Birthday cake

My favorite cake! Sunday is my birthday and I'm having my favorite cake. I hope you can tell from the photo it is German Chocolate Cake! I've included history for those who partake of trivia. But for now let's talk about this wonderful, baking-in-the-oven as I type, cake. It's chocolate and that always makes me smile. No I don't have a recipe - this is Duncan Hines ~ signature ~ moist cake. I don't have to have one made from scratch to make me smile.

Oh the aroma is wafting down the hall to my studio. In just a few short minutes I'll remove my special birthday treat to the counter to cool. I've already sampled the icing ~ no problems anticipated. My happy spatula is there by the cooling tray. Charlie the chicken timer will give a holler once it's ready. Toothpicks, oven mitts, and anything else needed is soooo ready!!

This might very well be the last year I count. (Hahaha, you say?) It's a terrific number and one I shall never regret having met. And no - I won't tell you. I was once told, "a woman who will tell you her age will tell you anything." Okay I have no idea what that means - but I'm playing it this way. Oh wait... I hear Charlie ~ right on time. Before I go the trivia is below Charlie. I'm coming Charlie!!! ~"Happy birthday dear Dixie, tomorrow-but-we-can-have- cake-today ~ happy birthday to me...."

Contrary to popular belief, German chocolate cake did not originate in Germany. Its roots can be traced back to 1852 when American Sam German developed a type of dark baking chocolate for the American Baker's Chocolate Company. The brand name of the product, Baker's German's Sweet Chocolate, was named in honor of him.

On June 3, 1957, a recipe for "German's Chocolate Cake" appeared as the "Recipe of the Day" in the Dallas Morning Star.[2] It was created by Mrs. George Clay, a homemaker from 3831 Academy Drive, Dallas, Texas.[2] This recipe used the baking chocolate introduced 105 years prior and became quite popular. General Foods, which owned the Baker's brand at the time, took notice and distributed the cake recipe to other newspapers in the country. Sales of Baker's Chocolate are said to have increased by as much as 73% and the cake would become a national staple. The possessive form (German's) was dropped in subsequent publications, forming the "German Chocolate Cake" identity we know today and giving the false impression of a German origin.[3][4][5]

The recipe still remains popular to this day and has been adopted by baking companies. June 11 is National German Chocolate Cake Day in America.[6] Wikipedia.

YUM!

Celebrate the Small Things - Warmth

Image source

This week I'm celebrating warmth.

1- Warmth - the kind I feel when fellow writers-boggers, crafters-artists, music-movie-buffs, d-i-y-ers, or foodies, come to visit and also choose to leave a comment. They don't have to but isn't it nice when they take a moment to do so? We all know that comments are optional.

2- Warmth - the kind I need in this season of cold weather. I flip a switch and the heat is on. Some are so less     fortunate. Our utility company has a program where I can "share the warmth."

3- Warmth - the kind I admire from people I meet at the stores and shops I visit. That cashier may be having a lousy day. Maybe the man at the dry cleaners just lost a son to cancer. A smile can be the beginning of warmth shared between two people. I'm glad I have the ability to return their smile. :)

This post is part of VikLit's blog hop, Celebrate the Small Things. To be part of this blog hop, all you have to do is follow the link and put your name on the Mr.Linky list, and then be sure to post every Friday about something you're grateful  for that week.  It can be about writing or family or school or general life.  This is the funnest and easiest blog hop ever! 

VikLit's Scribblings of an Aspiring Author

Linky List (switch over to HTML, insert link at bottom of post. Switch back to compose.)

Wrapping up the week - in 8 seconds!

Hang in there Teddy! We could very well win the 'Oscar of Colds' competition. Indeed! Should the International Press call we'll be here,  all wrapped up! No airport visit again, due to the ongoing cold... the sniffling kind. Going to the airport could be disastrous. Imagine a sneeze while being all wrapped up.

Last night Teddy and I stood out in the driveway watching two huge birds fly over the house. Yes, we are on one of the four flight paths that cross the city. Though we're some distance from the city's uptown area, we do get great views of the large metal beasts. These two birds particularly stood out as they were military planes - those rather plain, olive green colored ones? Even in the night sky we knew they were not commercial in nature. 

