This morning I was woken at about 530 by a series of very bright flashes outside my bedroom window. Not sure what blew, but after that, every time a MAX train went by, sparks were flying from the overhead wires, so I called the electric company and reported it. This morning when I was heading out to work, there’s a PGE truck outside my house – and when I went looking for the driver to give him more detail, I went skidding down – there’s black ice out there and I’m wearing cowboy boots with no tread. Banged my elbow, ouch. I showed the driver where the sparks were, and he told me the roads are really bad and there’s a pile-up nearby. I can see cars going very slowly on the nearby main road. So I worked from home this morning, at least until the sun comes up and the ice melts. I’m just glad I can work from home, and that the power didn’t go out.
The cheesemaking yesterday went well. I made mozzarella, which came out …. pretty much like mozzarella. I intend to use this for a caprese salad, and it came out a little firmer than I’d like for that – not quite as firm as string cheese, but not as soft as bufala mozzarella. The instructions that came with the cheesemaking kit I was given for Christmas tell you a lot about what actions make the cheese firmer, so I should be able to do better next time. Also I forgot to add salt at the proper time and when I did add it, it didn’t mix in thoroughly, so some bits are salty and some not, but otherwise it seems pretty good.