Hello friends if your in the summer climate as I am right now, I hope you're keeping cool. Earlier this month in the States we had the Fourth of July (Independence Day), yes way overdue writing this. We celebrated with a cookout, an event that usually is just involved Fangirl coming up, the Folk, and me, but this year my sister and I'll call her June Bug decided to bring their brood, making it a total of 8 people.
This caused my Mother to have to conjure up an alternative dessert plan. She off the bat created a new cake recipe that I call: Mom's Improv 4th of July Cake. Though don't let the title fool you it'd be great at any time. I don't have any pictures, it's a pretty simple cake, but I will share the recipe I originally posted on Gilded Wings:
Mom's Improv 4th of July Cake
Ingredients:
Berry Mix:
1 Cup Sugar
1 to 1 1/2 cup of Blueberries
1 to 1 1/2 cup of Strawberries (crushed)
Cake Mix:
2 Cups of flour
1 Cup of Sugar
1 Teaspoon of Vanilla
2 Eggs
1/2 cup of cooking oil
1/2 cup of evaporated milk (mixed with 1/2 cup of water)
Also:
Whip Cream
Cooking Spray
Preheat oven to 350
Instructions:
Preparing Your Berry Mix
Add your blue berries and strawberries to a bowl. Pour in the sugar and stir it all up. Let it set for an hour to two hours, stirring every 30 minutes till it forms a juice.
Preparing Your Cake Mix
First add the dry ingredients (the flour and sugar), then add the wet ingredients (everything else). Then stir till you get a smooth, well mixed batter.
Let's Mix These Two Mixes
Once your juice has formed strain out the berries into the cake batter. SAVE THE JUICE!
Mix the berries into your batter.
Bake Creation Bake!
Spray a 9 X 13 cake pan, and pour in the batter. Bake at 350 for 35 minutes. Test doneness with a toothpick.
After Baking
Once the cake is out of the oven, and still hot take spoonfuls of the berry juice you saved and spoon it all over the cake. MAKE SURE YOU SAVE AT LEAST HALF OF THE JUICE! Now let it cool down.
Nom Nom
Cut up the cake however you wish. Serve your cake piece topped with whipped cream. Finish by drizzling some of your remaining juice over it.
Enjoy!
After our feasting, we all went outside to enjoy the fireworks. My sister's brood had brought some glow sticks and a balls. June Bug made her a crown out of glowing periwinkle ring. She was like queen of the rave! Ok not really, but maybe the glow queen of the cookout.
There was one point I was sitting on the porch edge in the dying day watching my sister play catch with the boys as lighting bug, or you may call them fire flies (I think both names are beautiful), an I was like this was definantly almost like the quenticenal american Summer/Fourth of July. If it wasn't already cliche enough we later roasted marshmellows for s'mores over the grill's charcoal that was still burning.
I'm also going to remember it as the Forth we had watermelon out our ears. See as part of our usual Fourth menu we have watermelon, so my parents bought one. Well her comes my sister with one, which we used for out cookout, then my Grandparents up the road called saying they was gonna have to send the rest of their melon to us cause some rencent dental work was making it hard for them to eat it. So my sister and me had to get it. There was a half plus about 3/4's of another half we carried back along with bags of onions, yes there was qoting of Dirty Dancing after this. Needless to say our guests went home with Melon, cause our was untouched in the fridge. Actually I was eating that melon, when I wrote this back on the 11thm we still had half of it at that time.
I guess before I go I'll post this one summery type craft thing I fell in love with. I mean this post is summer related. It's a tutorial for Solar Color Changing Ombre Converse Sneakers from the Dream A Little Bigger Blog, props to Epbot's post for me finding it. I think that would be cool, or heck even getting regular paint and coloring up some shoes ombre style would be awesome. Though I don't know about this particular brand of flats, I know certain flat bottom tennis shoes are not the best protect on our gravel/rock drive way, and if you step on a single piece of sharp gravel in them, it's about as bad as if you did it barefooted.
Well I hope you have a good weekend friends and enjoy the summertime. God Bless You Guys!
Books, Music, Geekiness, Life... This is the blog of the Thrifty Geek.