It was a frightening site! The two planes were at the same height, approximately 8 seconds apart! That means one is going to land and get the heck out of the way, so the second one can do the same. (What a night to miss being at the airport's public lookout!) Normally the timing between planes is 14 seconds. We can actually stand in the driveway and count off the time (between the planes) like an exact science... it's always 14 seconds between their landings. I can usually see the headlamps of one plane coming over my big field beside the house, while off in the distance I can see another plane coming into view. Not so with the military. They are always a tight knit group - whether two or eight planes - they are lined up across the sky. But I have never seen them so closely timed as last night... 8 seconds! By the way at my house they're less than 1000 feet over my head. 

Teddy and I are all wrapped up with no place to go. Might as well listen to some tunes. 

Olly Murs - All Wrapped Up

Frank Sinatra -Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams

Brad Paisley - Wrapped Around

Teddy's extra credit!
Garth Brooks on the Ellen Show!

See you on Friday for Celebrate the Small Things!!

Indulgence

Acrylic painting is something I really enjoy. Needing to distract myself from feeling under the weather, I chose to share one of my passions with you. For those who are professionals, please don't look too hard - I'm such an amateur. For those who would sing praises - welcome to my indulgence!

This first painting is done on a ten inch wooden sled. The top and bottom runners are not visible because I cut them off when photographing it. (I didn't say I was a photographer.) The friend who wanted this furnished a photo and the tiny sled. She changes up the whole house for the holidays and wanted something to fit in a very small space. This fit the bill. That's the sun behind a snowy cloud filled sky. Her focus was the big tree - and this is the result, named, "A Snowy Day."

The second painting is of a mountain ridge in Alaska. Here again, a friend sent a photo of the state she was born and raised in, and wanted a painting of a favorite location. It's painted on a 6" x 8" canvas. She displays it on a wooden easel in her entertainment center. It looks so cold. If I recall correctly, the place is called Lake Lorraine. I named it "Tranquility in Alaska."

The third and last painting is done on a 16" x 20" canvas. Aptly named, "The Pink Forest, " as that's what my nieces said when they drug me out of bed at the crack of dawn. "Aunt Dixie, you have to come see the pink forest!" They didn't tell me I'd have to climb up the side of a mountain to see it, but I did. I had pencil and a tiny drawing pad and sketched by "snow light." The colors were later guessed at because the mind does not register them permanently. But the girls agreed it was very close - good enough for me.

Well I thank for allowing me to indulge myself and share one of the best things I do. Indulging myself - not the painting - hahaha. So it's back to bed for me. Have a great day!

Her Thorn

It pricked her hand and then she bled
This sullen rose she’d always fed.
No blossoms here in two long years
With only thorns to prompt her tears.

She’d cut it down if she were mad
To stop the times it made her sad.
Yet purposely it served her well
And helped her find a voice to yell.

Then tears did fall and cleansed her thought
Relieving her of what life wrought.
Into a tiny handkerchief
She breathed the air and felt relief.

Her Rose

She walked her dream and looked around
At smallest flowers on the ground
The yellow bees were buzzing by
She spied a rose, and heard it sigh

The tiny drops of dew were clear
And playfully as she came near
The thorns did glistened but obeyed
The hand that once had held the spade

The hand that held a knife to prune
A blossom tender for her room
Did cut the rose, a fragrant scent
She’d not return ‘til this one spent

I have a... uh...uh...(achoo!!!), cold

Cold is a four letter word.  You look miserable.
Thanks Teddy - so do you.

My goodness - what a sneeze - you need to see the vet!
Thanks Charlie, I'll do that right away.

I'll let you use the gazebo if you feel better soon.
Simon, it's my gazebo - MY gazebo! Aaaaacchooo!

I'll be back tomorrow, maybe.

Bill - with special dedication *

It was the fall of the year when you came.
You with the smile and the so simple name.
I was so fond of those cute little eyes.
Love at first sight, we were so mesmerized.

I'd hear you speak and you'd hear me laugh.
Sunshine and joy was the key to our path.

