Ugh. I guess I've finally accepted that making food for my Dad really may not ever be something he will enjoy. I think Jen's right about nonagenarians. But it makes me a little sad.
So I think I'll keep baking for me. Try to find an everyday multi-grain bread recipe I can adopt. And if I really need an enthusiastic audience, I'll try out the recipes in the 'baking for dogs' chapter. I'm not sure it's possible to bake something bad enough to be rejected by Maisy. After all, she joyously eats stale bread off the sidewalk after it's been stepped on by tourists and turned into mush by the rain.
And I will admit that I kind of like blogging. I could stand a little more interactivity though. :) I guess we'll just go with a slightly more random selection of topics. But still a good dose of bread as I try to follow my own bread path towards something other than pumpernickel.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Denouement?
I was chatting with Jan last night and she asked how the bread project from the weekend went. The bread turned out great. But the reaction I got from my Dad was roughly "i don't want any bread".
Ok, so he didn't exactly say I don't want any bread, but that's what he meant. It was more like "i don't really eat much bread". This was after I had pretty much forced him to taste the bread. There was also a very obligatory sounding "very good". My Dad is nothing if not polite. :)
So I promised Jan a little self-analysis on the blog, since it seems clear that my making bread for Dad only appeals to one of us. And it really was very well intentioned. And I did learn how to bake bread (for the most part). And I still have the impulse to bring him a little something homemade when I visit each week. I guess I should just accept that it's at least 50% for me. There's not much else I can do for him that gives us both a little enjoyment. While taking him to the Dr. is very useful, it's not super fun.
That places us squarely at the "and what now?' point of this project. I see three options:
Option 1- keep going on bread making for myself and search for a recipe and routine that can create my everyday bread.
Option 2- start exploring stuff to make for my dad that he'd actually receive enthusiastically.
Option 3- The END
Really they're all independent decisions in some way. Could do options 1 and 2 but stop blogging. Could end the bread baking and focus my energy on proteins that travel and reheat well. (I jokingly suggested homemade gefilte fish. Do not joke about this with a NY Jew. It leads to disappointment.) Could give up on the idea that taking my Dad food is useful. Could keep blogging on option 1 or 2 and silently pursue the other.
LOVE some feedback! Worth keeping the blog going? (hello silent readers...) If so, keep bread as the theme or follow the "feeding Dad" path? Or bail on the blog and keep plugging away at feeding Dad? Just become a personal baker? Your thoughts?
Ok, so he didn't exactly say I don't want any bread, but that's what he meant. It was more like "i don't really eat much bread". This was after I had pretty much forced him to taste the bread. There was also a very obligatory sounding "very good". My Dad is nothing if not polite. :)
So I promised Jan a little self-analysis on the blog, since it seems clear that my making bread for Dad only appeals to one of us. And it really was very well intentioned. And I did learn how to bake bread (for the most part). And I still have the impulse to bring him a little something homemade when I visit each week. I guess I should just accept that it's at least 50% for me. There's not much else I can do for him that gives us both a little enjoyment. While taking him to the Dr. is very useful, it's not super fun.
That places us squarely at the "and what now?' point of this project. I see three options:
Option 1- keep going on bread making for myself and search for a recipe and routine that can create my everyday bread.
Option 2- start exploring stuff to make for my dad that he'd actually receive enthusiastically.
Option 3- The END
Really they're all independent decisions in some way. Could do options 1 and 2 but stop blogging. Could end the bread baking and focus my energy on proteins that travel and reheat well. (I jokingly suggested homemade gefilte fish. Do not joke about this with a NY Jew. It leads to disappointment.) Could give up on the idea that taking my Dad food is useful. Could keep blogging on option 1 or 2 and silently pursue the other.
LOVE some feedback! Worth keeping the blog going? (hello silent readers...) If so, keep bread as the theme or follow the "feeding Dad" path? Or bail on the blog and keep plugging away at feeding Dad? Just become a personal baker? Your thoughts?
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