I felt like an antique today, so I made a photo of one of my flowers look old.  I worked yesterday morning, got home at 2:00 and left at 3:00 to go to our son's house for Thanksgiving Dinner.  I had been feeling out of sorts since Tuesday, but just thought I was tired.  We hadn't much more than finished eating when I began to feel bad, still just thinking I was tired since I had gotten up early, etc.  We just barely made it home before I had to make a bee line for the bathroom.  I guess I must have picked up a GI tract bug last week from the grandkids.  I promptly took myself off to bed, but never got to sleep more than two hours before it was back to the bathroom.  Most of the time, it was only an hour. 

Today wasn't too much better.  I got down a piece of toast for breakfast, but the yogurt and banana that I ate for lunch had a war party.  Still I was able to do quite a bit of cooking.  We are going to my daughter's tomorrow for a second turkey dinner.  I didn't have to bring anything on Thursday, but I'm bringing several dishes tomorrow. My cooking today included blueberry applesauce, applesauce salad, cheesecake, mashed sweet potatoes, and custard pie.  The first four things are going with us.  The custard pie is staying here.  The recipe I use is straight out of Betty Crocker.  I'll try to post recipes for the rest yet this evening.  By dinner time, I was running out of steam, so I made super easy creamed tuna and peas using a can of mushroom soup.  I ate mine with some brown rice, and so far, none of it has come back up. 

Today was a beautiful day, but I didn't go outside.  I should have.  We won't have too many more days like today.

It was cloudy this morning when we got up, and by 9:00 it was raining.  We had to leave to drive to the city to go to Grandparent's Day at the school our granddaughters attend.  We got to visit each one's classroom, meet their teachers, and see some of their work.  We also filled out worksheets comparing how school today is different from school 50 years ago.  This school is pretty informal with small square rooms without walls.  There isn't room for more than 20 students per class.  Certainly a lot different from the straight rows of desks with a teacher's desk in front.  It was interesting, and the girls seem to really like it.  No complaining about having to go to school.  Some moaning about homework, but not too much. 

We stopped by our daughter's house for a little while after we left school because it is easier to visit with her without the kids jumping around.  The 2 year old was taking a nap.  We didn't stay too late because we didn't want to get hung up in afternoon traffic.  The sun had come out by the time we left. 

Got home just in time to fix dinner.  I knew what I wanted to fix, so it wasn't too bad.  I wasn't trying any new recipes! 

I need to pay a couple of bills tonight.  I don't have to go to work until 11:00, but I need to fix some more food in the morning.  I also need to find some new batteries for our phones.  Ours won't hold a charge any more.  Hubby is always getting cut off.  It doesn't bother me, 'cause I rarely talk to anyone on the phone. I tried getting some at Walmart, where we got the phones, but they didn't work.  Ugh!

Sounds like it is going to feel like winter by tomorrow.  Time to get out the long johns!

 

 

Here's a cake I decorated yesterday just to have something to go out in the case.  I think it was gone by the time I got to work this morning.  At least I didn't see it.  We got some new tips with very small openings that make it easy to make the "strings", as we call them.

We had more orders to do today than we usually do on Monday.  We had one order for 10:30 that I didn't find until 11:00, so I made it right away.  Then when I came back from lunch I found out that I had made it the wrong size, so I had to start over! 

I don't think anyone makes pies or rolls anymore.  I can't believe all the pies and rolls that we have sold already. 

Since I went in to work early this morning, I got home in time to cook dinner.  I made potato soup, and while the potatoes were cooking, I made a pumpkin pie.  Of course it is still cooling, but hubby will probably have a piece before he goes to bed tonight.  If I don't have room to put pies and such in the frig, I just stick them out in the BBQ grill.  That only works when the weather is cool, of course.  Right now, it is perfect, in the 40s. 

I was busy all day today, but don't remember a lot of it.  I did get a call late this afternoon that was interesting.  The customer called to order a cake with Tinkerbell for a guy.  It was a joke of some sort.  So this is what I came up with.  Hope they like it!

 

Hubby is into the pie already!  Think I may go have a piece, too, then watch a little football. 

Here's the Pooh cake I made with the new kit that we got in yesterday.  Isn't it cute?  We didn't have too many orders to do today, so I did some extra cakes, but nothing that was too exciting.  I did another big rainbow with swirl cake like the picture from the other day, and it was gone before I left tonight.  I have to work again tomorrow.  I think we should have plenty of time to play.  I did make a sample of the new Little Mermaid cake, but I forgot to take a picture. 

There are only four of us now doing the same job that it took 6 people to do last year.  Are we all that much faster and better than we were a year ago, or are there a lot less people ordering cakes?  I'm guessing that it is a little bit of both, but I'm not sure.  We really can get by with out current staff, but one of the girls is going to leave us soon.  We may try to get by with just three people.  It won't be easy.  The worst part is that it will be really hard to get any time off. 

I got home by 7:00 tonight, so I thought I would be able to get some other stuff done.  Wrong!  I collapsed in front of the TV for an hour, then got up and piddled around, made myself a cup of tea, and checked my email.  I need to pay the electric bill, then I'm off to bed.  Toodles!

I actually took this photo on Monday.  It's a take off on the other tye dyed cakes I've made, but with a little twist. 

We weren't too busy today, which is nice.  I unpacked our orders from our suppliers, placed new orders, and made cakes to go out in the cake case.  I made up three of our new kits:  Nemo, Pooh, and iCarly.  I took a photo of the Pooh cake but I forgot to bring my camera home. 

