I really need to start writing again, don't I? For one thing I've had to turn to this blog twice recently to figure out when a particular event happened. If I ever need to look up something from roughly August 2009 to now, I'll be screwed. And it's not like I don't have stuff to write about. I compose posts in my head, but for some reason, never quite get around to typing them up, and then the moment passes. Well, there will be no more of that nonsense.
So, two anecdotes to get me going again...
Bright and early one recent Saturday morning, I stumbled outside with Seamus, who had been quite insistent that is was time to get up. I protested that it was Saturday, but he persisted with the ear flipping and fussing, and eventually hopped up on the bed and stuck his little furry face in my face. That's the sign that he is serious, so even though it was way too early, I got up. As we made our way up the driveway, I kept hearing this hammering noise. "What kind of asshole is hammering at 6:30 in the morning?" I grumbled, cranky about being awake. And then we got closer to the sound and I realized that it wasn't one of my neighbors at all, but an enormous woodpecker. I'd seen him before - and he really does look like Woody Woodpecker - but normally his pecking is a rapid rat-a-tat-tat. This time he was working on some sort of special project, I guess.
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My Kitchen Aid Professional Mixer is one of the best purchases I have ever made. Seriously, it changed my baking life. So this story should be in no way construed as criticism of my mixer, which I love dearly. But it has this flour guard that you can put on before you add dry ingredients that is kind of a pain to use. The flour doesn't always go in to the little gap cleanly, and as the paddle rotates, it bumps the guard around and is noisy. A couple of weekends ago I was making my delicious lemon cake and decided to try a little experiment. I mean, really, how much flour could the flour guard keep in the bowl? Yes, well, quite a lot as it turns out. I poured a little flour in and then watched in dismay as it flew right back out again in a fine white spray. Don't worry - my cake was fine, but the cleanup was way more annoying than the flour guard could ever be. So the lesson here is, the flour guard is your friend.
