Well, the lion and the lamb have come in together this year. One minute it is delightful and the next it is dangerous. It's been a busy month for us in that I had to do some major cleaning and move some heavy furniture from room to room. While I was down on my hands and knees scrubbing the floor POO was ever faithful and stayed close by and watched me as I suffered. He stayed close but not so close as to get anything on his pretty white hair.
I got him back when I took him in on the 3rd to have his teeth cleaned and this time he was neutered too. His Doctor gave him some Happy Juice and he was flying high that evening when they let me bring him home around 4:pm. He had to wait a few hours for some food and more than 2T water but he just wanted to lay in my lap. He had 3 stitches to show for his operation and a nice clean smile. He still has one loose tooth.We are trying to save it. I did better with the eyedropper this year.He walked off the last of his "Happy Juice" around 11:pm and tore into his green beans and a big helping of dog food and zonked out for the night. Every now and then he would decide the stitches needed attention but he was back up and running the next day.
Neither of us got much rest that week as I needed to be everywhere and do everything and POO went right along. But as I headed out out Friday to collect some more information the manager of my apartment called and suggested that we postpone our meeting from Friday at 3:pm to Monday at 3:pm. I said, "I'll kiss your feet!".
When the manager got here yesterday I tied POO to a table leg and got my business done...well, almost done...couple of outstanding things to get.
Carried POO back to get his stitches out this morning and when we got him on the table we discovered that he had removed two of them himself last night. He didn't like being held down while the last was taken out but forgave us all.
We got back home and I fed him and myself and crawled into bed and he got right up and snuggled in beside me. KNOCK, KNOCK, BANG, BANG!!!! POO is alerting at the back door and I, in my almost knee long ragged tee shirt and diaper, open the door and lean against the frame for support while someone tells me that they are here for the monthly Bug thingie. I unlatch the screen, tell them to lock up after themselves and order POO back to bed with me.
He seems to realize I'm not well. I doze, the phone rings, POO alerts. Damed. I make it to the phone and tell the nice woman that I did refuse this years copy of my Yellow Pages that go with my phone book because I don't use it. Besides I have 6 or 7 copies stacked by the kitchen door waiting for me to get enough strength to haul them out to the curb. I also tell her that I wish they could do something about that company who came around this year with their Yellow-Something and threw them at our back doors. I just happened to be standing by mine when they were doing it this year so I went outside and picked it and threw it back at their van.
Don't know why, unless it is the extra hard work, but I'm losing weight again. I have a 5 to 8 pound buffer between now and, "We have to do something.".
Somehow my left foot got in the way of a package of frozen pancakes as they leaped out of the freezer on the way to the floor. Much hurt!!! Big bruise. Long time sore foot. POO managed to step on it with each of his four feet every few minutes and if I sat down he would back up and sit on it. He is trained to sit beside my left foot when I'm sitting but if he wants to flirt with someone he will sit on my left foot and make puppy faces at them while he bumps his butt up and down on my left foot. Hey, he is a Toy Poodle...
Can't get any of my software to write a Data CD. Something wrong. My CD/RW may have gone wonky. Don't know how, but I have to get the rest of my parts together and build the new PC.
Lets see...Food!!
I'm cutting down on Salt. Wish me luck.
With the rising cost of food and the sales tax on it I am looking at some alternative ways of buying cooking staples.
I had a chance to try powered eggs back in the eighties and they made good baked custards.
I have switched to powered milk and can only afford 10 quarts per month.
I have been trying different "Variety" meats and the Beef Kidney turned out good.
While I was rearranging my kitchen I counted and had 4 food processors.
Managed to give one of them away.
Manager said that I could buy my own refrigerator and stove as long as they fit in the space provided. Looking into that. Need freezer space. Would like to have one so frozen food doesn't rain down on short me when I open the door.
Tomorrow is my 63rd birthday and I usually buy myself a fancy cake. Not this year. With less salt I find myself craving something sweet. Normally I do not like cooked sweet things. Just fruit. Will probably make Banana bread.
Jewel Cakes
Note: Back when I made these I used 6" cake pans.
You can use any shape pan.
This will make a pretty presentation if you use a jelly roll pan.
I used 1 box Ms. Crocker's cake mix per cake and 1 can Lemon, Cherry, or Blueberry pie filling per cake. Made a great amount of powered sugar/Vegetable Shorting frosting so that I could flavor it to suit my taste.
Ok, decide how many you are going to make.
Group the cake mix, Pie Filling, and container of frosting for each cake.
No, I don't mind if you use bought frosting. It's your cake.
So, cook your cake.
Place it on the serving plate and anchor with a smear of frosting on the bottom.
Look through your things and find something like a grapefruit spoon. The idea is to start 1 1/2 " from the edge and gently remove some of the inner portion of the layer. Be careful not to go too deep. Less is best. Especially if you have used the jellyroll pan.
Frost the sides and build up a thick wall of frosting along the top edge back to where you removed the inner portion.
Start in the center and gently spoon some of the Pie Filling in the center of the well you made.
Well, if you made a jellyroll one layer you will use it all.
The thing to remember is Frost from the Outside in, Fill from the Inside out.
For a 2 layer cake you would be smart to mark your layer to make the well before you set it in place---The top Well doesn't have to be Round or Squared.
You can use a paper pattern and Pipe your Frosting Edge to make the shape you want. You want to remove enough cake so the Pie Filling has a place to contain it.
Bring your Frosting up the side and exposed edge of the top layer.
And set your Pie Filling Jewel in place by spooning Inside Out.
Don't feel like fruit, make a run on the Instant Pudding and Pie Filling shelves and load up on Chocolate Fudge, Banana, I like Butterscotch.
Oh yeah, if you get crumbs in the Frosting just throw some Coconut at them. The idea is to keep cake small so you can have several different colors to display. Keep the Frosting the same color for all of the cakes.
You could get more use per can of Pie Filling if you use Vanilla Pudding and Pie Filling on the bottom layer but I didn't like that.
Final Note: Please do not stick tooth picks in your cakes!!!!
best,
tow-