The sun was shining when I left for work this morning, but sometime this afternoon I realized that it was cloudy.  We work close to the front doors, but we have to make an effort to look outside. 

I'm working again tomorrow.  I don't think we will be too busy.  It's nice to have time to make extra cakes for the cake case.  It was full when I left today, but we didn't have any extras in the freezer. 

It's bedtime already, but that's what happens on days that I work.  Oh, well.  I am thankful that I have a job, especially one that I enjoy. 

Here's the four things I use most often as I prepare my soft foods.  I make all of my cream sauces in the microwave in one of these Pyrex bowls.  I use the spiral whisk to stir everything I cook in the microwave.  If you ever see one of these, buy a dozen and let me know.  I've had this one for years, don't know where I got it, and can't find another one like it.  The hand held blender is my new purchase.  It is so handy to puree a whole pot full of hot soup, or one cup of vegetables.  Mine is a Hamilton Beach.  I still use the big blender for some stuff like cauliflower and sweet pototoes, but this little one gets used lots of times every day. 

It finally stopped raining, after several days and four inches, but it was still cloudy yesterday and today.  I got a couple of shots of the clouds. 

 

 

This is what I fixed for lunch today.  It is really good.  Don't know why I didn't fix it years ago. 

 

CREAMED TUNA

 

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

2 cups milk

2 cans (5 oz) tuna, drained

1/2 cup frozen peas

Melt butter in microwave in large glass dish.  Whisk in flour, salt, and pepper.  Whisk in milk until smooth.  Cook on high power, stirring after each minute, for 4 to 5 minutes, or until mixture comes to a boil.  Add tuna and frozen peas.  Cook on high power for 1 minute or until heated through.  Serve over toast, biscuits, or rice. 

Adapted from recipe on About.com. 

I went back to some shots I had taken on September 13th for this Quest.  I had fun and learned a few new editing tricks. 

 

Here's Paya looking and listening.  You can see how her ears are pulled forward. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here's the same photo edited to look like an overexposed nighttime shot.  I like the way it makes her whiskers stand out. 

Another shot of Paya looking at something and listening.  I like the way one ear is up and one is down. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I wanted the edited photo to look like an old photograph. 

 

Here's my third original.  Again Paya looking at something very intently. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here's the first series of editing.  I rotated the photo and changed it to black and white.  Then I added the ball. 

 

I also edited this photo by softening the edges of the ball and adding a shadow, but I can't find the photo.  Let me look again.  I know I saved it!

 

 

 

 

 

Well, it's not perfect, but I did learn how to select a shape, soften the edges, and add a shadow.  I need to practice a lot more, but at least now I know how to do it.  I do like the compostition better with the photo rotated.  I think it would have been better if I had put the ball closer to her front leg so you couldn't see the grass.  And the shadow needs to be darker. 

Thanks for pushing me again to learn something new.  It was fun. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have been trying to figure out the best way to document the recipes that I have come up with that work with my hubby's soft food diet, but are good enough for everyone.  I have decided to enter each recipe as a separate blog so it will be easier to search for them.  Most of them take some time, so they aren't very good if you are short on time, but most of them are good cold or warmed over.  I can only cook on the days I don't work, so I have to make enough for extras.  Here's one of the few meat recipes that is really good, yet soft enough for him to eat. 

 

SALMON LOAF WITH CREAM GRAVY

1 can (5 oz) tuna, drained

1 can (16 oz) salmon, drained, and bones and skin removed

2 cups soft bread crumbs

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 cup sour cream

1 TBSP instant chopped onion

1 TBSP dried parsley flakes

1 TSP salt

pepper to taste

 

Mash salmon and tuna.  Combine with remaining ingredients.  Pour into sprayed loaf pan, about 9 x 5.  Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, or until loaf is firm.  Serves 4.    Serve plain or with cream gravy.

 

CREAM GRAVY

3 TBSP butter or margarine

3 TBSP flour

1 cup water

2 cups milk

3/4 TSP salt

pepper to taste

 

Place butter in microwave safe bowl.  (I use a four cup Pyrex measuring cup.)  Melt butter in microwave.  Whisk in flour.  Whisk in water and milk.  Cook at high power for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring after each minute, until mixture begins to boil.  Stir in salt and pepper.  Use more flour for a thicker gravy. 

Both the gravy and the salmon loaf can be reheated in the microwave.  The salmon loaf recipe is adapted from a recipe I found on About.com. 

 

I took time to make a cake this morning using one of the new kits we received yesterday.  This is one of the kits for Princess Tiana.  Our store is in a culturally diverse area, so it will be interesting to see how well these kits sell. 

 

I usually try to avoid doing cakes in whipped icing, especially chocolate whipped.  This order called for lots of flowers.  I didn't leave too much open space!

 

Here's a close-up of the border of flowers. 

I thought we had most of the Friday cakes done when I went home yesterday, but I spent most of the day today working on cakes for today.  I only had time to make two cakes for tomorrow.  We really needed a third person doing cakes today. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I left work an hour early today because I had already worked four days this week.  I got home before the sun went down for the first time in ages! 

I made homemade chicken noodle soup for dinner.  I hit hubby's with the blender.  Worked great.  Much healthier than the creamy soups I have been making.  This whole soft food diet is going to take some getting used to. 

I go to work late tomorrow and Sunday.  I'll have to try to get something else made before I leave in the morning.  I baked a custard pie tonight while the soup was cooking. 

We will have lots of deer hunters here tomorrow.  May not be able to get to the computer!