Zig, Zag, Flee

It's not so much that I was hearing voices. I mean, that's not . . . you know . . . healthy. But, truth is, I wasn't. Healthy. Physically. 

Mentally, I was doing OK. A little depressed, a lot exhausted, but mostly OK. Well, except for the messages. 

Not auditory messages, visual. Delivered through a daily game I played. Seemingly mocking me at first, but later offering some pretty sound advice.

 

So, two things. The first one I'll give you the bare minimum in terms of information. Because I neither want to relive, nor will you want to hear all the gory details. And it was gory around here. 

Little by little, in the end of November through the middle of this month, we were sick. We being PurDude, (who was home from Boulder for 2 weeks for his brother's birthday, Thanksgiving, and Hanukkah), and then College Boy, and finally me.

PurDude's first morning here, he had respiratory symptoms. On his day 8, his brother exploded in the middle of the night, gastrointestinally. On day 11, I had respiratory distress and PurDude, still having his respiratory issues, was also exploding gastrointestinally. He went to an urgent care and they did lab work. All negative. He didn't have Covid, strep, flu, RSV . . . apparently, we were all suffering from . . . nothing.

 

Not to be deterred, I still made all the celebration meals, desserts, and snacks. So, at least I was functioning. And somehow it all got eaten. Whoever was well enough on any given day, ate whatever I'd made. Well, along with their jug of Gatorade.

Almond Cranberry Sauce Cookies

 

On day 15, with just some minor congestion, PurDude ran for his life, escaped, drove back to Boulder. Two days later, not to be left out, I joined the explosion party. And two days after that College Boy went for round two.

At the 3 week mark, everyone was pretty much better except for me, I was still coughing and congested.

Now the second thing: I play a lot of word games and post my results twice a day to my Baking In A Tornado Facebook page, where some friends there share their scores too. I wrote about it in Wordle, Nerdle, Curdle. I even wrote You Are What You Phrase, about the game Phrazle, which is the specific game choosing to mock me a few weeks ago.

I clicked on Phrazle this particular morning, PurDude was back in Colorado, College Boy was back at work but I, a week behind them, was still sick, and exhausted, and sad that our holiday celebrations were . . . how do I say this? . . . a shit fest. And although I was ready to play the game, figure out the elusive phrase of the day, I just kept saying to myself over and over again "how did this happen? How can we all be so sick with (according to the lab tests) absolutely nothing? Where did this come from?"

And there it was, the solution to the puzzle? Or a cosmic answer?

OK, that's just mean. Yeah, maybe we zigged when we should have zagged, but it's not like we had any warning. I mean, none of us are aware of having seen some big cloud of medical crud headed our way, so how could we have known to initiate evasive tactics?

Believe me, we would have. Zigged, zagged, or just flat out run for our lives.

The next day, since we clearly didn't zig, zag, or flee, Phrazle shared the only strategy left to me:

And the following day, I guess the advice was not to dwell on a ruined holiday season. Once I was better, apparently the puzzle gods recommended that I:

 

Finally, finally feeling just a little bit better, and hoping that with the illness was going the percieved subliminal messaging, I got to the Phrazle portion of my daily game routines. Hoping against hope, but afraid to look in the mirror, I wondered if I was starting to look human again. Seems Phrazle had reverted to snarky:

Oh, and btw, were you wondering about Hubs? Bet you can guess who it was who'd been tending to the boys while they were exploding. Well, let's just say this: Hubs . . . perfectly fine, from start to finish, not so much as one single wayward sneeze, dammit.

Almond Cranberry Sauce Cookies         

                                                                                      ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients: 

2 sticks butter, softened

1 1/4 cups sugar

1/2 cup jellied cranberry sauce, room temperature

1/4 tsp almond extract

1 egg, room temperature

2 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup white chocolate chips

1/4 cup sliced almonds, chopped

Directions:
*Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cover baking sheets with parchment paper.

*Cream the butter, sugar, cranberry sauce, and almond extract until smooth. Beat in the egg.

*Starting at the lowest speed, beat in the flour, baking soda, and salt until it forms a dough. Mix in the white chocolate chips and chopped sliced almonds.

*Bake for 11 - 13 minutes, until the edges start to brown. Allow to sit on the baking sheets for 2 minutes before removing to cool completely.

No Scream Lemon Blackberry Ice Cream

 

I scream, you scream . . .

Oh hell, it's August, in case you didn't notice, it's too damn hot out to scream. Or do pretty much anything else, and I'm a summer person. But being land locked has taken a whole lot of the fun out of summer. Days at the beach are not an option.