Tuesday, July 25, 2017
Tuesday, July 11, 2017
Writing, Words, Women
*Warning this post is long and full of blatherings and wild tangents ;p*
This post was originally suppose to be a post relating to the 4th of July, but it turned into a post themed around women writer's. I also think it has shadows of a post I'd planned to write about words but discarded everything but a couple links. So at the creative juices urging let's get going.
Happy 20th Harry Potter
20 years... I almost can't believe it's been that long since the first Harry Potter Book, also crazy it'll be 10 years the 31st of July since the 7th book came out. I guess time flies like the snitch.
This world is very special to me, because of it I have great memories. Memories involving my friends, the books, movies, various thing other fans have done, and even my 11th grade research paper, yes I geek like that. :P Read my post over at Gilded Wings where I recall two big memories including the first time I read Harry Potter.
Rowling's work also has been known to be a bit of calm in the rough parts of life. In the darkness of anxiety/depression that followed 9/11 her word magic gave my frazzled mind a brief respite.*
Not only do I find Rowling's world amazing, but after watching J.K. Rowling: Harry Potter and Me many years ago I was inspired by her creative way of working. She just had piles of papers and scraps with writings, drawings, and information. I think of her as one of those authors that just really knows her world inside out. I think my creative juices just envied that view of scattered piles of creative energy.
I guess the only other thing I can say is thank you Rowling for giving us this amazing world. Keep up the magic!
While I Was Seeking
When I was doing the search for literary magazines to send poems off to on the Poets & Writers website I went found The Columbia Review. There I discovered Nikki Shaner-Bradford's On Hanging Poetry In Your Dorm Room; which really made you think about the relationships between fans and the objects of their fandoms. I also fell (or maybe refell) in love with the idea of putting poems and maybe other words somewhere on your wall. I can't help but think of this Keri Smith blog post when I read about putting stuff on your wall.
Getting a Room
I also suggest you read you Shaner-Bradford's other published piece in The Columbia Review : Finding a Room of One's Own in the Modern Day, which is an interesting read involving a book I like A Room of One's Own by yes another lady writer Virginia Woolf, where actually she discusses women writing in the book. Yes lots of women and words.
Continuing on the A Room of One's Own train, I found myself dying to reread a very short story, by another woman, I've actually just did so right before/during working on this, though I feel I may have to give it another read through when I'm with the post, I feel I was too distracted earlier to have had a good read. It's called 5:00 A.M: Writing as a Ritual by Judith Ortiz Cofer from her book The Latin Deli, though my copy of the story was found on page 529 in the book we used for expository writing class in college called Odyssey- A Guide to Better Writing: Third Edition. I think I found it thumbing through the book, cause what else could you do with a book you couldn't sell during the book buy back, this isn't necessarily bad especially with English books cause you may find you own a treasure of literature now. I actually loved this piece so much I took advantage of the rip outable pages and tore it out, and I guess tossed the book, sadly this left it subject to the perils my void of a room , but as luck had it I think it was Fangirl, who took the same class two semesters later, had her a copy that I think was destined for the garbage, so I got it.
Getting back to the story itself It's about Cofer's writing ritual she established, she even briefly gives a nod the title of Woolf's work. I mean it's a very short, simple work, I don't see it being life altering to most people, but to me I think what make's me revisit it often is the image she gives about her mornings and her writing ritual. I just love that image in my head. I wonder sometimes what would happen if I took myself somewhere with less distractions, I imagine I'd probably focus better on trying to write poems now that I seem to have found my creative urge again.
Scent of the Book
Not long ago I finished a book, that I got as free gift in an Amazon purchase, don't you love when that happens. The book was called Elsie's Tender Mercies- Book Seven of the Elsie Dinsmore®: A Life of Faith® Series based on books by Martha Finley. According to the copyright section of this book it came out, or at least was copyrighted, in 2001, but Finley's books first came out in 1868. So yes been around in some form a while. I read it unsure the age group it was meant for, I'm still not sure though it might be for a younger audience, but I still enjoyed the reading. I learned, or more likely relearned , about life and events in the south during the reconstruction era after the US civil war. Plus it also has lessons of faith, which is why I knew I could read it with no fear of any explicit content. The strange and cool thing about this book is when I opened it up an stuck my nose in to take a good whiff, yes I am a book sniffer guilty as charged, I found instead of the usual booky smells you'd get, it's something I guess homey and feminine. I think maybe akin to going to your Grandparents or getting something from them that's been in their home, and it's a nice little scent of comfort, but that's my Grandparents, you may have a whole different experience. Anyway back on track this lovely scent I don't know if it's the book's natural scent or something that it acquired over the course of it's life, but I feel it's the perfect scent for it and it's main character Elsie®. I feel if I were to run into her, or go to her home, this would be the scent she'd and it would be perfumed in.
