THE WHITE LIE CAKE

THE WHITE LIE CAKE

Alice Grayson was to bake a cake for the Baptist Church Ladies' Group in Tuscaloosa, but forgot to do it until the last minute.

She remembered it the morning of the bake sale and after rummaging through cabinets, found an angel food cake mix & quickly made it while drying her hair, dressing, and helping her son pack up for Scout camp.

When she took the cake from the oven, the center had dropped flat and the cake was horribly disfigured and she exclaimed, "Oh dear, there is not time to bake another cake!"

This cake was important to Alice because she did so want to fit in at her new church, and in her new community of friends. So, being inventive, she looked around the house for something to build up the center of The cake.

She found it in the bathroom - a roll of toilet paper. She plunked it in and then covered it with icing.

Not only did the finished product look beautiful, it looked perfect.

So, before she left the house to drop the cake by the church

and head for work, Alice woke her daughter and gave her some money and specific instructions to be at the bake sale the moment it opened at 9:30 and to buy the cake and bring it home.

When the daughter arrived at the sale, she found the attractive, perfect cake had already been sold. Amanda grabbed her cell phone & called her mom.

Alice was horrified-she was beside herself! Everyone would know!

What would they think? She would be ostracized, talked about, ridiculed! All night, Alice lay awake in bed thinking about people pointing fingers at her and talking about her behind her back.

The next day, Alice promised herself she would try not to think about the cake and would attend the fancy luncheon/bridal shower at the home of a fellow church member and try to have a good time.

She did not really want to attend because the hostess was a snob who more than once had looked down her nose at the fact that Alice was a single parent and not from the founding families of Tuscaloosa. But having already RSVP'd , she couldn't think of a believable excuse to stay home.

The meal was elegant, the company was definitely upper crust old south and to Alice's horror, the cake in question was presented for dessert! Alice felt the blood drain from her body when she saw the cake!

She started out of her chair to tell the hostess all about it, but before she could get to her feet, the Mayor's wife said, "what a beautiful cake!"

Alice , still stunned, sat back in her chair when she heard the hostess (who was a prominent church member) say,

"Thank you, I baked it myself.."

Alice smiled and thought to herself, "God is good.”

THE GOOD AND THE BAD

The Good:

I passed the final inspection this morning. Whew,

that is a good thing to have out of the way. I had

2 violations--the first is that I keep my dish soap

in a glass bottle by the sink and I didn't label it

as being soap. The inspector said someone could

come along and think it was balsamic vinegar

and use it on a salad.

Okey Dokey.

The second was the fact that we didn't use special

lightbulbs over the sink that have shatterproof

glass. We did use those in the whole rest of the

kitchen, but I didn't think they were necessary

over the sink since I don't do any food prep

over the sink.

I'll get those 2 things remedied and all the

rest is good to go. I am going to sell at the

Farmer's Markets this summer, so I need

to be thinking about what people will want

to buy there. I heard there is a man that

sells sourdough bread, so I don't know

if it would be smart for me to also try

to sell bread. One thing I will bring for

sure is Caramel Corn. The trick is to

place a sample bowl out for people to

snack on--gets 'em every time!

The Bad:

Just look at the size of that ankle, would you?

She tripped at school and twisted it bad enough

that the morning was spent yesterday at the

doctor and then the hospital for x-rays. At

least it's not broken like it was 3 years ago

and she is back at school today on crutches.

It is still beautiful weather here, overcast

today with some blue skies & almost 50 degrees!

Not a drop of rain or snow.

The surfers are down across

the street having fun on their lunch hours.

I am just fine with this winter--I am good

without the constant snow and ice. No

really, you can have it. Be my guest.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Have you seen The Blind Side yet?

If not, you should make it a point to

go out and see it.

It is probably one of the top 10 movies

I have ever seen in my life.

Better than Avatar.

(ssshhhh)

No kidding.

No really--better. than. Avatar.

And I really liked Avatar.

When is the last time you went to

a movie theater and teenagers

in the audience actually

clapped for the good guy?

They did for this movie.

Yeah, I know. I couldn't

believe it either. Teenagers.

So what are you waiting for?

Go see it!

You can thank me later...

I'LL TAKE IT!

The weather, I mean. It is amazingly pretty out, with

blue skies, mild temperatures and NO SNOW. Good

for me, bad for the people here in town that make

a living plowing snow.

