keljonma's Front Porch - Settling in and adjusting

[keljonma]

We've had a nice day all day.

We even managed to get a good bit of stuff accomplished today!

Lucky you! I have gotten things done, but mostly in the house. And I finished reading another library book.

In the yard, the lilac blossoms are just about done. But the yarrow and the peonies are starting to bud.

Our temps have dropped 10 since the rain started. And while it isn't raining this second, the radar is showing more wet stuff heading our way.

I have a book on cd that I am going to listen to tonight while I do housework and bake sponge cake.


Ooops! Spoke too soon...rain and thunder again!

 

[keljonma]

27 May 2011 - Friday

Last night I got busy washing kitchen walls, and did not get the sponge cake baked; so I need to get on that this afternoon.

TR and I ran errands this morning and stopped at a yard sale and The Sonshine Corner shop. http://www.sonshinecorner.com/index.html

While at The Sonshine Corner, TR got some blank note greeting cards and I bought a book about widowhood by Miriam Neff: From One Widow to Another http://www.widowconnection.com/

Miriam Neff is a fascinating person who is being used by God in many ways to minister to women. Sometimes she is on Midday Connection with Anita and Melinda on Moody Radio. I am going to donate the book to our church library after I read it.

The landlords usually go out of town for the Memorial Day week-end, so we dropped off June's rent this morning. Our landlady asked why we had yellow CAUTION tape all over the driveway. They saw it late last night when they drove past our house on their way home. So we told her about the 3' deep sink hole. The conversation was kind of like this...

LL: Hey, guys! How are you? What is with the yellow caution tape in the drive? Is that something to do with the roofing job?

TR: We have a 3 foot deep sink hole in the drive now. Here's the rent money. Have a great safe holiday! Bye!

LL: Wait a minute! Don't leave! Tell me what happened? Why are you paying the rent so early?

TR & KJM together: Explained the entire sink hole situation. Told LL it is the holiday week-end and we know they are leaving town and just wanted to get the rent to them before they left. (is 4 days really that early?!)

After that great conversation, we stopped at the local diner and each got a piece of pie for take-away. TR picked peanut butter and I chose rhubarb. We had our pie with coffee after lunch today. Lunch was veggie omelets.

This afternoon, as I play on SS, TR is helping Neil with his landscaping business. His 4-weeks-on and 2-weeks-off chemo treatment schedule is leaving him healthy enough to sit on a mower, but too weak to stand for long periods of time with the weed-whacker. After he is done there, TR will head for work.

Did I mention that this week TR started training J to be his back-up for the hospital outbuildings? A good thing, we were thinking, because of Jon's wedding in Texas this autumn.

Last year, TR wasn't allowed to take off any more than 4 days in a row because there department was short-handed. So he has already told his boss that they can fire him if they want to, but he *WILL* take 2 solid weeks off; he is not missing his son's wedding!

For training, TR gives J instructions, and while J does the daily stuff, TR works on special cleaning projects, like the walls, windows, etc, that only need done periodically. So this has been a good thing because when D was doing the job, he wasn't doing much of it. The outbuildings are filthy, so with J doing the daily stuff, TR is able to get some of the filth cleaned up. And his boss has already received some glowing notes thanking TR for doing a great job.

Sounds like everything is going well and we are FINALLY adjusting to this modified 2nd shift work. This morning, TR's boss called to say that S, who works the hospital trash route, "hurt his arm" and will be off for the next 6 weeks.

So you can probably guess what this means for us. Starting Monday, TR will be on 1st shift again! (At least 6 weeks)! TR was supposed to be OFF on Monday because the outbuildings are closed for the holiday!

So now, TR thinks that J will be assigned as outbuildings person after S comes back to work in 6 weeks; and TR will be back in the hospital on days again.

This is a good news/bad news situation for us. Being morning people, we do much better mentally and physically on 1st shift. And TR loves the patient contact in the hospital. But there is so much political garbage and pure hatred within the staff in his department that he does not relish going back to........ I am praying he keeps his wits about him when he is back there and walks away from bad situations.

Weather-wise, the skies have been overcast all day, and it has already rained a couple times. The temperature is only 60 today, a drop of 17 from yesterday at this time.

