A) Toaster oven #4 is sitting on the counter, while toaster oven #3 waits on the table to be taken to the dungeon basement or garage.
Our first toaster oven, a classic 4-slice Black & Decker, lasted the longest. I don’t remember the reason for its demise. #2 was a Toastmaster that lasted about a year. Its thermostat went wrong, and it overheated itself and started melting and almost started a fire. #3 is a 6-slice Black & Decker. On the plus side, it neatly fits a 9×9 pan of cornbread and bakes it without black stripes. On the other side, it’s bulky, and it no longer toasts. It’s a pain to have to broil your toast. You have to turn it, you have to watch it carefully, it takes forever… Besides, it’s a TOASTER oven.
#4 is a Dura-brand. Hey, you never know. It still fits a 9×9 pan, is less bulky than #3, and did our bagels just fine. So far.
B) One of my pet peeves is when anyone who loves me gets irritated with me for feeling a certain way. Yes, I know, I perpetuate this pattern on Amy (and everyone else), whose behavior about certain feelings can be very irritating. I don’t like that I do that, because I know how unfair and unpleasant it is. I am working very hard to learn how to have my feelings, let her have hers, and treat myself and her with compassion and respect. There’s got to be a way to be irritated (a feeling) and still gracious (an action). I think the irritation — mine or others’ — must have to do with boundaries — feeling attacked or blamed or thwarted by the irritating feelings / behavior. It is very difficult, but so very important, to extend grace, compassion, respect, despite one’s own and the other person’s feelings and behavior.
C) Tonight I made the dough for the Thanksgiving pumpkin pie crusts. I also managed to remember to put the pumpkin in the fridge to thaw. I should have done it earlier, since I need to make the pies rather early in the morning.
D) Today I made a Texas sheet cake for Amy’s birthday celebration. I haven’t made a cake from scratch in ages, and the last one wasn’t very good. This, however, was excellent. It’s an easy recipe, too; one I got from my mom. Maybe I’ll post it. The icing is even good, and I usually hate icing. This one is buttery fudgy.
E) Amy’s birthday celebration was fun, and even though I don’t have pictures yet I’m going to write about it anyway.
Yesterday afternoon, my friend Amy came over with a present for our Amy, who woke up from a nap in time to open it with her. It’s a little tea set, with pretty bright colors and simple raised flower designs — a teapot, sugar bowl, plates, saucers, utensils, cups. Amy has already poured “tea” in / on all sorts of things.
This morning, after my in-laws arrived, we helped Amy open her presents from family and from our good friends Jim and Jen. She participated a little bit, taking hold of a rip I’d start, and pulling it a little further open. She wanted to play with each thing (or a previous thing) instead of going on to the next. Just as we were deciding to stop half-way through she renewed interest in the still-wrapped gifts, so we continued through them all. (Thank you, everyone, for the lovely clothes and toys.)
Midday we ate tortellini and salad and cake and ice cream. We served everyone a piece of cake and ice cream, and brought Amy’s last, with the candle and the singing, so that she could dig in as soon as it arrived. I was afraid she’d try to touch the flame, so I blew out the candle for her. She patted the cake a few times but wasn’t sure what to do with it. She liked the taste of the ice cream but was puzzled by its coldness. Once we cut up the cake, she tackled it with great interest, even licking the little cutting board we’d served it on.
F) This week my “once a day” commitment is not doing so well. I am trying to keep my regular visiting to a minimum, but once in a while I need to get online again (like to find out how many cups of powdered sugar are in a box, since the recipe called for a box but I had a larger bag) and while I was on, I might as well take a peek at my email, and…
G) I should probably go to bed. It’s 1:00… and we have a busy day (again) tomorrow, with pie-baking and then a lunch in Culver on our way to Indy for the holiday.
H) G’night.
