Bigfoot sighting

When I was about 9 or 10 years old I went shoe shopping with my mother and older sister. That was back in the days before self service shoe stores. You sat down and a sales clerk measured your foot. The foot gauge thingy had two adjustments - length and width. My foot was a triple e width (EEE). My feet must have been practically square.

Those wide feet came in handy on todays NYT crossword puzzle. EEE Width was the answer to: 10D Big shoe spec. Not my favorite puzzle - but then, it's Friday so I don't expect to like it. I'm especially unfond (if they can make up words, then so can I) of answers that aren't really words such as 44A One-eighties. The answer: ueys. Gimme a break. That looks like a word I might use in Scrabble when we ditch the real rules and play phonetically.

Remains of the Day

The proof is in the....tunnel o' fudge.

That was one rich cake. Thank goodness the grandkids came over later to help finish it off.

I think maybe we'll swear off cake until Andrew's birthday. That gives us 32 days to work this one off.

Happy Birthday to You!

Happy birthday to you,

Happy birthday to you,

Happy Birthday, dear Alex,

Happy Birthday to you.

Tunnel O' Fudge

I'm sitting here at my computer waiting for Alex's birthday cake to finish baking. He requested a chocolate cake, so I'm experimenting with a recipe that was in the paper a couple of days ago for a bundt cake.

I am slightly embarrassed to admit that I own 7 bundt pans. Seven. Three of them are identical miniature bundt pans, but 4 (FOUR) are full size. What was I thinking?

Multi-tasking

When I started this blog I really had no idea how useful it could be. I mostly did it because of peer pressure. So far I have found several useful things about it.

1. 1. Journal entries. Maybe not my deepest, darkest secrets - but my entries do reflect me in some way.
2. Keeping in touch with family. I know of several family members that read my blog.
3. I can copy and paste entries into my letters to Nathan. I don't send him everything - but many of my entries are fine to send to a missionary.
4. Creative outlet. How many of these are free? I don't have to go to the craft store and buy supplies for it.
5. This helps me learn new computer skills. Important ones like: inserting links to Youtube. It isn't hard, but I hadn't ever done it before.

Thank you Keira and Suzanne for getting me started. And I'd like to thank the other 3 or 4 people that read this for helping to keep me motivated to continue writing.

Ring Out, Wild Bells

Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky, The flying cloud, the frosty light:

The year is dying in the night; Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.

Ring out the old, ring in the new, Ring, happy bells, across the snow:

The year is going, let him go; Ring out the false, ring in the true.

Ring out the grief that saps the mind, For those that here we see no more;

Ring out the feud of rich and poor, Ring in redress to all mankind.

Ring out a slowly dying cause, And ancient forms of party strife;

Ring in the nobler modes of life, With sweeter manners, purer laws.

Ring out the want, the care, the sin, The faithless coldness of the times;

Ring out, ring out my mournful rhymes, But ring the fuller minstrel in.

Ring out false pride in place and blood, The civic slander and the spite;

Ring in the love of truth and right, Ring in the common love of good.

Ring out old shapes of foul disease; Ring out the narrowing lust of gold;

Ring out the thousand wars of old, Ring in the thousand years of peace.

Ring in the valiant man and free, The larger heart, the kindlier hand;

Ring out the darkness of the land, Ring in the Christ that is to be.

.

Once a year (if that) we are forced to struggle through 3 verses of this poem that was set to music. It is much too challenging for the average (and less than average) church congregation. I find it absolutely painful. After looking the poem up I promise to not complain this Sunday if we have to sing it. At least we only have to sing 3 verses.

Abba New Year

I wish everyone a happy New Year. Mine will get better as soon as I finish putting away the Christmas decorations. I'm almost done, but it never seems to fail that I find a few stray decorations and then have to drag down the storage containers again to put them away. Oh well, my house is looking bigger already.

I plan to sit down after dinner and formalize my list of resolutions. I don't plan to post them here. If you really want to see them, I will have them tacked up on the corkboard behind my computer. I consider New Years resolutions should be shared on a need to know basis only.

I hope everyone has a Monster year.