A Message from the King and More From Real Life

No, not that King.

Wikimedia Commons

Or this one.

Wikipedia

You may recall my holiday baking hit a snafu when I found alien matter in my King Arthur flour. 

I wrote to them, explaining the situation and was impressed that they immediately sent a "got your email" notification bot, saying they would respond within 24 hours. It took less time than that. I had an answer a few hours later.

"From your photo and description, what you found in your flour is called bin scale. It happens when the flour becomes compacted and moisture gets introduced somewhere. That can occur anywhere between storage at the silos to the shipping and storing process. The pressure from all the flour in the silo compacts bits of flour - it can be so compacted that the chunk almost looks shiny, giving the impression of plastic or even ceramic pieces. Bin scale is simply compacted flour.

We have filed a report with our quality assurance department and mailed you vouchers good for a free replacement.

We apologize for any inconvenience and hope you will continue to enjoy King Arthur Baking Company products."

And, true to their word, several days later I received coupons for two five-pound bags of King Arthur Flour. 

I'd call that pretty good customer service. (And by the way, some of you who mentioned it might be moisture-related were right on target!)

In other news....

We had a very quiet post Christmas season (or Twixmas, as Jan of "Low Carb Diabetic" calls it!). One of the most fun parts was our annual Christmas song exchange with friends Mark and Jan. This year the song was "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" and our gifts had to connect to lyrics of the song. Among the things we found for them were Bugle snacks (little tin horns); Santa-wrapped chocolates; a colorforms "Battleship" game and two little matchbox cars ("elephants, boats and kiddie cars, too") and funny glasses ("he sees you when you're sleeping.")

We received really cute, sparkly Santa hats, naughty and nice glasses, a set of "lists", naughty or nice socks, a car coaster with "naughty or nice" on it, and best of all, Santa specs.

What, you might ask, are Santa Specs? They are cardboard glasses, similar to the kind you used to get in a vintage 3-D movie. 

When you put them on and look at lights on the tree, they become little Santa heads! (Sorry for the lousy photo -- I hope you get the idea!)

On New Year's Eve we went to see the movie "The Boys in the Boat," about the 1936 rowing team -- underdogs to the max -- who ended up going to the Olympics and winning the gold. It was very good. After, we came home and had dinner. I set a nice table using my Royal Doulton Royal Gold china, mom's silver and crystal and a tablecloth that my up-north friend Kathy gave me when they moved. It was simple but pretty. We had Ina Garten's 45-minute oven risotto with sauteed shrimp and salad with peppermint stick ice cream for dessert. (I'll be sad to see that go -- and it will be a good thing!)

After dinner, we found the American Experience documentary about the 1936 team and watched it. (It's available at PBS.org). They were pretty close to accurate in the film, with some of the events compressed for timing and perhaps dramatic narrative. I'd like to read the book it was based on. Recommended. 

On New Year's day  we went to the movies again, this time to see "Maestro," the film about Leonard Bernstein, which focused equally on his marriage and his work. I found it fascinating and Bradley Cooper's performance as Bernstein and Carey Mulligan as Felicia were both spot on. You can see it on Netflix too, (but if you want the big sound, see it on the big screen.) The scene in Ely Cathedral of Bernstein conducting Mahler's second symphony deserves to be heard full-tilt.

Now we are back into the world of the "now." Doc appointments, attacking the dreaded basement, and more. I just started reading "My Name is Barbra," (aka, the Streisand book), a Christmas present from Rick. I am loving her conversational writing style. 

I don't know if Costco carries the same books everywhere but this one was about $6 less expensive than Amazon and lots less than the local store. They also had this wonderful Ina Garten cookbook for $20. I need another cookbook like a hole in the head, but Ina's recipes always work and I couldn't resist. We'll be eating well.

The frame of my glasses broke so I'm back to wearing my old ones till I have cataract surgery in February or March. The script is old and not terribly effective but probably better than nothing (though the verdict on that is still out.) I'll get new ones after that -- at least, I am assuming I'll need them.  

And I started -- and finished -- a new jigsaw puzzle -- Christmas cats! This was a fast and easy one -- only 500 pieces instead of the usual 1000! But it's very cheery!

We got a bit of snow a couple of days ago and a little more last night -- the sticky kind that looks pretty!  Now I'm on to another -- and at the moment I'm contemplating putting it back in the box!

 

We really haven't had any at all this year, apart from some light dustings (the grass even showed through) and one wet one that melted by the end of the day (but it was pretty while it lasted.) More is predicted so Rick is ecstatic. I'd be happy to stop with this!

Meanwhile, this one is just happy that her birds are being fed -- and that she can enjoy her "Bird TV." 

Wherever you are, keep cozy!