On May 4, 2020, at 11:00 AM, Jenny Swanson via groups.io <jenny@...> wrote:

Lucky you, I haven't seen flour in a shop in 8 weeks! And the big sacks you can order online are only orderable for about 15 minutes each day before the production is sold out for that day. Eventually, I hope demand will settle. It seems as though one of the coronavirus effects is that, while bread was unobtainable because some people had stashed dozens of loaves in their specially bought extra freezers, the rest of the country found that a variety of breads are relatively easy to bake. This is a great result IF we can all get flour. Eventually the availability system will catch up with us.

Another odd side effect is that DD1 asked me yesterday to choose and order her a wild flower book so she could start to identify what she sees on her solitary early morning walks (her husband is shielding because he has a particular health condition, and she has chosen to join him rather than live separately in half the house). Anyway, almost every decent British wildflower book was out of stock for at least 6 weeks. In the end I found her a book of "Scottish Wild Flowers". There's no mountain or moorland in Hertfordshire, but otherwise it's much the same for common wild flowers.....

Anyway, I deduce that since so many people have taken up daily walks in the absence of any other excuse to leave the house, interest in flowers (and indeed birds) is booming. I think that is good too.

Jenny

-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Anmiryam Budner
Sent: 04 May 2020 15:41
To: [email protected]
Subject: [yarnmongers] Flour - Castle Valley Mill

Who was handing out the link to this mill in Doylestown? Was it Lise? Melisande?

All I can say is thank you! I ordered both 10 lbs of whole wheat and 10 lbs of bolted whole wheat on Friday and it was on my doorstep on Saturday! Of course Doylestown isn’t far, but still that’s amazing turnaround. It was especially great to support a local business, and get something that was hard to find generally at a really fair price.

Now to bake it all up.

Anmiryam

On May 4, 2020, at 11:00 AM, Jenny Swanson via groups.io <jenny@...> wrote:

Lucky you, I haven't seen flour in a shop in 8 weeks! And the big sacks you can order online are only orderable for about 15 minutes each day before the production is sold out for that day. Eventually, I hope demand will settle. It seems as though one of the coronavirus effects is that, while bread was unobtainable because some people had stashed dozens of loaves in their specially bought extra freezers, the rest of the country found that a variety of breads are relatively easy to bake. This is a great result IF we can all get flour. Eventually the availability system will catch up with us.

Another odd side effect is that DD1 asked me yesterday to choose and order her a wild flower book so she could start to identify what she sees on her solitary early morning walks (her husband is shielding because he has a particular health condition, and she has chosen to join him rather than live separately in half the house). Anyway, almost every decent British wildflower book was out of stock for at least 6 weeks. In the end I found her a book of "Scottish Wild Flowers". There's no mountain or moorland in Hertfordshire, but otherwise it's much the same for common wild flowers.....

Anyway, I deduce that since so many people have taken up daily walks in the absence of any other excuse to leave the house, interest in flowers (and indeed birds) is booming. I think that is good too.

Jenny

-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Anmiryam Budner
Sent: 04 May 2020 15:41
To: [email protected]
Subject: [yarnmongers] Flour - Castle Valley Mill

Who was handing out the link to this mill in Doylestown? Was it Lise? Melisande?

All I can say is thank you! I ordered both 10 lbs of whole wheat and 10 lbs of bolted whole wheat on Friday and it was on my doorstep on Saturday! Of course Doylestown isn’t far, but still that’s amazing turnaround. It was especially great to support a local business, and get something that was hard to find generally at a really fair price.

Now to bake it all up.

Anmiryam

On May 4, 2020, at 11:00 AM, Jenny Swanson via groups.io <jenny@...> wrote:

Lucky you, I haven't seen flour in a shop in 8 weeks! And the big sacks you can order online are only orderable for about 15 minutes each day before the production is sold out for that day. Eventually, I hope demand will settle. It seems as though one of the coronavirus effects is that, while bread was unobtainable because some people had stashed dozens of loaves in their specially bought extra freezers, the rest of the country found that a variety of breads are relatively easy to bake. This is a great result IF we can all get flour. Eventually the availability system will catch up with us.

