Teddy Radiator (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
teddy_radiator) wrote2020-05-09 11:32 am
teddy_radiator) wrote2020-05-09 11:32 am
Entry tags:
Things Might Be Looking Up
Never in my life, to my knowledge, have I truly 'lost track of what day it is' until today. I swear, I would have passed a lie detector test swearing it was Friday. I have lost a day somehow.
I am planning on putting together a little goody bag of things to take over to Mom's tomorrow. Some of those homemade Cheeze Its, which I've nailed finally - not too salty, flaky as all get out and very more-ish. I made bread this week with the yeast![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
mimimanderly so generously sent me, and it turned out just awesome. Unfortunately, I didn't divide the dough very well, so I ended up with one nice-sized loaf and one grotesquely oversized loaf that spilled over the sides. It looked hilarious, like some sort of Muppet character. Still tasted delicious. The bread was so soft inside and had a great texture. I think Paul Hollywood would have even loved it.
I also made a completely decadent and truly scrumptious dessert, totally bad for us but good for the soul. Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars. I knew I shouldn't eat it, but it was so good we both had seconds. I'm thinking about sending some of these to mom as well. They take so little time to put together and were too good to be believed. I'm not sure what else I'll put in this goody bag, but I'm open to suggestions.
Oatmeal Cookie Bars
Ingredients
1 cup butter melted (226g)
1 cup light brown sugar tightly packed (200g)
½ cup sugar (100g)
2 large eggs + 1 large egg yolk
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1¼ cups all-purpose flour (157g)
2 teaspoons cornstarch
½ teaspoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon salt
¼ to ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, optional
3 cups old fashioned rolled oats (285g)
1½ cups chocolate chips or any combination of semisweet chocolate chips, milk chocolate chips, and butterscotch chips (255g)
½ cup chopped pecans or walnuts, optional (100g)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350F (175C) and line a 9x9 metal baking pan with parchment paper or grease and flour the sides and bottom of the pan.
Combine butter and sugars in a large bowl and stir until well-combined.
Add eggs and vanilla extract and stir well.
In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.
Gradually add dry ingredients to wet until completely combined.
Add oats and chocolate chips and stir until well combined.
Spread cookie dough evenly into prepared baking pan and bake on 350F (175C) for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
Notes
A glass baking pan will work for this recipe instead but it will likely take longer to bake.
Ukulele lessons continue. I'm not really getting any better at it, but I do enjoy the learning process. I just don't think I'll ever be good at changing chords neatly, so there's always a funny sound as I move from one chord to the next. I tell myself I just need a slightly better uke, but somehow, I don't think that'll help.
Has anyone else noticed tiny scratches on their hands from so much hand washing? I have these minute little scratches around my wrists and a few on the backs of my hands. I try to moisturize as much as I can, but these have been cropping up all week. Probably just me and my weird skin. I'm using some really lovely soaps, both from Lush and the goat's milk soap from the stash thatirishredlass gave me years ago. They are both very gentle, so it just might be from washing so much.
I have cautious good news on the work front. I've been contacted by two different companies interested in having me work for them from home. The pay is pretty much the same, and Company A has a good rep (it's not that Company B doesn't, it's just I've heard more about A). I've had phone interviews and tests from both companies, and B seems ready to hire me after I do a bit of tweaking on my internet speed and a couple of other items). The only real drawback to A is that, if I'm hired, I would have to choose my hours from the slots "available", and that could be anything. B seems more inclined to give me the hours I want. I think of myself as pretty flexible, but I just physically cannot work the night shift. I've tried it before, and it doesn't work for me. I wouldn't even mind the 4 to midnight shift, but I can't do overnight. That might be a deal breaker for A, but we'll see. I promised TheHubs that I wouldn't take anything that would be a step back for us. But in all honesty, if I got either job, he could work any hours he wanted and not even have to do that many. My goal is for neither of us to work outside the home until this crisis is over unless we absolutely have to, so I might have to take some hours I don't want, if keeping us safe is my true objective.
And there's the hopes that I can leave the current situation. To be honest, our manager has treated us like second-class cititzens since last year, and when confronted with it, gets so belligerent and defensive you can't reason with her. I really don't want to work for her anymore. We haven't worked since March, and I truly believe that she would give us the absolute minimal tasks she could, as punishment. She's that petty. Some stuff went down with her and other co-workers in February, and it turned me against her anyway. I'm not too happy with the so-called friends we worked with, either. As far as I'm concerned, they can have it. I want out.
Writing seems to have ground to a halt for me. I just don't have the impetus to do it anymore. And I called myself a writer. Sometimes I think I gave all my goodies away in my earlier fics, and I don't have any left to lay with. I don't have a lot of respect for my own writing anymore. I'm starting to think all those people who called me a hack and unoriginal and weak were right. I'm not looking for compliments or trawling for praise, I'm just observing what I see and how I am. I also think that perhaps this crisis has shown me my true colours, and I'm not really happy with what I see. It just doesn't seem like there's much point to it anymore.
I am planning on putting together a little goody bag of things to take over to Mom's tomorrow. Some of those homemade Cheeze Its, which I've nailed finally - not too salty, flaky as all get out and very more-ish. I made bread this week with the yeast
mimimanderly so generously sent me, and it turned out just awesome. Unfortunately, I didn't divide the dough very well, so I ended up with one nice-sized loaf and one grotesquely oversized loaf that spilled over the sides. It looked hilarious, like some sort of Muppet character. Still tasted delicious. The bread was so soft inside and had a great texture. I think Paul Hollywood would have even loved it.I also made a completely decadent and truly scrumptious dessert, totally bad for us but good for the soul. Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars. I knew I shouldn't eat it, but it was so good we both had seconds. I'm thinking about sending some of these to mom as well. They take so little time to put together and were too good to be believed. I'm not sure what else I'll put in this goody bag, but I'm open to suggestions.
