30 crazy cool things I want from Amazon STAT!! SEPTEMBER EDITION.

It is no secret that I LOVE amazon. Seriously.  and I LOVE finding some of the fun and quirky stuff they have.   I go to amazon every day and I find one product that I would love and put it on my list. SO my end of the month round up  are the coolest, funniest, weirdest, quirkiest, unusual or most useful things that I have found every day in September.

1.  DINOSAUR TACO HOLDERS.  So we do Taco Tuesdays, and these would be freaking amazing. And how cute is that Brontosaurus??

2.THIS MULTI KITCHEN TOOL. It  is 7 different kitchen tools all in one, and they all stack together in a pretty wine bottle shape.  It's a lemon squeezer, spice grater, funnel, measuring cup, flower vase, egg separator and cheese grater all in one.!  Plus it looks so colorful and fun!

3. WELCOME MAT THAT ISNT VERY WELCOMING.  I hate when the doorbell rings.  Is it a solicitor? Is it girl scout cookies? Is it a neighbor wanting to borrow something?  Ugh, people are the worst arent they?  This is the perfect door mat for introverts!!   Made of tradition coconut coir fibers, this environmentally friendly mat  will hold up through the element and tell people how you really feel!

4. DEATH STAR TOASTER.   Welcome do the Dark Side(or light side depending on your settings).  As avid Star Wars fans, this is something we want. Extra wide slots for 2 pieces of bread,  removable crumb tray and adjustable thermostat.  Officially licensed porduct too, no knock off here! Makes a great gift (hint)

5. SUCCULENT POTS AND BAMBOO TRAY.   Small set of 6 cement pots are classy and clean, perfect for those little succulents.  How cute are these??

6.EINSTEIN HEAD MAGNETIC PAPERCLIP DISPENSER. With everyone working from home right now, my home office desk could use a little organizing.  This fun paper clip dispenser allows the creative side to arrange his hair, while keeping all your paperclips in one area.  Fun, quirky and cute for any home office!!

7. MELAMINE FRENCH BULL SPREADER SET.  Set of four 6" spreaders, for cheese, butter etc.  I LOVE the colors and patterns on these. Heavy Duty, dishwasher safe and perfect for that fun pop of color in the kitchen.

8. THE COMPLETE CALVIN AND HOBBES.  We are huge Calvin and Hobbes fans here, and at one point had most of the books. Unfortunately over the years the books have become worn, torn and with kids they were colored in and ripped.  SO it is time for a new set!  4 paperback color volumes in a sturdy slipcase, this is perfect for any personal library.

9.SHARP SHIRTER SLOTH SHOWER CURTAIN.  You had me at Sloth.  You REALLY had me at  A king Kong Sloth on the Empire State Building.  Yes, please!    Fits a standard size tub and is made with super soft waterproof polyester.

10. FLOPPY DISK RETRO SILICONE DRINK COASTERS.  As someone born in the 70s I was there as home computers made their ways into our lives. At first the floppy disks and later on hard disks were how you did EVERYTHING on computers. These retro silicone coasters are a great nostalgic reminder of how far we have come! set of 6 coasters made from flexible silicone, they will protect your tables while showing of your geeky side.

11.TIN RETRO EAT HERE SIGN.  I am a sucker for anything retro and vintage style.  I love the nostalgia it invokes, and I totally want to put this in my kitchen. inspired by the classic 50's Americana and old diners, this sign is made from tin and has been distressed to look vintage. with a keyhole for easy hanging, this is a no brainer.

12.  SHARP NOT HASTAG MUG- As a lifelong pianist I totally appreciate this mug.  Thats a sharp, not a hashtag. Musical Nerdom and anti twitter unite!  Made from ceramic and is microwave and top rack dishwasher safe!

13. PRISON MIKE MERMAID PILLOW.  I am a huge fan of the office, and when I saw this mermaid pillow I KNEW I needed to have it.   Featuring Prison Mike in sequins.  With a wave of your hand over the sequins, you can hide prison Mike and have plain color to match any room decor.   This Pillow is here to scare you straight!!

