Sugar Cookie Cake

I have been making this Sugar Cookie Cake for awhile now.  Well, during quarantine.  It seems like it has been longer than a few months.  

I found this recipe here.  The fun thing about this recipe is that you can customize it to the holiday.  For example, use white frosting and decorate with red and blue sprinkles for Memorial Day or Fourth of July.  Red and pink sprinkles for Valentines Day.  

If you are a sugar cookie fan like me, you will definitely enjoy this cake.  Oh, and with all of the easy ways to customize it to a holiday, it's a great, easy cake to bring with you to your next family gathering.

Here's the recipe:

Sugar Cookie Cake

ingredients:

3/4 cup butter*

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

2 1/4 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

Frosting:

8 TBSP butter

3 cups powdered sugar

1/4 tsp vanilla

3 TBSP milk

sprinkles, M & M's, chocolate chips, etc.

directions:

Oven 375F.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

Add eggs and vanilla and mix.

Stir in flour, baking powder and salt.  Mix until combined.

Press cookie mixture in an even layer in a greased 9x13 pan.

Bake 10-13 minutes.  Do not over bake.  Cake should be barely set and no browned edges.

Allow cake to cool completely before frosting.

Frosting:

In a bowl, add butter and 2 cups of powdered sugar and mix until creamy.

Add remaining powdered sugar and vanilla.

Add as much milk as needed to reach frosting consistency.

Smooth frosting over cake and top with sprinkles.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

*You can use vegan butter.  I haven't tried flax eggs yet with this recipe.

*almond milk works perfectly

If you make Sugar Cookie Cake, let me know what you think!

Enjoy!

Quarantine Day 76

Honestly, it feels more like Day 763.

The good news for the week?  Bella has finished 8th grade.  It's official!  The ceremony was virtual, short and sweet.  We did get dressed up to take pictures.  It did seem anti climactic since we could not go anywhere to celebrate or even be around family and friends.  Now that school is over, the world is at her feet!  She can do whatever she wants....as long as she social distances herself from others and, well, stays inside since everything here is still CLOSED!

As I stated in my last post, all of the children  sunflowers were planted.  They are doing great and send their love.

I talked about my wonderful surprise last week.  Nick's visit.  Before he left Illinois, he helped me spread some mulch in the front yard.  I sent him to the grocery store while he was here.  When he returned home he told me that he would not step into any more stores while here in Illinois (because of the mask law).  He was quite happy to go back home.

I finished the huge mulch pile that we had in our driveway and was promised that we wouldn't get more until July.  I exhausted my three secret helpers in the process and ended up completing the job myself.   I found out that RT spoke with a neighbor and we will be getting more mulch in a couple of days.  With all of the mulch tossing I have to say that my arms are looking pretty....pretty....good.  Yes that was a "Curb" reference.

I just finished watching "Waco" on Netflix and it has sparked my obsession with religious groups/cults.  This viewing has lead to me reading and watching everything I can to try and figure out David Koresh.

I accidentally volunteered my mulching services to a neighbor.  I think this quarantine is affecting my brain and ability to think.  I might have a new career on my hands, folks.  

Sunflowers

This Spring we decided to grow sunflowers from seed indoors.  Normally we grow them (from seed) when we plant the garden.  Unfortunately, the birds (or squirrels) start digging where we plant the seeds.  If they survive that and actually grow, then it's the rabbits that get them.  The rabbits think it is a free all you can eat salad bar and snack on the plants until there is nothing left.  It doesn't matter if I plant them in different spots around the house.  I'm lucky if a hand full of them actually grow.  We have learned a valuable lesson during all of this experience.  A good chicken wire fence keeps them safe from snacking rabbits.  This, of course, is all thanks to RT and his fence making business.

So, as I was saying, we started growing our sunflowers in the house.  RT became quite attached to the little guys.  Watering them, making sure they were getting enough sun, giving them pep talks.  He even set them outside a few times so they could get some wind training.  Oh, and he started calling them our children.  

When we planted our garden a couple of weeks ago, we planted half of the children  sunflowers.  RT would go out there daily to check on them and make sure they were adjusting to their new home.  I planted the rest of the children sunflowers out front.  I gave a couple of plants to the neighbor boy.  He was out front digging and I figured it would be fun for him to take care of during the summer.  I asked RT to put up a fence around the children out front,  so they don't get gobbled up by the rabbits.  I also mentioned that I gave a couple of the kids  sunflower plants to the neighbor.  RT put a fence around the neighbor's sunflowers and explained that we raised them like children.  

All the children  sunflowers are planted and are doing quite well in their new homes.   I'll keep you up to date periodically on their progress.   If you want frequent reports, I'm sure RT would be happy to fill you in with daily updates.

Quarantine Day 69

Alex said he might become a vegan after this whole quarantine is over.  He has a good start since I have been making quite a few vegan meals during this time at home.

RT has decided that it hurts to wear shoes so he is going barefoot everywhere.  Parties should be interesting to attend.  I hope there are no formal occasions in the near future.  For all of you local people, keep this in mind before inviting us over.

