So I picked up a copy of Tartine Bread before the holidays since I knew that the fact that Chad Robertson wrote a 38 page essay about sourdough meant he was my spirit animal. I'm baking my first country loaves tomorrow. Wish me luck.

I am singing Oh Holy Night this evening with the son of a rather famous polka singer. It certainly is an honor, and I will try my best not to break out in an Adam Sandler in the Wedding Singer impression.

I shared a batch of cream cheese brownies that I baked over the weekend with one of my classes today, and they reacted as though it never dawned on them that these two things could meet. I always love introducing today's youth to things we marveled at in coffee shops in the '90's.

So far on this long weekend I have baked four loaves of sourdough, a double batch of huge chocolate chip cookies for one of my classes, and one of two pans of cream cheese brownies I need to bake for my other class. Waiting on fresh pecans from Georgia for a turtle cheesecake next weekend.

We have reached the point in the re-airing of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, which is a ratings bonanza for NBC, where it combined with a carb-laden meal has reminded me that time is a circle. Gobble, gobble y'all.

Just a few details of the finished build. I didn't ask the cats whether they were investing in this season's newest fitness craze.

Progress shots on gingerbread. Theme - Cat Tank pitch competition. Contestant pitches X-Mas Fit "'Tis the season to get shredded." Ninjabread will demonstrate by attacking Peeps Snowmen. Cats will sit in judgment. Nature heals.

We staked down the three inflatables that we've collected this year on what may the final warmish day of the year. You can guess our interests and how trendy we are from them all.

This is a sheet of ninjabread cookies. Found the cutters at Target last night and figured they'd fit in well with all of the cats we're baking tomorrow. This display I'm working on may look like it was designed by a nine year-old, but chaos in baking is a good thing every now and again.

So I've been asked to enter a gingerbread festival next week, and it has been a few years since I did anything serious with gingerbread. Plan is to convert the co-working space I manage into a cat café. Outside of thick royal icing, isomalt, and Jolly Ranchers, what other tips or tricks are there?

I will likely post an inordinate amount of information regarding my baking and local food while sprinkling in some economic commentary. There are significant analogies between sourdough baking and Fed policy, for example.

It just felt like a blue sky kind of day. It feels wonderful to breathe easily.