14. SRIRACHA CHILI SAUCE T-SHIRT.  Huge fan of Sriracha , and I love this T shirt.  Bold red shirt and logo will show your love of the sauce! 100% cotton, machine washable with like colors.  

  

15. CERAMIC BUNNY CUPCAKE AND CANDY STAND.  This small ceramic plate is adorable. Perfect for a few little cupcakes or candy cups, a small dish or two.  It is just so cute I cant stand it!! Handmade. NOT dishwasher safe or Microwave safe. SO handwash only (But im just going to use ot for easter decoration!)

16. SMART SPEAKER LION TABLE STAND-  I literally have an echo dot in every room of the house. But they look so plain and boring just sitting there.  I saw this and fell in love.  They have a variety of different animals, but this lion really spoke to me. Lightweight, portable and made of wood, you can use it to elevate your smart speaker without compromising sound or microphone quality!

17. CERAMIC 3D OCTOPUS MUG.  This caught my eye and I love it. Made of ceramic with a tactile 3D design, , hand wash only not for use in microwave.  But how gorgeous are those tentacles and that color??  Looks like a real octopus.

18. BETTA FALLS AQUARIUM: Unique design houses 3 separate betta fish, curved design and cascading waterfalls make this something I want as a display!! 

19. BICYCLE 130TH ANNIVERSARY PLAYING CARDS.   We play a lot of cards in our house, and I LOVE vintage style.  These cards appeal to me in so many ways.   Gorgeous antique looking colors and classic bicycle artwork.  Love them!!

20. LE CREUSET STONEWARE HONEY POT WITH DIPPER.   I Love Le Creuset, and I love honey.  I do have a honeypot that I got in Italy, but I like it as a decorative item and need an actual honeypot.  I LOVE the look of this and that stamped bee is amazing.  The bright and sunny yellow would look great in my kitchen!

21. ROSE GOLD SET OF MERMAID HANDLE MAKEUP BRUSHES..  10 piece set of rose gold colored makeup brushes with mermaid tail handles.  I dont wear a ton of makeup, and dont really need the brushes but I LOVE rose gold and I love the look of these. I may have to replace my old set with these bad boys. I just want to squeeeeeeee....

22.  THE BRONTE SISTERS BOX SET: PENGUIN CLOTHBOUND CLASSICS.   4 greatest  works of the Bronte sisters in a lavish, clothbound, boxed set.  Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, Tenant of Wildfell Hall and Villette.   I LOVE books, especially pretty books and I Love the Bronte sisters books. This is a set I want on my bookshelf ASAP.

23. L'ABEILLE OCCITANE LAVENDER HONEY DROPS.   How gorgeous are these groumet french drops??  With winter coming I always get dry, sore throat, and these drops would be an amazing soother.  Made in Provence France, these gourmet candies have a liquid center of french lavender honey. yuuuummmmmm.

24.  TOTES BIRDS ON A WIRE BUBBLE UMBRELLA.   large 51" canopy, and adorable birds on a wire print. sooooooo cuuuuute!!  Much better than my plain boring umbrella.

25. EWOK DOG COSTUME.   Totally want to get this costume for my dog for Halloween.  How cute is this!!

26. ROSE APOTHECARY HOODIE.   I love the show Schitt$ Creek.  David's (eww David, no) store is called Rose Apothecary and  I know they are all props etc, but if it were a real store I would shop there constantly.  I love this hoodie. Simple Rose Apothecary branding. I am obsessed.

27. SOURDOUGH BREAD KIT.  Back during the major covid 19 shut down and I was out of work, I made a sourdough starter, it is took off. I used starter in everything. All my baked goods, pancakes, rolls, everythig got a dose of sourdough starter discard.  Guess what I didnt make with my starter??  Actual sourdough bread. I saw this kit and want it.  It comes with the basket and scraper and everything you need to make sourdough bread. 

28 MILKSHAKE MAKER.   We live in Idaho, home of many dairy farms.  We have one particular dairy that has their own store with fresh milks, cheeses, curds and the best ice cream!!  I am in there several times a week buying their chocolate milk,  and pints of ice cream. (We are ice cream eaters here!!). I love a good milkshake, and I think they taste better the old fashioned way, which is what this machine does!  Plus I love the color. !

