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2017-1963 = me
October 09, 2017, 9:06 P.M.
It was our birthday weekend, so it was a bit more active than weekends have
been lately. On Friday after I came home from a grueling morning at work
(covering vacation for a co-worker, on top of my own stuff), we went up to
Aldi to get some groceries, and then to Festival to pick up a couple things
Aldi didn't have. Two grocery stores, gas, a stop at the deli, and home. Once
we got home, I embarked on my project of the afternoon: birthday cake. I
used a King Arthur Flour recipe for Golden Vanilla Cake, and frosted it with
my usual Hershey's Cocoa chocolate frosting recipe. I kept it simpler this
year--last year's was pretty fiddly, and a lot of work. This was just a basic
frosted layer cake, and I had some autumn-colored Jimmies in my cookie
box, so I decorated the top with sprinkles.
It was...just okay. I didn't impress myself, but I am a firm believer in quality
ingredients making a difference, and I skimped too much: I think it would
have been better if I'd bothered to use cake flour and superfine baker's sugar,
but I just used AP and regular granulated. I also think the cocoa from Aldi is
not up to my standard--I find it bitter and gritty. (It also be better if I didn't
have the worst oven in the world!) Another thing was the recipe--a new
recipe, and a new (for me) technique--this was a "paste" style recipe, where
you beat the butter together with the dry ingredients, then add the milk and
vanilla all at once, and then beat the eggs in one at a time. I would definitely
make this again, but next time, I'm upping the butter, and trying some things
to boost the vanilla flavor. And maybe another egg, because the ones from
Kwik-Trip and Aldi are "large" in name only. And some yellow food coloring
to boost the color--I was going to do that this time, but I mislaid my box of
food colorings.
But as I said, it was okay! It made Spouse happy, and I really don't like to skip
having a birthday cake. It means a lot to him. And making one from scratch is
my gift to me--a chance to play around in the kitchen.
Spouse just wanted a ham on rye for dinner, which was great, because I was
hogging the kitchen from mid-afternoon into the evening with my cake
project.
On Saturday, I was up early, so decided to get in a good walk first thing. After
I tended to the dog, I threw on some clothes and went out for about a half-
hour. It was slightly rainy and starting to get very windy, so I cut it shorter
than I really wanted. I wasn't really bothered by the rain, but the wind was
starting to howl and I thought we were going to get a thunderstorm.
When I got home, Spouse was up, so I asked him what sounded good for
breakfast, and we came to a mutual conclusion that oatmeal was really what
we wanted. Problem was--we'd been to two grocery stores the day before,
and forgot oatmeal at both! So I took a quick run to the store and picked up
a box, and came home and cooked up a nice pot. We had a little "oatmeal
bar"--vanilla, spices, raisins, brown sugar...lots of yummy add-ins. You can tell
it's fall--we go into ecstasies over our oatmeal!
We were being lazy after breakfast, and had a nice phone chat with my
cousin, and once we had hung up, that's when I sprung my birthday surprise
on him: I told him we were going to go buy a new television! I don't
remember if I mentioned it, but our 7-year-old 37-inch LG died a few weeks
ago, and we've been making due with the small Vizio from the bedroom--
which we both hate. I can't hear the damned thing, it's too small, and it has an
easel-type stand that puts it at a really weird angle. For me, though, it isn't too
big of a deal, because I don't watch anywhere near the amount of tv he does.
Anyway, he hasn't said a word about replacing it, and I appreciate that. But I
have been saving a little bit, to take the sting off getting a new one, and with
the birthday coming up, I figured we would set a budget and see what we
could find. I definitely wanted to cap it at $300.00, but I had no idea what was
available these days.
So we got cleaned up, and made a list of places to look, and set out to
comparison shop. Target was our first stop, and we were very unimpressed
with the selection and prices. So we went to Costco.
And that's as far as we got, because they had a wonderful 40-inch Samsung
smart TV with fabulous sound and picture, for $249.97. Which I bought.
We didn't do any other shopping, because all we set out for was a TV and
that is all we got.
Took it home, unboxed it and set it up very quickly and easily, and had fun
playing with it and all the new features. But we realized something: it sat a lot
lower than the old TV, and our sound bar was blocking the remote sensor.
So in between loads of laundry, I set myself the task of coming up with a
low-cost solution to raise it up about four inches.
Well--if you have a tv or monitor 22 inches or smaller, it is pretty cheap to
buy a riser. BUT. Not only is the new TV 40 inches, it also has a very wide,
stable stand that measures 11 inches, back-to-front and 30 inches, side-to-
side. In that size, options are fewer, and ridiculously expensive. So I got
creative, and decided to see how much some short legs would be, that I could
screw into a board and make a stand. Well, legs that short are for couches,
and because they need to be really strong, they are really expensive. And they
would be hard to mount without extra hardware. Scratch that idea.