Bella is no longer an eighth grader.  She has officially moved on.  I was given the task to pick up all of her personal items that were left in her lockers.  Good thing my trunk was empty.  I had to personally apologize for the amount of stuff my child stored at school.  Good thing they didn't charge a rental fee.  We get to view the "Moving On" ceremony via links that will be sent to us tomorrow.  It isn't quite the same as attending the ceremony and seeing her walk across the stage, but, hey, things are different now and we just have to roll with it.  She will also have that as a fun quarantine memory.

We had a surprise visit this week from Nick.  Besides a strong resemblance to a thin Grizzly Adams, he is looking pretty good!  I think he expected us to be having lots of fun here during quarantine because there are more people living in this house.   Sorry we disappointed you, Nick.  At least we were able to have a little pizza party for you.  Thanks, Uncle Steve!

Still home.
Still walking.
Still masked.
Trying to stay insane  sane
Also trying to stay safe and not to kill anyone.

Cheers to this all ending REAL soon!

Bagpipes

Every evening for the last couple of weeks, starting around 5pm, I notice that I can hear bagpipes playing down the street from me.  At first I thought that I was hearing things.  You know how sometimes you hear music in your head (or is that just me?)?  I'm not exactly sure why I would hear bagpipe music in my head.  Maybe I have been watching too much "Outlander?"

Anyway, it all started when we rented that stump grinder a few weeks ago.  When we were finishing up for the evening, I could faintly hear the sounds of bagpipes playing in the distance.  I found it a little odd and thought that maybe I was just hearing things.  I mean, hearing bagpipes playing is a normal thing, isn't it?

Time went by, and every evening when I would step out front, I could hear the bagpipes.  They were always coming from the same direction.  I thought it was pretty cool and would hang outside and listen for a little while.  I didn't think much about it.  The music was played during the late afternoon/early evening.  It wasn't obnoxiously loud.  And, I thought it was cool because it was something different to experience.

Apparently, some of the neighbors do not agree with me.

We have this neighborhood app where people like to complain a lot  you can ask neighbors questions, report traffic issues and sell items.  The app can be quite useful.  Many of the questions are about things happening in the area, like, when is garbage day this week?  Is it branch pick up this week?  Some people ask questions about plants they have found in their yard, recommendations on restaurants, local companies, etc.  Unfortunately, the app sometimes turns into a "complaint department." 

One of the questions asked was about hearing bagpipes playing.  It was asked as an innocent question but the post must have had 50 replies.  Quite a few positive replies with the people thanking the bagpiper, and then there were the complaints.  "It bothers my dog."  "I don't like it."  "It's too loud."

With this whole quarantine time, I've had plenty of time to reflect.  Being isolated or quarantined has helped me to try and find something positive in what is happening around me.  Try to enjoy the little things in life, like bagpipe music in the evenings.  And, if it isn't something that you (or your dog) want to hear, then go inside your house.

Time

Another post about my bedroom clock.  The clock is fine.  It's working wonderfully with just enough brightness at night.  I'm very happy with my clock selection.

My question to you is, do you set any of your clocks ahead?  Say, five or ten minutes ahead? 

For years our bedroom clock has always been set ahead.  And, not something easy like five or ten minutes.  It's usually 7 minutes or 13, 14 or even 17 minutes ahead.  So, when you wake up in the morning (or even the middle of the night) you have to do math in your head just to figure out the time.  Nothing like trying to subtract seventeen from the time on the clock at 3am.

And, before you start praising my effort on intellectual efforts and strategies, I must mention that this is all thanks to RT and his grand master plan.

The upside is that I do arrive places (like work) a lot earlier than expected.  I usually think I'm running late only to arrive 20-30 minutes earlier than I am scheduled.  The down side is that I arrive a lot earlier at places and find myself sitting in the car for 20 minutes.

One day, I looked at the clock, did my subtraction and figured I had some time.  Only to find out later that I somehow lost time and my day was thrown off.  I found out later that RT set the clock at the correct time without telling me.  Our clock has always been set ahead for over 25 years and he decided that it was a good time to set it to the actual time.  Oh, and forget to mention it to me.

So, I did what any normal person would do in this situation.  I set the clock fifteen minutes ahead. 

My Weird Dog

I am beginning to realize that I don't need a weather app on my phone when it comes to finding out when it will rain.

Pippen loves hanging out on the back deck.  Oh, yea, he isn't allowed in the yard because he tends to tear up the grass.  I got tired of hearing RT complain about the grass, so, Pippen is only allowed on the back deck or on the side yard.

Anyway...

One minute Pippen is having a great time on the deck, sunbathing, sleeping or crazy barking when other dogs walk by our house the next thing you know, he's laying by the back door.  That can mean one of two things.  Either he's weirded out by the landscapers (he isn't a fan of lawnmowers or loud sounds) or it's going to rain.

A couple of days ago, I was checking the weather and noticed that thunderstorms were going to hit us during the early morning hours the next day.  I figured I would just let Pippen sleep in our room (so I don't have to hear him crying at 3am). 

Around 7pm, Pippen started acting weird.  Following me around, hanging in the corner of the family room or hiding by my bed.  And then I remembered the storms that were approaching the next morning.  I'm not sure how he can sense these things.  He has been spot on with approaching storms on many occasions.  I'm thinking of contacting the weather channel.  I think he would make a great addition to their team, especially when it comes to predicting thunderstorms.