29. FALL PUMKIN DECORATIONS!  I love to decorate for holidays, and these pumkins are super cute. They will make a great tablescape on the kitchen table, or a little decoration on one of my side tables in the living room. I love the burlap and plaid. !  Lots of ideas for these pumpkins!

30. WASHINGTONS PRAYER AT VALLEY FORGE.  This artwork by Arnold Friberg is gorgeous. Perfect size for over the couch, and it is a painting I have always loved. My mom wants one as well! 

There you have it!!  30 days, 30 items!!

LASIK EYE SURGERY

 

Yesterday was a pretty big day for me!  After 35 years of glasses and contacts, I FINALLY took the plunge and had the LASIK eye surgery done!!

Right around the age of 10,  I noticed I couldn't see the blackboard well at all in class. I tried moving seats, I tried squinting harder...nothing worked.  My mom made an appointment with an eye doctor and turned out I was nearsighted.  As the years progressed my vision got worse and worse. If I am not wearing contacts, I have to wear glasses, otherwise everything is a big blurry blob.  I literally cannot see anything. I have been wearing contacts for 30 of those 35 years, and it has gotten to a point where I have developed almost an intolerance to them.  No matter what brand, no matter what type of solution, it always felt like I had grit or sand in my eyes and they always itched and burned.  I could wear them for an hour or two and then it was misery! 

So the past year I started wearing glasses 90% of the time, and that was a frustration in and of itself.  Since moving to Idaho we have started doing more hiking and being more outdoor active.  It was difficult to wear glasses during physical activity, and not have sunglasses to combat the bright sky!  Then with the whole COVID face mask stuff, they were constantly fogging up, and wearing them all day every day the arms would kind of push against the backs of my ears causing headaches. I was just done.

I had done a lasik consultation about 10 years ago, but at that time it was just too cost prohibitive. My prescription and astigmatism was such that it would have been almost 5000$ to have it done. All those postcards that say "Lasik from 299 per eye" was for people who barely needed it, and from a laser cart in a parking lot. No thank you.

so I waited. Patiently. (Or not so patiently)

 A few months ago when we first moved here my sister in law had it done, and I decided to look into it again.  So at the end of August I called the place here in Boise that had good reviews and was offering a special. I made my consultation appointment and found out that my total cost for both eyes would be what it used to cost for just one eye! It was a no brainer.  So I said yes, and they set up my appointment. I had to completely quit wearing contacts (even if it was just for a few hours) , and I had to go in for a pre-surgical consult a few days ahead of time.  They dilated my eyes, did all the measurements, reverified my prescription and set everything up. They called in the required prescription eye drops to the local pharmacy and I picked them up 2 days ahead of time.  I was ready.

Monday morning my check in time was 845. I was nervous and didnt sleep well the night before. But I had a small snack and something to drink and had my husband take me over.  Once there they numbed my eyes and cleaned around them with an antiseptic, and gave me a valium.  They let me sit for about 30 minutes to let the sedative kick in. I was watching an old Perry Mason on their TV, and  I started to feel calm,  my hands and feet felt very heavy.  I am not one to take any medications etc, so when I do it hits hard. 

They brought me into the laser suite gave me a cap to cover my hair, gloves for my hands and taped absorbent pads over my ears, so when they rinsed my eyes the water wouldn't fall into the ear canal.  I laid back on the table and they started.  They gave me a stuffed moose to hold onto, to give my hands something to do. More numbing drops were added and then we got started. They opened my eyes and placed shields in them to keep them open. They then placed a small ring that suctions to the eye and then they attached it to another piece . It was about 30 seconds of pressure as the suction pulled and shaped my eye where they wanted it. It didn't hurt, but it was weird, not comfortable, but not necessarily uncomfortable. My vision went dark then bright, then fuzzy then they guided me under the first laser and cut the corneal flap. That took 13 seconds.  You couldn't see the laser, but felt your vision go really hazy as the flap was cut.  There was no pain or discomfort, and it was easy to sit still and keep focused on the light they tell you to keep your eye on. They then went back to the other laser, lined me up, told me to look at the green light as they etched the prescription onto my eye.  That part took 6 seconds and it smelled like burning hair.  there was zero pain.  The doctor then rinsed the eye and placed the corneal flap back down and set it with the medicated eye drops.  After the first eye was done we repeated the process on the other eye.  After the first one was done the second was a piece of cake since I knew what was coming. 

