Pizza School

Since nothing sounded good for dinner yesterday, I decided to make us pizza and use my new pizza stone that Benji and Andrea gave me for Christmas.  My friend Jodi makes pizza that is to die for an every bit as good as a restaurant.  In fact, if you placed hers and theirs side by side, you could not tell which was which--but that's not the impressive part.  What really blew me was how she handles a pizza peel--the long handled pizza paddle--like a pro.  It doesn't look like it's that hard but let me just say in a 500 degree oven, everything becomes hard.  At least for the novice like me.

                                                                    
She and I had a pizza de-briefing this morning, and I'm going to get a lesson in dough (her recipe is from a chef, thank you very much) and he's taught her a few techniques that's she's going to pass on to me.  Or try to, anyway.  Like how to get your pizza off the peel and onto a 500 degree stone and then back off.  Yeah, that.   One edge of my first pizza stuck and I do mean stuck.  Lots of cussing later, I finally got it off.  My second pizza did lots better and came right out.  Neither one looked very pretty but they sure tasted good.  Jodi's look and taste good--so that's what I'm shooting for.  Knowing the two of us together, there is likely to be lots of laughing going on when we do our pizza school.  She is hilariously fun, and a great cook, so I may just kidnap her.

                                                     
On a big old whiny note, has anybody out there ever had a Baker's cyst (behind your knee) and how long before that sucker went away?  Mine's golf ball sized and hurts like the devil.  Yes, I can go get it excised or aspirated, but aspirated ones can come right back, and I don't really want to be cut on, so I'm trying to do the wait and see thing.  Meanwhile, Advil, Tylenol, and ice are my new best friends.  Wah, wah, wah.

Since I refuse to close on a Debbie Downer note, one of my favorite people in the world is here today, Senora Maria, and she brought with her mom's old mattress topper that I had her cut up into quarters and sew into 4 individual sections.  Why??  I know you wanna know so here's why: I'm recycling them as the bottom padding in Queen Sister's beds.  Shuddd up.  I am.  That thing was too good to just throw out so I decided this was a great use for it.   Now her old arthriticky self is going to lie on them and be ohhhhh, so comfy.  The minute I put one in her bed, she came over and hopped right in and snuggled down.  Being her must be so great.

P. S.  I just noticed Mr. and Mrs. Duck are back.  They must have just flown over because this is my first siting of them today.  They are so cool!