It was the fall of the year when you left.
Life seemed to crawl in my days of bereft.
Days turned to years, yet I still hear you sing.
Fly in the heavens, sweet bird on the wing.

A tiny life:

Bill was a 'rescue bird' I acquired when he was 15 years old. He had always been caged. His wings were fully grown and yet he made no effort to fly, ever. In fact I'm not sure if he ever had flown. I'm not sure if he even knew that he could have flown very far away. He had always been in that cage... in a closet.

When we met we both had yellow hair - his natural - mine dyed. We were drawn to each other like magnets. (It was that way for four beautiful years.) It took three months to get him to come out of that cage. After that he was never caged again. I let him go in and out as he pleased. He would sit on top of his cage and greet me whenever I walked into the bedroom he shared with my two small budgies - Casper and Candy. They were my children. They learned to love Bill and he loved them. They would jump from rooftop to rooftop... each had their own cage of a different color. It looked like Charleston, South Carolina with the area known for its rows of colorful houses.

In time Bill learned to speak complete sentences. It was like talking to a three year old human child. However, the very last word he learned was from my six year old niece. The word was - "sweet." She would say, "sweeeet," and he would answer back, "sweeeet." All of the birds loved "the niece"! So two days later when Bill passed, the hardest thing to do was to tell the niece. She came for the funeral, and then played with Casper and Candy. Ironically I found strength watching her comfort them.

As I travel from blog to blog I am often at a loss of what to say to others who have lost a pet - a family member - a treasure - a tiny life. It takes grieving. It takes time. If that tiny life meant anything - it is worth the grieving to recapture the joy that will return. It will return... because you will realize you were part of something amazing. You were part of their tiny life.

* Special dedication to Janie and Franklin

Celebrate the Small Things for November 14, 2014

Today I'm celebrating four things:

1) Meeting lots of new bloggers through this bloghop!
2) Posting a poem that had a freeing affect on my heart.
    (Titled: "Smiling" - post date 11-12-14)
3) The Blue birds returning for the Fall and Winter seasons.

4) A sweet deal on a roasting pan - $4.99 - from the Goodwill store!
     (Online $189.00)

This post is part of VikLit's blog hop, Celebrate the Small Things. To be part of this blog hop, all you have to do is follow the link and put your name on the Mr.Linky list, and then be sure to post every Friday about something you're grateful  for that week.  It can be about writing or family or school or general life.  This is the funnest and easiest blog hop ever!

VikLit - Scribblings of an Aspiring Writer

Thursday Wrap: Sorry Airport!

Teddy is so disappointed. Yucky weather has us hanging out at home. It's cold and we're expecting rain. Oh no!

We need the rain so the airplanes will have to land without us watching this week.

Teddy thinks we should watch music videos. So here you are - from Teddy with love! 

Rain Song - Robert Plant and Jimmy Page

Frank Sinatra - Come Fly with Me

Fly to London - Children's video

The Rain Song - Children's video

Airplanes in my dreams...

Smiling

In the morning cold I saw him on the bench.
His clothes were slightly tattered, his hands were tightly clinched.
I wondered if  he'd eaten, and stopped to ask him so.
He looked at me through painful eyes and softly answered, no.

My work bag felt quite heavy and I knew what I must do.
Inside a smallish thermal box lay some cornbread and some stew.
For moments that I struggled he hung his head quite low.
The wind was blowing harder and I feared that it might snow.

The thermal box I placed beside him on the bench.
Was not enough to satisfy my heart strings that were wrenched.
I gave him gloves, my favorite scarf, and money for his pocket.
He looked at me through tears and handed me a locket.

The woman was quite lovely and might have been his wife.
And now upon this bench he sat, no longer loving life.
But then he stood and took my hand and said he'd be okay.
Into the morning cold he walked, and I watched him walk away -

Smiling.

Glorious Wildlife and the Donation

Very soon they will coming down the path from yon gazebo - my gazebo. Mine, mine, mine, you little rat face critters! I will, I will, I will have it all!!! (sigh)Let us begin at the beginning.

