportive and kind. And they make good cookies.
We had our final bread class for the year on Saturday. It’s been so awesome to be teaching people in person. It’s really made a difference to my confidence and I have such fun doing it. I’m learning to manage my energy post-class. It’s a lot of interaction for someone like me and uses a bit of energy. We’ve been having a tough time with the weather the last few weeks and Saturday was the hardest by far. The kitchen is hot anyway and all our doughs were rising like crazy. Like proving in 15 minutes fast. The sourdough was soft and difficult to work. It’s stressful as a teacher when you’re trying to give students a great and encouraging experience and things are going a bit mad around you. Bread literally has a life of it’s own and severe changes in weather will affect it. We hope we managed to teach everyone more about what it looks like when things don’t go 100% right and what to do about it.
Have fun. Stay cool. Roll with the punches. Look after each other.
xx
