I Got Nothing

It has been a while since I've done a nothing post. 

Muses or not, I have nothing planned out. I'm fine taking a breather for a day. 

Enjoy your free period.

Song by: the Bangles

Baking with Blobby

As you saw on 12 of 12, the Old Man's Running Group had one of it's 3 or 4 picnics that they do each year. Picnic implies lunch, but this is done right after a run, so.....it's like 09:00. Bagels, muffins and coffee are provided. We each are supposed to bring something else. 

You've seen me do breads or muffins. This time it is a loaf cake. More precisely a Pink Lemonade cake. 

I really was about to do a no bake thing, but it had chocolate and honestly, it's been mid-80s before 08:00 and I thought that wouldn't be great. Maybe another time. 

I should have gone with the no-bake option. But more on that in a bit. 

The pink lemonade cake isn't exactly labor intensive, but it seems to use a few bowls, but it is kind of clean as you go, so it isn't horrible.  ....and I technically, I think it is vegan. No butter. No eggs. Even the oil is vegetable. I suppose if you needed it gluten free you could substitute flours, but I can only do so much for so many people. 

Let's get cracking.......

Ingredients 

Cake 

 

3/4 cup (149g) granulated sugar 

Zest of 2 lemons 

2 cups (240g) all-purpose flour 

1 teaspoon baking powder 

1 teaspoon baking soda 

3/4 teaspoon table salt 

3/4 cup (170g) water 

1/2 cup (99g) vegetable oil 

1/4 cup (57g) freshly squeezed lemon juice, from about 2 lemons 

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 

Soak 

2 tablespoons (28g) freshly squeezed lemon juice, from about 1 lemon 

2 tablespoons (25g) granulated sugar 

Glaze 

1/2 cup (60g) fresh raspberries, plus more for serving 

1 to 1 1/4 cups (113g to 142g) confectioners' sugar, sifted 

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 

1/8 teaspoon table salt 

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F with a rack in the center. Line an 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" loaf pan with a parchment sling, then spray the parchment and the inside ends of the pan with nonstick spray. 

To make the cake: 

In a medium bowl, add the sugar and lemon zest. Rub the sugar and zest together with your (clean!) fingertips until the mixture smells lemony and resembles damp sand. 

Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to the bowl and whisk to combine with the sugar mixture. Set aside. 

In a separate small bowl or large measuring cup, whisk together the water, oil, lemon juice, and vanilla. 

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir with a flexible spatula to combine. It's OK if a few small lumps remain. 

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake the cake for 45 to 48 minutes, until the top looks set, the edges begin to pull away from the sides of the pan, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. 

This was my #1 downfall: the parchment paper sling. It was not smooth enough. This buckle in the paper would start a visual disaster once peeling the paper off. I would have been better just using no parchment. 

Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then use the parchment sling to lift it out of the pan. Set it on the wire rack, upside-down, and peel off the parchment. 

To make the soak: 

In a small bowl, combine the lemon juice and sugar and whisk together until the sugar is dissolved. Use a pastry brush to brush the soak all over the bottom and sides of the cake. (Brushing the soak onto the bottom, as opposed to the crusty top, allows more of it to be absorbed.) Let the cake cool completely, about an hour. 

To make the glaze: 

While the cake cools, make the glaze: 

Place the raspberries in a fine mesh strainer set over a medium bowl. 

Using a flexible spatula or the back of a spoon, smash and press the berries through the strainer to extract as much juice as possible. I used clean hands, as it was quicker. Discard the seeds left behind in the strainer. 

Gradually mix 1 cup (113g) of the confectioners’ sugar into the raspberry juice, stirring until smooth. Slowly add the remaining confectioners’ sugar as needed until the glaze has a thick but pourable consistency, like honey. (When you drizzle it back into the bowl, the lines should hold for at least a few seconds.) Whisk in the vanilla and salt. 

Downfall #2. The instructions say how many raspberries and how much sugar to use, but not how much actual raspberry juice. There was a lot of juice, so it took a LOT of sugar to get to the consistency, and I still don't think it is right. I probably need two tablespoons - tops! - for this. Way overboard and it soaked the cake more than glazed it.  It would end up sticking the cake to the Chinet I placed it on to set-up. 

