Following a Theme... (WARNING: Fake but Graphic Gore Ahead)

During a recent meal out my drink came chilled by a very cool looking solid ice sphere. It made me wonder if someone made skull shaped ice trays.

And they do! My husband found several silicon models and purchased the one rated highest on Amazon, which only cost a few dollars. My fun experimenting with ever creepier additives has been priceless.

~grin~

If you don’t want to risk getting grossed out you should skip the photo at bottom. Hint: adding a dollop of tart cherry jam proved to be my best idea yet.

Have you ever seen a novelty ice cube? If you were to buy such an ice tray, what shape would you choose?

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Do you see a tiny second skull?

Here is a bonus fact for those horror fans who hung in there:

Adding cooked rice fragments grossed me out. Tinted green with a dot of wasabi, those ‘maggots’ looked way too real as the ice melted. And the feel of them... Ugh!

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A Bit of Good Luck, Some Holiday Flavors, and Bit of a Bummer

To get a minor disappointment out of the way, my husband told me Gary Larson asks that no one posts his Far Side comics on social media. It’s understandable since everyone has to make a living, so here is a link to The Daily Dose. I don’t know if ad blockers will prevent viewing, but be sure to show him some love by clicking on the hearts if you can and do visit.

Meanwhile, I’ve been experimenting a little in the kitchen. It started with leftover apple cider from a failed recipe. I debated how to cut the sweetness and am not a big fan of hot drinks, though mulled cider is nice. Then I remembered my reduced calorie cranberry juice cocktail contains apple. Mixing one part cider with about three parts juice, it turned out okay. Then I added a can of diet 7Up. Yum… Refreshing, too. There is no picture because, to be honest, the muddy color looks unappealing. If you try some variation or other let me know what you think.

This morning I tried a simple recipe from ‘American Lifestyle’ magazine and baked actual cookies for a change. While our ground ginger and cinnamon are ancient, the treats turned out tasty. I almost ruined them, however. This recipe calls for baking soda, not the baking powder I pulled to mix with the flour and spices. What luck I caught and corrected that error in time. I wonder how they would have turned out. Not good, I imagine.

I lacked the pretty crystal sugar;
and we didn't miss it...

Do you know the difference between baking soda and powder? Did you know that freezing peeled ginger root both keeps it fresh and makes shredding easier?

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Mirror, Mirror

My husband and I often joke that I live the life of a housecat. The fact Jezebel has become almost a Voodoo doll for my existence takes this to the next level.

Case in point, she developed that aforementioned limp in her right front leg about the same time my right shoulder became painful. Fortunately, we both recovered. She must have landed wrong following a jump. While my injury is a mystery, a doctor’s recommended painkiller and exercise regimens healed me.

Meanwhile, I also related a false cancer scare caused by the well meaning vet technician who left a message regarding her blood test results. Guess what happened last week following my latest mammogram?

Yup. I got a surprise, dreaded call to come back for further examination.

No worries, though.

A complicated cyst was diagnosed during my follow-up ultrasound. Unsurprised, the doctor advised more scans in six months just to make certain the abnormality is stable.

That last bit of news left me much calmer. Things are looking up! Heck, last week we got our initial shingles vaccinations after being on the waiting list for almost a year. We’ll get the secondary booster sometime within the next six months.

My arm still hurts and itches a bit around the injection sight, but that’s preferable to the agonizing condition it’s meant to prevent. The Christian reverend I engaged to perform our 1997 wedding suffered a shingles outbreak before our big day. Fortunately, that considerate man got us into contact with a surrogate.

That fellow showed up late to the B&B I booked, late enough to make some folks nervous, but did a fine job. For me, it just meant we’d enjoy yet another engagement party before eloping.  To my groom’s chagrin, my promise of an intimate service didn’t pan out like he expected. Both our mother’s hosted large pre-parties in Northeast Ohio and the wedding guest list doubled over what he expected. How could I have turned away friends’ and coworkers’ spouses?

As for the big day, those memories remain the favorite out of all my five decades. Nothing upset me, not even when my father smashed my three tiered cake against the wall. I’ll save that story for another post. The tell fits nicely with a strange bit of recent news.

Do you know the tradition of freezing a portion of wedding cake for the couple to share on their first anniversary? How about washing it down with sparkling wine for breakfast?