But cold dinners, frozen cocktails, and refreshing desserts, those are all great summer options.

Before I go on, I should tell you that I'm not a use every pan in the kitchen and take all day to cook or bake kind of person. Quick, easy, minimal clean up is usually the way to go.

Maybe I'm traumatized. I had a boy friend, just after college, whose mom was Italian. He didn't cook, but decided one day to make me some of her recipes, a big Italian dinner (yay). I offered to help, but he pushed me out of the kitchen, told me not to come back while he was cooking. He'd cook, if I wanted to help, I could do the dishes. OK.

Or not OK. I didn't see him for the rest of the entire day. And don't get me wrong, dinner was delicious, but the clean up? He used every pan in the kitchen and some I didn't even know I had. There was food dripping from the wall, hanging from the ceiling, covering the floor. 

I think it was about seventeen hours later (I may be exaggerating a tad), when I had my kitchen at least somewhat back to functional.  

Fine, so maybe not traumatized really, more inspired (yeah, let's go with that). 

It was at that time that there was a show on TV called Semi-Homemade Cooking. I loved the concept. I'm neither a foodie nor a snob, if there's an easier, less messy, reduced clean up way to cook, I'm in. It's not always about the process (although I admit that sometimes it is), it's about the taste.

Maybe, like me, you're someone who's taken a cake mix and enhanced it to make it your own, more moist and flavorful. You can substitute butter or milk, or add extra eggs, sour cream, yogurt, pudding, fruits, nuts, baking chips . . .

Anyway, all of this came full circle for me on one recent hot summer day. Everyone wanted ice cream after dinner, but I couldn't find exactly what I wanted. Actually, I couldn't find anything close to what I wanted.

No need to scream. 

I, like so many others, have made a number of flavors of no churn ice cream. When Little Debbie and Hudsonville collaborated to make ice cream but did not initially use my favorite snack as one of their flavors, I did it myself. My Fudge Rounds Ice Cream is still a popular recipe and family favorite.

But on this day, I was hot and tired. I didn't want to do a lot of work, create a lot of clean up, or take a whole lot of time. That's when I realized I could take inspiration from that cake mix. I didn't need to start from scratch. 

I'd enhance.

Lemon Blackberry Ice Cream

 

And that's exactly what I did. I grabbed some vanilla ice cream, that's my cake mix here. Just two other ingredients would make that base ice cream a whole new treat. Fifteen minutes to prepare, one bowl used, an hour in the freezer, and that's it. 

Delicious, if I do say so myself (and I do).

Let them eat cake? Hell, yeah, I'm all for it. But don't forget the Lemon Blackberry Ice Cream.

Lemon Blackberry Ice Cream         

                                                                                      ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1 (48 oz) carton vanilla ice cream

12 lemon cream sandwich cookies

3/4 cup seedless, sugar free, blackberry jam

Directions:

*Place the ice cream in a large bowl on the counter for about 10 minutes to soften.

*Chop the cookies. Once the ice cream has started to soften, mix the cookies into the ice cream.

*Pour the jam over the ice cream and using a knife, cut the jam into the ice cream.

*Place the ice cream into the freezer for at least an hour. Store, covered, in the freezer.

Information Wars: Power or Danger

 

I got a frantic phone call from College Boy while he was at work the other afternoon. 

"Mom," he said, "quick, can you get onto FB and delete my account?"

Delete his account? "Why?" I asked him. "Please, I can't talk, I'm at work and I need it deleted."

"Just tell me, are you safe?" "Yes," he told me. "And have you done something wrong, are you in trouble?" "No," he assured me, "I just don't want any pictures of me on social media. I'll talk to you later."

Let me just take a step back here and say this:

Information is power.

And information is dangerous.

In this country, we have blurred those lines, and every day I see another frightening situation that proves my point.

Many states have decided that in order to have a book approved for their schools' curriculum, history, our country's past, must either be denied or rewritten. Politicians are using their power to deny students information. I wrote about this in my post Woke Up, about how I believe that blocking information from students, squashing critical thinking, will ultimately be to the detriment of our future. If we are going to have breakthroughs, in all industries, information, the good, the bad, and the ugly, all needs to be disseminated. Information, in the form of educating honestly, is power.

And power over information is dangerous.

When it comes to information itself being dangerous, I've talked about this before, we are tracked, spied on, made marketing targets without any ability to limit the personal information collected. It is not only creepy, but an affront to our ability to feel safe, to feel that our identity is safe, to feel that we can even discuss family issues with our children via phone or text. How can I feel that my identity is safe when companies I've never heard of send me birthday wishes? They know my name, my address, my email, my birth date. I am impotent, naked, unable to control what strangers know about me.