In my back yard is a gazebo often the sight of happy gatherings and when possible, the family would run off the chipmunks and meet out there too. Yes the little cuties have homesteaded for many years. (Cuties I say reluctantly.) They are also very clever and devious in their pursuit of eating whatever they can find. My gazebo is a war zone of nut shells and corn husks.

Beware! This year they were especially devious and dangerous. Why would I say this, you ask? (Go ahead, I know you're thinking that.) Look at the holes they dug in the front yard. They make these tunnels that crisscross and heaven help me when I try to mow the yard. Step in one of those and ouch! There's no stopping them - no catching them. I tried and got pelted with empty hickory nuts shells from my patio wall.

Every day it's the same old thing. They drag whatever it is they're eating to the gazebo. I have no clue where the almonds came from - I don't have an almond tree. I suspect they shop elsewhere.

Today I received one of those, "Save the Critters," postcard mailings. Of course the photo is a of a chipmunk. Of course it is cute. Donations go to support national wildlife... (who remind me that I am taking up a lot of land by myself. The least I could do is mail them a check, and so I did.)

Later in the afternoon, thinking to make peace with the chipmunks, I traveled down the path to my gazebo. I left a bowl of sunflowers seeds hoping to make a connection of sorts. An hour later there was a scratching at my door and a postcard left in the screen's edge. It was then that I noticed tiny bits of paper blowing on the patio... "pay to the order of...." what?

Clever and devious...

Just for fun!

Just for Melissa Ann   at   My Creatively Random Life

Modern conversation

Someone is getting really certain of what she wants (I know)...
and doesn't want to put up with (I know)...
and time is moving on (I know).

You know? (I know) You know what? (I know).

Is it me or is it disturbing when the only answer from a friend is - I know? (I know).

Then the fabulous option of replying -  I see. (I see).

Which leads me to the all-knowing, all-seeing response: (I understand).

But lately this type of response has been okay with me. (I know)
How do you know? (I know you).

Wait, that's three words in a response... wow... that makes me happy. (I see) You see? (I see you're happy.)

Oh, four words and I am feeling freed by your support and feedback. (I know you understand.)
How do you know? (I know. I see. I finally understand. And you?)

The sound of crickets

Let's do lunch again soon. (When?) You'll know. (I see)

A breath of love

You are wisdom - she whispered to the bird.
He not understanding a single word -
blinked his eyes and turned his head.
Feeling the warmth of her breath meant love.

I have your smile!

In Autumn I see you everywhere -
stepping through leaves of red and gold -
How many times have we walked this place -
this home we shared - how many days
since you've been gone?

The day you gave birth to me
is two weeks away -
I am often amazed that I am here
and not you - without you - yet -
In Autumn I see you everywhere.

It makes me smile -
you always made me smile -
I look in the mirror
and I can smile -
I have your smile!

Celebrate the Small Things - perfect roast!

This is Blog Hop November 7, 2014. This is what I am celebrating:

My renewed interest in cooking produced a roast that was beautiful to look at, and very tasty - finally!

"Celebrate the Small Things" is a weekly bloghop hosted by Viklit over at "Scribblings of an Aspiring Author. The idea is to post anything you want to celebrate from the last week. You will also find complete instructions and rules there, should you want to participate!

Celebrate the Small Things

Viklit's blog : Scribblings of an Aspiring Author

Linky List: Join us!

Wrapping up the week - it's going to be cold!

The airport overlook is going to be filled with lots of blanketed people. Yep, nether rain, sleet, snow, whatever - they'll be there. Friday nights are still the best for plane watching. Time change doesn't seem to affect the following mass. I expect the lady with the grill roasting marshmallows will return. She's threatened to bring chocolate and graham crackers - yum - can you say s'mores? (I'm surprised I could spell it.) After last week's sale of 175 roasted marshmallows, can you blame her? It's a living.

Wrap up well if you're experiencing cold weather. If not - get the heck off of my blog! (smile) I'm doing insulated everything and trying to be cheerful when the commode seat is the only thing I haven't wrapped... yet. (I just know there's a way.) I'll entertain suggestions - please keep it clean!

As usual - have a great Thursday. If my fingers don't get frost bitten I'll be back to do "Celebrate the small things" bloghop on Friday. (That could be one of the things to celebrate - surviving fingers.)