Another odd side effect is that DD1 asked me yesterday to choose and order her a wild flower book so she could start to identify what she sees on her solitary early morning walks (her husband is shielding because he has a particular health condition, and she has chosen to join him rather than live separately in half the house). Anyway, almost every decent British wildflower book was out of stock for at least 6 weeks. In the end I found her a book of "Scottish Wild Flowers". There's no mountain or moorland in Hertfordshire, but otherwise it's much the same for common wild flowers.....

Anyway, I deduce that since so many people have taken up daily walks in the absence of any other excuse to leave the house, interest in flowers (and indeed birds) is booming. I think that is good too.

Jenny

-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Anmiryam Budner
Sent: 04 May 2020 15:41
To: [email protected]
Subject: [yarnmongers] Flour - Castle Valley Mill

Who was handing out the link to this mill in Doylestown? Was it Lise? Melisande?

All I can say is thank you! I ordered both 10 lbs of whole wheat and 10 lbs of bolted whole wheat on Friday and it was on my doorstep on Saturday! Of course Doylestown isn’t far, but still that’s amazing turnaround. It was especially great to support a local business, and get something that was hard to find generally at a really fair price.

Now to bake it all up.

Anmiryam

On May 4, 2020, at 11:00 AM, Jenny Swanson via groups.io <jenny@...> wrote:

Lucky you, I haven't seen flour in a shop in 8 weeks! And the big sacks you can order online are only orderable for about 15 minutes each day before the production is sold out for that day. Eventually, I hope demand will settle. It seems as though one of the coronavirus effects is that, while bread was unobtainable because some people had stashed dozens of loaves in their specially bought extra freezers, the rest of the country found that a variety of breads are relatively easy to bake. This is a great result IF we can all get flour. Eventually the availability system will catch up with us.

Another odd side effect is that DD1 asked me yesterday to choose and order her a wild flower book so she could start to identify what she sees on her solitary early morning walks (her husband is shielding because he has a particular health condition, and she has chosen to join him rather than live separately in half the house). Anyway, almost every decent British wildflower book was out of stock for at least 6 weeks. In the end I found her a book of "Scottish Wild Flowers". There's no mountain or moorland in Hertfordshire, but otherwise it's much the same for common wild flowers.....

Anyway, I deduce that since so many people have taken up daily walks in the absence of any other excuse to leave the house, interest in flowers (and indeed birds) is booming. I think that is good too.

Jenny

-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Anmiryam Budner
Sent: 04 May 2020 15:41
To: [email protected]
Subject: [yarnmongers] Flour - Castle Valley Mill

Who was handing out the link to this mill in Doylestown? Was it Lise? Melisande?

All I can say is thank you! I ordered both 10 lbs of whole wheat and 10 lbs of bolted whole wheat on Friday and it was on my doorstep on Saturday! Of course Doylestown isn’t far, but still that’s amazing turnaround. It was especially great to support a local business, and get something that was hard to find generally at a really fair price.

Now to bake it all up.

Anmiryam

On May 4, 2020, at 11:00 AM, Jenny Swanson via groups.io <jenny@...> wrote:

Lucky you, I haven't seen flour in a shop in 8 weeks! And the big sacks you can order online are only orderable for about 15 minutes each day before the production is sold out for that day. Eventually, I hope demand will settle. It seems as though one of the coronavirus effects is that, while bread was unobtainable because some people had stashed dozens of loaves in their specially bought extra freezers, the rest of the country found that a variety of breads are relatively easy to bake. This is a great result IF we can all get flour. Eventually the availability system will catch up with us.

Another odd side effect is that DD1 asked me yesterday to choose and order her a wild flower book so she could start to identify what she sees on her solitary early morning walks (her husband is shielding because he has a particular health condition, and she has chosen to join him rather than live separately in half the house). Anyway, almost every decent British wildflower book was out of stock for at least 6 weeks. In the end I found her a book of "Scottish Wild Flowers". There's no mountain or moorland in Hertfordshire, but otherwise it's much the same for common wild flowers.....