What I put out there myself, like on this blog, the recipes I share, the stories I share, that is, and should be my choice.

Strawberry Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

But the rest of it, the personal information I do not put out for public consumption, should be controlled by me. Only me. 

More than that, a dangerous step further than that, is that not only do marketers have access to our personal information, but they don't just market us personally based on it. They are reckless with it, sell it, put it out there for others to find.

I did get into my son's FB account and deleted it for him. And then I waited anxiously for him to come over and explain why he wanted pictures of himself off of social media.

Besides a day job, College Boy engages in his first love, music. He buys and sells albums. I'll often hear old jazz or blues coming from his room, but the rare and limited edition records he buys and sells are mostly Hip Hop and Rap. He's extremely well informed on the history of the genre, and is engaged in the community, on Discord and other social media platforms where they share information, availability, purchases and sales. He'll stay up late, wake up early, sometimes even set me up on a laptop when there's going to be a limited edition drop.

Recently, he'd been able to buy a rare bundle, which he shared with his groups. In one group, some people offered College Boy a very lot of money to rip (copy) the album for them. He refused, it's not only illegal, but unfair to the artist.

One guy was very, very angry. When my son heard of a business that had a copy, he reached out to this guy. He didn't know if it would be for sale or not, but he wanted to just mention it. The guy responded by telling College Boy to "piss off." When College Boy said he was just trying to help, the guy's response was rude, borderline threatening. The guy then immediately changed his profile picture.

To a picture of my house.

I don't know how dangerous this guy may or may not be. I do know that he was able to go onto Google and find a picture of our home. And use it as a veiled threat.

Information can be power. And Information can be danger. We as a society need to identify which is which. But when it comes to personal information we, as citizens, should have a voice in setting the parameters for ourselves. We must have the right to protect our own privacy. And in some cases, even possibly ensure our own safety.

Strawberry Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies         

                                                                                      ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients (makes about 3 dz large cookies):
1 stick butter, softened

1 stick margarine, softened

1 1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

2 1/2 cups flour

1/4 tsp cinnamon 

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

3 strawberries, hulled and chopped

6 strawberry cream cookies, chopped

2/3 cup dark chocolate chips

Directions:
*Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

*Cream the butter, margarine, and both sugars. Once smooth, beat in the eggs.

*Starting on the lowest speed until incorporated, beat in the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt.

*Press the chopped strawberries between paper towels to remove some of the moisture.

*Mix in the cookie pieces, dark chocolate chips, and strawberries into the dough. 

*Drop the dough, by rounded tablespoons, onto the baking sheets. Leave lots of room, they spread.

*Bake for 12 - 13 minutes, until browned, then leave on the cookie sheets for 3 minutes before removing them to cool completely.

Party Matters: Secret Subject Swap

 

Welcome to a Secret Subject Swap. This month 3 brave bloggers picked a secret subject for someone else and were assigned a secret subject to interpret in their own style. Today we are all simultaneously divulging our topics and submitting our posts. Read through mine and at the bottom you’ll find links to all of today’s other Secret Subject participants.

 

My subject is: This country has been through a lot in the last few years. What is one thing that you think is the worst that has happened and why, and one thing that gives you hope for the future? 
It was submitted by: Rena of The Diary of an Alzheimer's Caregiver.

 

 

Under normal circumstances, this question would be overwhelming. I mean, to say this country has been through a lot doesn't do justice to the level of damage done here. Number one has to be the deaths, many senseless, from Covid. Beyond that is the complete chaos, the loss of any moral compass, the manipulation of our court system, the lying, cheating, stealing. . . And as each day finds us hitting a new low, yes, trying to choose just one instance would be overwhelming. 

 

But through the past few years, I've addressed a lot of what has been going on. I've talked about the deep depths to which the republican party has fallen (and continues to fall) and my frustration at the lack of definitive action by the democratic party. I've made the case for the democrats effectively being enablers through their hand wringing and pearl clutching instead of using the tools in their arsenal to staunch some of the blood flow. 

In order to refrain from making the same points over and over again, I'm going to tell you that honestly, what I think is one of the worst things that has happened is the loss of the republican party.

I'm not conservative in my beliefs in general, but I value a conservative voice in our politics. I think one of the healthiest things our democracy has benefited from is our two party system. It is a system of checks and balances, one that requires open minds, a platform for multiple views, an ability to negotiate, and the respect for opposing views and those who have them, productive discourse.

