Lol you had me at 'hobby of collecting supplies' - that hit a little too close to home. I've got a drawer full of washi tape I've never even unrolled, and a sticker collection that could fund a small country. But yeah, now I just grab whatever random notebook is lying around and write like a feral raccoon who doesn't care about margins. The irony is my pages are way more readable now because I'm not stopping every two seconds to line things up perfectly.

Oh man, it's funny how that works with dogs and the raw messy stuff over clean flat surfaces. I've noticed this pattern with my own pup too, she'll pick a gnarly ditch over a smooth sidewalk every time just for the adventure of it. Maybe that's just how they keep us grounded in the real world, reminding us that the imperfect stuff is way more interesting than what we try to smooth over.

Start with a thinner dough than you think you need. A dime is too thick for the bottom, you want it almost see-through on the edges. The 2:1 ratio is fine but let the dough rest for a full 30 minutes covered, that keeps it from snapping back and getting thick in spots. For the bottoms specifically, press them out a bit more with your fingers before you add the filling, not just the rolling pin.

Three weeks in and you already joined the "slipped in my own shower" club, huh. That's a rough initiation. I got a similar setup in my place, and let me tell you, that tile bench is now basically a permanent bruise magnet on my left hip. At least with a clawfoot tub you only fall out of it once, not every time you forget to grab the bath mat. Your elbow is probably filing a restraining order against that bench right about now. Guess the universe had to balance out that "I'm too clumsy for a tub" logic somehow.

Gotta call you out on something real quick. Oak and hickory are way different animals for brisket. Hickory hits hard, it's not really a "gamble" kind of wood. It's like using mesquite when you wanted cherry. You really should have just grabbed a bag of pecan or apple chunks to mix with the hickory, that would have saved you from that overpowering smoke flavor. For a 14 pounder, pure hickory is basically asking for a bitter bark that overpowers the beef.