“I’m baking stories, and singing cookies, oh the tonderous wimes!”
The air is thick with humidity. The breeze is getting stronger. It is getting darker. Thunderstorms are predicted.
It rained last night for a short while but long enough for the dogs to leave muddy paw prints all over the kitchen floor. The floor was washed on Monday so I should have expected rain.
Last night calamity struck. I spilled my coke and some landed on the keyboard of this Mac. First the audio disappeared, no internal speakers listed, only earphones. I tried the suggested remedies. None worked. I decided I could live with no sound. Next, the keyboard stopped working. I couldn’t type my password to open the computer. That, I couldn’t live with. I felt doomed. I didn’t sleep well, but this morning, despite the dire predictions, all is well.
When I graduated from high school, a typewriter was my graduation present. It was a perfect gift to take to college, but there was a problem. I didn’t know how to type. I had tried my senior year to take typing, but my guidance counselor told me it wasn’t a college track course. He scheduled me for Latin IV instead. Such a good trade-off! I use Latin IV everywhere I go.
I didn’t bake anything ever until my first Christmas in Ghana. I made sugar cookies. It was quite the process. First, I had to travel 200 miles round trip to fill my gas cylinder so I could use my oven. Next, I looked for a cookie recipe and was happy to find one that looked fairly easy in the cookbook called Ghana Chop, a Peace Corps Ghana cookbook. It gave measurements in cigarette tins. I had Christmas cookie cutters my mother had sent. I used a Star beer bottle as a rolling pin. I sifted my flour to remove as many bugs as I could. After all that, and with a few bugs still in the flour, I was surprised by how good the cookies tasted. They even looked good. They were a Christmas hit.
Since then a lot has changed but a lot is the same. I have become quite adept at baking cookies. I mostly bake them at Christmas time. I use the same old cookie cutters. I ditched the bottle rolling pin for a traditional one. The flour has no bugs. I use confectioners’ sugar to make frosting; however, despite the batches of cookies I have made since then, that first batch is still the most memorable. It is one of my proudest accomplishments.
Explore posts in the same categories: Musings
August 18, 2023 at 12:23 pm
I like cooking. I only began to cook around 10 years ago, in my mid sixties.
August 18, 2023 at 2:18 pm
Peter,
Since then, I have love cooking as well. When I have friends over for dinner, I like to try new recipes because I live alone and don’t make them for myself.
August 18, 2023 at 2:48 pm
Hi Kat,
What’s rain? We haven’t had any since July 16th. Today the predicted high is going to be 110°F.that’s 43.3°C, which sounds a little cooler. 🙂 Currently it’s only 108°. It’s so hot that my pool water feels like a warm bath.
I’m recuperating from a case of the summer crud. Stuffed nose, coughing, fatigue, but no fever. Hopefully, I’m on the mend.
I adore cookies of any variety. I especially like Oreos, Chocolate chip, and the marshmallow chocolate covered circular or star shaped variety. I love anything sweet. The one cookie I can leave or take are plain sugar cookies. That’s because they don’t have chocolate. I have no desire to bake anything from scratch.
August 18, 2023 at 3:35 pm
Hi Bob,
It did pour today. Right now the sun is trying to break through. It will be hot tomorrow but Massachusetts hot, not Texas hot. The rain kept it coolish today.
I hate colds. They make every part of us miserable. I do hope you are on the mend. Summer is not the time for a cold.
Like you I love the chocolate marshmallow circular cookies. I don’t buy them as I’d eat the whole package. I have to get a few groceries tomorrow and thanks to you, I’ll buy some cookies!!
Get better!
August 18, 2023 at 2:52 pm
No “coffee” yesterday so I didn’t have an opportunity to say… keep the birthdays coming! Hope it was a great day despite the spilled Coke. <3d
August 18, 2023 at 3:27 pm
Thanks, Larry!! It was a great day!
Now, my battery has died because it has frayed so I need to get a new one tomorrow. Yikes!!
August 18, 2023 at 6:17 pm
I also was concerned about no coffee yesterday. Glad it was only your battery.
August 18, 2023 at 10:25 pm
Thanks, Bob! It was the keyboard which didn’t work.
Today the charger died. I may not get to Coffee tomorrow as I have to go to Hyannis to buy a new charger, and I have a morning concert.
I appreciate your concern!1
August 18, 2023 at 8:14 pm
We’ve missed a special birthday? (Thanks, im6!)
Have great days all year round and thanks for blogging, Kat!
August 18, 2023 at 10:23 pm
Thanks, Birgit.
You are quite welcome!
August 18, 2023 at 8:04 pm
Sunny summer is back! A bike protest rally for a better town infrastructure today, it was fun. Unfortunately kids are back to school now, it was a rainy summer for them. Including some massive climate crisis floodings a few days ago. Our town wasn’t hit this time but the neighboring towns north of us and some others too.
I learned to type when when I was young but soon forgot. The 3-finger-eagle method (circle and search, spot and hit) is good enough. At least my typing is better than my baking 🙂
August 18, 2023 at 10:28 pm
Birgit,
We had a cool day today and it is also a cool night. Tomorrow will be hottest, at least for the cape, high 70’s. The good thing is the nights go down to the 60’s making them great for sleeping.
Cape kids don’t go back to school until September 6th. That is the week after Labor Day which is the unofficially end of summer.
I type exactly as you do!