it’s all about the cake

Posted on April 1, 2015 by is there any more pie?

My daughter turns 35 today.  Happy Birthday, Nancy!

We celebrated her birthday with the family Saturday night.  I managed to unchain myself from my desk and make dinner and — ta da!!!–bake a cake.

Thank you, Pinterest.

This cake is actually from a blogger called I Am Baker, where you can find the recipe for this gorgeous cake. She has a cookbook out featuring cakes with “surprises” baked inside.  This one has a secret layer of brownie soaked in chocolate sauce.

Yes, a layer of brownie soaked in chocolate sauce.

2015-03-28 003 I sprinkled mini chocolate chips on top of the one I made.  There were a few issues getting the cake layers out of their pans.  The broken cake layers had to be patched together with frosting.  I had to put the cake in the refrigerator and hope that the chilled frosting solidified enough so the cake didn’t fall apart and tumble off the stand.

Oh, that wasn’t stressful at all.  

I sort of ran out of cream cheese frosting, too.

2015-03-28 009But it was pretty with the candles on it!

2015-03-28 006The Birthday Girl loved it.   And that’s all that matters, right???!!!!

2015-03-28 005Happy Birthday!!

 

 

 

Posted in family, food, rhode island | 5 Comments

looking for lunch

Posted on March 31, 2015 by is there any more pie?

2015-03-30 001Meet my hawk.  He likes to hang out here outside my office window.

He’s hungry.  I am, too.  I’m on a diet.  I often feel like swooping down on an unsuspecting piece of carb-filled bread.

His wings are huge, but I’ve yet to take a successful my-hawk-in-flight photo.

I hope he eats the mice that try to get into my basement.

I hope he eats the squirrels that try to get into my attic.

But I hope he leaves the chipmunks alone.

A few years ago I trained the local chipmunks to come running when I called them.  They knew I had sunflower seeds and they learned to pop out of their dens when they heard the back door slide open.

It was quite entertaining, though Banjo Man was not amused, especially when the chipmunks grew so tame they’d hop up the back steps to the sliding glass door and chirp for me to feed them.

fanpop.com

fanpop.com

I once had some great chipmunk pictures.  Wish I knew where they were…

Note to self:  organize digital photos.

 

Posted in rhode island | 4 Comments

still time

Posted on March 30, 2015 by is there any more pie?
From amyriceart at etsy.com

From amyriceart at etsy.com

I came across this on Pinterest this morning.  I was taking a break from writing (yes, this is the last week of writing!), sipping some fresh coffee and looking for anything to distract me from today’s 1700 unwritten words while I tried to stay awake.

Still time to change the road I’m on.

Nice.

I needed to be reminded that my road is going to change by the end of the week (if the planets line up with the stars and my brain continues to function).  The last deadline will have been met.

Next exit, next road comin’ up.

I’d better put my blinker on!

P.S. Check out Amy’s Etsy store.  Very cool things at amyriceart.

 

Posted in a more pie opinion, rhode island, shopping, writing | 2 Comments

how i feel about last night’s snow

Posted on March 29, 2015 by is there any more pie?
No Spring in sight.

No Spring in sight.

Posted in a more pie opinion, rhode island | 3 Comments

a little problem with depth perception

Posted on March 28, 2015 by is there any more pie?

I love this dog.  How funny is this!!!

Posted in just for fun | 1 Comment

flights home

Posted on March 27, 2015 by is there any more pie?

Banjo Man and I arrived at the Austin airport at 3:45 AM Wednesday morning.

Yes, it was painful.  But the plane was only half full, so that helped.  The flight crew turned off the cabin lights and let us sleep for a while.

IMG_20150325_073748

Flying into the sunrise while Banjo Man slept beside me.

IMG_20150325_073907We landed in Baltimore about four hours later and staggered off the plane to hear the sound of cheering.  I saw American flags waving a few gates away from us, so we went over to see who was arriving home.

“It’s an Honor flight,” Banjo Man explained, reaching for his handkerchief.  “I’ve seen them before.”

Honorflight.org

“We fly veterans to Washington DC to visit memorials built to honor their service to the nation.

Honor Flight Network is a non-profit organization created solely to honor America’s veterans for all their sacrifices. We transport our heroes to Washington, D.C. to visit and reflect at their memorials. Top priority is given to the senior veterans – World War II survivors, along with those other veterans who may be terminally ill.