When I look at the rest of the U.S. weather I am

blown away that pretty much everybody has more

winter than we do. My mother in law has 6 degrees

and frozen solid over in Poland and it doesn't look

like that is going to change anytime soon. She

sounds like she is enjoying it though, so that's O.K.

We took a snack break out on the deck this

weekend. T shirts in January? Amazing.

It is definitely Sailor's Delight around here because it

is Red Skies at Night! This picture is not enhanced in

any way, this is exactly how it came out of my camera.

the whole inside of our house was glowing red.

It was a busy weekend for desserts, we were delivering

an order at 6:30 last night and on the way to church in

the morning. I was too busy to get pictures of all of

them, but here are a couple of highlights:

I think this is my new all-time favorite dessert!

I call it Jelly Roll Banana Split Cake. Not only is it

quite pretty for display, but it is delicious without

being overly heavy because of the sponge cake

jelly roll with fruit filling. The one I made last

night was half chocolate, half vanilla pudding.

Now I want to make another one.

Just for us.

I got this recipe from a cake forum I belong to online.

The recipe is 100 years old from Kentucky. It is called

Old Fashioned Jam Cake and the frosting and filling

are a cooked caramel. The cake itself has blackberry

jam and buttermilk in the batter and the cake layers

are drizzled with caramel coffee flavoring. I didn't get

to taste this, but I let it sit for a day and a half like

the recipe said to let the flavors blend. I know it

sure smelled delicious in the box--waves of buttery

caramel mixed with spice--wow!

Another dessert cake...this one was chocolate with

raspberry filling and vanilla buttercream. The butterfly

is made from rice paper and edible, just like the

marshmallow flowers.

This was a wedding cake from last week that

I did. It was fun, with pearlized snowflakes

all over, white cake and lemon buttercream

filling. The groom is a fisherman and the

boat on top had his new wife's name on it.

They cut a slab from a tree stump for the

cake to sit on and the reception was

beautifully decorated with local greenery

instead of flowers and there were sparkly

white lights and burgundy tablecloths

on the reception tables. I think the best

part was the back wall covered with a

fishing net and they hung halibut hooks

all over it with pictures of the bride and

groom's family's wedding pictures in

black and white hanging on the hooks.

It was so creative and looked really nice.

I wouldn't have thought of that in a

million years! Since it was a winter

wedding they had red felt mittens with

a snowman on them for each guest and

there was a chocolate bar inside that

was made by the local chocolate factory.

They were just full of great ideas.

I took this picture this morning--see the

Coast Guard busily working? These guys fly

in anything! In the worst storms with wind

howling and snow gusting we see them out

there practicing and training so they can be

of help to someone in danger. I am so glad

they are always around!

FRIDAY FUNNY

I don't know about you, but I could

sure use a good laugh this morning...

A MAN WITH SKILLS

I think I've found our next president

NEAT MATH TRICK

Some people are such brainiacs.

The 11 Times Trick

We all know the trick when multiplying by ten – add 0 to the end of the number,

but did you know there is an equally easy trick for multiplying a two digit number

by 11? This is it:

Take the original number and imagine a space between the two digits (in this

example we will use 52:

5_2

Now add the two numbers together and put them in the middle:

5_(5+2)_2

That is it – you have the answer: 572.

If the numbers in the middle add up to a 2 digit number, just insert the

second number and add 1 to the first:

9_(9+9)_9

(9+1)_8_9

10_8_9

1089 – It works every time.

EXCELLENT FREE READING

For anybody that is sick and tired of being sick and tired...

The Water Cure: An interview with Dr. Batmanghelidj

TAFFY APPLE SALAD

This salad is so tasty and different, with a sweet

dressing that has just a hint of tang because there is

vinegar added during cooking. It can be served as

either a dessert or a salad dish--I think it is good

no matter what you call it! Plus it is very easy

to put together and leftovers keep well until

the next day.

If you like taffy apples at your state fair you will love

this salad. We have discovered it is even better if you

let it sit for a few hours before serving because the

peanuts soften up a little...delicious!

TAFFY APPLE SALAD

1 Tablespoon flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1 can (8 oz) crushed pineapple, drained, reserve juice

4 cups (1 pound) red delicious apples, unpeeled

1 cup salted shelled peanuts

1 carton (8 oz) nondairy whipped topping

Combine flour and sugar, mix well. Beat egg, add to flour/sugar

mixture. Add vinegar and reserved pineapple juice.