Coming Attraction
I'm in the process of reading a book of poetry called A Homespun Legacy by Sarah Sabina McFall. I don't think she was like a well known poet, but I've enjoyed what I've read so far. It's a thrift store find, but one that has an interesting tale beyond the poems within, but I plan on a special post just about it once I'm done chronicling all things around this book.
Crazy Ideas Time: Internet Collage BookAs I was trying to find that blog post for the Keri Smith link. I had this crazy idea hit me. If your like me you probably have a bunch of favorite links saved in your favorites, or pinned somewhere. I started thinking what if someone started going through their texts, social pages, and favorites folder links, and picked out the cream of the crop, got all the permissions they needed and collected it into a book and called it something like My Digital Life or My Internet Life. I just wander what that would be like. I think that would be an interesting view of the collector's life. Why don't you do it yourself you may ask. Simple I'm already prone to being stressed and crazy, that would probably put me in the deep end of the crazy pool.
Ok friends I think that unexpected whirlwind of women writing their words has died down, though I think that tongue twister is there to stay. It just seize me and would let go till it got all those words out of me, some words I didn't even really know needed coming out. So do you guys have any tales of women's word's or word's written about women writing words? Write it in the comments or my socials. Till next time friends may God Bless You!
* Rowling's work joins that of other authors whose works has give my anxiety ridden brain a break since I first had problems when I was 9 or 20. This list includes Ann M. Martin's The Baby-Sitter's Club Mystery # 12: Dawn and the Surfer Ghost and Mercedes Lackey's Vows and Honor books.
This post was originally suppose to be a post relating to the 4th of July, but it turned into a post themed around women writer's. I also think it has shadows of a post I'd planned to write about words but discarded everything but a couple links. So at the creative juices urging let's get going.
Happy 20th Harry Potter
20 years... I almost can't believe it's been that long since the first Harry Potter Book, also crazy it'll be 10 years the 31st of July since the 7th book came out. I guess time flies like the snitch.
This world is very special to me, because of it I have great memories. Memories involving my friends, the books, movies, various thing other fans have done, and even my 11th grade research paper, yes I geek like that. :P Read my post over at Gilded Wings where I recall two big memories including the first time I read Harry Potter.
Rowling's work also has been known to be a bit of calm in the rough parts of life. In the darkness of anxiety/depression that followed 9/11 her word magic gave my frazzled mind a brief respite.*
Not only do I find Rowling's world amazing, but after watching J.K. Rowling: Harry Potter and Me many years ago I was inspired by her creative way of working. She just had piles of papers and scraps with writings, drawings, and information. I think of her as one of those authors that just really knows her world inside out. I think my creative juices just envied that view of scattered piles of creative energy.
I guess the only other thing I can say is thank you Rowling for giving us this amazing world. Keep up the magic!
While I Was Seeking
When I was doing the search for literary magazines to send poems off to on the Poets & Writers website I went found The Columbia Review. There I discovered Nikki Shaner-Bradford's On Hanging Poetry In Your Dorm Room; which really made you think about the relationships between fans and the objects of their fandoms. I also fell (or maybe refell) in love with the idea of putting poems and maybe other words somewhere on your wall. I can't help but think of this Keri Smith blog post when I read about putting stuff on your wall.
Getting a Room
I also suggest you read you Shaner-Bradford's other published piece in The Columbia Review : Finding a Room of One's Own in the Modern Day, which is an interesting read involving a book I like A Room of One's Own by yes another lady writer Virginia Woolf, where actually she discusses women writing in the book. Yes lots of women and words.
