Juggling Crocodiles

The Giant Christmas Cupcake Has Landed

I hope everyone had a peaceful and joyful holiday filled with good friends, behaving family and delicious food. I always like to bake or make a special dessert to bring to the family gathering. The past couple of years, I've brought gingerbread houses and trees which have been labor intensive, but ultimately lots of fun. This year though, I wanted to try something different, and since Peter had become curious about the ads for the Giant Cupcakes he had seen on TV, I decided to give it a try. 

I bought the Wilton Giant Cupcake pan from Amazon and this is what it looks like:

 
 
As far as working with it, you treat it like any other cake pan. Make your cake mix according to box instructions and pour half in each side. About the only problem I ran into was trying to figure out how long to let the cake bake since it wasn't one of the configurations mentioned on the box like muffins, bundt or 9" round pans or 13x9 sheet cake. I ended up setting it for 32 minutes initially and then when the center was still undercooked, gave it another 5 minutes. The toothpick came out clean at that point, so I pulled it out and let it sit 20+ minutes to cool in the pan and another hour plus to cool on the rack before attempting decoration. 

And here's the final product:

 
 
Unfortunately I didn't think to put anything next to the cake to give you an idea of the scale, but the plate is a rather large dinner plate and my estimation of the size would be about 12 inches high and about 9 inches at the diameter. I also should report that it traveled well, although I think it helped that I shaved about a half inch on both "bottoms" to make them completely flat before stacking them AND I added a layer of frosting to act as a glue. The family did not cut into the cake while we were there, so I have no idea how they cut it, but I did give Peter the 2 end slices made together into a cake sandwich with a thin layer of frosting in between and Merry Christmas scrawled in red cake gel on top. He pronounced it delish!

And a couple of last holiday photos for Barbara, and anyone else, who thought Louie got off scott free when I was humiliating the cats with the Santa Hat:

  
 
This is what he thought of the whole Santa Hat idea... He says he can't help it if the cats don't have the gumption to simply tear the offending garment to pieces. Bunch of Wuss Pusses. Now where did that yummy peanut butter jar get off to?

I'm Going to H*ll for Holiday Cat Bothering

I blame the holiday crazies...I was forced to go to Target this AM to right a last minute gift wrong. Let me just say...If you are a Mac user, ALWAYS read the package on digital gifts to make sure that they are compatible. The cheaper the price, the more likely that digital keychain for example, only works with a PC...

So as I was searching the only big box store I can even walk into this time of year without breaking out in the hives, I passed the pet department. Being in the mood to do evil, I spied the Cat Santa Hat and Booties and just couldn't help myself. I brought it home and waited until the herd were all in deep afternoon nap mode, and then I struck...below are the photos. And, I'm pleased to report, no bandages, stitches or transfusions were necessary.

   
 
 
    

Louie thought the whole thing was hysterical, especially since he ate the reindeer antlers we got him a couple of years ago. Lou and I briefly spoke of using the pictures to blackmail the cats with, but decided that since neither of us had any use for catnip mice or Fancy Feast, and in the spirit of the season and all, we'd just post them to the blog and go for general, widespread public humiliation. 

4 Cup Review from CoffeetimeRomance!

Our Hungry for Your Love: An Anthology of Zombie Romance , edited by Lori Perkins, got an very nice early Christmas present from CoffeetimeRomance.com last week, a 4 Cup Review!!! 

Of my First Love Never Dies contribution, Lototy, the reviewer remarked, "This could really be a great teaser for a full-length book. There is some great action and suspense going on." 

So, if you're looking for a great last minute Christmas gifts for the shambling, undead fanboy or girl in your life, head over to Ravenous Romance and get HUNGRY!!! And while you're bopping around RR, don't forget to take advantage of their $.99 cent Christmas E-book Sale or their Escape with Romance Exclusive 6 Book Collection available through the Home Shopping Network.

Snow outside, truffles & catnip mice inside

 Lou looking snazzy and seasonal in his red coat standing in about 7 inches of snow in our side yard. The coat's a hand-me-down from his greyhound friend Rainey. It's a little big, but he seems to love it. Notice the 30 foot leash is attached. After his solo overnight camping trip almost 2 weeks ago, he's still on semi-lockdown. That red leash was the only thing that alerted me to his whereabouts in the woods that next morning. 

 Yesterday's completed gift projects:

Chocolate Truffles-I used two different recipes:

Parade Magazine's Romantic Chocolate Truffles

Philadelphia Cream Cheese Truffles

If you love truffles, or know someone who does, but have always thought you had to be an experienced chocolatier to make, you will be SHOCKED at how easy these recipes are...and how delish the finished product turns out. I will warn you, you will get indescribably messy, but believe me, there are worse things than being covered in chocolate...My next batch, I'm going to try adding liqueurs...either chocolate cherry or orange zest with Cointreau.

