I know, I know, I should't lose my patience with inanimate objects but I simply can't work out how to reply to John and Graham. Newsgroups were so easy, it's Google groups I can't cope with. It took me some time to find the group then how to make my original post. As Spouse keeps saying, I'm useless with technology. Not true, he often comes to me with his pc problems and he hasn't the first idea about my Mac.

Anyway, thank you both for your suggestions. I really don't want to add yeast to a sourdough bread, what heresy! The point about slashing is something I hadn't thought about, it will need consideration.

As for letting the machine knead then dumping out, the subsequent processes are the very difficult ones. I only have feeling in my little finger on the right hand and the other hand is rapidly becoming as bad. How am I typing? Clumsily,
v - e - r - y slowly and with lots of wriggly red underlining. Perhaps I should follow archie's example :-) So much china has been dropped in the last few weeks, I'm reduced to using the melamine cups from the caravan.

It's not just the numbness, the pain when I lift even small weights is worse than when my arm is relaxed. I wouldn't be able even to do the gentle stretching (of the dough) which I normally do.

Yes, I'm 75 too and I really hope that the surgeon makes a good job of my hand. He said it was so far advanced that nothing but surgery would have any effect. It's good to hear of someone who had a good experience though, so thank you for that, John.

Of course I could always instruct Spouse ... oh dear, I think that would be more frustrating for me than for him! He doesn't mind helping me dress (and undress) but I KNOW that he'd constantly be saying that he can't see why it has to be done this way and that way and I shan't be able to retaliate by throwing anything at him.

I'll bear everything you've both said in mind, after serious contemplation I'll have a go and report what I did and how it turned out.

Thank you again, sincerely,

Mary