When we were all done my vision was better than it was when I came to the office, but was not great. I could see, but it was only a little better than what I was used to.  The doctor told me that over the next few hours my vision would steadily improve as the swelling decreased and the healing started.  Before I left the office they gave me my kit of lubricating eye drops,  night time eye shield to sleep in so I didnt rub my eyes in my sleep, a pair of super dark sunglasses that looked straight out of The Matrix and all my instructions.  He also made me take a sleeping pill so when I got home I could go straight to bed and sleep a few hours through the worst part of recovery.  (Once the numbing drops wear off the first 2 or 3 hours are the worst with the burning and stinging. But after 3 hours everything goes back to normal, almost like clockwork).  

I got home, used some more lubricating drops and went straight to bed.  I fell asleep but woke up after an hour or so and my eyes were itching and burning like crazy.   I used more drops and went back to sleep (Thank goodness for the valium and the sleeping pill!).  I slept for 2 more hours.  When I woke up the itching and burning was gone, and my vision had improved by a ton!! I used my Rx eye drops (4 times a day!!), put my Neo/Trinity sunglasses on and went about my day.  

I have to use the RX eye drops 4 times a day, and the lubricating eye drops  every hour for the first few days.  I had to keep my eyes closed as much as possible and keep those stupid sunglasses on. 

I woke up this morning and my vision was just about perfect.  A little hazy around light sources, but everything else is amazing.  I can see, I don't have to wear glasses and no contacts!!  My eyes seem to be healing up nicely.  I have a 24 hour follow up this afternoon, then a 1 week,  and then a 1 month follow up.    I can tell this was the best decision I have made, and wish I had been able to do it sooner. But like anything technology advances and costs come down.  It is like the big flat screen TV's that used to cost an arm and a leg, but now you can get one for  next to nothing.  Same with Lasik.  If it wasn't cost effective for you before, it might be now!  

Many eye doctors offer free Lasik consultations, to see what procedure is right for you. Many now are offering great discounts and many vision insurance companies offer incentives as well! If you struggle with your glasses and contacts, or want to make a great change, this may be something you can do!

who shouldnt have Lasik? (from WebMD)

• Your cornea is too thin or uneven
• You have cataracts or glaucoma
• You have uncontrolled diabetes or an autoimmune disease such as Sjögren's syndrome or rheumatoid arthritis
• You're pregnant
• You're under 18

Other considerations (From WebMD)

One key to a successful outcome is finding an experienced doctor. You can ask friends and family who've had LASIK for a recommendation, or check with the American Academy of Ophthalmology. Manche suggests getting a second opinion. "That way, you'll feel more confident if two doctors say the same thing."

The doctor should take their time and explain the procedure very clearly, being upfront about the possible risks. "You don't want the doctor who says, 'This is absolutely guaranteed to work. You're going to love it,'" Ling says. "That's a big red flag." Going to a university medical center may be a safer bet than a private practice, she says.

You also need to have realistic expectations going into LASIK. About 90% of people will achieve 20/20 uncorrected vision or better, but 10% of people won't, and up to 40% will have side effects. "Generally, the higher your prescription was, the higher your risk of side effects," Ling says.

"I think a lot of people believe that LASIK is 100% guaranteed. For the vast majority of people, it is a highly successful surgery. But nothing in medicine is a 100% guarantee," she says. "If somebody goes into LASIK thinking they are guaranteed 20/20 vision without any risks, they have been improperly counseled, and they may be disappointed."

Hope this helps anyone considering having the procedure done, or are on the fence, or who are wondering what the procedure and  after care looks like.

HOW CLEAN IS YOUR HOUSE

 

Many years ago on one of our many local PBS stations, they aired this British show called "How Clean is Your House". The premise of this show was to go help people with extremely dirty houses clean it up, teach them how to clean and keep it clean. 

