The Aluminum Asylum

The Aluminum Asylum
Our home on wheels

Friday, December 19, 2008

Good grief...

another couple of days have slipped past me. I been buzy, yanno. Making cakes. Making cookies. Making chocolate covered cherries. Sleeping. Being dizzy. Same old stuff I guess.
Paulie went to his group meeting at the VA Wednesday and I made a cake for him to take. I just don't know what happens some times. Things start off so well, and whhooosh! Things are outta control. In the middle of doing the cake, Grandpa lost Patty(she had surgery that morning, to get "fixed" at the shelter where he got her.) Paul is off playing Mexican train or some other old person time killer...anyways, grandpa comes into the kitchen and asks me where his dog is. 'Scuse me? I'm making a freakin' cake here, not babysitting a recovering puppy. He goes around looking for her. So, I put aside what I am doing and help him go find the missing Patty. I go into his room and the dog is in her bed. And on top of grandpa's bed is a nice foamy pond of doggie barf. Ugh. Grandpa says, "Your dog threw up on my bed!" Ummmm, no Mack cannot JUMP up on anybody's bed, he is too small...to which he responds..."Then it was YOUR cat!" Noooo, Snickers kitty barf is chunky, what goes in comes out looking the same way...not my cat. Well, he says getting louder by the minute, "It wasn't MY dog, she is in her bed." Just a minute ago, she was not, or why was he looking for her. I suddenly realize this is deteriorating into the absurd and say, ok fine, lets take off the bedding. I strip the bed(it was soaked) and take it into the laundry. Gross. I start dry heaving myself even tho I am at this point steaming. I stuff the blankets and stuff into the machine and then go and scour my hands. I go back to the cake and in comes grandpa into the kitchen, still mumbling about the barf my cat did. I don't say anything although I am bleeding from the tongue biting so hard! I drop the pastry bad with green icing in it. Splat...the darn thing which is plastic, splits and green goop is now oozing all over the kitchen floor. Clean up goop. Wipe sweating brow. Ignore old man. Grab red pastry bag, and begin piping on cake. Red goop runs out the top of the bag. Gee, ya think I am squeezing a bit too hard. Red goop all over my hands. Grrrr. Clean up red goop. Swear in my head. Cuss under my breath. Paulie walks in door. I pounce....attack. So I start to tell him what's going on and in comes grandpa wanting his sheets...which are still in the wash cycle! I give Paul the evil eye and he takes grandpa into the family room. My hands are shaking so badly for whatever reason and now the cake looks like some 5 year old did it. Here is a picture...



and another...
Yanno, I am supposed to get better...what this cake is I am at a loss to say...green poinsettias...what was I thinking? Oh, I know...get the cake done, lol!
Well, that's all my complaining for today. Zack arrived yesterday. He and the Prince are off to shuffle board. What a nice kid...plays games with the old guys.
til later...
dee

Monday, December 08, 2008

Duh-licious....


Here is a picture of my very first cake that somebody actually PAID me for...well, I only charged her for cost, not for my time. Time would have been outrageously expensive as I am a slowpokey cake decorator. I made up the flowers, so if you can't identify them other than the roses, its not just you...call them Ziaja blooms, available for a limited time only...until the decorator gets a heck of a lot better at this!





This is an 8" double layer Ultimate Chocolate cake(I use the Barefoot contessa's chocolate cake recipe here.
I just love the chocolatey flavor of the cocoa in this cake...and it takes LOTS of cocoa to make this puppy. I now buy my cocoa at Sam's....a small canister at the dollar store was $2.65....I got a jumbo at Sam's for $6 something and it four times the size....also been buying my confectionary sugar there...7 lbs for $4 something...#2 at Wally world is over $2.50. Gotta save the Polish Prince some money somewhere LOL!
Well, that's about all I have been doing...having a fibro kinda day after baking and decorating yesterday. Will never, ever do that big a cake with basket weave sides...my hands are ready to fall off!

Here is the mini cake and cuppies I got with the extra batter...


And here is the other cake...for our dinner tonight! This is a two layer 6" cake...


Started guitar lessons last Thursday and haven't practiced a lick! Think anyone will be able to tell...LOL! I am also going to go the Brushwackers meeting on the 15th to attend a daisy coaster class. Will post when I get them finished. Not sure if I will continue with the painting...going from doing nothing to a whole lot may be more than the old body can take!


hugs


dennise