Anyway, I deduce that since so many people have taken up daily walks in the absence of any other excuse to leave the house, interest in flowers (and indeed birds) is booming. I think that is good too.

Jenny

-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Anmiryam Budner
Sent: 04 May 2020 15:41
To: [email protected]
Subject: [yarnmongers] Flour - Castle Valley Mill

Who was handing out the link to this mill in Doylestown? Was it Lise? Melisande?

All I can say is thank you! I ordered both 10 lbs of whole wheat and 10 lbs of bolted whole wheat on Friday and it was on my doorstep on Saturday! Of course Doylestown isn’t far, but still that’s amazing turnaround. It was especially great to support a local business, and get something that was hard to find generally at a really fair price.

Now to bake it all up.

Anmiryam

I use a lot more all-purpose flour (which I understand from some reading I've been doing in my quest to understand what the heck is going on with my sourdough is a uniquely American thing) than whole wheat flour, so that's what I was really low on.? We'll see how long it takes to get through the 50 lb bag of KA all-purpose that's now in my freezer.

Cheese (we go through a lot) and ice cream (likewise) seem to be in short supply around here, but other than flour and yeast, which I've now sourced elsewhere, I think most things other than frozen vegetables seem to be available.? I'm rotating stores since different chains seem better able to keep different things in stock.

Melisande

-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Anmiryam Budner
Sent: Monday, May 4, 2020 11:36 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [yarnmongers] Flour - Castle Valley Mill

I haven’t had a problem with All-Purpose Flour. We stocked up a bit early on when Em went to Whole Foods, I’ve gotten some delivered from our local grocery store and found some 10 lb bags on offer from Amazon that were from Amazon directly and were priced appropriately. It seems like a lot, but we’re moving through it at a steady clip much to Martin’s amazement (he also ridiculed my need to have several dozen eggs on hand, but he went and got more yesterday because we had used so many over the last week). Whole Wheat flour has been more problematic and I’m just so happy to have a stash.

I believe it about wildflower books. It doesn’t help that so many of them are likely printed in China because of the heavy reliance on color printing. People are always amazed at Christmas time that there are several books we can never get back in stock because the re-prints are stuck somewhere on the ocean. Printing is fast, bulk shipping in containers is not.

And no, my flour stash will never be as large or as long lasting as my yarn stash.

Anmiryam

> On May 4, 2020, at 11:00 AM, Jenny Swanson via <jenny=[email protected]> wrote:
>
> Lucky you, I haven't seen flour in a shop in 8 weeks! And the big sacks you can order online are only orderable for about 15 minutes each day before the production is sold out for that day. Eventually, I hope demand will settle. It seems as though one of the coronavirus effects is that, while bread was unobtainable because some people had stashed dozens of loaves in their specially bought extra freezers, the rest of the country found that a variety of breads are relatively easy to bake. This is a great result IF we can all get flour. Eventually the availability system will catch up with us.
>
> Another odd side effect is that DD1 asked me yesterday to choose and order her a wild flower book so she could start to identify what she sees on her solitary early morning walks (her husband is shielding because he has a particular health condition, and she has chosen to join him rather than live separately in half the house). Anyway, almost every decent British wildflower book was out of stock for at least 6 weeks. In the end I found her a book of "Scottish Wild Flowers". There's no mountain or moorland in Hertfordshire, but otherwise it's much the same for common wild flowers.....
>
> Anyway, I deduce that since so many people have taken up daily walks in the absence of any other excuse to leave the house, interest in flowers (and indeed birds) is booming. I think that is good too.
>
> Jenny
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Anmiryam Budner
> Sent: 04 May 2020 15:41
> To: [email protected]
> Subject: [yarnmongers] Flour - Castle Valley Mill
>
> Who was handing out the link to this mill in Doylestown? Was it Lise? Melisande?
>
> All I can say is thank you! I ordered both 10 lbs of whole wheat and 10 lbs of bolted whole wheat on Friday and it was on my doorstep on Saturday! Of course Doylestown isn’t far, but still that’s amazing turnaround. It was especially great to support a local business, and? get something that was hard to find generally at a really fair price.
>
> Now to bake it all up.
>
> Anmiryam
>
>
>
>
>
>

From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Stephannie Roy
Sent: Monday, May 4, 2020 2:09 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [yarnmongers] Flour - Castle Valley Mill

?

