Was the mess just his way of bringing the barn family together again?

Notice what finally made you realize it was draining?

Used to ignore all family input until @noahcampbell changed my view. Show them the actual sketches so they see your clean design. Visuals might make them back off without a fight.

My friend Sarah had the exact same problem, dense bricks every time. Turns out she was using regular all-purpose flour in her bread machine recipe. She switched to King Arthur bread flour and her next loaf was perfect, it was like night and day!

Feel your pain, losing that quiet library focus spot really sucks.