(yes, Chinet - I was going to a picnic!)

I also forgot to get a pic of the cake after I 'glazed' it.  This was the next morning when we tried to salvage the cake, but pre-cutting it into bite-sized pieces before going to the event. 

Turn the cake right-side-up on the wire rack and set the rack onto a rimmed baking sheet. Pour the glaze evenly over the top of the cake. Spread it all the way to the edges so that some glaze drips down the sides; an offset spatula is a helpful tool here. Set aside to allow the glaze to set, at least 30 minutes. 

To serve, cut the lemonade cake into slices and garnish with a few fresh raspberries.

This is the cut-up version for the picnic. 

People claimed to have loved it. 710 said he did and that it had intense lemon flavour, though the raspberry flavour did not come through. It should have intense lemon flavor - zest in the sugar, juice in the mix and a lemon juice soak. 

Should I do this again, I'd just learn from my mistake. Again, visually, it was iffy, taste was a solid A. 

My Music Monday

Near the end of this year, when Apple tells me what music I listened to most, and most by month, the Tragically Hip will be at the top of July and somewhere in my top 10 overall for 2025.

The band has ceased to exist since singer Gord Downie's death from Glioblastoma almost a decade ago. But they were THE Canadian band. 

In their existence, they only had one line-up change in 33 years. 

I don't say it lightly about.being THE Canadian band. During his final year - and knowing his outcome -Downie and the band toured and their last concert was broadcast live. More than one-third of ALL Canadians watched it. 

That is amazing. 

The Hip never broke in the U.S., not really. I found them when our cable provider broadcast MuchMusic, which was Canada's MTV, but only ever played music videos - and the majority were Canadian bands and artists. Heck, that would have had to been around 1997-2005. It's been a while. 

But they hit my playlist not long ago and then when I have worked out for the last few weeks, it is has been exclusively to the Tragically Hip. That's not even an exaggeration. And I work out 1.5 hours per day, 5x per week. It's a lot of the Hip.

I'd say "their music isn't for everyone" but you can say that about any artist. They are primarily rock. Sometimes a folk-influenced or blues-influenced song gets in there. Sometimes harder rock really gets in there. 

There is a plethora of songs from which to choose, and none would appeal to all of you, so I took a stab with "Nautical Disaster" from 2007-ish. I'd have used "Grace, Too", but there is no official video for it. Not that it should matter. 

Not sure if this is anyone's style, but I think it's a band that should be known and heard .

12 of 12

So I'm doing my 183rd 12 of 12.

Normally it is 12 pictures taken on the 12th of the month. Since I only post once per day, you get my images the following day. All pictures taken with my iPhone. Click images to enlarge, if you choose.

Created by Chad Darnell and picked up from, what I can tell, any number of random bloggers who then link back to him and vice versa. Chad is no longer doing this, nor is successor coordinating the linking of other 12 of 12'ers anymore.   

06:14. Prepping for my morning run. 

I took this off after the Cleveland Half, but my knees has felt a bit unsteady, so I put it back on. 

06:32. Dog gets fed first. 

07:28. Old Man's Running Group starts to gather. It is already 81°F !

09:08. 8.38 miles later 

It was awful. The run. The heat. The humidity. At the 8.1 mile mark, I had to stop for almost passing out.

09:34. It was also the Old Man's Running Group 'picnic'. You've got a Baking with Blobby post coming. 

Me? I ate lightly. I did have a Gatorade, two glasses of iced tea, the rest of my water and three popsicles. 

Eventually I had a bagel, but oddly not a bit of what I made. 

12:20. Picking up lunch at Culvers. 

Shep, 710 and I were on our way to our Saturday hike. 

12:38. 710 really needs to work on his zoom and focus skills. 

The sign made me laugh. I hope you can read it. 

12:49. French Fry Lunge.

Our lunch outing. In the car. It was too oppressive to eat outside. Post-Nuclear blast warm. 

13:11. Hike, but in a place with almost 100% shade. 

It was the only way an afternoon walk would happen. 

14:02. Post walk temp. 