?

On May 4, 2020, at 2:19 PM, Stephannie Roy via <stephannie.roy@...> wrote:

Thanks - I have an in to GFS- a big food supplier through my brother. We're just seeing about quantities - I live in a small house and can't store more than 10lbs of flour. Craig did find a 50lb bag which is a bit excessive. My brother and SIL are home working with?a 3 year old and 4 month old so aren't doing a lot of baking. I brought them a loaf yesterday. It was nice to see other humans in real life (besides Craig and Xander).

Steph

On Mon, May 4, 2020 at 2:14 PM Melisande R. Wolf via??<melisanderwolf=[email protected]> wrote:

Not that it’s at all local to you, but I’ve got a friend in Winnipeg who always buys her flour from a local mill near her.? I can ask her if you’re interested, and maybe there’s something more local with way Castle Valley turned out to be to me.?

?

The other thing that was suggested to me was to call local restaurants or bakeries and see if they might be selling some of their ingredients.? I know that some are in the US, though the bakery I tried wasn’t.??

?

Melisande

?

From:?[email protected]?<[email protected]>?On Behalf Of?Stephannie Roy
Sent:?Monday, May 4, 2020 2:09 PM
To:?[email protected]
Subject:?Re: [yarnmongers] Flour - Castle Valley Mill

?

I've been reading about flour too - turns out Canadian All Purpose flour is comparable to US bread flour in protein (about 13%) - something to do with the type of wheat grown here (hard red or white winter wheats). It explains why I always need more liquids when using US recipes calling for all purpose?flour.? Brand doesn't seem to matter as that's the minimum standard for milling. Canadian bread flour is 14 - 18% and I never buy it unless specifically called for. It was a good rabbit hole to keep me distracted for a while.?

?

The bigger issue is finding flour. Craig brought home a 10lb bag of whole wheat last week but can't find any white all purpose - I'm running low! I may have to shut down my home bread shop??

?

Steph

?

?

On Mon, May 4, 2020 at 12:40 PM Melisande R. Wolf via??<melisanderwolf=[email protected]> wrote:

I use a lot more all-purpose flour (which I understand from some reading I've been doing in my quest to understand what the heck is going on with my sourdough is a uniquely American thing) than whole wheat flour, so that's what I was really low on.? We'll see how long it takes to get through the 50 lb bag of KA all-purpose that's now in my freezer.

Cheese (we go through a lot) and ice cream (likewise) seem to be in short supply around here, but other than flour and yeast, which I've now sourced elsewhere, I think most things other than frozen vegetables seem to be available.? I'm rotating stores since different chains seem better able to keep different things in stock.

Melisande

-----Original Message-----
From:?[email protected]?<[email protected]> On Behalf Of Anmiryam Budner
Sent: Monday, May 4, 2020 11:36 AM
To:?[email protected]
Subject: Re: [yarnmongers] Flour - Castle Valley Mill

I haven’t had a problem with All-Purpose Flour. We stocked up a bit early on when Em went to Whole Foods, I’ve gotten some delivered from our local grocery store and found some 10 lb bags on offer from Amazon that were from Amazon directly and were priced appropriately. It seems like a lot, but we’re moving through it at a steady clip much to Martin’s amazement (he also ridiculed my need to have several dozen eggs on hand, but he went and got more yesterday because we had used so many over the last week). Whole Wheat flour has been more problematic and I’m just so happy to have a stash.