Continuing on the A Room of One's Own train, I found myself dying to reread a very short story, by another woman, I've actually just did so right before/during working on this, though I feel I may have to give it another read through when I'm with the post, I feel I was too distracted earlier to have had a good read. It's called 5:00 A.M: Writing as a Ritual by Judith Ortiz Cofer from her book The Latin Deli, though my copy of the story was found on page 529 in the book we used for expository writing class in college called Odyssey- A Guide to Better Writing: Third Edition. I think I found it thumbing through the book, cause what else could you do with a book you couldn't sell during the book buy back, this isn't necessarily bad especially with English books cause you may find you own a treasure of literature now. I actually loved this piece so much I took advantage of the rip outable pages and tore it out, and I guess tossed the book, sadly this left it subject to the perils my void of a room , but as luck had it I think it was Fangirl, who took the same class two semesters later, had her a copy that I think was destined for the garbage, so I got it.
Getting back to the story itself It's about Cofer's writing ritual she established, she even briefly gives a nod the title of Woolf's work. I mean it's a very short, simple work, I don't see it being life altering to most people, but to me I think what make's me revisit it often is the image she gives about her mornings and her writing ritual. I just love that image in my head. I wonder sometimes what would happen if I took myself somewhere with less distractions, I imagine I'd probably focus better on trying to write poems now that I seem to have found my creative urge again.
Scent of the Book
Not long ago I finished a book, that I got as free gift in an Amazon purchase, don't you love when that happens. The book was called Elsie's Tender Mercies- Book Seven of the Elsie Dinsmore®: A Life of Faith® Series based on books by Martha Finley. According to the copyright section of this book it came out, or at least was copyrighted, in 2001, but Finley's books first came out in 1868. So yes been around in some form a while. I read it unsure the age group it was meant for, I'm still not sure though it might be for a younger audience, but I still enjoyed the reading. I learned, or more likely relearned , about life and events in the south during the reconstruction era after the US civil war. Plus it also has lessons of faith, which is why I knew I could read it with no fear of any explicit content. The strange and cool thing about this book is when I opened it up an stuck my nose in to take a good whiff, yes I am a book sniffer guilty as charged, I found instead of the usual booky smells you'd get, it's something I guess homey and feminine. I think maybe akin to going to your Grandparents or getting something from them that's been in their home, and it's a nice little scent of comfort, but that's my Grandparents, you may have a whole different experience. Anyway back on track this lovely scent I don't know if it's the book's natural scent or something that it acquired over the course of it's life, but I feel it's the perfect scent for it and it's main character Elsie®. I feel if I were to run into her, or go to her home, this would be the scent she'd and it would be perfumed in.
Coming Attraction
I'm in the process of reading a book of poetry called A Homespun Legacy by Sarah Sabina McFall. I don't think she was like a well known poet, but I've enjoyed what I've read so far. It's a thrift store find, but one that has an interesting tale beyond the poems within, but I plan on a special post just about it once I'm done chronicling all things around this book.
Crazy Ideas Time: Internet Collage BookAs I was trying to find that blog post for the Keri Smith link. I had this crazy idea hit me. If your like me you probably have a bunch of favorite links saved in your favorites, or pinned somewhere. I started thinking what if someone started going through their texts, social pages, and favorites folder links, and picked out the cream of the crop, got all the permissions they needed and collected it into a book and called it something like My Digital Life or My Internet Life. I just wander what that would be like. I think that would be an interesting view of the collector's life. Why don't you do it yourself you may ask. Simple I'm already prone to being stressed and crazy, that would probably put me in the deep end of the crazy pool.
Ok friends I think that unexpected whirlwind of women writing their words has died down, though I think that tongue twister is there to stay. It just seize me and would let go till it got all those words out of me, some words I didn't even really know needed coming out. So do you guys have any tales of women's word's or word's written about women writing words? Write it in the comments or my socials. Till next time friends may God Bless You!
* Rowling's work joins that of other authors whose works has give my anxiety ridden brain a break since I first had problems when I was 9 or 20. This list includes Ann M. Martin's The Baby-Sitter's Club Mystery # 12: Dawn and the Surfer Ghost and Mercedes Lackey's Vows and Honor books.
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