Cammie

Our darling Cammie is in "hospice" care. She developed an extremely large tumor on her hindquarters a while ago which the vet has diagnosed as a very aggressive cancer. At this point in time she is still "pretty lively" (James Herriott fans will recognize that story) so we have pain medicine and antibiotic to keep her comfortable. However, we are preparing ourselves for a sad goodbye soon. She arrived in our lives in 1994, so we have enjoyed her sassy sweet ways for a long time.

Happy Easter!!!

Christ is risen. He is risen indeed!

I worshipped today with my beloved church family. Then I called some of my family that I won't see today on the phone. Then I came home and planted some seeds, always an act of faith. Now we are getting ready to meet family for dinner.

Praise the Lord!!!

99.999% done!

All that's left is the bi-fold door. Woo hoo!!!! I splurged on some "bling" - cobalt glass knobs & pulls from www.coolknobsandpulls.com. Perfect description of their business.

Teaser

Here's a picture of our new floor tiles. They are called octagon with cobalt dot. They are much prettier in person. I can't wait to see them installed.

Progress Report

How did it get to be March 20 already? The bathroom remodel started on March 4. The first two days were demolition. Then the plumber came and set the new tub and ran the necessary pipes. Then the electricity was tackled, which required our poor contractor to run from the second story to the basement and back several dozen times. Next came the insulation. Then the drywall crew. Earlier this week the woodwork and trim work was installed and today everything was primed. Here are some pictures so far:

ROBIN!!!

I saw my first robin today. Little Man's father seconded the motion. And...there are sprouts in the garden. The thermometer might read 20, but Spring is not far away!!!

Chocolate Fudge Cake

Little Man's father's birthday was the other day, and since I was tethered to the house to monitor the remodeling operation, I decided to try my hand at a chocolate fudge cake. After spending way too long looking on the internet and poking through my recipes and cook books, I decided on these two recipes, taken from allrecipes.com. The result was AWESOME, if I do say so myself.

Black Chocolate Cake submitted by Jeanie Bean
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
2 tsps baking soda
2 tsps baking powder
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder ( I used especially dark dutch style)
1 pinch salt
2/3 cup shortening
2 cups boiling water ( I used 1 cup water and 1 cup coffee)
2 eggs beaten
2 tsps vanilla

1. Sift together dry ingredients
2. Melt shortening in boiling water, then stir it into the dry ingredients. Beat in eggs, then stir in vanilla.
3. Pour into a greased and floured pan.

The recipe calls for a 9 x 13 pan with 30 minutes cooking time at 350 degrees.
In the review section, someone said two 9" round pans took 25 minutes at 350 degrees. Another reviewer said two 8" round pans took around 36 minutes at 350 degrees.

I used a Wilton 8" round, 3" deep pan and cooked it at 325 degrees for 57 minutes.


Caroline's Chocolate fudge Frosting submitted by Carrie Reynolds.

1/2 cup butter
3 (1 oz) squares unsweetened chocolate
1 pound confectioner's sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup milk

Melt chocolate and butter in the microwave or double boiler. Combine confect sugar, vanilla and 1/2 cup of the milk. Add the melted chocolate mixture. Add remaining milk as needed.

Allow to stand until spreadable. (Frosting will thicken as it cools.)

My variation: (sorta kinda half again as much)

I used 3/4 cups butter, 5 squares of chocolate, 1 1/2 lbs of confect sugar, 2 tsps vanilla, and about 3/4 cups of a combination of milk and half & half. The consistency was wonderful and it was enough to do the 3 layers I cut the cake into, with some to spare for decorating.