17:34. A very very well deserved shower. 

21:14. Chocolate Fudge Brownie. 

Elenore

We have kittens today. For a number of you, that's all you really want to know. There are dogs too, btw. 

I do so love that these two remain bonded. 

Though I don't think they'll both fit in that space together much longer. 

Poor Shep. He doesn't even get the upper bunk. 

But on these scorcher of days, he does like the cold floors. 

Olive. My would-be girlfriend. 

I'm still unclear which kitten is which. This "seems" like a guy thing. 

On my way home from my evening run, I happened up on 710 walking Shep in a park. 

Someone was VERY excited to see me.  .....and it wasn't 710. 

The stop confused the poor boy because they continued their walk and not with me. 

Again - no idea who this is. Or which one, I guess. 

Bailey got a new toy. No update on how long it lasted. 

OMG. Clearly they feel comfortable with my nephew. 

Ellie.  She would not move on her walk until Shep came over to say 'hi'. 

Song by: the Turtles

Mississippi

I almost did a I'm not posting today post. I just didn't think I had it in me - as it is very close to my bedtime. 

But what the hey. Hay? 

I started out the first part of the year strong on reading. A book a week for the first three months and then it kind of squealed to a halt for a while. Maybe I burned out. Or my mental health just had me lose focus. Both things can be true. 

Like movies, I don't really read book reviews until after I finish the tome. And like movies, that is for good reason. I like to make up my own mind. 

So I started the year with Huckleberry Finn. 

As I mentioned it to others, it is a book you read because you have to. I don't think that many would willingly select it. My opinion: it's not a great book. The story is ok. The writing is fair (sorry Twain). The dialect, while I get it, is difficult at best. ....and that doesn't even touch on THE word - which is used like 14,501 times. 

I read it because I didn't have to in high school, but I wanted to read the 2024 pseudo companion piece James, which is supposed to be the similar story told by Jim, the slave. I thought that could be extremely interesting. 

To do that though, I had to slog through Finn. 

BTW, this is not a book review of James, and technically not Finn either. 

I made the grave grave grave mistake of going to amazon and reading the reviews of Finn after completing it and James. 

Ohhhhhhhh Boy. 

I could flood this blog with some questionable reviews - at best.  But I do think I found the "best" one. 

Yes, the Arthur should have known better. 

THIS folks. This one review is what this country is dealing with in overall education, tolerance, bigotry and racism. I'm sure I'm leaving out some others too. 

Wisely, years ago, amazon took out comments on reviews. Of course, I so wanted to post something, but it wasn't enough for me to actually post a review of Finn. 

So, thanks C. klauber for showing us the real 'murica. 

Song by: Paula Cole

Shout

If I can get my hands on a megaphone, I might have a new hobby. 

How fucking satisfying would this be?

This would be my dream hobby. Or dream job if it came with medical and dental. 

Song by: Tears for Fears

False Alarm

Every now and then, I am blatantly reminded how unprepared we are for an emergency. 

For years I sat on a hospital emergency / disaster preparedness committee. 

We simulated helicopter or plane crashes. Tornadoes. Anthrax release. Something similar to the Great White concert stampede. Mass shootings.  You get the idea. 

The only times I remember going from drills to actuality was that August where one-quarter of the country lost power (2002?). And we kind of kicked it in for 9/11 - though all those hospital transfers we thought we'd be getting never materialized. 

Home preparedness is different. I mean, it's not, but it is treated a lot more casually. Well, it is here. 

Two nights ago (well, early morning), our 'fire' alarm went off. 

I say 'fire' because the new ones can detect C02. Maybe radon, but I don't think so. Anyhoo - I wasn't sure it was a fire. 

710 must have changed them because they used to talk - which I loathed. In theory it would say what the emergency was and where. BUT - it was so loud and it was tied into a series of alarms throughout the house, the verbal warnings were all staggered and talked all over each other, so you couldn't understand a word being said. 

Now, the new one(s) just blare. 

If you've ever been in a hotel when one has gone off, it is deafening - and for good reason. Hundreds of bodies in those buildings in various states of sleep or sleeping aids. Our home ones are no less loud. It scares the shit out of me. 

