After reading some of tonight's new posts, I realize that I'm not the only one who had an uneventful week. Yeah, about all I did was sit around and watch my squirrels collect snow.
The Amazing Barking Dog and I made several trips out to the feeders to keep all of our critters happy. Nothing unusual out there to report, just squirrels and birds. Bob did put out some apples for the deer this afternoon. And speaking of Bob, he just gave me the business because he didn't like the way I opened up a package of cheese. Can you believe that - being taken to task for the way you open up a block of Kraft Cheddar and Monterey Jack? He knows I'm no good at opening things. It's in our contract. He's the cheese package opener and direction reader. I'm the.....umm well, I have other jobs.


We were under a winter storm warning Friday and Saturday, and we remain under a winter storm watch through Tuesday. Looks like there could be more snow on the squirrels.



The Biggest Loser: Year - Deux
Yes, our second annual Biggest Loser weigh-in was last Tuesday. We'll be weighing in every Tuesday for the next 13 weeks. Each participant is to set a goal and if we meet our goals, we'll celebrate by spending the night in Chicago, sometime after Easter, and splurging on something expensive of our choosing. My goal is twenty pounds, which might be too ambitious. I thought my reward might be a pair of those Christian Louboutin shoes, you know, the ones with the red soles? But, the way the economy is looking, my reward might have to be something more practical, like getting my old shoes re-soled, or a big bag of rice.


This Week in Cakes: There was a flurry of cake construction this weekend at our house. Lindsey came up for Ashley's baby shower, which was scheduled for Saturday, but postponed until Sunday because of the weather. Here's the cake I made for the shower. And here's the diaper cake that Becca and Lindsey made for the centerpiece at the shower. It required a lot of diapers and a lot of great big rubber bands and much discussion because those girls, they like symmetry. We had lots of fun, and you can see by the clock on the wall that we didn't get done until 11:00 PM.





And, while Lindsey was busy preparing for the shower.......

Bonnie, the Barbarian napped on Bob's great, great, grandmother's velvet-covered settee.

From the Archives: Here's a picture of my brother, Brian, sister, Lori, and me, in 1975, or maybe 1976 - not sure. I know this is a bad photo, but I like it because she's got a band-aid on her knee, which was typical. She was one tough little critter, who didn't want to come in from playing outside, no matter how cold it was, and who, played every sport in the book, and rode a motorcycle. She celebrated her 37th birthday last week. Happy Birthday, you wild woman, you.

Recipe of the Week: Not a lot of exciting cooking this week, although I did make the Best Meatballs on the Face of the Earth for Ashley's shower. That recipe is in the 2007 file. I haven't made this cake for awhile, but it's a good one - really moist. If making it for somebody, I would top it with chocolate hearts that I made by melting semi-sweet morsels and spreading the mixture out onto waxed paper, then pressing a cookie cutter onto the chocolate after it hardened.

Sour Cream Chocolate Cake

2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

1 cup water

3/4 cups cour cream

1/4 cup butter

1 & 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

2 eggs

4 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate, melted

Frosting:

1/2 cup butter

4 ounces baking chocolate

2 teaspoons vanilla

4 cups powdered sugar

1 cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Measure all ingredients into a large bowl and beat for 1/2 minute at low speed, scraping the sides of the bowl constantly. Then beat for 3 minutes at highest speed. Pour into greased and floured cake pans. (I just use Baker's Joy) You can use either two 9 inch pans or three 8 inch. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from oven and cook on a rack. For the frosting, in a double-broiler, melt butter and chocolate over barely simmering water. Remove from heat and cool. Add powdered sugar, then blend in the sour cream and vanilla and beat until smooth.

"Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you're criticizing them, you're a mile away and you have their shoes." Jack Handey