Your leaking thatched hut during the restoration of a pre-Enlightenment state.

 

Hello, my name is Judas Gutenberg and this is my blaag (pronounced as you would the vomit noise "hyroop-bleuach").



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   baking a cake
Saturday, January 19 2008
Today was Gretchen's 37th birthday and she had suggested that I be the one to bake her birthday cake. I'd agreed, despite the fact that I have never baked a cake in my life and have no special fondness for spending time in a kitchen.
Before I could bake anything, I had to drive to town to get supplies (especially cocoa powder; the cake was to be chocolate). While in town I also picked up a birthday present (an electric lemon squeezer - essential for the many vegan dishes calling for lemon juice) and a new mailbox (ours was recently damaged, probably by a snowplow).
I started work on the cake in the mid afternoon, making efficient use of my time by washing dishes and otherwise cleaning up as I waited for things to happen. At some point I made caramel frosting (which is nothing but sugar, oil, and [soy]milk) and a banana filling. The only problem I experienced was with the frosting, which thickened quickly as it cooled and proved difficult to spread. But I had extra banana filling and it was too soupy, so I used it as a solvent to help thin the reluctant caramel. As I worked, a couple of Gretchen's girlfiends (Leah and Tara) visited, and I found their presence a big enough distraction that I retreated to the laboratory for the delicate task of decorating the cake (for this I used a small amount of thin, dark frosting I'd improvised, dabbling it on pointillistically with a single chopstick).
Later the girlfiends left and were replaced by Penny and David. David's 41st birthday had been yesterday, and I'd been remiss in making a mention of him on the cake; it was supposed to celebrate both of their birthdays. The four of us dined together at the Bear in Woodstock, where I have yet to have a meal that wasn't excellent. In the past our conversations have addressed the peculiarities of our families but (for various reasons) no one ever talked about mine. That all changed tonight. After telling Penny and David about the eccentricities of my parents and the oddness of my brother, Penny made the observation that I probably had a few "the Moth" stories in me. (We'll all be going to the Moth later this week.)

Back at our house, we drank more booze and busted into the cake, which was a great success, though I didn't especially enjoy the thin slice I ate.


Grechen and Penny tonight at the Bear.


Penny and David tonight at the Bear.


Penny takes a picture of herself and Gretchen tonight at the Bear.


Tonight Penny was wearing a corset that emphasized her cleavage.


David with Wilma back at our house.


The cake I baked, with Gretchen and Penny.


A sector missing from the cake I baked.


Me and Clarence. I hadn't shaved in a week and the flash really brings out how filthy my sweater was.


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http://asecular.com/blog.php?080119

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