I believe it about wildflower books. It doesn’t help that so many of them are likely printed in China because of the heavy reliance on color printing. People are always amazed at Christmas time that there are several books we can never get back in stock because the re-prints are stuck somewhere on the ocean. Printing is fast, bulk shipping in containers is not.

And no, my flour stash will never be as large or as long lasting as my yarn stash.

Anmiryam

> On May 4, 2020, at 11:00 AM, Jenny Swanson via??<jenny=[email protected]> wrote:
>?
> Lucky you, I haven't seen flour in a shop in 8 weeks! And the big sacks you can order online are only orderable for about 15 minutes each day before the production is sold out for that day. Eventually, I hope demand will settle. It seems as though one of the coronavirus effects is that, while bread was unobtainable because some people had stashed dozens of loaves in their specially bought extra freezers, the rest of the country found that a variety of breads are relatively easy to bake. This is a great result IF we can all get flour. Eventually the availability system will catch up with us.
>?
> Another odd side effect is that DD1 asked me yesterday to choose and order her a wild flower book so she could start to identify what she sees on her solitary early morning walks (her husband is shielding because he has a particular health condition, and she has chosen to join him rather than live separately in half the house). Anyway, almost every decent British wildflower book was out of stock for at least 6 weeks. In the end I found her a book of "Scottish Wild Flowers". There's no mountain or moorland in Hertfordshire, but otherwise it's much the same for common wild flowers.....
>?
> Anyway, I deduce that since so many people have taken up daily walks in the absence of any other excuse to leave the house, interest in flowers (and indeed birds) is booming. I think that is good too.
>?
> Jenny
>?
> -----Original Message-----
> From:?[email protected]?<[email protected]> On Behalf Of Anmiryam Budner
> Sent: 04 May 2020 15:41
> To:?[email protected]
> Subject: [yarnmongers] Flour - Castle Valley Mill
>?
> Who was handing out the link to this mill in Doylestown? Was it Lise? Melisande??
>?
> All I can say is thank you! I ordered both 10 lbs of whole wheat and 10 lbs of bolted whole wheat on Friday and it was on my doorstep on Saturday! Of course Doylestown isn’t far, but still that’s amazing turnaround. It was especially great to support a local business, and? get something that was hard to find generally at a really fair price.
>?
> Now to bake it all up.
>?
> Anmiryam
>?
>?
>?
>?
>?
>?

From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Stephannie Roy
Sent: Monday, May 4, 2020 2:19 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [yarnmongers] Flour - Castle Valley Mill

?

?

On 04 May 2020 at 18:47 "Melisande R. Wolf via groups.io" < melisanderwolf@...> wrote:

I freeze a lot of things that are shelf stable but last longer in frozen, like nuts, some whole grains, and flours. Back in the days before Corona, it let me stock up on some things that only come from stores I don't go to all that often.

I've got the space because back in the height of the produce preserving at my house, we added an upright freezer and a chest freezer. I had just about gotten to the point where I could have turned one of them off when this whole thing hit, the boys came home, and it became prudent to stock up on some things. The freezer is also where most of the 2 lb bag of yeast is living.

Melisande

-----Original Message-----

From: [email protected] < [email protected]> On Behalf Of Jenny Swanson

Sent: Monday, May 4, 2020 1:29 PM

To: [email protected]

Subject: Re: [yarnmongers] Flour - Castle Valley Mill

We call it "plain flour" over here in the Uk. We certainly have it.

I didn't know you could freeze flour (not that my freezer is big enough to spare space for that). Live and learn.

Jenny

-----Original Message-----

From: [email protected] < [email protected]> On Behalf Of Melisande R. Wolf via groups.io

Sent: 04 May 2020 17:41

To: [email protected]

Subject: Re: [yarnmongers] Flour - Castle Valley Mill

I use a lot more all-purpose flour (which I understand from some reading I've been doing in my quest to understand what the heck is going on with my sourdough is a uniquely American thing) than whole wheat flour, so that's what I was really low on. We'll see how long it takes to get through the 50 lb bag of KA all-purpose that's now in my freezer.

