Yesterday, in a fit of domesticity, I pulled myself away from the My Fair Wedding marathon and made my Mom's Devil's Food cake, straight from the Fannie Merritt Farmer Boston Cooking School Cook Book. I've written about this cake before -- it's the cake Mom used to make for our birthdays -- but I had forgotten just how involved it really was. Here's the recipe, straight from the cook book: Now, allow me to add... Read more →
I have not done Unconscious Mutterings in a very very long time, but there's no time like the present! In this meme, you're supposed to write the first thing that comes to mind upon reading the word -- kind of an online word association. (Once upon a time, I took a suite of aptitude tests that included word association. The tester gave me a bunch of words and I responded with my first thought. One... Read more →
Holy smokes! The Habs are leading the Red Wings by a score of 5 to 0, and it's only the start of the second period! On paper, the Red Wings should be in charge of this game. Such is not the case so far. If this keeps up, I will not earn another hat trick in the NHL Hat Trick Challenge game on nhl.com. Speaking of hat tricks, how about that Matty Hatty last night?... Read more →
So. I'm sixty. I hear "Gee, you don't look sixty!" Well, here's what sixty looks like. I know that I'm younger than a lot of you, but I've never been sixty before. Five years 'til Medicare! (I hope.) I used to marvel at the inventions and times and events that my Mom experienced during her amazingly long life, so I thought about what I've experienced in sixty years. Here are a few that spring to... Read more →
Here's a random sampling of what I've been up to in the last week. 1. I discovered Instagram. This is the result of seeing a reference to it on a forum I frequent, and now voila! I have an account and I've shared pictures and I've followed friends and friends have followed me. Ah, the wonders of the iPhone! (On the other hand, I signed up for Pinterest a while ago, but have yet to... Read more →
So the Overlord (my boss's boss) bought everyone in my group a Christmas present -- a copy of The Book! (Well, not me; I've already got a copy. And I know the ending. Heh.) I had a lot of mixed emotions when he announced this at the department Holiday Dinner -- shock, happiness, embarrassment, a little fear, a "there goes my anonymity" feeling, an "oh shit" feeling, giddiness -- you name it. Today he came... Read more →
Last night I met my high-school pals for dinner and yakking and laughing. And celebrating birthdays. January is a big month for birthdays in this groups. Of the seven of us who regularly get together, four of us (including yours truly) have birthdays in January. This is a milestone year, too -- we are turning 60. I have to pause and let that sink in. Six. Tee. Years. Old. Damn. Gimme a minute. Goddamn. Sixty.... Read more →
My great good friend Judy sent me this photo, taken by her lovely and talented granddaughter Hannah. It's proof that women, too, need to pull up their goddamn pants. Location: A mall in Atlanta, Georgia Sag Factor: 8 (extra for cheekiness) Read more →
A cold front is moving in to the area, the temperature is dropping, the wind is picking up. Well, that's as it should be, I guess; after all, it's winter here in the Mid-Atlantic and it ought to be cold. We were out late last night, ringing in the new year with my sister, her husband, and his sister. We had a great dinner at a local Tex-Mex joint, closing the joint down at about... Read more →