Monday, December 20, 2010

Is Mars in retrograde?















I've heard that description before... maybe it has to do with baking woes.   Or is there some other wonky planet alignment?  Maybe my Biodex is in a downward swing.  Whatever's happening.... the kitchen disasters..or near-disasters have continued throughout the past few days.  Maybe I'm just losing it...or... well, who knows....



















Actually, I (and Mr. BumbleVee too) "eated" a lot of cookies.   He always rubs his hands in glee... and has a big grin... cuz he knows it means more for him.  Cheeky!   There I was ...baking second batches. Because they were not quite right.  The edges of some biscotti refused to cut nicely.  There was some breakage..or there was crumbling.  And...I want perfect when I send them, darn it!

This is definitely not the norm.  I bake.  A lot.  And... not much goes wrong ...usually.  Well, sure there is the odd thing that happens, but not like this.  Read that in a very whiny voice.... .















This week, I have had nothing but "blog fodder"...   I could get miles of written word out of my "happenings"  in the kitchen.. ....sigh...
everything from trying to use butter that was too firm and whacking myself out trying to whisk the lumpiness into something smooth.... to not being able to get white chocolate to drizzle...hmmmm..... all of which, of course, I've done previously.  Many times.

Oh, well, suffice to say... finally, today, I am finished with my planned baking that I am sending to my sister.  It's become a tradition.  She doesn't like to bake very much and still has a bit of trouble with staying focused as far as wordy recipes are concerned.  Most of you that are regulars know that she fell years ago... about 9 years now I think....on an icy parking lot.  Knocked herself out cold; sustained a terrible concussion. There was and still is some residual brain damage.  If you meet her you would never know because she has clawed back most of her former self.......almost single handedly I might add.  Nobody in or outside of her family helped much at all. But, there are some things that still elude her or make her feel nauseous ... and baking from recipes is one of them...  plus she wanders away from the kitchen and things happen then for sure.  There have been a lot of ruined pans and things burned to a crisp on her stove in the past few years... and a lot of fire alarms and worried cats.  She has decided it is safer not to bake... or cook much at all as a matter of fact.

The past week... she is definitely not in her kitchen.  She is stuck on the couch or wandering around in pain and frustration.  She fell and broke her wrist and finally after a week of waiting... they have placed a cast on it.  They had just cleared their steep driveway with the tractor...the blade left glare ice...and two steps onto the ice ... down she went.  Well, of course, after all the agony of the first few years after her concussion... all she could think of was.."don't hit my head!!" .. and out flew both hands to prevent that from happening.  She said as quick as it happened...that was still her first thought.  She also knew that the second she threw out her hands... she was going to be in big trouble. She was; it broke straight across the second it hit the ground.  Damn!!

So...I love to bake...always have and love to send her some.  I'll be off to the Greyhound soon to get her package away.  The Speedy Doggie as Mum used to call Greyhound... her favourite mode of transport in the day.



Update:::  Aaacckkk!!  I knew it GP!  Something is definitely not quite right.  

hahah...of course, I don't know much about any of it...although I do find it interesting if I read up on some aspect of it.  Once I even had my horoscope chart done... many moons ago... 

..and look at this... an excerpt from the info regarding the retrograde phase of Mercury.


"Mercury is all about mental clarity and the power of the mind, so when Mercury is retrograde these intellectual characteristics tend to be less acute than usual, as the critical faculties are dimmed. Make sure you pay attention to the small print!"

There we have it..... is it even worse if I'm a Capricorn?...cuz...I am..... 

6 comments:

Gretel said...

Mercury in retrograde. I am glad you got your baking done (somehow!) and sent to your pooor sister, sounds as if she will need some food love - I am shuddering with sympathy just reading about her fall, and the aftermath. :(

Perpetual Chocoholic said...

I hate baking. The gigerbread men I made with my daughter this week looked deformed and their icing faces made them look like monsters.

Your poor sister! Probably best she stays out of the kitchen. Maybe off the driveway would be good too!

Catherine said...

You are so wonderful to bake for your sister! I hope her wrist heals soon.

I am sure even the 'disasters' are still tasty! :)

I wish for you a wonderful Christmas week friend!
xo Catherine

Anonymous said...

Your poor sister!! This time of year, we should definitely count our blessings and think of those less fortunate. I felt guilty complaining about the weather when I saw an item on the news yesterday about two middle aged women who are homeless - can you imagine sleeping on the streets in this weather? St least we have a warm home and lots of food in the freezer to see us through.
Some years ago our nephew fell off a rope swing, breaking both his wrists. He was a young teenager - can you imagine what it was like for him ... his Mum had to wipe his bottom for him!!

Leslie said...

Poor sis! Glad you finally got your baking to turn out right! It seems that when one thing goes wrong everything does! Have a Merry Christmas! Mercury has put a damper on my whole year!!

sandy said...

wow, it all looks delicious and I bet hubby loves it all! Have a happy holiday.