Of all of the wars in recent memory, it was World War II that truly threatened our very existence as a nation—and as a culturally diverse, free society. According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, an estimated 640 WWII veterans die each day. Our time to express our thanks to these brave men and women is running out.”

“We can’t all be heroes. Some of us have to stand on the curb and clap as they walk by.” – Will Rogers.

IMG_20150325_090356

We watched as World War II veterans exited the plane (in groups of about 10 at a time).  An honor guard representing five branches of the military lined up against the wall to salute them, Vietnam vets acted as escorts, and the crowd clapped and whistled and waved flags.  It was terribly moving and such an honor to see.

Here are my pictures, as awful as they are (I don’t know how to take a clear picture with my Kindle yet).

IMG_20150325_090614 IMG_20150325_090408 IMG_20150325_090327 IMG_20150325_090317I’ll be writing a check to Honor Flight today.

(In honor of my father, who would have loved to have been part of this.)

 

 

Posted in travel | 2 Comments

today’s menu

Posted on March 26, 2015 by is there any more pie?

Last Friday Son #1 went to the rodeo with his wife and son.  Son #1 is a solid, steady, sweet, funny, loving, dependable guy.  He loves his family, music, history, Nebraska football and…food.  He is tall and thin and has been known to consume vast quantities of BBQ, steak, shrimp and gumbo.

His appetite is legendary, his capacity for eating quite awesome.

2012-03-20 063

Healthy rodeo food.

 

So while he was at the rodeo he ate a corn dog, a giant chipped beef sandwich, ice cream and a funnel cake.

That was lunch.

This is a funnel cake.

This is a funnel cake.

Then  Son #1 drove down to Austin and joined us at Lucy’s Fried Chicken for music and a little afternoon snack of Fried Chicken Nachos, Deep Fried Hard-boiled Eggs with Dipping Sauce and a 16 oz. Lone Star beer.

2015-03-20 008

He looks okay here.

After about an hour and a half of music and eating, we stopped at Southside Pizza for a large pepperoni and a medium pepperoni with mushrooms and green peppers.

Son #2 had four huge pieces.

The next day  he didn’t feel very well.  Go figure.  And the day after that he was positively…sick.

He thinks it’s something he ate.

Or maybe everything he ate.

So Son #1, who has rarely met a vegetable he likes, is now eating oatmeal and fruit and salads.

He swears he has changed his ways.

We’ll see.

Lucy's Fried Chicken Hard boiled egg appetizer.

Lucy’s Fried Chicken Hard boiled egg appetizer.

Posted in austin, family, food, texas | Leave a comment

inside the candy store

Posted on March 24, 2015 by is there any more pie?

Banjo Man and I spent the day with our four-year old grandson last week, and the little guy was determined to show us the sights around town.  First he took me to his favorite “parks” (aka playgrounds).  I swung on the swings while he climbed and slid and stabbed imaginary bad guys with his foam sword.  We did this for two hours.  I loved it because there was no snow or ice on the ground and I was certainly safe from all of the bad guys.

Then Grandpa (aka Banjo Man) arrived and John took us to town to his favorite restaurant, a place that serves New Orleans food.  The little guy strutted out of there with a belly full of chicken tenders and Mardi Gras beads around his neck.

He definitely wanted me to see this:

2015-03-13 016Once inside I was overcome by the sight of the weirdest collection of soda bottles I’d ever seen.  While John shopped for gummy candy, I took pictures.

2015-03-13 001

I didn’t know Rhode Island had its own brand of soda. I thought we were famous for Dell’s Lemonade!

2015-03-13 003

Something for Dancing Mandolin Player.

2015-03-13 013

Do you drink it for breakfast????

2015-03-13 012

Do you take it to cookouts?

2015-03-13 011

Football game soda!!!!!

2015-03-13 007

Jackson Hole Cowboy Cream Soda. Now **that** looks drinkable. Except the cowboy himself looks a little odd.

2015-03-13 006

When you’re feeling hostile and just want to drink alone.

2015-03-13 005

Hmmmmm…..

2015-03-13 004

Hey, Idaho! Should we make Huckleberry soda next summer???

And then there were other strange things, like these.

2015-03-13 009After we bought gummies shaped like alligators and turtles and fish, we headed back to the house.  I hoped John would take a nap.  I even fixed the couch in what I hoped was an enticing display:

2015-03-13 019That didn’t work, so I took a nap myself.

And then Banjo Man took a nap.

