Spice Cake

Hubby has a new magazine called Cooks Illustrated. He likes it a lot. Today he made a spice cake, it was wonderful. He told me he had to mix the spices with the melted butter to make the spices "bloom." He made a cream cheese and spice frosting for the cake. It was really good. When hubby makes a cake you don't have to wait until dessert to have any, as soon as it was iced he cut a piece for each of us. He is also making a beef roast for tomorrow that cooks in a low oven for 24 hours. It is supposed to make a cheap cut of beef very tender. I encourage him to try anything he likes and I also make suggestions of things I like. I would like him to try some of the recipes on Mary's website.

The Ford

The former Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village are now called "The Ford." We are members, which is very nice because we can drop in for certain displays or for as long or as short a visit anytime we wish. There is much too much to see in one visit. Today they had a sidewalk sale of gift shop items. Fortunately it was in the corridor outside the gift shop and not out on the sidewalk because it was really cold this morning. The sale started at 10AM. We got there about 10:15AM and already there was a line. The lady in front of me spent over $300. We got some nice books and toys. After the sale we went into the museum where they had a special show of quilts by Suzanne Allen Hunter. She was a poor black woman from Alabama. Her quilts were needed to keep people warm. She mentions in her writings that at night you could see the stars through the cracks in the ceiling. The quilts were made of pieces of used clothing, you could see where pockets had been because the fabric was less faded there. The quilts were made of large pieces of cloth as she didn't have time to work with small pieces as they needed blankets. Sometimes she filled a new quilt with an old one, sometimes she layed pieces of cloth for the inner layer. Most of the time she took raw cotton and beat it flat and picked out the seeds for the batting layer. The backs were pieced too. I am sure she couldn't imaging the luxury of one of my quilts stuffed with dacron.

Back to Retirement

Well my employment lasted about 20 hours. The big project I was going to be hired for fell through. I am retired again. I am back to work on John's wedding quilt and according to my Excel spreadsheet I should finish it by April 5th and I am now 83.7% complete. I have my grandson's quilt top complete and am waiting until I finish John's quilt to put it on the frame. I started knitting a sweater for another grandson. I have knitted for my granddaughter but not for the boys. I made her a little skating outfit and one for her dolly. I also made her a dress and sweater from the same pattern I used for Mary when she was little. Hubby and I have registered for a landscaping design class as well as Spanish lessons. I also belong to two book clubs so I don't think I will be bored without working, but I did enjoy it while it lasted.

Canada Geese

There are large reflecting pools between the buildings at the GM Technical Center in Warren, Michigan. During the spring lots of Canada Geese fly in and lay eggs, sometimes right on the sidewalks that surround the pools. The walkways become dangerous. Not only are they slippery and yucky, angry geese accost you if you get too near their eggs or goslings. Now I have never been a fan of Canada Geese. They are noisy and messy. I have never eaten a goose dinner although I have had goose liver pate and like it too, but I don't know if that is from Canada Geese, Today as I drove around the pool at the Tech Center I noticed several geese have arrived, but at 28 degrees they were walking on the pond instead of swimming in it.

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, It's Off to Work I Go

Well, I went back to work today. Hubby got up and made me coffee before I left. Other than having to get up early, pack a lunch and drive to work, it wasn't bad. I have always loved my job and once there the day passed quite quickly. My job requires patience and stamina, a lot like quilting. My job has very specific goals so it is easy to see both progress and a finished product. That makes a reward in itself. A lot like quilting.

You Can't Judge a Book by it's Cover

When we travel I often buy books for the grandchildren. When we were in Assateague I bought "Misty" and "Stormy" for the kids. This time I bought books which were mysteries set in the National Parks. "Out of the Deep " from Acadia National Park, "Rage of Fire" from Hawaii Volcanos National Park, "Wolfstalker" from Yellowstone, and "Cliff Hanger" from Mesa Verde. I probably would have been wiser to buy them all the same book. Then I could remember who had which book. (Its OK though because I made an Excell spread sheet to keep track.) Since my granddaughter is only 5 years old I picked up what looked like an easier book. "There is a Hair in my Dirt" by Gary Larson. It was incredibly funny but I am not sure it was right for a 5 year old. I am sure her Dad, a real outdoors man, would really enjoy it. It explains that nature is not always what we think.

Shoe Shopping

I think I hate shopping for shoes more than doing anything else. I hate shopping in general, any kind of shopping. I don't like shopping for clothes because being almost six feet tall nothing ever fits, and now that I am older with battleship hips I don't have a prayer of anything fitting. Shoes have always been a problem. I wear a size eleven. Many stores don't even carry elevens and those that do carry only weird looking shoes in size eleven. Store clerks have a tendency to say with great disdain, " We don't carry THAT size." I put a tear in my walking shoes when in Phoenix and I will need new shoes to go to work. I can wear my boots for a few days as there is plenty of snow to justify that. Mary has the smallest shoes in the family and is a shoe nut. We call her Imelda. Of course in spite of all her shoes she has trouble standing up. ( see her Blog for that story.)