What to do on another snowy day?

Tags

cake mix, cyst, doctor, heavy snow, madeleine, postaday2013, rain, snow

This morning I woke up to snow falling quickly down on the ground and snowplows making a ton of noise. Blandford was beautiful and fluffy from the trees right down to the shrubs and grass. We only got about 4 inches, which I was happy about because I had a doctor’s appointment this morning at 10:00 and anymore would have made the roads pretty bad. The amount we received gave me no troubles whatsoever as I made my way down the mountain and I got there on time. The issue at hand was the new development of a cyst and so far the doctor is fairly certain that it is benign but we are going to review it in six weeks from now. I know, intellectually, that it is probably nothing but as with anything, there is always a nagging voice in the back of my mind but I do everything I can to ignore it. Anyway there is nothing to do until six weeks from now and so by tomorrow I will have other things on my mind so I’ll be fine.

My hubby asked me to make something that we had picked up during our travels; a coconut Madeleine cake mix made by the Barefoot Contessa, so this afternoon I made the coconut Madeleines and the Barefoot Contessa did not disappoint at all. They came out beautifully and taste really good, I don’t even like coconut and I liked these a lot.

I haven’t used a cake mix in a long time because I enjoy baking from scratch. I do it for two reasons; one, I control what actually goes in the cake and two, I have more fun doing it that way. I know that even though the results were excellent, I won’t make buying the Barefoot Contessa product line a habit. I can easily make Madeleines from scratch; I have in the past. I do remember my hubby saying that my Madeleine’s weren’t as light and spongey as they should be, but I don’t mind his critiques, because all that means for me is that I need to go back to the drawing board and for someone who loves baking that is never a bad thing. Honestly though, I really recommend the Barefoot Contessa’s product line; her directions are clear and easy and the end result is delicious.

Tied to technology

What technological device could you not live without?

The question being defined as something that you cannot live without makes it very specific. I could live without a cell phone, I could live without a computer; I would be resigned to writing in a journal everyday and I would miss the quick gratification of my reader's responses but I would be able to cope. Television would be really really hard, I love entertainment but I love books so I would be able to cope here as well. Indoor plumbing is something that I am designating as technology and that is something that I cannot live without. I absolutely despise outhouses, portapotties and anything that hasn't plumbing. I think that after a while I would become ill because I wouldn't able to go without a bathroom for very long. I am not made for pioneering simply for that reason. That is probably why camping and I don't mix, indoor plumbing doesn't exist in nature so while everyone is sleeping in the tents, I'll be snug in the nearest motel with my indoor plumbing.