And John and I sang songs and drummed for three hours.

Yes, THREE HOURS.

2015-03-13 022My grandson is a huge Beatles fan.  He was very surprised that his grandmother knew all the words to the Beatles songs.  I think I went up a few points and he decided I was worthy to sing with him.

And sing we did.

I’m glad those years–and thousands of hours–with my record player finally paid off.

Posted in family, food, shopping, texas | 2 Comments

when rain is a good time

Posted on March 23, 2015 by is there any more pie?
Outside at Lucy's Fried Chicken.

Outside at Lucy’s Fried Chicken.

Yes, it did rain in Austin Friday afternoon.  The guy on the left is wearing a Nebraska Huskers poncho.  We were impressed.

2015-03-20 002

Kelly Willis played on Lucy’s small stage.  We found a seat at one of the picnic tables under a tarp.  After Kelly Chuck Prophet was next.  The crowd loved them both.  So did we, though the rain made it a little hard to hear.  Plus we were eating deep fried hard boiled eggs with orange dipping sauce.

Don’t ask me to explain.  I can’t.

Banjo Man and Son #1 think I'm being silly. And they did not know they were staring at me in identical ways.

Banjo Man and Son #1 think I’m being silly. And they did not know they were staring at me in identical ways.

Is that Kelly Willis?

Is that Kelly Willis?

Yes, I think so.

Yes, I think so.

We had a great time, though it got a little wet at our picnic table.  We loved the music and the food and watching the people.  There was something cozy about our tarp.  After the music we stopped to pick up pizzas for the basketball games and went back home to dry out and watch tv for a while.  Story Man headed down to Auditorium Shores to catch the Ryan Bingham concert (which he said was great) when the rain died down.  The rest of us stayed on the couch with the food and the remote control.

Everyone is glad I bought a new tv.  We’re all mesmerized by its clear screen and vivid colors.  The days of the old box tv’s are officially over.

Go Gonzaga!!!

 

 

Posted in austin, family, food, music | 2 Comments

signs of saturday at sxsw 2015

Posted on March 22, 2015 by is there any more pie?

Saturday’s rain changed a lot of plans for a lot of people.  But those who live in Austin and those who visit tend to adapt quickly and remain cheerful.  I think it’s the music.  And maybe the large quantities of Lone Star beer.

2015-03-21 001

Kerbey Lane Cafe

Starting the day off with breakfast—with Banjo Man and Story Man.  I’m particularly fond of the pumpkin bread french toast platter.  Then we took Story Man to work.  He’s learning the ways of “the pit”, which is BBQ talk here in Texas.  The “pit” is where the magic happens.

Where Story Man works.

Where Story Man works.

We went to the Saxon again, this time to see Folk Uke (Willie Nelson and Arlo Guthrie’s daughters).  They’re hilarious.  We sat next to a woman who was in Rhode Island last week on business and who was impressed with the amount of snow and the size of the potholes.

Folk Uke

Folk Uke

Scenes from the van while Banjo Man put gas in the car.

2015-03-21 007

I like deep thoughts about pizza, don’t you?

2015-03-21 012 2015-03-21 010 2015-03-21 013Then it was on to the Strange Brew Coffee House.  We wanted to be inside out of the rain and thought we’d take a chance on a band we’d never heard before.

Here’s the guy (I think his name was Danny Hawkes, but I’m not sure–it was hard to hear) on the pedal steel.  He was rockin’ it.

2015-03-21 014I think the pedal steel has to be one of the most complicated instruments known to mankind.  I have yet to see a young guy playing one.   Except for Cindy Cashdollar, the musicians playing lap steels and pedal steels have all looked as if they just drove off the ranch and came to town to play for a while.

There was one odd moment in this particular show when the band (I think they were called The Peacemakers) played a song I hadn’t heard since the 1970’s.  Pat Ball used to sing it at the Playhouse Bar in Clark Fork.  “Come On Down, Sweet Virginia” was a real crowdpleaser there at Billy Derr’s.

Hearing it again gave me goosebumps.  Banjo Man and I both felt more than a little sad.

And then we came home, but only after a shopping trip to pick up groceries.  Banjo Man is making Sunday breakfast for the family in the morning and needed supplies.  Because after breakfast we’re heading back to Strange Brew for the Sinners Brunch and two more hours of music.

I’m sure we can sleep on the plane.

 

 

Posted in austin, music, travel | 1 Comment