Hello from Connecticut!

Greetings!

I've been lurking around here for a while now.  Just poking around a bit. 

My interest in bread goes way back.  I got my first copy of Brother Juniper's Bread Book in 1993 or 1994, but I was baking well before that.  Before I make it sound like I'm a pro, or even anything more than a rank amateur, I'm not.  I just like good bread. 

So far, I've only had so-so success with a nice open crumb and crackly crust.  Sandwich breads seem to come out pretty well, and I've experimented with Oatmeal bread, starting from the recipe in the Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book.  My family loves cinnamon raisin bread.  I'm looking forward to checking out so many of the recipes here!

I've been trying to grow a sourdough starter, my third try, for almost two weeks now.  I'm hoping to get some guidance here, on that front.  My first try was from Peter Reinhart's Whole Grain Baking, the second from Maggie Glezer's Artisan Bread, and this one is from SourDoLady's post.  All of my starters have been sluggish, without a lot of rising power.  I started my current "pet" with KAF whole wheat and pineapple juice for 3 days, then started feeding 1/4 c starter with 1/4 c each bottled spring water and KAF AP flour every 24 hrs.  Last night I fed in a 1:2:2 ratio of 20g starter, 40 g bottled spring water, and 40 g AP flour.  10 hours later, I have some bubbles and a rise of about 50%.  I'll check again in a few hours more, and plan on another feed.  If I get some appreciable rise, I'll continue the 1:2:2 daily feeds.

I also wanted to know about site courtesy.  For example, I found a recent thread on starter that doesn't rise.  Been using some of the suggestions from there, but I don't know if it's appropriate to add my own "Hey, me too!", or start a new thread.  Thanks, all you lovely bakers!