Lucy, thanks. Yes, I think excess moisture in the cranberries might have been part of the problem - though the resulting bread was fine but it made handling the dough a bit messy. I'll try patting them down, or maybe just leaving them in a strainer to drip dry for a bit next time. Lindac, I agree that the recipe is a bit fussy. I didn't write it - I was just trying to document its steps and timing in a way that worked better for me. I'm not sure all of what it recommends is necessary. For example two rests for the dough during the mixing process. I understand the purpose of the second one - after the flour is added it lets the yeast do its thing unchecked before adding the salt and honey which retard or control the yeast action. The original recipe instructions for the step you mentioned were: Start mixer on low; add 1 T honey and 1 t salt, slowly. Mix on low until incorporated; mix on speed 2 for 2 min; Cover. Sit for 30 min I figure that running the mixer while adding honey and salt slowly followed by mixing for two minutes rounds out to about 5 minutes of measuring and mixing time. I'm not very experienced at bread baking yet, but I have found that small differences in preparation can be noticeable in the final loaf. For instance, mixing then resting for about 15 minutes before kneading produces a nicer texture in my sourdough than plunging straight from mixing to kneading. And for some reason, the 6 braid challah tastes better than 3 or 4 braid - maybe the extra rolling into strands improves the texture or possibly the higher loaf shape of the 6 braid cooks differently.

Beautiful Pyr! I also have livestock guardians, so I'll share a few of my experiences. She's a little thin, but not much - it's really SO much better for these dogs to be on the thin side to avoid problems like HD. LGD's really can't be compared to dogs from the sporting or herding groups. They're serious working dogs who were bread to work independently of man, not particularly with man. They rely on a big bark to deter predators. They are willing to back this up with speed and power IF they need to. In other words, LGD's are slow, unless they need to be fast *g* They walk slowly, they obey slowly .... right up until they spot something they perceive to be threatening. Then they move very very (did I mention very?) quickly. My girl is a 120 lb, 31" spayed Akbash (Anatolian Shepherd). She is a very tall, massive female - as large as most males - and well outside the breed standard. I also have a male neutered ASD who is 31" and 145 lb. They eat remarkably little food for their size. The male eats 1.5 c of Wellness 2x/day with NO scraps or other food. The female was maintaining perfectly with 3/4 c of Wellness 2x per day. Both sometimes skip a meal and resume the next day without playing catch-up. The female was diagnosed with osteosarcoma 2 months ago and now needs to eat when I need her to eat in order to take her meds, so I am now supplementing her food with canned Wellness. Even so, a can of food lasts a week. I will take exception with the above poster who questioned their "brightness" LGD's are NOT eager beavers. They are not a golden, a border collie or a GSD..... their whole life is not based on working WITH you. They don't fetch (more than once or twice - the third time you'll get a look that very clearly says "I suggest you hold onto that this time" Obedience is something they have to do, not something they want to do in order to please you, so they aren't like other dogs in the working group like rotti's, boxers or berners either. Their whole approach to training is much more akin to dogs in the hound group. It can be done - I'm an obedience instructor - but it requires dedication and persistence to get to a high level of reliability. They're very very smart and are very quick learners but there's always a little glint in the eye that says "Why should I?" Your biggest challenge will be teaching them "becasue i said so" I love the livestock guardian dogs and hope you enjoy your new addition!!

Thanks to everyone for so much great advice! If we're able to pull off this dream, we want to definitely ensure we do it thoughtfully, carefully, and correctly (thank you Virgil!). I'll be 54 when I retire and hubby will be 56. Years ago he used to talk about getting 10+ acres so I've had to drag him back to reality with regard to maintenance as we age. My best friend custom built on 10 acres an hour north of Sacramento (her DH is very talented and built it himself) and I've seen the nightmare in time commitment for the upkeep. Now I'm thinking half an acre tops will work. We can't/won't stay in our current home for several reasons: it's a 2 -story with many wasted rooms for just the 2 of us (we want a single story and smaller), it's in a more expensive county than Olympia, and we own 40 acres of land (for DH who is an avid duck hunter) that is currently 1.5 hours from us but is only about 30 minutes from Olympia. The traffic around Olympia isn't so bad (especially since we won't be working then) and it's a big enough city to give us all the amenities we need, including good medical care. We love Western WA and do not like Eastern WA at all. David Cary- I definitely won't even attempt to predict land prices and interest rates so far into the future. But how would I find out about estimates for tear downs? Virgil- Thanks for the estimates on time frames for all the various phases. You said "All of this can be seriously reduced by going to an existing tract development under construction or completed." I've read a few posts of people purchasing lots in tract developments. But does this mean I'd have to pick one of their builder's models or could only choose finishes? I'm not interested in doing that at all. Kristin S and Summit-nice ideas about poking around on Redfin now and spending some time in Olympia to see where we may want to live. I like the idea of being able to set up a search. But here's another question that is kind of rhetorical- a few months ago DH said he DIDN'T want to look for land too soon in Olympia. He cited the horrendous ongoing and growing homelessness problem in Seattle (it's actually spread to a suburb 20 minutes from us, of course on a smaller scale) and said he didn't want to buy land if Olympia may end up having similar problems. I sort of agree but think we'd really need a crystal ball to answer that question!

Thanks, desertsteph (love the images your handle conveys). They just might do this, even though, in this area, per the ZO, even the PlBrd won't be allowed to grant a special exemption permit. Or, they may just try to continue operating with no permitS (they are missing a few). Parts of this municipality can be "tough" as in rough. I live and let live and people living in this area keep to themselves (mostly). But sometimes a nearby household goes a tad too far and their activity/s can very negatively effect others. Bob C'V, I hear ya. That is similar to what happened here. Add a dog attack, threats, injury from a blind-sided attack, and I was feeling as though I lived in Gotti-ville. The previous owner (he may still share ownership -- or influence) did a lot on the sneak stuff: converting to a 2-family, plus another rental area (likely unreported income), expanding commercial use (likely paying under the counter). Entitled, arrogant, ignorant and dangerous. If someone is dealing stuff, not paying taxes/irs, I can mostly ignore that. It is when they endanger my well being, diminish my home value or health or quality of life, I get a tad concerned. Otherwise, for my family's safety, they can deal whatever, cheat on taxes and launder money. I'll look the other way and try to move. But after putting years of sweat, love, time, money into my home, it doesn't seem quite okay that I get driven out, at a loss, by threats, and the equivalent of noisy moneymaking enterprise taking over. It might seem easy to think, well, just call the police etc... I do that, have done that, have worked with environmental groups and so on. Sometimes there is just too much grime, even in a beautiful, quiet place with clean air, clean water and organic gardens. A city councilor or two reconnected with me and say that they will help me keep track of this and follow it. They have not always been helpful, and I've bitten my tongue. One has to chose their battles. It's never good to be a hothead, and usually works better to stay calm, informed and prepared. I would prefer to spend my time (more of my time) writing, gardening, with family, doing good deeds, volunteering and working towards causes I support (like reducing landfill burden, teaching science, earth science, environmental awareness, --- many things. This year, the past few, have caused me to spend more time reading and learning about US government, current events and to explore how our country and the world can stay/or become healthy, fair, aware, hopeful and free of the far-reaching destructive effects of pernicious "fungal" like encroaching malignancies. I want to give daily thanks to my fantastic HS teachers and college profs who taught me to recognize and dissect propaganda, optics, mass reactions and motivations. They'll never know how keenly I was paying attention. And, yes, senior year English teacher, I did make a point to seek out and read _Brave New World_, _1984_, and Updike. Thanks again, everyone.