Carrot Cake and Music

Early this morning, I made the frosting for the carrot cake and it was ready.  But after consideration, I had one more thing to do before Gary and I took it to Skip and Judy's to celebrate Solstice.  I went to the computer and made up the following poster to take with it:

Warning:

Carrot Cake

                made with a stick of butter, two cups of sugar, eight ounces of cream cheese, 

four cups of powdered sugar and pecans.   

The carrots are nutritious. 

I've known Skip and Judy for around thirty years, ever since I heard Skip singing and playing his guitar at a University of Wisconsin-Green Bay coffee house called the Blue Whale.  Back then we didn't worry about our health so much, but over the years we have gotten older, shakier and more susceptible to complaints and so have our friends. Some have diabetes and heart conditions.  Then there are the people who have food allergies.  Nuts are big problems for some.

When I put the cake on the cupboard with the sign, Judy laughed.  So did everyone that looked at it and one woman said, "That just tempts me more."  And I was the first one tempted.  It was so, so good.  

Judy had vegetarian chili and salad for lunch, and others brought fruit, vegetables, Rice Krispie bars and other healthy snacks.  People ate at the cake but it was a smaller group than expected.  Skip and Judy's son Andrew slipped in from time to time.   

We sang and talked all afternoon. I requested and heard some of my favorite songs.  I didn't bring my autoharp, but sang harmonies.  We told stories about friends who couldn't be there.  Well, if they don't want funny stories told about them, they should come to the Solstice celebration. 

We left the rest of the carrot cake behind when we departed.  Judy and Skip will be having guests all weekend and I am sure some of them don't have to worry about diabetes, heart conditions, and allergies. 

Baking

The rains came and the temperature came down. I could bake. 

Colette's father Marshall died and the memorial is tomorrow. I can't be there, but I baked sugar cookies and took them to the library where Colette works.  She told me about the memorial which is exactly what her father wanted.  It will be held not in a church, not in a funeral home, but at the meeting room in the library.  Colette is using the library "smart board" to show photos of her father with background country and western music, but there also will be Duffey and Denise, local musicians who play the violin and mandolin.  Colette and her brother will be grilling hamburgers and bratwurst.  

Per his instructions, Marshall will be there, too.  At least his ashes will be, in an old coffee can. 

I find the whole idea delightful.  I wrote my funeral instructions out and filed them away years ago, but now I see they need to be revised.  No boring funeral for me!  

Tonight I baked carrot cake to take to a solstice celebration tomorrow.   I picked carrot cake to use up ingredients, but as I worked I remembered why I hadn't used that recipe in years.  Grating carrots is a lot of trouble for someone who doesn't own a food processor.  A chocolate cake would have been a lot easier. But it is done now and I can look forward to a day of feasting and music at Skip and Judy's.  More about that tomorrow night. 

***

Black Coffee Fiction, the storytelling blog I started with Wade last summer celebrated its 5,000th hit two days ago when fourteen Indonesians checked it out.  Whenever we get a sizable foreign readership we figure it is students learning English.   

Wade posted his twentieth story today at http://blackcoffeefiction.blogspot.com

I will be touring in Canada in the second half of July at the same time Wade's family is going on vacation. Either we will have friends' stories during that period, or we will have to re-run ours.  

We're also working on our collection of short stories.  We've determined the book should be no longer than 25,000 words.  That should work out to around fifteen stories.   We are in the process of selection and editing.  We plan on publishing at the beginning of October.  

The Summer Reading Program

The Muehl Public Library here in Seymour began its summer reading program on Monday.  Besides programs based on a night time theme for children, teenagers and toddlers, there is one for adults: "Between the Covers".

Elizabeth, our head librarian, wanted to encourage people to explore the city and try new things, so she designed twelve tasks, which are on the card I picked up.  I must complete six of the twelve and have them initialed by a librarian.  I'm an overachiever, so I plan on doing more than the requirement.

Here are the tasks:
1.   Take a photo of yourself reading a book in bed and post it at the library.  (With Gary's help, I'll have that done by tomorrow.)
2.   Read a large print book.  (I've checked out a Fannie Flagg novel.)
3.   Read a romance.  (I doubt I will do that one.)
4.   Read your horoscope.  Clip a copy to the card. (I'll print one off the Internet, I think.)
5.   Watch a move anywhere.  (I'll likely go to one of the movies shown at the library.)
6.   Go to Music in the Park on Depot Street. (Held on Wednesday nights, I can walk downtown and listen.)
7.   Check out a cookbook.  (Probably won't have much time to cook this summer.)
8.   Attend the museum grand opening on July 21.  (I'll be on tour in Canada then, sorry)
9.   Find a constellation.  (Easy when we are camping.)
10.   Listen to a book on a CD.  (I've checked out The Chicken Chronicles, by Alice Walker.)
11. Attend a program on August 17 given by Colleen Sutherland!  (I asked at the library if that would count toward my six tasks.)
12.  Go to the Seymour Farmer's Market.  (I would do that anyhow.)

I figure on completing nine tasks by Labor Day when I can collect my prize.  Everybody wins something. In past years, I've gotten a cup, certificates for groceries, and books.  When I signed up, I was already a winner when I was given a Between the Covers book bag.

It makes me feel like a kid again when I approach the front desk at the library to get a librarian's initial.  Every library should have an adult summer reading program.

Summer Solstice

It's the longest day of the year and this year, one of the hottest.  Gary and I worked on the yard, but that meant doing fifteen minutes then cooling off in the house for an hour before venturing out again.  We're getting to be old timers at 68 and we don't need heat stroke.  

Summer began a few minutes ago, but the strange spring has led to strange things in the garden.  The pear tree showed great promise in April when it was loaded with blossoms and I dreamed of a bounty in the fall.  Instead, we had a cold snap and a shortage of honey bees.  I checked out the tree this afternoon and found only one pear. 

