Thanks for all the nice comments. I think the whole idea of my definition of success is something I need to remind myself of periodically, because "the world" is too good at fooling people (including me) into thinking that what it deems important is what is really important.

***

Here's that recipe I referred to on Friday:

Pizza crust/breadsticks. (Makes 1 generous serving with leftovers, or enough for two).

3 Tablespoons warm water
3 Tablespoons milk
1 1/4 teaspoons dry yeast
1/4 teaspoon sugar

Mix those four ingredients and let stand 5 minutes.

Then add 1/4 cup flour (the recipe calls for bread flour; all I had was all-purpose. I think I wound up having to add more than what the recipe called for). Stir it in well. Then add

1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon olive oil
2 Tablespoons finely ground yellow cornmeal

Mix those in. Then continue to add more flour - the recipe lists adding 1/2 cup more, but I had to add more like 3/4 a cup more to get the dough the right consistency (it was also very humid that day which may have affected things).

Knead the dough 5 minutes. Then pour a little olive oil over the dough ball, cover the bowl it's in, and let it stand in a warm place 1/2 hour (or more, I suppose, if you can). Punch the dough down and let it rest another 10 minutes, or, if you're impatient, shape it and then let it rest.

For breadsticks, I separated the dough into eight sections and sort of rolled each one out into a "snake" (like you did with clay in 1st grade). Then, I put each formed breadstick on a pan that had been sprinkled with a little olive oil and a little cornmeal. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

For pizza dough, you would stretch the dough out until it's 8 or 9 inches in diameter, depending on how thick you like your crust. I usually like to bake homemade crusts for a couple minutes before putting toppings on; they are less prone to get soggy. I guess you would also want to oil the pan or put cornmeal down on it to avoid the pizza sticking.

For breadsticks, you can top them with whatever you like. I brushed mine with more olive oil and sprinkled on dehydrated garlic and Italian seasoning, but they would also be good with sesame or poppy seeds, or, with a little parmesan cheese on (I think I would wait until they were nearly done to add that.) Or you could use other spices depending on what you were going to serve them with.

They were done in about 10 minutes in a 425 degree oven. I ate mine with a small dish of warmed-up marinara sauce, but of course they would also be good with soup or a salad.

For the pizza, of course the toppings are up to your imagination. The pizza might have to bake longer, like maybe 15 minutes.

***

I've been working away at different things this weekend. I had planned to go in to school on Saturday but after mowing the lawn early Saturday morning, I got a bad headache (humidity?) and wound up staying home. I had the headache all day but was periodically able to bat it back enough with ibuprofen or hot tea so I could read some on one of the books I'm making my grad student read and discuss. (I really need to finish it in the next day or so).

I started a new pair of socks to knit on while I read. I had been working on the long-stalled Mini Mochi socks but then got to the point where the yarn was splitting so much I had to keep looking at it, and it was annoying me. So I pulled out a ball of Opal and started some just-plain socks.

I once commented that I liked Cascade 220 because it was a "well-behaved" yarn - it didn't split, it rarely had knots, it didn't fuzz while you were knitting with it. Opal is the same way. It's tightly enough spun that it doesn't split and especially compared to the Mini Mochi, it's very even. All of which make it a pleasure to knit with.

The particular Opal yarn I'm using is one I bought a little while back. It's from a line inspired (designed, maybe?) by a German singer who goes by the name Antonia (Opal Antonia: theirs are all out of stock, but I think Simply Sock Yarn might still have some). I'm using color 2805, which is sort of "earthy" colors - browns and orange and a leaf green. The yarn says "Antonia aus Tyrol" on the label and has a photograph of her (in white short-shorts and a midriff baring yellow top) superimposed on what must be Tyrolean scenery. (Apparently each yarn in the line shows her in a different outfit, at least on the Simply Sock Yarn page)

I don't know exactly what kind of pop Antonia does and have never heard any of her music, but it's interesting that she wound up designing a line for Opal.

One of the things I like about doing "just simple" socks is that there are different ways you can knit them up. Of course there's the toe-up/cuff-down decision; for me, I always do cuff-down because most of the traditional toe-up heels fit me badly, and I'd rather Kitchener stitch than "bind off loosely" the 64 stitches or so at the end of a pair of toe up socks. But also, there are decisions as to ribbing, and depth of ribbing, and will you rib the entire sock or just the top, or will you do a picot edge instead, and what heel will you do...

On these, I decided to do 6 rows of stockinette BEFORE starting a short ribbing (my plan is to do 12 rows of rib but I'll see how that looks when I get it done). A short segment of stockinette at the top makes a top that curls just a little and I liked that for this yarn. (I also started at a point I can "find" again in the pattern later, for the second sock, so I can make them matching.) I think I'm only going to do a short rib, and then do the rest of the leg in plain stockinette.

I also like the yarn because the colors to me almost seem like "Heidi" colors - very springy and natural. I can see the Tyrolean alpine inspiration in it. (Though maybe, if it had been named something else, I wouldn't see that. For me, the color name of a yarn tends to be powerfully evocative).

But anyway. The nice thing about plain, not following-a-pattern socks is that periodically you have a decision to make. (It's almost like the old Choose Your Own Adventure books in a way, except you never wind up falling off a cliff or getting eaten by a minotaur.)