Tuesday, January 24, 2023

Words Without Letters

Mini Heart Cakes | recipe developed by www.BakingInATornado.com | #recipe #dessert


I wrote a blog post recently called Games Without Words. If I were writing a song, this would be the second verse, Words Without Letters.
 
It all started with a trip. No, not the vacation kind, the kind where you're walking out of a room, trip (over absolutely nothing, but we'll skip over that part), and smack the laptop you're holding in your hand into the door jam. Talented, I know.
 
I was fine, not even embarrassed because nobody saw, and everyone knows if no one witnesses you doing something embarrassing, it's the same as it never having happened. Well, unless you admit it publicly . . . like on your blog.

Anyway . . .

I did see a couple of cracks in the bottom and on the side of the keyboard (superglue doesn't work on laptops, FYI), but the laptop was working fine, so I went on my merry way.

Until a few weeks later. 

I was siin on he couch, ypin away, poaly wokin on a lo pos and makin los o poess. I don' look a wha I'm ypin when I ype, los in my own wold o houh, u I suppose you can imaine my supise when I looked up and saw, well, oledyook.

Ummm . . . seems some of my keys were not working. 


Words Without Letters | picture taken by, featured on, and property of www.BakingInATornado.com | #blogging




So I started banging on them. Because everyone knows that banging is always the solution when something doesn't work.

And it worked. I could bang on the keys when they didn't work and abracadabra.

Sadly, abracadabra solutions are, apparently, temporary.

Once it was clear that banging wasn't going to work forever, superglue had already failed, and the clip I'd attached to the broken side of the keyboard kept popping off and smacking me in the head, I knew I was in trouble.

And then I posted a recipe pic to my blog, not realizing that one of the letters not working had been left out of the recipe name. It said "ceam cheese." Ugh, had to delete the pic from my blog and all social media, fix it, and repost it everywhere. I was not amused.


Words Without Letters | picture taken by, featured on, and property of www.BakingInATornado.com | #blogging




As I looked into getting the keyboard fixed, I was both writing blog posts and responding to posts on my Baking In A Tornado FB page by typing what I wanted to say, going to a document where I'd stored the alphabet to copy the letters I needed, one by one, and pasting them into the sentences.

So, using just the short example from above, this is the amount of copying and pasting I had to do:

I was sitting on the couch, typing away, probably working on a blog post and making lots of progress. I don't look at what I'm typing when I type, lost in my own world of thoughtbut I suppose you can imagine my surprise when I looked up and saw, well, gobbledygook.

Let me tell you, that is an exhausting way to communicate. Do you have any idea how often you use "r," "t," "f," "g," "b," and "v"? 
 
I do.

I could temporarily do some of my writing on my cell and on my tablet, but those weren't going to be long term solutions. I needed my laptop for longer pieces, and was getting nowhere in finding a way to get it fixed.

But the straw that broke the blogger's back? I'd worked out a recipe for a post and could not figure out what some of it said.

No bueno. BIG no bueno.
 

Mini Heart Cakes | recipe developed by www.BakingInATornado.com | #recipe #dessert

Mini Heart Cakes
 
 
Fast forward a long week of copying and pasting letters, partially writing blog posts in 3 different places, and one afternoon I was sitting on the couch, banging on the letter "t," and possibly muttering some not very nice words.

Hubs and my son asked what in the world I was doing. I explained.

"Be back in a minute," they said, walked out the door, came back about 1/2 hour later with a wireless keyboard.

Let me tell you, folks, Pat Sajak has been ripping people off for years. Wheel of Fortune charges $250 to buy a vowel? I got the whole damn alphabet. 

For 20 bucks.



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Mini Heart Cakes         

                                                                                      ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1 box (15.25 oz) white cake mix
1/2 cup oil
1 1/4 cups milk
1/4 cup sour cream
1 egg
3 egg whites

1 1/4 cups white chocolate chips, choppd
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup powdered sugar

OPT: decorations of choice: colord sanding sugar, multicolored sprinkles or nonpareils, heart shaped candies, red hots

Directions:
*Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a jellyroll baking pan.
*Mix together the cake mix, oil, milk, sour cream, egg, and egg whites. Once incorporated, beat for 2 minutes.
*Spread into the prepared pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the center springs back to the touch. Cool to room temperature, then refrigerate for 10 minutes.
*Crush the white chocolate chips in a food processor or a clean coffee grinder. Place them with the heavy cream in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds at 50% power. Mix well. Continue to microwave at 10 second intervals until completely smooth.
*Whisk in the powdered sugar. Immediately pour over the cake and quickly spread evenly. Sprinkle with decorative topping of choice and refrigerate for 10 minutes.
*Using a medium sized heart shaped cookie cutter, cut hearts out of the cake. Use a spatula to move to a serving dish.
*Note: form the remaining cake in the pan into 1 inch balls and freeze to coat and make cake balls later.

14 comments:

  1. All I can say is that I completely relate. Yes I do. Although I would've gotten the new keyboard sooner.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It didn't even enter my mind. Good thing Hubs and my son thought of it.

      Delete
  2. Lol. Desperation is the Mother of Invention, but cut and paste letters. To be honest I would not have thought about a wireless keyboard, but I would not have waited a week to scream for help. I know enough to get in trouble, but not enough to get out on my own. I am thankful you now have a working keyboard. Donna

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Same here, I know enough to get in trouble, but not enough to get out on my own.

      Delete
  3. I had a computer once with a reluctant letter "o". I would work if i happened to hit it just right, and i'd have to go back and look for every place where an "o" needed to be and make sure. Tedious, but yours was worse.

    I use a wireless keyboard for my iPad, but i'm not sure i would have thought of one for a laptop.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm sure glad someone did, 'cause there was no way I was going to be doing that much copying and pasting for much longer. Hubs bought me a keyboard for my iPad, but I'm limited as to how much I can do on there.

      Delete
  4. I didn't even knew you could get a wireless keyboard for a laptop!

    ReplyDelete
  5. At one point in time, my keyboard on my laptop started going really wonky. It turned out to be a software issue and I was so proud of finding that out on my own (and it was an amazingly easy fix). On the other hand, my husband once leaned on another laptop I had hard and laughed at me saying "Don't do that!" He cracked the screen. What a process trying to get that fixed! I ended up buying a new laptop, which I've had for years now. Copying letters and pasting-I wouldn't have lasted as long as you did. Sons really do come in handy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, sons can come in handy, and sometimes husbands too.

      Delete
  6. I can tell you right now that you may have invented a brand new “Hooked on Phonics” program! And because this pretty much sums up my whole like…I may be in love with this post. Thank you. b+

    ReplyDelete
  7. I had to read that a couple of times before I realized maybe I should read on and see what was going on. LOL

    ReplyDelete

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