Cheese (we go through a lot) and ice cream (likewise) seem to be in short supply around here, but other than flour and yeast, which I've now sourced elsewhere, I think most things other than frozen vegetables seem to be available. I'm rotating stores since different chains seem better able to keep different things in stock.

Melisande

-----Original Message-----

From: [email protected] < [email protected]> On Behalf Of Anmiryam Budner

Sent: Monday, May 4, 2020 11:36 AM

To: [email protected]

Subject: Re: [yarnmongers] Flour - Castle Valley Mill

I haven’t had a problem with All-Purpose Flour. We stocked up a bit early on when Em went to Whole Foods, I’ve gotten some delivered from our local grocery store and found some 10 lb bags on offer from Amazon that were from Amazon directly and were priced appropriately. It seems like a lot, but we’re moving through it at a steady clip much to Martin’s amazement (he also ridiculed my need to have several dozen eggs on hand, but he went and got more yesterday because we had used so many over the last week). Whole Wheat flour has been more problematic and I’m just so happy to have a stash.

I believe it about wildflower books. It doesn’t help that so many of them are likely printed in China because of the heavy reliance on color printing. People are always amazed at Christmas time that there are several books we can never get back in stock because the re-prints are stuck somewhere on the ocean. Printing is fast, bulk shipping in containers is not.

And no, my flour stash will never be as large or as long lasting as my yarn stash.

Anmiryam

On May 4, 2020, at 11:00 AM, Jenny Swanson via groups.io < jenny@...> wrote:

Lucky you, I haven't seen flour in a shop in 8 weeks! And the big sacks you can order online are only orderable for about 15 minutes each day before the production is sold out for that day. Eventually, I hope demand will settle. It seems as though one of the coronavirus effects is that, while bread was unobtainable because some people had stashed dozens of loaves in their specially bought extra freezers, the rest of the country found that a variety of breads are relatively easy to bake. This is a great result IF we can all get flour. Eventually the availability system will catch up with us.

Another odd side effect is that DD1 asked me yesterday to choose and order her a wild flower book so she could start to identify what she sees on her solitary early morning walks (her husband is shielding because he has a particular health condition, and she has chosen to join him rather than live separately in half the house). Anyway, almost every decent British wildflower book was out of stock for at least 6 weeks. In the end I found her a book of "Scottish Wild Flowers". There's no mountain or moorland in Hertfordshire, but otherwise it's much the same for common wild flowers.....

Anyway, I deduce that since so many people have taken up daily walks in the absence of any other excuse to leave the house, interest in flowers (and indeed birds) is booming. I think that is good too.

Jenny

-----Original Message-----

From: [email protected] < [email protected]> On Behalf Of Anmiryam Budner

Sent: 04 May 2020 15:41

To: [email protected]

Subject: [yarnmongers] Flour - Castle Valley Mill

Who was handing out the link to this mill in Doylestown? Was it Lise? Melisande?

All I can say is thank you! I ordered both 10 lbs of whole wheat and 10 lbs of bolted whole wheat on Friday and it was on my doorstep on Saturday! Of course Doylestown isn’t far, but still that’s amazing turnaround. It was especially great to support a local business, and get something that was hard to find generally at a really fair price.

Now to bake it all up.

Anmiryam

On May 4, 2020, at 2:45 PM, Melisande R. Wolf via <melisanderwolf@...> wrote:

I’m lucky that I’ve got room in the unfinished basement for the freezers to put things into.? I’ve had trouble in the past with mice chewing through plastic (and I know that there are mice in my yard because one scampered out of the patio umbrella yesterday when we went to put it up), which I know is a hazard of living “in the country” (for the NJ version of that, which is probably more rural than you’d think).??

?

It’s wonderful that you were able to share some bread.? At the moment, my bread sharing has been unintentional.? Somepuppies got a large part of the sourdough loaf that was cooling yesterday because it didn’t go back up on top of the china cabinet before the last person left the kitchen.? I think I might have to bake more regular bread today though, since Baird was looking for what was left before he went to work, which means there’s a decent chance that was the end of it.