So why do the blackberries thrive?  I'll have a bumper crop this year and I don't even care for blackberries. No matter, the birds can have their share. 

Last night, we feasted on a chicken-vegetable stir fry that included onions, asparagus and sugar snap peas from the garden, but the parsley and basil have refused to grow.  I put more romaine seeds in their place yesterday since the romaine has been growing so well in this heat.  I won't be buying lettuce for the rest of the summer. 

The peonies are done so I dead headed them to create a pretty hedge.  

Gary took his trimmer to the north side of the house and found the stone path which has been hidden since the beginning of May.  Ferns have been taking over there but we've decided to fight.   

The pink roses are coming to an end with only two flowers left,

 but the seven sisters rose is now in its glory.  

Queen Anne's lace has been popping up all over and now is doing its best to bloom.  That shouldn't happen until August.  The hydrangeas are early, too.

I've decided to wait until tonight's thunderstorms cool the place off before I venture out again.  Everything is out of sync this year, and so am I.   

A Bit of Magic

I think it was our head librarian who told me to watch the video of Jonathan and Charlotte, a pair of Essex teenagers, audition for the Simon Cowell program "Britain's Got Talent."  I was immediately enthralled.  If you haven't seen the audition, here is the link. Jonathan, overweight, had been bullied to the point of extreme shyness to the point of dropping out of school, but was saved by his voice and by a true friend, Charlotte.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41IS2OKqq1w

One of my lifelong goals was to hear Pavarotti sing live.  I had his albums but a live concert, well that would be something. But he died before I ever had a chance.

Yet here was Jonathan Antoine, who, at the age of 17, had a voice that could rival Pavarotti's. He was matched with Charlotte's soprano, though Cowell rudely suggested that Jonathan "dump" her.  I listened to the audition over and over and waited for the semi-finals.

At their next performance, Charlotte had something to prove and she came through, making Cowell eat his words with Pavarotti's "Caruso".  Again, the link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hiU7gkBYrA

Cowell admitted he was wrong, and the two went on to the final level.

As a choir director, I know good voices, and here were two of the best.  I was so anxious to see what Jonathan and Charlotte would do for their final performance and they did not disappoint. They reprised "The Prayer" that they had sung for their audition, but now they had an orchestra behind them.  It was magical.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PRl-iIARU4

In the end, even the cynical Cowell was moved.

But the British love their dogs, and voted for a dog act and Jonathan and Charlotte came in second.  But in thinking it over, it was the right result.  The girl and her dog will perform for the Queen but in the end, how long does a dog live and how many places are there for a dancing dog to perform? The girl will have her moment of fame and can live on that for the rest of her life.

Jonathan and Charlotte have a million pound contract and are busy working on their first CD.  In time, they, too, will perform for the Queen and considering that they are only 16 and 17, they will have great careers ahead of them.  They can expect to perform not only for the Queen, but King Charles and after him, King William.

Jonathan, who was bullied, can add to the chorus, "It gets better."

I don't buy many CD's but I look forward to owning Jonathan and Charlotte's first.  Meanwhile, when I feel a bit down, I click on the You Tube links, and watch a bit of magic as two lives change.

And wait for an opportunity to hear them live.

More Rain

Thunderstorms are rolling through Wisconsin, just as they should in June.  Some places that have experienced drought are now in flood.  Not so here in Seymour.  We seem to be getting exactly what we need.


Suddenly, my gardens have all the moisture they need.  The first indication was a general perking up.  The vegetable garden which was slowly growing, now is producing.  Tomorrow, I'll be making a vegetable stir fry with onions, pea pods, and asparagus.  The zucchini vines have spread rapidly and that includes the first flowers. These are the early flowers without the little "pregnant" bulge that will become the fruit, but they show promise.  I thought the strawberry plants I put in were dying from the drought, but today I noticed that even the worst plant is putting out new shoots.  The tomato plants are adding three inches a day.  The asparagus has continued to grow through the drought, but with spindly little stalks.   Now the big stuff is showing up.  


I talked to the manager of the Seymour farmers market today.  She said she had been watering her plants but now they are on their own. When the market opens a week from tomorrow, she'll have radishes, peas and beans ready to sell.  From that point on, we eat nothing but fresh produce. 


I couldn't work in my garden today because of the thunderstorms, but I look forward to some serious digging in rain softened ground the rest of the week.  


I'm glad that June is finally behaving itself. 

Father's Day

Sometimes there are busy days and this was one of them.

Chris, Tisha, and Evan came to Seymour to celebrate the day, sort of.  I don't think Chris even knew it was Father's Day until I brought it up.  We don't tend to make a big deal about those things.  However, I suggested we go out to eat to a restaurant he would like which meant the China Garden.  Like most computer technicians, he loves Chinese.  I like Chinese food, too, so I was being sneaky about that one. Nothing better than crab rangoon.

Later, the four of us were at the Seymour Aquatic Center paddling around the small pool.  Evan and I like to play "elephant" with the "noodles", the colorful long tubes children use as flotation aids.  They are hollow, so we could hold them under water, then blow on one end, squirting water at each other.  Evan tried to sneak up on me, but I fooled him every time and he would get a face full of water.   He always laughed, a seven year old good sport, but he said I was sneaky.  Then Chris got involved. too, More splashing for Evan as he found out his father inherited sneakiness. I helped Evan splash his Daddy.  It's good to pass traits on to the next generation.

*****

Gary came home from Lost Lake tonight.  Home is the camper, home is the canoeist, home is Rascal's best friend.

Rascal has turned his attention from me to Gary, telling him of the terrible treatment he had at my hands, with expressive meowing.   It is fine with me if Gary takes over the complaints department.