We did. Heh… What yummy decadence.

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Morning Fix & an Imposter

For whatever reason, caffeine no longer agrees with me. I have gone from a few (complimentary, I might add) cups a day at my former office job to using caution when ordering iced tea at restaurants. No refills, please. Don’t feel bad, though, my caffeine intake really isn’t missed.

A few years ago I found a fruity green tea that seemed interesting. And boy, howdy, is it ever refreshing served over ice, even better than hot. To make a box last longer I first steep a plain green tea bag in a small amount of boiling water for two minutes.

The Good Stuff

Then I swap out the bags and let the concoction sit for as long as I can stand. More time equals stronger flavor, of course, not that it needs any help in that department.

It would seem I’m not the only area resident who is a fan. Sometimes the shelf is empty of this particular flavor. During this last shortage, my dutiful husband waited while I perused other brands.

At last I selected a Lipton product boasting the same fruits. No. Never again. That stuff tasted synthetic. Yet the box boasted ‘more fruit flavor’ than before. Odder still is the fact it contains soy.

Why?

I tried various ways to make it palatable to no avail. Doubling up on that instead of using plain green to use them up faster, I ended up tossing out the last three bags. For me, that’s rare. It bothers me letting any food stuffs go to waste.

Have you ever had anything açaí flavored?

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The Plot Thickens, a Christmas Memory, and How Not to Hoe

I used to wake with story ideas first thing most mornings. While writing is a tremendous joy, I hadn’t realized how much I missed that wakeful muse until its return two nights in a row.

Friday’s was at 2:30 in the morning, all but sitting me up in bed and popping open my eyes. But I won’t complain. It’s more a joy, even, because I later remembered the idea that woke me while having been too groggy to make note in the darkness.

This morning I plan to start my NaNoWriMo project’s opening over again following a new and, I think, more interesting scene which should meld fine into what follows. I’m excited.

But first, let me tell you I wrote Saturday’s NaNo quota in near record time. As a result, I decided to meet with other participants upstairs at the Gem City Catfé. It’s a neat place new to me. I hope to bring my husband and pay to play with their shelter kitties (bringing one or two home as a result would be nice).

In the ninety minutes or so spent there I got to visit with a close friend and still accumulated five hundred new words. The owners have gone so far as to put a sign in their window welcoming NaNoWriMo writers.

That was a nice touch.

Not so nice was the excitement encountered before my second to last freeway exit. I was about to leave I-75 and head east on Route 35 when the pickup truck two vehicles ahead of me lost something long and thin.

Did you guess it was a garden hoe?

They must have been landscapers. I hope the perpetrator saw it happen and secures all tools better in future. It’s hard to say (and here’s my holiday memory). My older brother once lost a Christmas tree off the bed of his truck and didn’t notice. He pulled over upon realizing Mom and I were no longer following him down that country road.

Then it occurred to him he shouldn’t have been able to see out the truck’s back window. Heh… Good times.

Anyway, that hoe tumbled end over end through the air. The car ahead of me almost drove off the freeway. I’d like to congratulate him or her for quick reflexes and skillful handling. Thank heaven that stretch has a wide shoulder and nobody was tailgating for a change. My swerve was much less dramatic, the hoe having come to a rest just left of center in my lane.

I can only hope nobody got injured. No northbound traffic backup on my way home indicated a major accident, at least.

Have you ever drank matcha?

PS The Catfé was out of chai (!) and so I tried this green tea powder suspended in milk. I cannot recommend the beverage, whose aftertaste I found cloying, like muddy grass. Ugh…

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Another Summer Comes to a Close

There isn’t much I mind about the coming of autumn. Cooler temperatures and less time cutting grass are much anticipated. This summer has been rather brutal for me, too. Severe allergies, a hornets nest, swarming ants, and other garden related mishaps are just some of the indignities.

I will miss it when our black vultures and hummingbirds leave the area. The same goes for the damsel-, dragon-, and butterflies, which have been prolific this year. So have the spiders, and I can’t say I mind as they mostly stayed outdoors.

There is something else I am truly sorry to see go. Zima, I will miss you. I hope you come back next summer.

~sigh~

I’ve asked this before, but since this beverage made another limited appearance in the United States (at least), I’ll question again if you’ve ever tasted this refreshing adult drink.

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