 

And friendships on both sides of the aisle. 

 

Politicians able to leave the debate on the floor and share a dinner or watching a game together, buddies with a mutual respect and in many instances, genuine friendships.

 

 

Apple Cinnamon Buddy Snacks

 

All of that is gone. And this is a profound loss. It was all necessary for a functioning democratic government. But there is no longer a viable republican party. There is only carnage, a battlefield of lies (even those that result in death are continuing to be disseminated), gerrymandering, changing of rules, bigotry, and hatred. The republican party no longer exists. And those true conservatives out there, the voices we desperately need to hear, are either leaving politics or being voted out.

We need, yes, need, a viable, rational conservative party in this country.

 

 

You probably think that the one thing that gives me hope is the midterms. You'd be wrong. Even though the results of the midterms do show that there are many people in this country who will not (or will no longer) align themselves with a party of lies, death, cheating, bigotry and deceit, too many of those elections were won by far right candidates with nothing to offer but robotic recitation of the party line. And of the rest, too many were far too close. 

 

What I once thought was a small, maybe 10% of the population, is now . . . still . . . despite everything that has happened, more like 45% of us. So no, sitting there with my heart in my throat through the midterms is not what gives me hope.

 

What gives me hope is our youth. Yes, there are young vehement Christian nationalists, Nazis, haters, but as opposed to the older generation, I see far more good, acceptance, rationality in our youth. I see they espouse less bigotry, accept their black and brown, LGBTQ+, Jewish and Muslim, disabled and mentally challenged societal brothers and sisters. Science matters, marijuana has healing properties, clean air and water take precedence over greed.

I grew up hearing, from my grandparents, my parents, and even have said it myself, that we hope to create a world, a country, a life, where our children have it better than we did.

We have failed. Dismally. Embarrassingly.

 

We now are in the position of looking to our children to save our planet, our society, our country.

And they have given me reason to hope that they will.

 

 

Here are links to all the sites now featuring Secret Subject Swap posts. Sit back, grab a cup, and check them all out. See you there:

Climaxed 

The Diary of an Alzheimer’s Caregiver 

 

Apple Cinnamon Buddy Snacks        

                                                                    ©www.BakingInATornado.com

 
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

6 cup Apple Chex cereal

4 cups Cinnamon Chex cereal

1/2 stick butter, softened

1/2 cup cookie butter (speculoos)

1/4 cup caramel baking bits

1 cup cream cheese baking chips

2 cups powdered sugar

3/4 tsp apple pie seasoning

Directions:
*Mix together the Apple Chex and the Cinnamon Chex. Set aside.

*Place the butter, cookie butter, caramel baking bits and cream cheese flavored baking chips into a large bowl. Microwave for 40 seconds. Stir. Continue to microwave and stir at 20 second intervals until the butter, cookie butter, and cream cheese baking bits are completely smooth (the caramel baking bits will be coated but not melted).

*Add the cereals to the bowl and gently stir to coat. Pour into a large sealable plastic storage bag.
*Mix together the powdered sugar and apple pie seasoning, add to the bag with the cereal, seal, and gently shake the beg to coat all of the cereal with the powdered sugar.
*Spread out onto a large piece of parchment paper for about 30 minutes. Store in a sealed container at room temperature.

Toilets, Butts, and Diaper Rash: Fly on the Wall

 

  

 

 

Welcome to a monthly Fly on the Wall group post. Today 3 bloggers are inviting you to catch a glimpse of what you’d see if you were a fly on the wall in our homes. Come on in and buzz around my house. At the end of my post you’ll find links to this month’s other participants’ posts.

Hubs still works mostly from home. He goes into the office about 1 1/2 days a week. 

 

His being home so much has been eye opening, for both of us. Mostly him. He hears and sees things he wouldn't normally be exposed to if he were at the office full time.

 

He comes down to the kitchen, I'm standing near the counter, pulling out my shirt:

Me: I set you free.

Hubs: Should I ask?
Me: No.

Hubs: I'm gonna be brave and ask. Who are you setting free?

Me: A little piece of chocolate.

Hubs: Not enough information.

Me: I was trying a piece of the bark I made and a little bit of chocolate broke off and went down my shirt.

Hubs: OK?

Me: Rather than let it melt against my skin, I just pulled out my shirt and let it drop.

Hubs: Yup, that's what I get for asking. 

 

 

Hubs had to replace the toilet flusher so he went out to the store to buy the part. When he came back:

 

Hubs: I had two options, silver or white. I got . . .

Me (interrupting): I know what you got.

