The Quarrel Between Poetry and Philosophy

I've got one more class before I earn my masters in Classical Liberal Arts Education from Belmont Abbey. 

And I'm devastated. 

I want to continue going to graduate school, because there are a few more graduate-level classes that I have heard about from my classmates that I don't want to miss- one on the quadrivium that includes Euclid, another on rhetoric that includes speeches from Cicero through Lincoln, and one on faith and reason that includes Aquinas.

So obviously, I want to take them all. 

Alas. 

Technically, I have only one more class before I am done. 

But, thankfully, this class includes Plato's Republic. 

I did not want to finish graduate school without reading that book. 

This class also includes Aristotle's Poetics for which I am thankful. 

I love all things Aristotle. 

My graduate studies started with his Categories; It will end with his Poetics, and that seems just as it ought to be in liberal arts education. 

This class also includes The Oedipus Cycle. 

I have only read Oedipus Rex, so I am curious about the other two. Of course, I have heard of Antigone, but I have not read it yet. 

I can't say enough about the effect this course of study has had on my soul and my intellect and my understanding of education. 

So as I begin what may be my last class, my heart is full of gratitude that the Lord's will for my life included this beautiful journey through the Classics. 

Sourdough- Take Two!

I made a second loaf of sour dough, this time in an oblong pan. 

I'm a novice to all the sourdough methods, but as far as I understand the madness I'm using a recipe for a cold, unfed starter straight from the fridge with 100% hydration with an overnight rise with zero stretch and folds. 

I got this recipe from "Sour Dough for Lazy People," because it was recommended to me by a friend who uses it, and I love her bread, and I have no interest in the other seemingly absurd methods that require a full-day process- at least not yet. 

My dough was so wet and sticky as it poured from the bowl, it was nearly impossible to work with. I added enough flour to it to shape it into a loaf and salvage it. 

This is the second loaf that came out of the bowl too sticky to work with. 

So now, I know that I definitely need to adjust the hydration of my starter, something I suspected after my first loaf, but wanted to confirm with another test. 

There's a method to adjusting the hydration of your starter that I won't explain here, but I am hopeful after that process is complete, my loaves will begin coming out of the bowl better formed, easier to shape, and hopefully, then, I'll also get a better rise. 

So this second loaf isn't the prettiest. 

Neither was the first loaf. 

But I bet it's going to be delicious nevertheless, because the first loaf was. 

I'm making homemade beef stew tonight. 

We'll have it with some freshly baked sour dough!