Don't forget those commode wrap suggestions. I'm not going to hold it but I'll be waiting. That's a wrap!

You know - I'm all about that baste, 'bout that baste - no stuffing

I simply could not help myself. I heard this song and thought, "My stars, it's all about the baste." Being a bit older than the young woman singing her song, I have no idea what she's talking about... "I'm all about that bass, 'bout that bass - no treble?" For me it morphed into a cooking method for the coveted turkey. You know the ones who get slammed, crammed, and jammed every November?  Not for me! I am all about that baste, 'bout that baste - no stuffing!

Why? (I know you're sitting there wondering why, aren't you?) Every year for the last twenty years I have attended family Thanksgivings away from my home. They patronize me with just enough leftovers for 24 hours. It's a crime. Not only that but they all stuff the bird. If you're going to make a deposit please allow it to be accepted before you post against it!

It's been a hard lesson to NOT eat the stuffing no matter how yummy it smells. I simply beg off with some excuse about caloric counts. (You smile? Ha, but if you saw those twenty something birds you'd be  in agreement with me. "Sorry, sorry, I know I only weight 140 lbs. but my goal is 120. Yes it's a lie. So is the 140, but let's continue.)

Wonderful juices begin from the depths of my roasting turkey; I baste him until he screams! We spend hours together frolicking in the kitchen, sharing dreams of casseroles yet to be concocted. And the hot bread with creamy butter takes me to heights I only climb this time of year. Do "they" know I cook for a late day Thanksgiving? Shh - please - they will never know. It's all I can do to contain my excitement knowing the German chocolate cake is waiting. (Let them eat cake - their own cake!)

Just for giggles... here's Meghan Trainor singing her version. Mine will be out on Thanksgiving Day!!
You go girl!

Loki's back - Game on!

We all have battles. Daily. Big issues. Small issues. Or maybe we're listening to a friend's struggle. Then there are the blogs. Blogpals. We develop some amazing relationships just by being present in their world. Their blogworlds. Most we'll never meet. It doesn't stop us from cheering them on. When one is missing you know. You go back and forth to their blogworld hoping your feed didn't miss a recent post. Illness or some other event keeps them from posting. But one day you look at your reading lists - and viola - your missing blogpal is back!

Loki's back!!! 

My blogpal Loki is on the mend. I got my first exposure to war gaming through his site. Mind you I'm not into gaming; I'm into all the little figures that he paints. And the game boards are amazing! My first love is painting on canvas, but he's got things three D, and that gets exciting. That's close enough to my second love which is crafting. But we are worlds apart between his figures and game boards, and my door wreaths and painting clay pots. Just the same it's great fun to see what others create and share about their lives.

Some call their treasure a hobby, while others have made it a business venture. Blogpal Loki does sell things at various gaming events, suitable for that venue, but oftentimes he gives us a piece of his treasure. I'm sharing this because I love the flags and banners he's decided to share! One design lends itself to a 5 foot vertical canvas I want to paint as a wall hanging. Another one is a great dragon - which would look snazzy over the fireplace!!!

Loki is doing that "Napoleonic" thing - gamers know - I'm too inexperienced to describe it. However I'm also the history buff and here's a link if you want to know about Napoleon's march into Russia! Or go there, copy the link and save it for a rainy day. The guy's explanation is fantastic. It's also part of a series of Napoleon's adventures - if you're into that. 

Khan Academy - Napoleon & French invade Russia

You could check out how to make game boards here:

Designing Game Boards

If not, my final offer is a song from Coldplay which some happy YouTuber dedicated to Napoleon; get ready to rock!

Coldplay - Viva La Vida

Welcome back Andrew! I know Francis and all the guys/gals have missed you! I'm thinking to make a little regiment of dc's... marching across the blogworld. Oh and maybe one little figure for each of my blogpals... wouldn't that be a hoot? Then it will be game on! "BLOGWORLD" - the game to write home about.

November Moon

I'm clinging to the sliver of the most inviting thing.
It lifts me high and makes me smile with wishes so serene.
And lest I be caught sleeping when you make an early round,
I hope that I'll dreaming of another night in town.