Hubs: OK, what did I get?
Me: You got the white.

Hubs: How did you know?
Me: Because I would have gotten the silver.

 

College Boy works about 3/4 of a mile away. He still hasn't been able to find a car, and it was freezing out so I'd offered to come pick him up.

Hubs comes up from the man cave with his keys.

Me: Where are you going?
Hubs: I'm going to get College Boy.

Me: Oh, I'd offered to pick him up.

Hubs: I did too, and he called me, guess he likes me better.
Me: Ummm . . . I'm going to be bundled up on the couch while your going out into the freezing cold. You want to rethink who he likes better?

 

 

I was sitting alone in the den watching a basketball game on TV and as they were coming back from commercial, they showed a city view. Front and center was a building, lit up with blue lights. It was the shape of a rocket. To each side were smaller buildings, with rounded roofs, also lit up. It looked highly suggestive.

Me (to myself, but out loud): I see a penis.

Just at that moment, Hubs had come up to the top of the stairs from the man cave. I see him quickly look down while jumping back down a step.

Me (laughing): Not you!

 

Working on my weekly grocery list, I always check the circulars to see if anything interesting is on sale, especially since a few times a year one of our local grocery stores gets in live Maine lobsters (a rarity around here).

 

 

Now I like Aldi as much as the next person, and although I fully admit there is such a thing as the power of suggestion, I've got to say, Aldi, sending me 4 circulars will not make me buy 4 times as much. Sorry.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bark

Me: Wow, that covid booster kicked my ass.

College Boy: As you always told me whenever I used that word, watch your language, Mom.

Me: Fine. That covid booster kicked my butt.

College Boy: Better.

Me: But not the but, but, my butt, butt. B-u-t-t, not b-u-t, just so we're clear.

College Boy: Smart ass.

Me: Did you say ass?

 

Speaking of that particular body part . . . 

 

I'm sitting in the den watching TV. I didn't realize Hubs had come up behind me.

 

Me: I think I have diaper rash. 

Hubs: What????

Me: Oops, did I say that out loud?

PurDude: I'm tired.

Me: Didn't you sleep through the night last night?
PurDude: No.

Me: Oh, that's too bad. When did you wake up?

PurDude: When my alarm went off.

Ha, I thought he'd woken up in the middle of the night and not been able to get back to sleep. But I guess he does have a point, having to get up for work counts as interrupted sleep.

 

 

The time came, all too soon as it always does, for PurDude to head back to Colorado. I always start a few days before he leaves, trying to convince him to stay longer.

 

This time, though, his dad started it.

Hubs: If you stay another week you can have some of my birthday cake.
Me: Who do you think is baking you a birthday cake?
Hubs: You, if he agrees to stay.

 

True!

 

Me (to PurDude): Well, you can stay for dad's birthday, and then you can even stay for mine. 

Hubs: Yours is in 10 months.

Me: So???

 

Having the dropsies is a real thing. I'm not talking about dropping something once, but about those days when you seem to drop everything.

 

Turns out, it can be healthy.

 

Hubs (coming up to the kitchen from the man cave): I heard a bang, what happened?
Me: I just dropped something.

Hubs: Did anything break?
Me: No, everything's fine.

 

A little later:

Hubs (coming up to the kitchen from the man cave): I heard a bang, what happened?

Me: I just dropped something again.

Hubs (heading back downstairs): As long as everything's alright.

Me: I seem to be having one of those days so if you come upstairs every time you hear something drop, we can go ahead and cancel that gym membership. 

 

 

 

Now click on the links below for a peek into some other homes:

Menopausal Mother 

The Diary of an Alzheimer's Caregiver

 

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bark        

                                                       ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

1 cup mini Reese's cups

1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

4 oz white chocolate chips

3/4 cup chocolate animal graham cracker cookies

1/2 cup honey roasted peanuts 

Directions:
*Cover a jellyroll pan with parchment paper.

*Cut the mini Reese's cups in half.

*Melt the chocolate chips until completely smooth when stirred. Spread out onto the parchment paper to an approximately 9 X 13 rectangle. Set aside.

*Melt the white chocolate chips until completely smooth when stirred. Place into a piping bag or a plastic sandwich bag with a small corner snipped.

*Drizzle about 2/3 of the melted white chocolate over the melted semi sweet chocolate, then swirl in with a toothpick.

*Immediately place the chocolate graham cracker cookies around the chocolate. Sprinkle the Reese's cups and peanuts over bark. Press all the toppings in gently.

*Refrigerate for 1 hour. Break or chop into different sized pieces to serve.