Oatmeal Cookie Bars
Ingredients
1 cup butter melted (226g)
1 cup light brown sugar tightly packed (200g)
½ cup sugar (100g)
2 large eggs + 1 large egg yolk
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1¼ cups all-purpose flour (157g)
2 teaspoons cornstarch
½ teaspoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon salt
¼ to ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, optional
3 cups old fashioned rolled oats (285g)
1½ cups chocolate chips or any combination of semisweet chocolate chips, milk chocolate chips, and butterscotch chips (255g)
½ cup chopped pecans or walnuts, optional (100g)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350F (175C) and line a 9x9 metal baking pan with parchment paper or grease and flour the sides and bottom of the pan.
Combine butter and sugars in a large bowl and stir until well-combined.
Add eggs and vanilla extract and stir well.
In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.
Gradually add dry ingredients to wet until completely combined.
Add oats and chocolate chips and stir until well combined.
Spread cookie dough evenly into prepared baking pan and bake on 350F (175C) for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
Notes
A glass baking pan will work for this recipe instead but it will likely take longer to bake.
Ukulele lessons continue. I'm not really getting any better at it, but I do enjoy the learning process. I just don't think I'll ever be good at changing chords neatly, so there's always a funny sound as I move from one chord to the next. I tell myself I just need a slightly better uke, but somehow, I don't think that'll help.
Has anyone else noticed tiny scratches on their hands from so much hand washing? I have these minute little scratches around my wrists and a few on the backs of my hands. I try to moisturize as much as I can, but these have been cropping up all week. Probably just me and my weird skin. I'm using some really lovely soaps, both from Lush and the goat's milk soap from the stash that
irishredlass gave me years ago. They are both very gentle, so it just might be from washing so much.I have cautious good news on the work front. I've been contacted by two different companies interested in having me work for them from home. The pay is pretty much the same, and Company A has a good rep (it's not that Company B doesn't, it's just I've heard more about A). I've had phone interviews and tests from both companies, and B seems ready to hire me after I do a bit of tweaking on my internet speed and a couple of other items). The only real drawback to A is that, if I'm hired, I would have to choose my hours from the slots "available", and that could be anything. B seems more inclined to give me the hours I want. I think of myself as pretty flexible, but I just physically cannot work the night shift. I've tried it before, and it doesn't work for me. I wouldn't even mind the 4 to midnight shift, but I can't do overnight. That might be a deal breaker for A, but we'll see. I promised TheHubs that I wouldn't take anything that would be a step back for us. But in all honesty, if I got either job, he could work any hours he wanted and not even have to do that many. My goal is for neither of us to work outside the home until this crisis is over unless we absolutely have to, so I might have to take some hours I don't want, if keeping us safe is my true objective.
And there's the hopes that I can leave the current situation. To be honest, our manager has treated us like second-class cititzens since last year, and when confronted with it, gets so belligerent and defensive you can't reason with her. I really don't want to work for her anymore. We haven't worked since March, and I truly believe that she would give us the absolute minimal tasks she could, as punishment. She's that petty. Some stuff went down with her and other co-workers in February, and it turned me against her anyway. I'm not too happy with the so-called friends we worked with, either. As far as I'm concerned, they can have it. I want out.
Writing seems to have ground to a halt for me. I just don't have the impetus to do it anymore. And I called myself a writer. Sometimes I think I gave all my goodies away in my earlier fics, and I don't have any left to lay with. I don't have a lot of respect for my own writing anymore. I'm starting to think all those people who called me a hack and unoriginal and weak were right. I'm not looking for compliments or trawling for praise, I'm just observing what I see and how I am. I also think that perhaps this crisis has shown me my true colours, and I'm not really happy with what I see. It just doesn't seem like there's much point to it anymore.
no subject
As for learning the uke, I know that I couldn't be sure it was tuned like a musician would do it, but a bunch of us got ukes and just tuned 'em together with the "my dog has fleas" method. LOL! We would decide what "range" we wanted to sing in, and set the top string to that "key" (whatever it was) and do the bottom three with "the fleas."
no subject
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I didn't know that bit of history, but I'm glad that the victors were sufficiently embarrassed so that they included it in the Treaty of Versailles. That entire treaty-mess after WWI was never going to last because it "starved Germany" of anyway to rebuild their economy, and hungry people who see no way forward to take care of the basic needs of its citizens just made it possible for Hitler to take over. All nations can learn how to avoid making similar mistakes that will guarantee a return to hostilities. (And I'm not sure we've advanced much since then.)
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I wish the US were led by a Wilson-type figure these days. Honestly, I'd take a toaster oven in the White House over the idiot currently living there.
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Woodrow Wilson’s Case of the Flu, and How Pandemics Change History
https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/woodrow-wilsons-case-of-the-flu-and-how-pandemics-change-history
President Wilson Suffers a Stroke, 1919
A Presidential Crisis the Nation Knew Nothing About
http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/wilsonstroke.htm
The Surprising Evidence that Woodrow Wilson Was Suffering from a Brain Malfunction Before the Stroke that Crippled Him
https://historynewsnetwork.org/article/155787
When a secret president ran the country
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/woodrow-wilson-stroke
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What do you remember about meeting her... she was a very smart woman. I would love to be able to talk to some of the wives of presidents. I have no idea if my grandmother ever saw or met Eleanor Roosevelt, but she was an admirer, and I'd love to sit down and talk with her.