Thanks to all this rain, the strawberry bed is semi-flooded and the main garden bed (which we were hoping to plant this week-end) looks like a large puddle. The grass near the beehive and in some places in the side and back yards is about 18 inches high.

 

[FarmerJamie]

Hi keljonma, looks like we have a decent weekend ahead, hopefully things will dry out so we can get something done....

Wednesday night, Channel 5 was out of of control with the storm coverage. I went to the "live" site they suggested and it was an absolute zoo. I got more info from my weather radio, a noaa on-line radar map, and sticking my head out the front door.

Hope the the hubby gets the work stuff straightened out soon.

 

[keljonma]

Well, hopefully, FJ, we WILL have nice weather! We sure could use some, donnchathinK?

We have a bunch of stuff to get into the garden. But TR and I were talking today that maybe we should just get larger containers and transplant the tomato, pepper, etc into containers instead of taking chances on the weather.

TR called from work. His boss says he will be back on 1st shift for the next 6 weeks or until S comes back to work after his arm injury heals. He won't say what will happen after that......

Hope you have a terrific and safe holiday!

 

[keljonma]

Strawberry Cassata Cake

2 sponge cakes, cooled
1 chocolate bar (I used 70% cocoa bar)
16 oz. fresh ricotta cheese
1 pint of heavy cream, whipped until stiff
2-3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/4 cup strawberry preserves
Sliced/diced strawberries for filling
Several strawberries for topping


Chop 3/4 of the chocolate bar; set aside. Shave the rest of the bar, set aside.

Mix the ricotta, sugar, and vanilla into the bowl of whipped cream till smooth. Gently fold in the roughly chopped chocolate.

Place 1 layer of cake on dish. Spread 1 to 2 T of preserves on cake. Top with sliced/diced strawberries. Top with whipped cream mixture.

Place 2nd layer of cake on top. Spread 1 to 2 T of preserves on cake. Top with sliced/diced strawberries. Top with whipped cream mixture.

Frost top and sides of entire cake with whipped cream mixture. Top with whole trimmed strawberries, sprinkle shaved chocolate around berries.

Refrigerate until serving.

ETA: This is the standard sponge cake recipe I make:

Basic Sponge Cake

This cake can be made in the following pans
two 8-inch round cake pans or
two 9-inch round cake pans or
one 9-inch springform pan or
one jelly roll pan

8 eggs, separated
pinch salt
8 tablespoons vanilla sugar
1 teaspoon oil
1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
8 tablespoons sifted all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350. Prepare the cake pans by buttering the insides and placing waxed or parchment paper to fit in the bottom of each pan. Butter the paper as well. Set aside.

Beat the egg whites with the salt untill stiff peaks form. With an electric mixer, beat the egg yolks, gradually adding the sugar, until the mixture is light yellow, very creamy, and volcanic bubbles rise to the surface and pop when beating stops.

Stir in the oil and lemon rind. Sift 2 tablespoons of the flour on top of the egg yolk mixture and quickly fold in with a spatula. Repeat until all the flour is incorporated.

Stir in 2 tablespoons of the beaten egg whites to lighten the batter. Then fold in 1/4th of the remaining egg whites at a time, folding with a quick, light hand. The egg white should be evely distributed but not broken up too much. There should not be any large clumps of egg whites in the batter, either.

Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for about 25 minutes, or until a pick in the center comes out clean. Transfer pans to cooling racks for 10 minutes. Invert the pans to remove the cakes and quickly remove the paper. Finish cooling the cakes.

 

[FarmerJamie]

Yum!

 

[keljonma]

It was yummy, FJ! I left the remaining cake at my sister's house. Her daughters' friends will have it gone in no time!

and ISN"T THE WEATHER JUST PERFECT?!

 

[Quail_Antwerp]

Where's mine????? LOL

 

[keljonma]

Where's mine????? LOL

Being mostly whipped cream and ricotta, this cake does not travel well.

 

[FarmerJamie]

It was yummy, FJ! I left the remaining cake at my sister's house. Her daughters' friends will have it gone in no time!

and ISN"T THE WEATHER JUST PERFECT?!

Started out cold and foggy here, not too bad most of the day. Cloudy and cold at sundown.