And crocheted catnip mice! My little gift to all the family cats every year. They won't win any awards for design, but I'm told they are loved, literally to pieces,  by even the old, cranky cats. Again, very, very simple to make. Scraps of yarn ( personally I prefer bright colors so you can spot them easier), fresh catnip (available not only at pet stores, but even at Stop & Shop) and some stuffing. I wrap the catnip in scraps of old flannel shirts and then add regular stuffing around it. The tails are made like tassels on a scarf, wrap the yarn around a piece of cardboard, cut to the same length, and knot through the bottom. 

Again, these aren't beautiful, but the cats seem to find them irresistible. As you can see, I had a heck of a time keeping Phineus T. Moose away long enough to take the picture. But, in Moose's defense, I suppose Christmas IS a time to give into temptation though... 

Cards for Recovering Soldiers & Embarrassing Your Pet

I love Christmas cards, both sending and receiving, but this year time has gotten away from me. As you can see, December is in double digits and my cards are still roaming free across the dining room table. 

The family Christmas card tradition was to start them the day after Thanksgiving, and to get them done before the weekend when we would move on to digging the plastic tree and ancient ornaments out of our basement and my grandmother's attic. Of course back in the late 60's and early 70's if my mother had more than 20 living people on her Christmas card list I would be shocked. That's not to say she didn't have an address book brimming with names and addresses, but over the years most had been crossed out in the dreaded red pen, meaning the addressees had either moved on or passed on. 

Along with my flock of personal, business and critique group cards, I will also be sending out my extras to this address and I hope you will do the same: 

A Recovering American Soldier 

c/o Walter Reed Army Medical Center 

6900 Georgia Avenue, NW 

Washington , D.C. 20307-5001

Please join me in doing this, if we all sent just one card, think of how many smiles we could generate from the brave people who have sacrificed so much for us. 

One last Christmas card related piece of information to share...

Over at Petcentric.com, I recommend the really fun Critter Carols Cards that you can personalize with pictures of your own beasts or use their stock cats and dogs. You can also add songs, costumes and personal messages and then send out to all your friends. We had a blast with it for Christmas last year and for Halloween this year.

Got Happily Scrooged @ The Hartford Stage Last Night

As an early Christmas present, Peter's daughter and her family took us with them to see The Hartford Stage's production of A Christmas Carol last night. We had amazing front row seats and being able to share it with the grandchildren was something I will always treasure. The production itself was mind-blowing with dazzling special effects (especially for such a small and intimate venue) and a fascinating interpretation of some of what I had always thought were pretty stock characters. What a fantastic time and a wonderful way to celebrate the return of the prodigal dog!

Louie is HOME!!

Louie is HOME! 

I went out searching for him again this morning and after about an hour tromping through the woods, I saw his red 30 foot leash wrapped in a bush. I had been calling his name the whole time I was out there, but he never made a sound, not even when he saw me. He wagged his tail and looked relieved, but not a single bark. Peter must have passed within feet of him last night as he was searching the same general area. He doesn't seem any worse for wear. He had made a dog nest under the bush with dirt and leaves and once I got him unwrapped, the first thing he did was pee. We found our way up the hill and back to the car without incident, and this is the first thing he did when he got in...straight for the food dish. 

And this is him doing the second thing...begging for a Busy Bone. He doesn't have a scratch on him and doesn't seem traumatized or upset in any way. In fact, on the way back he was still interested in all the squirrels and birds he passed by.

I called Peter to let him know as soon as I could get a signal in the woods and I let our wonderful Southington Animal Control Officer know we had found him as soon as I got in the house. Dave was extremely helpful to me this morning, returning my phone call right away and basically talking me down from the emotional ledge I was on. Thank you Dave!

And thank you, thank you, thank you to all of you who sent prayers and Reiki and good thoughts our way. I know that was the reason that we found Lou safe and sound and whole. My love and gratitude to you all! 

It's 10pm and Louie's still missing. We've had to give up searching...it's too cold and dark. We've been everywhere, calling, walking the woods with flashlights, talking to people. We can't figure out how he disappeared so fast, why he isn't barking or calling out to us if he's stuck somewhere or why he hasn't come home if he's not stuck. It's past his 8:30 bedtime and all I can think about is that he's out there cold and scared, or that he's hurt or worse. Peter feels so guilty. Thank you everyone for your thoughts and prayers and offers of help. It's going to be a long night.

Louie is lost. He was walking in the woods with Peter late this afternoon and he got away from him. We've been searching and calling for him for over 2 hours and it's dark and getting colder. Please send your prayers. He's never been out alone.

Looking for Lap Blankets for Veterans

I'm on a mission...does anyone have an extra lap blanket or two that they would be willing to donate as a holiday gift to a veteran at the state hospital in Newington, CT?

I have been collecting new fleece and hand-crafted knitted and crocheted blankets for the past year, but I just found out I'm a couple short of the 60 that I need to ensure that every veteran who attends the party gets one. The catch is, I need to have the blankets by early next week to make sure that we can get them wrapped and delivered to Newington in time for the party on Dec. 17. 

For the non-yarn-aholics out there, a lap blanket is pretty much what it sounds like, a small blanket, usually about 2 feet by 3 feet. And I need them to be in perfect condition, the kind of gift you would be proud to give a man or woman who served our country. If you can help me out, please shoot me an email and let me know.