Welcome to our monthly Fly on the Wall, a blog post written in snippets. Marcia, Diane, and I invite you to catch a glimpse of what you’d see if you were a fly on the wall in our homes, at our writing desks, and in our worlds. Come on in, buzz around, see what we’ve been up to. Bet you laugh!
We’d had about half of the windows replaced on our house last month. It was incredibly expensive, especially since I was adamant that we go with the company most able to replace our floor to (almost) ceiling windows in the kitchen looking out to the woods with the least amount of intrusion on our view. Most companies’ windows had such large frames we’d lose a lot of that view.
So, we ended up going with a more expensive option. The bill was $50,000.
Hubs: I forgot to tell you I submitted the rebate request online for the windows. It could take up to 60 days to get it.
Me: It won’t be a credit on our bill, they’ll send us a check?
Hubs: Yes, $825.
Me: That’s all? I was hoping it would be for $50,000.
Hubs: Well, I can always go to the casino, put it all on black . . .
Like many people, I’m useless without my morning coffee. My brain just doesn’t work.
But then after 2 weeks of cooking special meals every night including all of PurDude’s favorites, Thanksgiving, College Boy’s Birthday, and our Hanukkah dinner (which we celebrate while PurDude is here), along with snacks and desserts, I was tired!
I had poured myself my first cup, grabbed my morning vitamin, put the vitamin bottle away and sat down in the den to let the coffee do it’s thing to my brain.
It wasn’t until later in the morning, after both of my cups of coffee, when I went to put my mug in the dishwasher. And found my bottle of vitamins in there.
It was so great having the whole family together for Thanksgiving. PurDude drove in from Colorado for 2 weeks. I love that he can stay so long, but I also hate that he’s so far away the rest of the year.
I am so grateful that College Boy is local, at least I have one of the boys nearby.
Two days before Thanksgiving, College Boy flew back to NYC for a concert he wanted to see. While he’s gone he sends me pics, but the first one he sent concerned me.
Apparently NYC has weed delivery trucks. And just like that I may have none of my sons living nearby. I mean, pot delivery trucks? How am I supposed to compete with that?
As I said, tired.
Each day I post online word game results to my Baking In A Tornado FB page, and many people share their scores there too. I had been playing Nerdle, a math game one night in those 2 weeks, and had the answer figured out, I’d win the game in 4 tries, I just had to switch 2 numbers (the 2 purple squares shown in the third row, below) from my third try.
But in the 4th guess, I didn’t switch the numbers, I typed in the exact same wrong answer from my 3rd guess. Yes, I was that tired.
As I said, I had tons of snacks and desserts around. Most of us have indiscriminate sweet tooths, but Hubs really doesn’t like things super sweet.
He wanted to figure out what to have for dessert one night, and asked me about the options. I had Chocolate Covered Brownie Balls, Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Layer Bars, and some Cookie Butter Shortbreads.
Hubs (reaching for the cookies): Well, this seems like something I’d be able to eat.
Me: Just what every home baker wants to hear.
Cookie Butter Shortbreads
And because the cook needed even more insults:
The funny thing about PurDude coming home over Thanksgiving and my making all of his favorite meals, is that I actually make one he doesn’t like. Yes, PurDude does not like turkey.
We were watching a Purdue basketball game while the turkey was doing its thing in the oven, and at half time, some of the Purdue players were asked about what their favorite Thanksgiving dishes are. One player said that at his house, they don’t have turkey, they always have fillets.
PurDude: Ooh, I want to go to his house for Thanksgiving.
The exhausted cook (yeah that’s me): Thanks, kid.
And even more tired:
We were having a drink and snacks in the afternoon. I was having a glass of wine, hubs was having a can of beer, and PurDude was having a bottle of beer. Hubs had brought the beers up from the basement fridge. I watched while he opened the bottle with his bare hands.
Me: You need a bottle opener for that, it’s not a screw off top.
Hubs (shaking his hand): Well, it is now.
Me (looking at his hand): Did you break your leg?
Hubs: No, but I have a pretty deep indentation in my hand.
Break your leg? Did I say “break your leg?’ Yeah, I was that exhausted.