?

Melisande

?

From:?[email protected]?<[email protected]>?On Behalf Of?Stephannie Roy
Sent:?Monday, May 4, 2020 2:19 PM
To:?[email protected]
Subject:?Re: [yarnmongers] Flour - Castle Valley Mill

?

Thanks - I have an in to GFS- a big food supplier through my brother. We're just seeing about quantities - I live in a small house and can't store more than 10lbs of flour. Craig did find a 50lb bag which is a bit excessive. My brother and SIL are home working with?a 3 year old and 4 month old so aren't doing a lot of baking. I brought them a loaf yesterday. It was nice to see other humans in real life (besides Craig and Xander).

?

Steph

?

On Mon, May 4, 2020 at 2:14 PM Melisande R. Wolf via?<melisanderwolf=[email protected]> wrote:

Not that it’s at all local to you, but I’ve got a friend in Winnipeg who always buys her flour from a local mill near her.? I can ask her if you’re interested, and maybe there’s something more local with way Castle Valley turned out to be to me.?

?

The other thing that was suggested to me was to call local restaurants or bakeries and see if they might be selling some of their ingredients.? I know that some are in the US, though the bakery I tried wasn’t.??

?

Melisande

?

From:?[email protected]?<[email protected]>?On Behalf Of?Stephannie Roy
Sent:?Monday, May 4, 2020 2:09 PM
To:?[email protected]
Subject:?Re: [yarnmongers] Flour - Castle Valley Mill

?

I've been reading about flour too - turns out Canadian All Purpose flour is comparable to US bread flour in protein (about 13%) - something to do with the type of wheat grown here (hard red or white winter wheats). It explains why I always need more liquids when using US recipes calling for all purpose?flour.? Brand doesn't seem to matter as that's the minimum standard for milling. Canadian bread flour is 14 - 18% and I never buy it unless specifically called for. It was a good rabbit hole to keep me distracted for a while.?

?

The bigger issue is finding flour. Craig brought home a 10lb bag of whole wheat last week but can't find any white all purpose - I'm running low! I may have to shut down my home bread shop??

?

Steph

?

?

On Mon, May 4, 2020 at 12:40 PM Melisande R. Wolf via?<melisanderwolf=[email protected]> wrote:

I use a lot more all-purpose flour (which I understand from some reading I've been doing in my quest to understand what the heck is going on with my sourdough is a uniquely American thing) than whole wheat flour, so that's what I was really low on.? We'll see how long it takes to get through the 50 lb bag of KA all-purpose that's now in my freezer.

Cheese (we go through a lot) and ice cream (likewise) seem to be in short supply around here, but other than flour and yeast, which I've now sourced elsewhere, I think most things other than frozen vegetables seem to be available.? I'm rotating stores since different chains seem better able to keep different things in stock.

Melisande

-----Original Message-----
From:?[email protected]?<[email protected]> On Behalf Of Anmiryam Budner
Sent: Monday, May 4, 2020 11:36 AM
To:?[email protected]
Subject: Re: [yarnmongers] Flour - Castle Valley Mill

I haven’t had a problem with All-Purpose Flour. We stocked up a bit early on when Em went to Whole Foods, I’ve gotten some delivered from our local grocery store and found some 10 lb bags on offer from Amazon that were from Amazon directly and were priced appropriately. It seems like a lot, but we’re moving through it at a steady clip much to Martin’s amazement (he also ridiculed my need to have several dozen eggs on hand, but he went and got more yesterday because we had used so many over the last week). Whole Wheat flour has been more problematic and I’m just so happy to have a stash.

I believe it about wildflower books. It doesn’t help that so many of them are likely printed in China because of the heavy reliance on color printing. People are always amazed at Christmas time that there are several books we can never get back in stock because the re-prints are stuck somewhere on the ocean. Printing is fast, bulk shipping in containers is not.

And no, my flour stash will never be as large or as long lasting as my yarn stash.

