Saturday Soliloquy

I need more coffee this morning. Is there more coffee? Never mind. I'll make tea. Then, after I suck down two cups I can put the tea bags on my weary eyes.

So, after 22 miles on Wednesday, 54 on Thursday, and 65.75 yesterday I feel surprisingly good - a bit weary with some sore spots, but quite functional. The biggest surprise is my eyes. I rode through several construction zones and I think the dust and exhaust fumes irritated them. At any rate, some eye drops and tea bags should do the trick.

As of this morning, ALL our fundraising is done - unless, of course, YOU still want to give to the American Lung Association; We're still more than happy to receive pledges. It's just that we have finally passed the minimum and don't HAVE to raise any more. :-D

Halleluiah!!!!!



I'll let them dance for me...I'm resting today!

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Got the quilts done and turned in. Please don't look too closely - I put a great deal of stock in the saying, "Done is better then Perfect"!

I made 2 like this with different backings:



Then I did these two from materials the girls picked out:



Considering the fact that quilting is not my forte, I think they came out pretty good. :-D

Soon (as in the beginning of next week) the quilts will be in Swaziland warming some adorable little orphans. We have friends (the Qs) who are missionaries there and other friends (GoatLady and Sarah) who are flying to spend a month with them to help them get a goat herd started. Wish I could ride along with them!

Sarah just graduated from homeschool and already has her CNA license. I was privileged to make her graduation cake:



It was French vanilla with raspberry filling. Quite tasty if I say so myself!

I also had the honor of making a birthday treat for one of the gals on our worship team. Usually the birthday goodies are made by our sweet and talented Mary, but she had hurt her neck. So she passed on the request for strawberry shortcake to me.

I spent the whole morning in a quandry; Should I make shortcake biscuits? or cake? I prefer cake, but maybe the birthday gal grew up with biscuits. Which one should I do? Aaaack!!!

So I pulled out the cookbooks and hemmed and hawed and wasted time on Facebook and prayed and pondered and finally settled on making a homemade spongecake.

It. was. incredible.

Happily, birthday gal LOVED it. :-D So did Mulletman. So did my girlies.

Looks like I'll be making that spongecake again!

Here's the recipe from one of my favorite cookbooks in the whole wide world, Joy of Cooking by Rombauer and Becker. I have the 1975 edition. There are variations to the recipe, but I'm only writing out the one I actually made. Remember to have your eggs at room temperature for maximum volume:

Sponge Cake

Preheat oven to 350ºF.

Grate 1 tsp lemon rind into one cup sifted sugar. (Yes, I sifted mine.)

In a large bowl beat 5 egg yolks until VERY light.

Gradually beat in the sugar.

Beat in 1/4 cup of boiling water.

When cool (it won't take long), add 1 Tbl lemon juice.

In another bowl: Sift before measuring: 1 cup flour

Resift flour with 1 and 1/2 tsp baking powder and 1/4 tsp salt

Add the sifted ingredients slowly to the yold mixture. Stir until well blended.

In a separate bowl, whip 5 egg whites until stiff but not dry.

Gently fold the whites into the yolk mixture.

Scrape batter into an UNgreased tube pan.

Bake about 45 minutes.

Hang pan upside down until cool, then gently remove cake.

Bon Appetite!

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Ok...I guess that's all I have to say for the moment. However, I am also posting on my Trekker blog. You may want to pop over there to read how I almost killed a fellow cyclist yesterday... (That post probably won't be up until 9-ish am EST )

You Probably Thought Groovy Was on Vacation, But She Wasn't...

Only my typing was on vacation. The rest of me has just been caught up in a whirlwind of spring craziness.

Let's see if I can make a random list in no particular order of all that we've been doing so that you'll be impressed and will say, "Oh my! You are SO busy!", which is what folks usually say when I make posts like this which kinda makes me think so what's the point ? but I'll do it anyway because it gives me something to say and my, oh my, isn't this an intolerably long sentence?

Whew.