Especially at 04:00. 

Granted I was semi-awake, but not out of bed. Not even truly out of sleep. I jump up and out of bed - nekkid - and immediately head to leave the bedroom. 

WTF? 

I'm going into the 'fire'? Naked. Without glasses. In the dark. 

710 is clamouring to get out of bed too and I think Shep was downstairs, probably freaking out. I know I was. 

Then all of the sudden it all stops. We didn't find the detector - we never even left right outside the bedroom. It felt like it rang for 20 minutes when it was probably 20 seconds. 

What did we do?  Went back to bed. 

Again - WTF? 

We didn't check a thing to see if we were truly ok. We did nothing. 

In retrospect I was kicking myself. Later 710 said, we should make sure to grab our wallets.  WHAT?

How about Shep, shorts and eyewear. 

If truly a fire, do I have a preference if the fire brigade finds me naked or burnt to a crisp? I'll take the former. I mean, unless it is February. Shrinkage in the cold and all. 

I used to keep my glasses on my bedside table, but anymore I just throw them in the bathroom when I brush my teeth before bed. Now they're back on my bedside table. Along with my phone. As long as I can grab those on the way to find Shep, I'll be ok. 

Still, we need a plan. It seems silly to have and even practice it, but when it is even a false alarm, we need to know what we are doing. Because clearly we did not. 

Song by: the Head and the Heart

Weather with You

I would really rather not comment on the Texas girl's camp that got wiped out by a flood and killed all or most of the campers and the staff. 

I mean, it is fucking horrifying, no? 

Surely some of them were going to end up in STEM classes, while some would have grown up to oppress women's rights. I mean, it was Texas. 

STEM would have helped them better. But you know......science. What's it ever been good for? 

In an even semi-perfect world, we, the U.S., would learn from this. These were somewhat preventable deaths. 

DOGE laid off 880-1000 (or more) folks at National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in March of this year. More than 10% of their staff 

Some say it was for Musk to get his Starlink the contract for satellite control. Doubtful we'd get a confirmation on that possibility. In reality, it's probably due to BLOTUS being ridiculed for inaccurately drawing on a hurricane weather map and the NWS correcting him. 

You and I both know that butthurt him. And he is very very very prone to retaliation. 

Those layoffs include meteorologists and the National Weather Service, which includes early warning systems. 

Ohhhhh......so sad.  

Wouldn't it be weird if the girls who were killed were the daughters of the Tesla employees who had to relocated to Texas because of their boss?  The same boss who was the one who cut those NOAA jobs?  It's creepy to say, but it would be some kind of delayed karma. 

I mean it is all sad. And I'm 100% certain that no one in this administration will take any blame or responsibility for this. Why start now?

.....and just look at the fucking blog image. Julie (official!) 

I mean, you cannot argue with her logic.  

Really. I mean, you can't. It is impossible to reason with someone like this - and there are millions of someones like this. That it took someone a few days to blame Pappy Joe is more the amazing part. I'd have thought that'd be in an instant. 

So far, I have not heard Marjorie Taylor Cunt weigh in on the Secret Jewish Space Lasers that cuntrol (not a typo) weather. 

Oh yes, she did once say “Yes they can control the weather. It’s ridiculous for anyone to lie and say it can’t be done.”.  While she did not say who "they" were, I'm guessing it's a few guys at the JCC who meet on Thursday mornings for their shvitz.......and hurricane planning. 

Speaking of............Dave Richardson, the BLOTUS appointed head of FEMA, said - just last month - that he was not aware there was a hurricane season. 

Holy Fuck Balls. 

Maybe I shouldn't be so worried about SS / ICE. Maybe Mother Nature will end it sooner - and more humanely. 

Song by: Crowded House

My Music Monday

There is a "group" named Role Model. 

Doing absolutely zero research, going by this video that group might only be one guy. Seriously, I didn't even both wiki'ing him / them. 

"They" might have the song of summer with "Sally, When the Wine Runs Out". 

The tune is part rock, part pop, all fun. Mostly for the chorus, but the versus are good too. I cannot quite place it, but there is a familiarity in style. My gut says it is in a Fountains of Wayne vein, but I'm not sure that is correct. 