Anmiryam

> On May 4, 2020, at 11:00 AM, Jenny Swanson via?<jenny=[email protected]> wrote:
>?
> Lucky you, I haven't seen flour in a shop in 8 weeks! And the big sacks you can order online are only orderable for about 15 minutes each day before the production is sold out for that day. Eventually, I hope demand will settle. It seems as though one of the coronavirus effects is that, while bread was unobtainable because some people had stashed dozens of loaves in their specially bought extra freezers, the rest of the country found that a variety of breads are relatively easy to bake. This is a great result IF we can all get flour. Eventually the availability system will catch up with us.
>?
> Another odd side effect is that DD1 asked me yesterday to choose and order her a wild flower book so she could start to identify what she sees on her solitary early morning walks (her husband is shielding because he has a particular health condition, and she has chosen to join him rather than live separately in half the house). Anyway, almost every decent British wildflower book was out of stock for at least 6 weeks. In the end I found her a book of "Scottish Wild Flowers". There's no mountain or moorland in Hertfordshire, but otherwise it's much the same for common wild flowers.....
>?
> Anyway, I deduce that since so many people have taken up daily walks in the absence of any other excuse to leave the house, interest in flowers (and indeed birds) is booming. I think that is good too.
>?
> Jenny
>?
> -----Original Message-----
> From:?[email protected]?<[email protected]> On Behalf Of Anmiryam Budner
> Sent: 04 May 2020 15:41
> To:?[email protected]
> Subject: [yarnmongers] Flour - Castle Valley Mill
>?
> Who was handing out the link to this mill in Doylestown? Was it Lise? Melisande??
>?
> All I can say is thank you! I ordered both 10 lbs of whole wheat and 10 lbs of bolted whole wheat on Friday and it was on my doorstep on Saturday! Of course Doylestown isn’t far, but still that’s amazing turnaround. It was especially great to support a local business, and? get something that was hard to find generally at a really fair price.
>?
> Now to bake it all up.
>?
> Anmiryam
>?
>?
>?
>?
>?
>?

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You are so right.? It's crazy how many critters go through our yard.? In Raleigh, we live in town on a small lot.? One recent Thanksgiving as we were dining, we saw in the back ivy, a perfectly composed deer just sitting in the ivy, munching away.? Guess he decided to join us for lunch.? Then a fox trotted across the terrace.? We couldn't believe it.? Downtown, there are coyotes.? Rabbits, definitely except the dratted cats hunt them mercilessly.

Hawks!? We were having a get together and as the ladies were arriving, a hawk swooped down, pinned a squirrel and began eating him right in front of them.? Yikes.? Not appetizing and anyone but the hawk.? They live on the ledges of the high-rises a little farther into the down town area

Always raccoons at night.? One afternoon, there was a mamma raccoon teaching her three cubs how to use the bench to climb our back wall.? So cute!

Mary

?

That sounds pretty lively, Mary. Here the red kites swoop so low you can hear the wind in their feathers. And the muntjac deer trot through the estate after dusk (droppings on the pavements are the giveaway). Foxes bounce on trampolines in back gardens, hedgehogs feast on our slugs and snails, badgers occasionally march along the pavements. But we are only a few feet from fields and a small nature reserve so it’s not so surprising.

?

Jenny

?

?

You are so right.? It's crazy how many critters go through our yard.? In Raleigh, we live in town on a small lot.? One recent Thanksgiving as we were dining, we saw in the back ivy, a perfectly composed deer just sitting in the ivy, munching away.? Guess he decided to join us for lunch.? Then a fox trotted across the terrace.? We couldn't believe it.? Downtown, there are coyotes.? Rabbits, definitely except the dratted cats hunt them mercilessly.

Hawks!? We were having a get together and as the ladies were arriving, a hawk swooped down, pinned a squirrel and began eating him right in front of them.? Yikes.? Not appetizing and anyone but the hawk.? They live on the ledges of the high-rises a little farther into the down town area

Always raccoons at night.? One afternoon, there was a mamma raccoon teaching her three cubs how to use the bench to climb our back wall.? So cute!

Mary