- Rode my bike somewhere between 52-55 miles in 7 days. That's a good start, but I'd like to get in 70 miles this week and 80-100 miles every week thereafter. You can read more about my progress, roadblocks, and a special blessing from God HERE. You can donate to the American Lung Association there as well, or in my sidebar on this blog. Thanks for all your moral and financial support!

- Mulletman and I led worship and gave a concert yesterday at a small local church. We have an old Dylan song called "Satisfied Mind" that always gets a tremendous response.

No, I DON'T sing it like Dylan! Our style is old time, hard core blues - 'cause that's what you get when you put your trust in your bank account instead of in the God of the universe!

- We practiced and PRACTICED for the afore mentioned concert/worship service.

- We had 4-H:

Girly-Girl is working on her leadership skills, so she made a poster of how to prepare for a 4-H goat show. Then she and Silly-Head and another friend taught the info to the other children.



Here are the girls with their new goatlings. These little buggers are Nigerian Dwarfs - not my favorite breed, but they are, of course, adorable when they're kids.

Silly-Head with Zoe.


Girly-Girl with Zemmaline.


-We had the requisite Easter family gathering. After a lovely Easter church service where Girly-Girl sang in the kids' choir (sorry no pics, stupid camera!), I baked a ham and some awesome herb rolls and coleslaw and GrammaJ made dessert and Grammy cooked up lots of veggies. The guest list included the four of us (duh!), all 3 folks, Uncle Grumpy-Pants, Pretty Mom and my 3 adorable and never annoying grandchildren.

It was wonderful day!

Here's Ji-Ji. He looks a maniacal, but it's the best picture I mananged to get of him during the playing-in-Gramma's-basement chaos.

This is Cookie trying out the disgustingly dusty school desk that will be refurbished for her in a year or two.


And here's Fireball in one of her quieter moods.


Oh...and Easter? That's usually when the girlies beg me to make them Easter dresses and I wimp out, BUY them shirts, and sew them skirts instead.


-This week we also went to the nursing home and had a fabulous time leading walker aerobics.

Just kidding!

We sang to the residents and doled out numerous hugs. To tell the truth, I don't think the folks there give a rat's whisker whether Early-Bird and I come, but OH how they love all the little girls we bring; my two, Early-Bird's Peanut, and two other little homeschooled sweeties. The girls make cards and tissue paper flowers. They sing and talk childish talk and hug the residents. My girl always bring a doll or stuffed animal to show off. It's great fun! I'm starting to think of it as one of my favorite activities!

-We worked on quilts for the orphans in Swaziland. We have dear friends there who run an orphanage and work with a local church. Two other friends are planning an excursion there in June, so the rush is on to get quilts made before they leave so they can take them in their luggage. This quilt is almost finished:


-This week I also did a slew of chored for GrammaJ and took her on a marathon shopping trip and had her over here to visit on both Easter and yesterday.

-I manage to contract a stupid cold. I am fighting said cold for all I am worth with vitamin C, elderberry syrup, and zinc gluconate!

-I cleaned my house.

- I had school with the girlies.

- I wrote a song.

- I prayed for North Africa.

- I researched language programs; Mulletman and I are considering studying Arabic. Anybody have any recommendations?

- Somewhere in there I cooked and planned and talked to people, bathed, brushed my teeth, lifted weights, greeted "Aunt Flo", delivered Pampered Chef from that party I may or may not have had, and slept. Happily for me, Mulletman did all the laundry!

-I noticed that Girly-Girl had a harvest to reap! (We shall eat that WHOLE green bean for lunch today!)





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Things that I did not do this past week but hope to do soon:

- I did NOT hear from Scout. I miss him!


-I did not spruce up and refine the song I wrote.

-I did not write to Misti in China or Pinky in India.

-I did not write on either of my novels.

-I didn't take a day to just "goof off".

-I didn't dig up the veggie garden.

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OK...enough about my groovy self. In between today's to-do list I'll be by to see what YOU've been doing!
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Lastly - a take away from yesterday's sermon at the church we sang at:

Every morning when you get up, ask the Lord W. H. A. T. He wants you to do that day; ask Him to be Lord of your Words, your Heart, your Actions, and your Thoughts.