Well aimee, it is not that you are safe with specific kinds of bulbs, but there are a few that can grow in clay quite well. From tulips there are so many breeds that it makes no sense to go through all of them, but most top sellers usually can take clay soils reasonably well. Regarding wild tulips however, they do not like to grow in wet rich clay. Some can appear, but they never get to the real glory and some times do not appear at all. Too heavy and too rich in nutrition for them - they would rather grow in a pile of sand, than in a rose bed. With narcissus it depends, I had a good success with the smaller varieties, big fluffy bloom ones often rot here - but they may do better for you with more dry climate. With crocus, giant ones should do ok, but I would advice against species ones, especially not the blue ones - unless it is from the crocus specialist and is specifically clay loving breed (there are selected few, but rather rare and difficult to obtain). You could try some fritilarias, but there are quite a few different kinds and I think only imperials were really clay tolerant (most wild species definitely are not, but they are small enough for small containers). Chionodoxas and scylles were ok for me in clay, but be warned, once you have them, it is impossible to get rid of them, same with muscari - there always will be a bulb left. English and Spanish bells are self seeding weed here. With iris, there again are a lot of kinds, bearded ones can be prone to rot if mulched or rhisomes covered in any other way, dutch iris can rot in clay as well, iris reticulata practically is hopeless in clay (unless you can find a spot where it gets little to no water whatsoever), siberic iris grows on anything really, there also are a few varieties that like to be submerged in water (some NA species among them, but I am not that familiar with them, too cold for them here). With wild lilies, I did not try henryi and speciosum here in soil, but species martagons do not do well - their hybrids however can be an option, since they like heavy loam if it has a good compost added to it. You could probably get away with some most generic Asiatic lilies - they are quite hard to kill really. Orientals and longiflorums however are not a good idea, although some of their hybrids can take a bit of clay. Also some lilies, for example orientals, like soils around Ph 4,5 and generally quite a few lilies like ericaceous conditions, so often they are not good to plant with the roses, which like the opposite most of the time. But if you got a bed of azaleas, rhododendrons, heather and other acid loving plants, they might be a good addition. Ph really is very important with lilies, since even if you got perfect structure, if the Ph is wrong, it does not matter if it is clay or sand, they will hate it.

My guess is they the dough got too hot either in the oven or the water you added was too hot. An experienced bread baker can tell by the texture of the dough when working the dough if the yeast is alive. I would have tested the yeast you tossed in warm water with a bit of sugar.....and if ti didn'ts how proof of being active...I would have written Fleishman or Red Star a long sobbing letter telling about your ruined bread....and maybe you would have gotten a nice supply of yeast out of it. The yeast package says "store in a cool place" doesn't it? I think that might exempt your pantry. I keep yeast in the refrig or the freezer. Now you see how forgiving yeast dough can be? Ain't it fun?! Linda c

How about some Portuguese Sweet Bread? New Bedford Portuguese Sweet Bread The Proofing Sponge 1/2 cup warm water 1 teaspoon sugar 2 tablespoons or packets active dry yeast 1/2 cup King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour The Dough 1 cup milk 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter* 1 cup sugar 1 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon grated lemon peel OR 1/2 teaspoon lemon oil (optional) 7 1/2 to 8 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour 4 eggs plus 1 egg yolk wash made of 1 egg white beaten with 1 tablespoon water Method: The Sponge: Pour the water into a large bowl and dissolve in it the sugar and yeast. Stir in the flour and set aside until the mixture is bubbly and expanded. Don't worry about lumps, and feel free to give the mixture a stir after a few minutes to break up and distribute any clumps of yeast. The Dough: 1. Scald the milk. Remove from the heat and add the butter, sugar, salt and optional lemon peel. Stir to dissolve and then let the mixture cool to lukewarm. 2. Beat the eggs and yolk together until frothy. Add them and the milk mixture to the proofing sponge. Stir in 6 to 7 cups of flour, one cup at a time, until the dough comes cleanly away from the sides of the bowl. 3. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board. Scrape the bowl and add the bits of dough. There is no need to wash the bowl at this time; just lightly oil and set it aside. (A Jubinsky technique which avoids taking time to wash out the bowl and demonstrates that there are lots of ways to skin a cat.) 4. Knead the dough, adding only enough flour to keep the dough from sticking to your hands and the board. When the dough is smooth and satiny (it should be relatively soft rather than stiff), place it in the oiled bowl. Turn to lightly oil the entire surface of the dough. Cover the bowl with greased plastic wrap (to keep the dough from sticking to it) and a clean towel. Let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. 5. Punch the dough down and divide into two equal pieces. Shape into two round loaves and place in two greased 9-inch cake pans. 6. Cover loosely with plastic wrap (again greased) and cover with a clean towel. Let the loaves rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. 7. Preheat your oven to 375°F for at least 15 minutes. Brush the loaves with the egg white and water mixture. 8. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the loaves sound hollow when tapped on the bottom with a finger. When the bread is done, remove it from the oven and let cool on a wire rack. *In these days of fat phobia, you can cut this amount of butter by half or substitute vegetable oil to eliminate some cholesterol and saturated fat. Remember, though, that there is a lot of flavor (as well as Vitamin A) in butter, and that in one slice of bread, you will have only a teaspoon or so. Source: The Baking Sheet Newsletter, Vol. III, No. 4, March-April 1992 issue.

carree, the Hirsch tile is gorgeous, but waaaaay out of my price range. I'm going to post a new thread for BS help. I'm finally back with some more details and hopefully some better photos. We just got the new NXR installed and a few last minute details finished. We made our first "real" meal in the oven tonight! Whooppeee-- feels like a real kitchen now. For those who asked about the NXR, I will try to post in the appliance forum, but the first one arrived with damage (ordered from Costco). After trying to get it repaired with warranty company, we opted to just return it and get another one. Smart move... should have just done that from the start. Anyway, the 2nd one is the charm and it works well. I'm posting a few new photos just because I'm embarrassed by how blurry the first ones are. Maybe I should edit the original post? I posted the insides of my drawers in another thread. As for the MO shelf, it looks nice when it's closed and seemed good when it was planned, but not sure that I would do that again. It's hard to open the cabinet next to it if it's open and it's just a PITA to open and close it. We are not big MO users, but our kitty seems to insist on having his food heated for exactly 8 seconds! Thanks again for the help and BS suggestions.