Aroma Therapy

Day 59: The holidays are a stressful time, and right now, I'm grouchy as an old bear. Things are just not going smoothly. They're not going particularly badly, but multiple small annoyances are piling up in drifts, and the feeling of impending avalanche hangs over my head like the Sword of Damocles. I haven't been able to get out into the woods for what feels like weeks, so I decided it was time for some indoor aroma therapy. Go ahead, try to top the fragrance of freshly baked bread, I dare ya! You can keep your evergreen boughs, your scented candles, even the smell of cookies straight out of the oven. Nothing beats the fragrance of bread. Bread, of course, is not holiday-specific, at least not around here. It happens once a fortnight at the very least, generally every ten days, but somehow I had gotten ahead of myself and wound up with a freezer full of sourdough. I just thawed the last batch yesterday, so it was time to make more bread. This no-knead Dutch-oven loaf has become my favourite. Will it chase the grumps away? Maybe I should eat a slice while it's still warm, you know, like for good measure?