Cupcake Fever . . .!

It's interesting how cupcakes seem to be the fashion these days. I remember when they were the lowly substitute for a 'real' cake with wonderful icing and decorations. I can, however, see the appeal in making AND eating cupcakes. Done right, you can have a gourmet morsel wrapped in a handy cupcake paper, filled with creamy surprises and an elegant topping of sugar and spice and everything nice! It's also about the equivalent of a reasonable slice of cake so you know if there are 6 used cupcake papers on your plate, you've exceeded your dietary limits.

I bake a variety of cookies for Christmas giving every year and am seriously in the cupcake mode for Easter this year. My imagination is seeing a tray of these little cakes adorned with sugar flowers and filled with creamy delights. I'm hoping my imagination doesn't exceed my actual skills.

I used to do cake decorating before the onset of motherhood and all it entails. I'm rounding up my modeling chocolate recipes and tools and hope to have a Spring-like assortment to give to my friends. My thinking is that even if I fall short of my imaginary goals, a cupcake with filling and icing is still a very good thing.

As we go into Holy Week . . .

“Jesus calls our sufferings a cross because the word cross signifies instrument of salvation; and He does not want our sorrows to be sterile, but to become a cross, that is, a means of elevating and sanctifying our souls.” ~Divine Intimacy

Pickled chicken?

Okay, I'm not actually pickling chicken today. I'm finally trying a recipe for brining chicken before baking it. It hasn't been a 'fear of brining' that has prevented me from trying this up to now but lack of foresight. There have been many evenings when I look at the chicken and think of how I could have done better by it but a five-minute brining before baking didn't seem feasible.

According to my cooking research on the subject, brining helps maintain the juiciness of the meat. Baking seems to dry out chicken a bit so I'm hoping I've come up with a winning solution.

It was 97 degrees, yesterday, but is much cooler today. I'm taking advantage of the decreased temperature to dare turn on the oven for dinner preparations. Hey, I like to live on the wild side!

Go figure on religious values . . .

Of all the beautiful holy days of the Church, it seems the ones that attract the most attention is Palm Sunday and Ash Wednesday. Why? You get 'freebies'! I'm always amazed at how packed the church is on Ash Wednesday. People you have never seen before cram the pews. Until our pastor made a change, a great many of them left after they got their ashes and skipped Mass. Talk about being confused! We've actually had people come in before and after Mass and dip into the waiting ashes to bestow them on themselves. One friend said that some ethnic groups think they will have a year of bad luck if they don't get their ashes. What about the bad luck of not attending Mass on Sundays the rest of the year?

Palm Sunday also brings in the crowds. Every year, the pastor says one palm per person but people garner as many as they can get away with and while the celebration of the Mass is going on, they sit in their pews weaving the palms into crosses. Another point in their life missed!

It is no use fretting over these people. We can send a prayer their way and who knows - they might show up for Easter, too!

Sunday morning quote offerings . . .

"Words ought to be a little wild for they are the assaults of thought on the unthinking."
-- John Maynard Keynes

"One man's folly is another man's wife."
-- Helen Rowland

"I have never met a man so ignorant that I couldn't learn something from him."
-- Galileo Galilei

Old age or sensitive ear drums?

So, if neighbors (and I use the term VERY lightly here!) have a party, they are three houses down the street, and our house is literally shaking with the beat of their 'music', am I being overly sensitive?

It is 4:30 in the afternoon and they look like they are settling in for a long, long night. According to our police ordinances, disturbing the peace is against the law ANY time of the day and I'd say their 'music' easily falls into the category of disturbing the peace. My son, who is on the far side of our house and wearing earphones for a game on his computer, can't concentrate. We took our ordinance rights seriously and called the police. The people, however, look like they will need two or three calls before they comply.

I remember some of the 'good, old days' when you only had to politely ask someone to turn down their music and they did because they didn't seem to realize how loud it had become. The police advise us to call them first and not go near the offending neighbor. A real change in the world and neighborly values.

Sigh . . . I was hoping for an early night and a good sleep today. Doesn't look possible. To give an example of how LOUD this party music is, we can't even hear the television over it.

If I find a cure for possible migraines, I'll share the information!

The Department of Labor . . .

The North Dakota Department of Labor claimed a small Bismarck farmer was not paying proper wages to his help and sent an agent out to investigate.

Department of Labor employee : I need a list of your employees and how much you pay them.

Farmer : Well, there's my farm hand who's been with me for 3 years. I pay him $200 a week plus free room and board.

Then there's the mentally challenged worker. He works about 18 hours every day and does about 90% of all the work around here. He makes about $10 per week, pays his own room and board, and I buy him a bottle of bourbon every Saturday night so he can cope with life. He also sleeps with my wife occasionally.

Department of Labor employee : That's the guy I want to talk to...the mentally challenged one.

Farmer : That would be me.