Cook in small saucepan on low heat, stirring constantly until

thick. Cool.

Pour cooled dressing over apples, pineapples and peanuts,

mix gently.

Fold in whipped topping, sprinkle with additional peanuts

to serve. Store in refrigerator.

Yield: 10 servings

SUPPORTING OUR COUNTRY

According to the media the economy is recovering and the

recession is over. Are any of you seeing that where you live?

I just keep hearing about people I know losing their jobs and

foreclosures that are still happening all over the country. There

were 85,000 more jobs lost in December--they call that a

recovery?

I know one of the things I can do as a consumer is to buy from

my own country whenever possible. What good does it do to

buy everything in Walmart, when something like 90% of their

goods are imported from another country? Does that help our

economy, or does that just help Walmart's multi-billion dollar

bottom line? I really don't know any other way to look at it.

I know last year when we were down south I bought my daughter

a long sleeved shirt in Walmart and the very first time I washed

it the stupid thing rolled up in a ball and came unraveled. I looked

at the tag--Made in China. HIGH quality, oh yeah. Glad I saved

$2.00 and gave the Walmart family billionaires more of my hard

earned money. Plus I had to go buy another one anyway--duh!

My older daughter received a nice T shirt as a Christmas present

last year from this company and after tons of washings it still

looks and wears like new.

It takes a little more effort and definitely a few more bucks,

but in the long run if you buy American you will have bought

a better product and helped keep your money where it belongs,

keeping Americans working.

I even found a place yesterday in Alaska that sells dried herbs

and teas that they grow themselves here in Alaska. You can bet

I will be buying from them from now on.

I did a quick search and came up with multiple websites that

sell American products--check it out:

Still Made in USA

Made in USA

USA B2C

Buy American

American Made Yes

Made in USA Forever

Americans Working

Made in USA

US Stuff

Devvy Made in the USA

22 products which are made in America:

• Toys: Crayola's Silly Putty (Easton, PA)
• Cosmetics: Burt's Bees (Durham, NC)
• Cosmetics: Merle Norman Cosmetics (Los Angeles, CA)
• Toys: Slinky Toys (Hollidaysburg, PA)
• Candles: Yankee Candles (South Deerfield, MA)
• Teddy Bears: Vermont Teddy Bear Company (Burlington, VT)
• Jeans: Union Jean Company (Arcanum, OH)
• Playing Cards: United States Playing Card Company (Cincinnati, OH)
• Outdoor Gear: Cabela's, Inc. (NYSE: CAB) (Sydney, Nebraska)
• Sound Systems: B&K Components (Buffalo, NY)
• Carbon Bicycles: Aegis Bicycles (Camden, ME)
• Boots: Red Wing Shoes (Red Wing, MN)
• House Tools: Stride Tool Inc. (Glenwillow, OH)
• Handbags: Unique Bag and Design (Akron. OH)
• Women's Baseball Caps: Madcapz (Chicago, IL)
• Plastic Boxes : Oppenheim Plastics Co. (Saddle River, NJ)
• Appliances: KitchenAid Appliances (Benton, MI) (manufactured in Ohio, Mississippi; Arkansas; Tennessee; and Indiana).
• Baskets: Longaberger Baskets (Dresden, OH)
• Kitchen cabinets: Merillat Industries (Adrian, MI) (manufactured in 11 U.S. plants)
• Paper supplies: Mrs. Grossman's Paper Company (Petaluma, CA)
• Louisville Slugger Baseball Bats: Hillerich & Bradsby Company (Louisville, KY)
• Clothing: Pendleton Woolen Mills (Portland, OR)

POOR GUY

No, he didn't fall down. As soon as he walked in the door

there was something for him to fix. While he was gone

I decided to clean my upstairs ovens. I have always

cleaned them by scrubbing, but this time I thought

Why not just turn on the cleaning function?

Well it worked for one oven, but the other one

blew the motherboard and the fan won't shut off.

I hate appliances.

I don't know if you remember me mentioning it, but

I took part in the Artisan's Market at the beginning

of December. It was a great learning experience, that

is for sure. I learned how little sleep I can live on

and I learned I have a lot of people in my life that

are very helpful and generous with their time. Oh,

and I learned that people really like fresh bread.

Here is a link to our Chamber of Commerce website

with a very fast slide show of the vendors that

participated in the market:

Sitka Artisans Market

Overall it was really fun and I am sure I will

be a part of this next year. With lots more bread.

