Gingerbread Cake

Ginger. Ha a more delicious word ever been invented?

Shockingly, Kevin does not like ginger. I found this out the hard way. We were walking around Minnehaha Falls, and we stopped in the snack shop for ice cream. Harper was with us, and we couldn't all go inside, so I went in alone.

Inside the gift shop I was confronted with an issue. Kevin wanted cookies and cream, and one of the other ice cream flavors was ginger. Great. We had the flavors figured out. Two cups with one scoop each was $1 more than two scoops in the same cup. What is a cheapskate to do?

I got both scoops in the same cup. Ginger was on the top and the flavor infiltrated the cookies and cream. Kevin was very, very cranky because he couldn't eat his cookies and cream, and he didn't want to go back inside and get another cup. Ahhh... It took several months, but we finally moved past the ginger escapade.

In spite of all the trouble it has caused, ginger will always hold a special place with my taste buds. This cake was dense, rich, and completely satisfying of my craving.

Gingerbread Cake

1/2 C sugar

1/2 C butter, softened

1 egg

1 C molasses (I used half black strap, half regular)

2 1/2 C whole wheat pastry flour

1 1/2 t baking soda

1 t cinnamon

1 t ground ginger (I used 1/2 t ground ginger and 1 t grated fresh ginger)

1/2 t ground cloves

1/2 t salt

1 C hot water

Grease a 9 inch square pan. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Beat in the egg, and mix in the molasses. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. Blend into the creamed mixture. Stir in the hot water. Pour into the prepared pan.

Bake 1 hour at 350 degrees, until a knife inserted comes out clean. Allow to cool in pan before serving.

The Stunning Sunset.

I was held captive as the breath taking colors of the sunset glittered and glimmered, vibrant and alive, then slowly faded to smokey and alluring and finally disappeared into the calm night. As the scene unfolded, I was washed over with the realization that I am OK. My life today is better than it was a year ago. I am more peaceful. I finally have a sense of my self-worth.

What does this sunset represent? The closing of a chapter in my life? The chance to see the betrayal that gave me a back-handed slap fade into the glorious moment where I am now wholly submerged? Does the past dishonesty affect my ability to enjoy this exact moment? Absolutely not. In fact, I feel more awe as a witness to this amazing scene than I have in my entire life.This sunset is not unique. Color splashes the horizon twice every day.

This sunset is unique. This is the very first sunset that has ever spoken to my soul. This is the first time I have realized that even though life is nothing like I hoped it would be, it is a thousand times better than I could have dreamt.

(Photo by Kevin in Wyoming)

Noise from the Cube Farm

That Willie. He sent an email to the whole company:

"I would like to ask every one's cooperation in reducing the noise level in the cubicle area. It is distracting and disruptive to work flow. We need to reduce the number of lengthy and noisy discussions, both technical and personal, that are taking place in people's cubicles. I would ask that you try the cafeteria, breakout areas, or the picnic tables instead. We all need to work harder at this goal, myself included. Thank you for your understanding!Willie"

Obviously, I knew he was directing most of his angst in the direction of my group. So I responded, "Were you writing this just to me? Sheesh...you didn't need to cc the WHOLE COMPANY on a private email."

He wrote back, "This way nobody can tell that we think 75% of the noise is from your area."

Ha! Not likely. Everyone knows we are noisy. So I forward Willie's response to Kurt, who takes the offensive and responds to Willie, "Only 75%! I'm hurt. I would place us/me closer to 96%."

Willie, unwilling to give up any ground, responds, "In the That could be, but since I haven't heard your annoying phone ring tone for a while, I downgraded the score accordingly."

Cabbage For One

Bob gave us some corn. Lots and lots of it. When Kevin went fishing with John he learned that Bob had some vegetables, so we drove to his place to pick up a few. We left with the back of our car loaded with 8 1/2 dozen ears of corn, 4 bags of tomatoes, a summer squash, 1 bag of apples, and a cabbage twice as big as my head.

