I can't say I belong to the group that live in fear of yeast but I deal with the vagaries of living at altitude and that's always an extra consideration that can make any baking questionable as evidenced by the jar of yeast I just pitched that had expired... I don't do it a lot! (foodbabbles.com)
I'm glad you're starting to conquer your fear of yeast! (beantownbaker.com)