FAST FOOD ANYONE? ANYONE?

http://www.naturalnews.com/ Tuesday, January 05, 2010 by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger Editor of NaturalNews.com (NaturalNews) If you're in the beef business, what do you do with all the extra cow parts and trimmings that have traditionally been sold off for use in pet food? You scrape them together into a pink mass, inject them with a chemical to kill the e.coli, and sell them to fast food restaurants to make into hamburgers. That's what's been happening all across the USA with beef sold to McDonald's, Burger King, school lunches and other fast food restaurants, according to a New York Times article. The beef is injected with ammonia, a chemical commonly used in glass cleaning and window cleaning products. This is all fine with the USDA, which endorses the procedure as a way to make the hamburger beef "safe" enough to eat. Ammonia kills e.coli, you see, and the USDAdoesn't seem to be concerned with the fact that people are eating ammonia in their hamburgers. This ammonia-injected beef comes from a company calledBeef Products, Inc. As NYT reports, the federal school lunchprogram used a whopping 5.5 million pounds of ammonia-injected beef trimmings from this company in 2008. This company reportedly developed the idea of using ammonia to sterilize beef before selling it for human consumption. Aside from the fact that there's ammonia in the hamburgermeat, there's another problem with this company's products:The ammonia doesn't always kill the pathogens. Both e.coli and salmonella have been found contaminating the cow-derived products sold by this company. This came as a shock to the USDA, which had actually exempted the company's products from pathogen testing and product recalls. Why was it exempted? Because the ammonia injection process was deemed so effective that the meat products were thought to be safe beyond any question. What else is in there? As the NYT reports, "The company says its processed beef, a mashlike substance frozen into blocks or chips, is used in a majority of the hamburger sold nationwide. But it has remained little known outside industry and government circles. Federal officials agreed to the company's request that the ammonia be classified as a 'processing agent' and not an ingredient that would be listed on labels." Fascinating. So you can inject a beef product with a chemical found in glass cleaning products and simply call it a "processing agent" -- with the full permission and approval of the USDA, no less! Does anyone doubt any longer how deeply embedded the USDA is with the beef industry? Apparently, this practice of injecting fast food beef with ammonia has been a well-kept secret for years. I never knew this was going on, and this news appears to be new information to virtually everyone. The real shocker is that "a majority" offast food restaurants use this ammonia- injected cow-derived product in their hamburger meat. It sort of makes you wonder: What else is in there that we don't know about? "School lunch officials and other customers complained about the taste and smell of the beef," says the NYT. No wonder. It's been pumped full of chemicals. There are already a thousand reasons not to eat fast food. Make this reason number 1,001. Ammonia. It's not supposed to be there. You can get the same effect by opening a can of dog food made with beef byproducts, spraying it with ammonia, and swallowing it. That is essentially what you're eating when you order a fast food burger. It's almost enough to make you want to puke. If you do so, please aim it at your windows, because ammonia cuts through grease like nothing else, leaving your windows squeaky clean! Sources for this story include: NY Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/31/u... ABC News: http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wire...

THEY'RE HOME!

Finally. Sheesh it seems like these

2 have been gone forever. Maybe

because they were gone to Juneau

for a few days right before Christmas

and then left right after Christmas

for the last 9 days. My daughter has

missed an entire week of school, so

she has some catching up to do.

They did have a one night lay over

in Seattle, so they were able to run

up and see my Mom and Dad for a

little bit. They are both feeling a

bit under the weather and could

use prayer for improved health.

I am glad they made it in tonight--the

flight to Juneau was cancelled, so all

those people had to stay in Seattle.

They came through the bumpfest

known as Ketchikan. You don't want

to eat too big a dinner if you are

landing there...

They both said it was fun to go,

but REALLY GREAT to be home.

When you leave this place it is

amazing how much you miss

the smell of fresh, clean air.

Big news with my mother in law,

she has been invited to move to

Belgium for 2 years to supervise

the gardens over there. She is a

master gardener and apparently

the government is trying to take

over the public gardens in Belgium

and they want her there to help

keep them intact. I think she has

more guts than most people half

her age to do something like that.

She doesn't even speak French!

I delivered a birthday cake on the way to the

airport. Dark Chocolate Coffee with Raspberry

filling and Vanilla Buttercream.

Do you have any idea how hard it is to make

these thing and never get a bite? Not even

a teeny one? Yes, I do sometimes level the

tops a bit, but crumbs are not the same as

your very own big piece of cake with

frosting and filling on a pretty plate.