Kevin doesn't eat cabbage. I will eat every single morsel of this ginormous beast of a vegetable.

He doesn't eat cabbage but he does shuck corn. And shuck corn. And shuck corn. And blanch it, and cut it, and freeze it. Anybody have any corn recipes? Or cabbage recipes?

Sour Cream and Chive Potatoes

The night before we left Wyoming, I headed out with the kitchen shears, on a mission to bring home some fresh chives. It was already dark so I grabbed a handful, cut, grabbed another handful, cut. Then I looked to the right. What is that over there? In the darkness it looks kinda like chives.

Uh, oh. What have I been hacking to bits?

Mom was very gracious. If she was crying on the inside, she didn't show it when I revealed my armful of flowers. The only thing I could think to do was get out a vase and put them in it. And hope people thought that were intentionally cut.

But dang it - she hasn't invited us back yet.

Sour Cream and Chive Potatoes

1 pound potatoes

1 bunch chives, cut into small pieces

butter

sour cream

salt

pepper

Boil the potatoes in their skin until soft. Use a ricer to mash them. Put a couple of slabs of butter and a couple of spoonfuls of sour cream on the potatoes. Cut the chives and put them on everything else. Stir just enough to mix so they don't get sticky.

Happy 4th Anniversary!

Happy Anniversary, Darling!

An evening at Chino Latino was a fabulous way to celebrate. Above are the monkeys they served hanging from our glasses. It was especially fun because the menus were printed just for us with a big, "Happy 4th Anniversary" on the bottom.

Our fortunes for the night:

Kevin:

"You strike me as a bottom."

and

"Studies show that only 50% of people wash their hands after using the restroom. Guess which of your tablemates didn't make the cut."

Megan:

"There is a full length mirror in the bathroom. Use it."

and

"Careful, your face could freeze like that."

Not great fortunes, but infinitely better than the one Kevin got a few years ago: "Make sure it says deodorant AND antiperspirant." He was sure the fortune was wrong for him, so he took another cookie, and the new fortune said, "Make sure it says deodorant AND antiperspirant." The waiter confirmed that the fortune was right for him.

Speaking of the bathroom, it was beyond strange. I walked in, and was immediately confronted with a line of men washing their hands. HOLY CRAP! I turned on my heel, and a woman grabbed my arm and said, "Yeah, it's weird, but this is the right place." Then she lead me to the women's section. The men's and women's bathrooms had shared sinks, and then there were rooms leading to the separate toilets. Sheesh....way to freak a girl out. If I had had to go even a tiny bit more, there would have been a big mess right there on our anniversary.

The Fountain of [my] Youth

Dad would take us to a spring on the mountain when we were kids. He used to fill up the water jugs from the pipe in the spring, and we would run around while he worked. This summer, he agreed to take us there again. We set out in two vehicles, bouncing and bumping until we stopped at the base of these rocks.

You can see the water as it breaks into the world - right in the middle of the mountain.

Dad stood around and silently mocked us while we played in the water.

Kevin drank right from the pipe.

Joel drinks from his hands, not the pipe. This water is COLD! Those fingers of his must be freezing.

Amanda gets in on the cold mountain spring water action.

Aspen drinks out of her hands.

Even Harper decided he was thirsty.

Mike, Amanda, and the kids are wet and dirty. But, what the heck, this is as good a time as any for their family portrait.

HOLY MOLY! Joel sure did drink a lot of water!

Of course, Aspen wouldn't get into the 'cousins' photo. Mike tried to pull her and we tried to threaten her until, finally, Hali bribed her with a packet of Ramen noodles. Then she ran right over and took a happy photo.


You will also notice that we are safety gurus. The kids rode in the back of the pickup during a lightning storm while the adults observed them from the comfort of the cab.

After we were done at the spring, Kaitlyn and Cienna help work the sheep.

These guys are the hard workers.

And here Mom is threatening me with her stick if I take a picture of her. But she is so beautiful so I am risking the beating she might give me the next time she gets her hands on my hide.