And I really think they pull it off with just how they sing the name "Sally. 

The video is fun too. I'm sure very staged, but it doesn't quite come off that way, and the singer looks like he's having fun - which is rare. 

Ice

To be honest, I have been exhausted even thinking about writing this post. The impetus for it has literally kept me awake for the last 2-3 nights. I even had an anxiety attack contemplating the reason behind why I had to write about it. 

Yeah - you all know the bill / budget that passed both sides of Congress last week - by the skins of their teeth - cuts a lot of services and adds almost $4,000,000,000,000 (that's trillion) to the deficit. All of it problematic, of course. 

But an original plan in an earlier version of that bill was something like $4 billion for ICE, yet the amount expanded to $175 Billion. 

Let that sink in. 

That's right - almost 44x more. 

We are a country of ~330 million folks. That equates to ~$530,300 per resident. 

Yes, I'm stating it that way. If it were truly about just undocumented people in the country, the cost per person would skyrocket. 

This is not what this is about. 

This about keeping citizens in line. This is about controlling the population. This is about Germany 1936-1945. For what else would they need that kind of funding?  No seriously, I'll wait for responses in the comments. 

Yes, it's Blobby the Alarmist again. Welcome back to my world. 

ICE. A government "law enforcement" agency. 

Unnamed. Masked. No warrants. No charges. No due process. No accountability. Little to no information given on 'prisoners' or locations / destinations. Answering to seemingly no one. Expanding at incredible speed.  

If that isn't the SS, I don't know what the fuck is. 

They have clearly detained and taken legitimate citizens already. No recourse. None. How is this acceptable to anyone other than BLOTUS, Stephen Miller, and Kristi Noam? 

To be even clearer - out of BLOTUS' mouth:  says his administration is actively exploring a proposal to detain U.S. citizens and send them to prisons in El Salvador. 

"The homegrowns are next, the homegrowns. You've got to build about five more places,"  BLOTUS said to El Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele, an apparent reference to prison space that would be needed in El Salvador to house U.S. citizens. 

I honestly don't know how one could be much clearer on plans and intent. And now with the additional funding? 

You are a homegrown. So is your family. I'd say prove me wrong, but they're not looking for proof or facts. Good luck with that. 

You have to believe he's learned not to make the same mistake as Germany and keep detailed records of people who are imprisoned and / or eventually executed. They have literally taken away all the barriers to all of this. 

This literally keeps me up at night. All night. For nights in a row. 

There is and will be no one to help us. There will be no one to liberate any camps. No one is big enough who will care. China? Russia?  Please.  We. Are. Fucked. 

.....and btw.....the Medicaid cuts are scheduled to hit after mid-terms. This way, GOPers up for reelection won't be on the hook for this disaster, and if they are replaced with dems, those dems will take the fall for something they had nothing to do with. 

GOP might be evil, but they're smart about it. 

Song by: Sarah McLachlan

Big Dog

I'm playing fast and loose with this pet post shit lately. 

My sister in law and nephew have not been cooperating with cat and kitten pics. The nerve!

While I clearly love Shep, there does have to be a mix of animals, no?  So, people in my run groups are helping out - whether they know it or not (and they don't). 

I won't lie. I love when Shep makes the IG feed at daycare. 

I didn't catch this guy's name. And he was way more interested in squirrels than me. 

He loves a cool play to rest. He loves outside, but it's been so hot out, even he wants in. 

Running friend Kimberly's dog, Chloe. 

Cavalier King Charles breed always seems to on edge with those eyes. Not in a good way. 

Poor Chole was rescued from a mill, where she was forced to just have litter after litter. She's learning to adjust. 

Bailey rules daycare. 

She is a big dog in a little dog body. They finally moved her from the littles room to the big dogs. And I am SO glad our daycare doesn't have a webcam. I'd do nothing but watch all day long. 

Water dog time. 

HANK!

My running friend Diane's dog. I got to meet him yesterday after a run. I love him. 

Ahhh hounds. Food driven hounds. 

Song by: Lyle Lovett