Then I found it--the perfect plan. A board and four metal baseboard-style
doorstops. Screw the doorstops into the board as legs, and voila! A sturdy,
inexpensive, custom TV stand.
I would have acted on this immediately, but we had dinner plans, so I put it
on hold till Sunday.
I had told Spouse on Friday that I really wanted for us to go out somewhere
nice for dinner on our Birthday. I left it to him, and he found a great
place--"Michael's on the Lake". It's a nice little steakhouse right on the shore
of Eagle Lake in Kansasville, and we had a lovely, laid back dinner with a
gorgeous view. It was about a half-hour drive; just far enough to be out of our
"rut", and yet not too taxing to get there. (Interestingly, I saw no fewer then
FOUR rainbows on the way out there--is it good luck to see a rainbow on
your birthday?)
I had a salad, ribeye, baked potato and vegetable (steamed carrots and green
beans), and Spouse had prime rib with garlic mashed potatoes and the sale
salad and veg. I skipped wine with dinner, but had a cocktail made with apple
cider from a local orchard, vodka, and caramel syrup. Crazy good! Spouse
had a brandy & coke before dinner, and a beer with. Nice place, nice staff,
and excellent food & drink. I want to go back!
We had a refreshing drive home in the cool evening air, and topped off the
night with birthday cake, and birthday texts from Niece and Nephew.
On Sunday, the weather was quite gorgeous, but we had a lot to do, so we got
started fairly early. I took care of some dog mainenance: cleaned his ears, gave
him a sponge bath, clipped his nails, brushed him, and put on his topical
medications. Which the little hedonist thoroughly enjoyed, as always. It was
make-your-own breakfast day; spouse had fried eggs and English muffins, and
I made myself a nice little ham & cheese omelet with some of the deli ham
and a few crumbles of gouda--had it with an English muffin, coffee, and some
OJ. Then we spent part the morning doing some housecleaning--and I
cleaned the inside of my car windshield because frankly, the haze was so bad
it wasn't even funny.
And I did some checking online for supplies for my brainchild project, which
I told Spouse about and he was completely on board with it. It seemed like
Menard's was the best bet to get what I wanted, so when we were done with
the cleaning, we hopped in the car and drove over there. They had
everything I wanted, exactly, and cheap: 4 doorstops 2-2packs at $2.79 apiece,
1-36x12x1 pine board, $3.99...and 1 can of flat black spray paint (for
aesthetics), $3.85.
So we came home with our booty, and Spouse spray-painted the board while
I tended the last of the wash and prepped the veggies for dinner. While the
first coat dried, we put the pot of Chop Suey on to simmer the afternoon
away, and then he gave the board a second coat.
At that point, we had to put it aside for a while because Nephew and N-I-L
came for a visit. We haven't seen them in MONTHS, so it was delightful to
have them stop by. They had birthday cake, and got their Alaska souvenirs,
and we had a great visit. But by the time they left, it was after four. So I fed
the dog and got the rice cooker going, while Spouse gave the top of the
board one more coat. Then he came in and finished the chop suey, and once
the rice was done, we had a good dinner (and enough for Monday night, too!)
After we ate, I did the cleanup and he put the legs on the board, and brought
it in. We got it in place with the TV on top, and it is just freaking perfect!
A sturdy, custom-built riser for a 40-inch television, at a cost of thirteen
dollars and forty-two cents. And once you put the TV on top and the
soundbar in front, the thing practically disappears. (I do wish he'd waited till
today, though--all night long, my whole house reeked of spraypaint!)
I am quite chuffed, though. I think we are both in agreement that it turned
out to be a great birthday weekend. What more do you need? A cake, a
present, time with loved ones, some cheerful greeting cards...and on top of all
that, a nice glow of achievement and sense of pride in your own
resourcefulness.
And now that we have a smart TV, I am looking into Britbox or Acorn,
because while I have no interest in most streaming services, those two stream
BRITISH television, which is a different ballgame. (I just wish one of them
offered PANEL SHOWS!)
Reading:As a birthday present, I bought myself "Matriarch: Queen
Mary and the House of Windsor", the 1984 biography by Anne Edwards.
Got it cheap on Google Play, because it was only $7.52 and I had a $5 credit.
I gave up on the Fergus Hume book, and I finished "A Daily Rate" (it
wandered from the domestic arrangements plot to the usual GLH religious
fervor, but I managed to get through it.)
Listening: Portugal. The Man, Cage the Elephant, Foo Fighters,
Harvey Danger. Funny--I haven't heard Flagpole Sitta in 20 years, and then
boom--twice in one week!
Inked Up: Bexley 10th Anniversary with custom italic nib,
Iroshizuku Kon Peki, Hero 616 with Iroshizuku Yama Budo, and Conklin
Duragraph fine nib, Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Brown--and I added a fourth: the
Pelikan Stola III, with Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Red.
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