Like the Farmer, I've been plumb tuckered out.
The Farmer, in an post-holiday mode.
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This morning I'm serving chocolate cake. Please grab a slice. There's also various beverages available; juice, coffee, tea and of course, cold milk.
I do apologize that this is made from a box mix. The frosting is from scratch. The difference between a box mix cake and a cake from scratch is quite striking. Box mixes are formulated to be easy, with a minimum of ingredients. What you get is a spongy, somewhat bland cake.
For a recent neighborhood gathering I made a buttermilk white cake which was a hit. Sometime soon we'll bake a cake together using a recipe from Rose Levy Beranbaums, Cake Bible.
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The promised postcards from the recent Postcard Project are on their way. I hope you enjoy the photo, it's an iconic Illinois image. I still need two addresses though - Jenn and Tess, please contact me so that I can get a card in the mail to you!
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One of the reasons I've been absent from this blog is that I started my new job. I am working for a marketing and sales company that does demonstrations in local stores. I like to cook and I like people, so it's a good match!
Cooking and demonstrating food products means you are quite busy. You cook your food back in the kitchen area and keep it warm and dish out samples. Of course, we are required to take the food safety class. Let me just say this ....... I wish I hadn't taken that class because now I know too much!! Who knew all kinds of nasty stuff might lurk in your food if improperly handled. It puts me off wanting to eat in any restaurant.
In addition to providing samples of food we also promote non-food products. In that case you're not so busy. There's no stirring, dishing, microwaving and that allows you to people watch.
People watching is one of my favorite pasttimes. Last week I was promoting a room freshener, which allowed me to observe (and engage) the parade of shoppers. I saw so many cute couples, young and old. People who honestly looked like they belonged together.
There were elderly couples who have spent a lifetime together and the young couple who looked like famous musicians. The guy was a dead ringer for the young Stephen Stills and his partner looked like Linda McCartney.
There are those people who are unapproachable. Those with a high wall builts around them and faces that express pain and disappointment. How can the slight alignment of facial muscles reveal so much about a person?
I like the job and the hours allow me time to do the other things I love.
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I want to introduce you to a blogger that I found via Etsy. Her name is Paige and I love her blog. She has tutorials on lots of wonderful projects. Check her out and come back.
HANDMADE BY PAIGE
Her Etsy shop:
PINK LEMONADE
This girl is only 14 years old and she's talented and enterprising.
Craft Hope has a new project. It's a kit that helps pregnant women have a safer delivery in third world countries. Can you find it in your heart to get involved?
CRAFT HOPE - HOME DELIVERY KITS
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Have you noticed a swarm of bloggers dropping by the wayside? Debbie, the owner of Curious Sofa in Kansas City, has closed the doors to her shop. She'll be selling some product online. I applaud her brave decision to do what is right for her. Recently she'd been featured in magazines and blogs. She was the hot new kid on the block. But the idea of closing the shop had been brewing for awhile. It had taken over her life and she didn't let her recent fame deter her from making the necessary change.
Curious Sofa was on my bucket list of places to see when I finally retired and had the opportunity to hit the road. I'm not disappointed because Debbie and her shop gave me plenty of enjoyment as I dreamed about such a trip.
What is Debbie going to do now? She's purchased a vintage trailer and she's going to hit the road herself, visiting all the cool antique shows around the country.
Good for her!!
How about you? Do you have a place you'd love to visit? Or a suggestion as to where I should check out someday?
Thanks for joining me this morning and thanks for being a loyal reader.
One more photo.
Thinking of spring.
11 comments:
Suzanne, thanks for the heads up about Paige, what a girl! I enjoy your Monday morning staff meetings!
Good morning!
I know what you mean about the cake mixes, although some of them are far better than they used to be. My oldest daughter really wanted an Easy Bake oven for Christmas, but when we made the cake mix cake she didn't like it. Now I will have to figure out how to cut down a cake recipe to only about a 1/4c. so we can make a decent cake for her.
Congratulations on the job! Glad you're enjoying it.
Do I have a place I would love to visit? Oh so many of them! The eastern provinces of Canada, the southern states, all of Europe, Australia and New Zealand, more of Turkey, Israel. Antique type stores in each new destination, little coffee shops and cafes. I want to see it all! Unfortunately, I will have to live most of those adventures through the stories of others, but that's interesting too!
Book marked the links, thanks for sharing. Have a great week. People watching is so much fun!
I was so glad to see you back this morning, your job sounds fun! I will check out those links later, my farmer needs me to make a parts run and I have an egg delivery to make.
Like I said before, so glad to see you back, I don't know you personally but I worry about you when you are gone.
Pam
Funny you worry about restaurant food. I wince going through a church pot luck line.
Woohoo!! I got my postcard. :0) My husband was wondering who in the world you were and why you were sending me a postcard. LOL I think he's still a little perplexed even after explanation. I mostly use cake mixes for making cookies and sometimes pumpkin spice muffins. Makes it all too easy.
Ok Suzanne, Stephen Stills on the cover of the first Crosby, Stills and Nash album, better yet, the centerfold! Be still my heart!!! I felt the same way about Curious Sofa, a place I wanted to visit someday. DH took me to Red Lead a papercrafts store near St. Louis, I dreamt about visiting. I was so excited, and postively giddy. It lived up to my expectations and then some. We have nothing like it in Chicagoland! Best of luck with your new job, sounds like fun.
A people watching job, how fun! I always wondered how all the same features could look so different on every person as to make them identifiablly unique.
We are having the deadly fog days of winter - so boring unless you are driving. So I started a new quilt with really bright colors. That'll keep me perked.
Terri
Great pic of the farmer!
Hey. I know what you mean about a job.
I have only been working mine for 3 days and I don't want to do anything when I get home.
Hugs to you.
Thank you for mentioning me on your blog and for understanding why I closed Curious Sofa. Knowing my customers and readers accepted my reasoning helps me a lot to move forward (because some have not been so gracious!)
Deb
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