Great. Now my mouth is watering.

Hey, maybe some secret admirer will

order a cake and ask me to deliver it to me?

LOL

I finally made an extra loaf of Cranberry

Nut bread this last week for us to eat. It

is weird, but I have never tasted it,

I just make tons of it for customers. I

love the mild orange flavor of the bread

mingled with the tart cranberry. No wonder

people order it all the time.

I also made Red Velvet for the first time

this holiday season because people

requested it. Boy is it good! The bright

red color kind of put me off, but the flavor

is so good. Just a hint of chocolate with a

nice tang from the vinegar in the batter

and the cream cheese frosting. It now has

a spot in my keeper notebook.

I ordered this book out of curiosity. I had

read somewhere that it was interesting

because it talks about how trends get

started, why certain things become

fads, etc. So far it is fascinating just

reading about people types and how

they affect everybody's lives, whether

we know it or not.

My daughter and I went and saw Avatar

and Sherlock Holmes while we were

alone. Avatar was incredible and I am

sure it was even better in 3D, but

we don't have that here. My favorite

parts were the glowing lights in

the darkness. It was just so cool

looking and made me wonder if that

is how Heaven will be.

Sherlock Holmes was O.K., but I

would have been just as happy to

rent it on DVD. It was just a little

too far removed from the books

for my liking. I mean, Sherlock

Holmes fist fighting? Please...

NEED A SMILE TODAY?

NOTHING BUT BLUE SKIES

Does anybody reading this use Freecycle? What a great

idea that someone came up with to match people that

need things with people that have things to give away.

The stuff stays out of the landfill and everybody wins!

I placed an ad yesterday for some extra foam pieces I

have that I cannot use. My brother got them for me

from the local granite installer and the egg crate ones

work great for me to send my lady head vases, but the

others are just too thick.

I didn't want to throw them away, so I placed them

on Freecycle and right away someone emailed me

and said he would be so happy if he could have them.

They are setting up a temporary recording studio

and the foam will work perfect to deaden sounds.

He took all 26 pieces and I was happy to have

them gone to make room in our spare bedroom.

If you are interested in joining, it is free and

very easy: http://www.freecycle.org/

I went downtown today to mail some stuff and just look

at the beautiful mountains by the post office. I also

noticed a lot of people out skating on the lake when

I went by. One person was out there sweeping a big

circle on the lake with a broom to clear it of snow.

What a job!

Coming back home I just HAD to take another

picture from one of my favorite spots. There are

condos on the corner behind where I was standing

that have this view from their living room windows.

Who needs TV?

Somebody is really missing her dad...

My older daughter out working for her supper. She

brought up a whole bunch of dry wood from the

bottom part of our property so we can keep the fire

nice and warm. So much better than a wheelbarrow!

ANOTHER GORGEOUS DAY

Once in a blue moon--that's what this is.

It was a full moon twice this month and

that is where the saying Once in a Blue

Moon comes from.

It was so light out the last few nights that

I could actually see the dogs reflected in

the snow when they were outside. Usually

it is so dark all I do is listen for their

collars jingling to know where they are.

It was 26 when we woke up this morning,

which is warmer than where my husband

and daughter are in South Carolina.

Weird.

My older daughter got the unexpected

pleasure of driving on the ice last night.

Our driveway has about an inch of snow

over the top of sheer ice and we live on a

very steep driveway. She has to learn

sometime if she is going to safely drive

here in the wintertime. I see way too

many people flying at normal speed on

icy roads--very dangerous.

I had her drive while I delivered a cookie

tray last night. Going down the driveway

takes some guts because once you start

heading down there is no going back. We

only slid a couple of times when she hit

the brakes, but once she realized I wasn't

kidding when I said Don't Use The Brakes

we were fine.

Going back up when we got home was

also interesting. We sat at the bottom

while she gathered her nerves, because

one you start up it you better not stop.

It's not bad until you hit the part where

you see everyone else's slide marks!

She did great, we parked safely and

now I feel better about her taking

her own vehicle out on icy roads.

My uncle John sent me software

made for my Mac computer that will

organize all of my recipes. I kind of

have them organized for now into

plastic protected sheets inside

notebooks, but I think it will be

nice to print them out so they are

all the same format.

Who knows, maybe one day I'll

publish a cookbook and I'll need

them all organized into one spot!