When it comes to laptops, there’s new, and then there’s new new.
I needed a new laptop, it’s where I do my blog writing and picture editing. I’ll only get one when PurDude is here because he knows how to get the new one set up and working the way I need it to.
On the day we were celebrating Hanukkah, he and Hubs went to the store to get a laptop for me as a surprise. They had none of the one Hubs wanted for me in stock, but they had one that had been purchased and returned, certified to be in excellent condition. Hubs bought it.
PurDude spent the next day and a half setting it all up exactly as I wanted it. It was when I went to use it that we realized it was not in excellent condition, it was defective.
It was the night before Thanksgiving, and there was exactly one of the laptops Hubs wanted for me at another store, about 1/2 hour away. They ordered it, brought it home, and PurDude worked to get the new one set up and the old one wiped so it could be returned the day after Thanksgiving.
But it got a little difficult, figuring out which one was which, making sure the correct one was updated and the correct one was wiped.
Hubs: How is the new laptop working for you?
Me: This is the new one I’m using. Do you mean the new one, or the new, new one?
Hubs: Which one are you using?
Me: I’m still using the new one.
Hubs: Not the new, new?
Me: No, PurDude is still setting up the new, new.
And I made him check 3 times before wiping the laptop to be sure it was the new, not the new, new.
And the next day, I had Hubs check the laptop before he returned it to be sure it was the new, not the new, new.
Phew.
SO tired.
We were having pizza for dinner. Hubs and PurDude decided to have a beer with dinner. I ran down to the basement, where we have a freezer and a second fridge.
Hubs: You didn’t have to go down, I would have gone.
Me: No problem.
Hubs: What took so long.
Me: I had a hard time trying to find your beer in the freezer.
Hubs (laughing): Freezer?
Me: Don’t ask.
We sit down to dinner. Hubs opens the can a brought for him and started to choke.
Hubs: This isn’t beer.
Me (looking at the can): Oh, looks like that’s one of College Boy’s energy drinks.
Hubs: I will never let you go downstairs to get me a beer again.
Me: Works for me.
Last month I talked about College Boy. He buys and sells limited edition and rare albums, most all genres, but mostly rap. He flew into NYC for 2 days to go to a pop up store a local underground rapper (one of College Boys’ favorites) was having to sell his newest album and merchandise. He spent the day with the artist, talked to his wife, and had his picture taken in some of the clothing being sold.
This month, he flew back to NYC. Another favorite artist who almost never does live concerts, was doing one at Lincoln Center on the night before Thanksgiving. College Boy was comp’d a ticket, merchandise, and a quick meeting with the artist.
It was a great experience, but I was really concerned. He was flying into NYC the Tuesday before Thanksgiving and flying home out of Newark, NJ on Thanksgiving Day. Air travel is a nightmare at the best of times, but two days before Thanksgiving? He could have ended up stuck anywhere.
Flights were perfect. He was SO lucky.
Until:
Two days after he got home, an initial bill came in the mail for over $400. Someone went into the Verizon store in Newark, started an account with College Boy’s name and address, and walked out with phones and an iPad at a charge of over $400 per month (X 36 months = a hell of a lot of money).
So, a deferred nightmare.
Now click on the links below and see what my friends have to share:
Cookie Butter Shortbreads
©www.BakingInATornado.com
Ingredients:
1 3/4 sticks butter, room temperature
1/2 cup speculoos (cookie butter)
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1 cup powdered sugar
2 cups flour
OPT: colored sanding sugar and/or cinnamon sugar
Directions:
*Cream the butter, cookie butter, cinnamon and nutmeg until smooth. Slowly, starting on the lowest speed until incorporated, beat in the powdered sugar. Mix in the flour.
*Divide the dough in half and roll each half into a tube about 8 inches long. Roll, individually, into plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour.
*Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cover baking sheets with parchment paper.
*Slice the dough into about 3 1/2 dozen 1/4 inch rounds. *OPT: you can bake some or all as is, or you can press some or all of the tops of each cookie into the colored sanding sugar, or a mixture of cinnamon and sugar.
*Arrange on the baking sheets and bake for 12 minutes.