Kim Woodburn was a  professional cleaning woman (with a fancy ponytail, pearls and feathered gloves), and then her partner was Aggie MacKenzie,  a scientist who would take samples from your surfaces, fridge and basically scare the bejeezes out of you with all the bacteria levels she would find in the filth.  They would walk through the house, more horrified by the second with every step they took and every room they went into .  Kim was fond of saying "You're a dirty one, arent you?", and "Oh Aggie. Oh Aggie. Oh Aggie!".

Sometimes their high heels would get caught in the trash piles and they would grasp onto each other and shriek.   They would spend the show doing a total deep clean, and teaching us normal people tips and tricks to keeping the house clean. There was the big reveal, a promise to never let it get that dirty ever again, and then they would follow up and see how you were doing a month or so later. 

So this is some of the stuff they had to deal with:

GAG!

But I really loved watching this show because Aggie would go through and tell you "hey this is where all the bacteria likes to collect, and this is why you need to get rid of expired food and wash your clothes " etc.  She was kind of the science behind clean. Then Kim would come in get to the nitty gritty!

Kim was a no nonsense woman who would tell you to your face that you were a dirty slob and you needed to shape up.  But she would also take the time to show you the best way, the most efficient way to clean and how to keep up with it.  She gave a lot of great tips and tricks that I still use to this day!

So here are a few of my favorite (mostly all natural) tips and tricks that I like to use!

MICROWAVE:  If your microwave is anything like mine, this tip was a lifesaver. Clean any caked on splatters and mess without scrubbing.   Take a large pyrex or microwave safe glass bowl and fill 1/2 with water.  Then take an orange and slice it up. Put the slices into the bowl of water and microwave on high for 8 minutes.  After it has finished microwaving, let it sit for another few minutes to let the steam continue to do it's thing, and giving the bowl time to cool down a little. Then you just take a damp sponge and wipe everything down. Voila!!  Some people will use just the peels, but I find that the whole orange seems to work better. you could also use lemon, but again I really like orange for this task.

FRESH DISHRAGS AND SPONGES:  I FREAKING LOVE THIS HACK. I literally do this every day. Fill one side of your sink partways (or use a small bucket) with hot water, a squirt of dishsoap and a capful of chlorine bleach.  Take your used dishrags and sponges from the day   and soak them for a few minutes, then rinse well. This helps keep your rags and sponges smelling fresh (and you dont have to replace your rags daily!)You can do this at night before bed so you will have fresh dishrags in the morning.! This works best with cloth rags and towels,  not the swedish biodegradable cellulose rags.

FRESH SMELLING DRAINS:  Have you ever had a sour smelling kitchen drain?  Maybe a bit of food got down there and is just festering?  This was a hack that they used and it works like a charm.  You just need good old fashioned baking soda and vinegar!!  You pour baking soda into the drain, really get it down in the good. Let it sit for 10 minutes (just walk away and find something else to do). You will  Then pour  some white vinegar over it.  It will sizzle, and foam and fizzle, and once that has subsided, you  then rinse really well with hot water  and odor is eliminated. no muss, no fuss. It is literally that easy!  

FRESH SMELLING CARPETS:  You will take Baking Soda and a few drops of some lavender essential oil, shake it all together and sprinkle evenly over your carpet. Let this sit for awhile(the longer the better) and then vacuum up completely. Dont like lavender?, use your favorite essential oil, or even some dried herbs as well!

GRIMY TUB?  Wet the tub and sprinkle evenly with baking soda.  Let that sit for a few minutes and then take lemon juice and scrub that tub!!  Got stubborn stains? Add a little salt for some extra grit and scrubbing power. 

WONKY SHOWERHEAD SPRAY- Ever had a calcium or lime buildup in your showerhead and you had little jets of water shooting in wonky directions?? Get that stuff cleaned out!!  Take a gallon size bag and fill with white vinegar and lemon juice.  Place around shower head so all the little holes are sitting in the mixture, tie off.  Let sit for several hours, until the deposits have broken up. good as new!

Any tips and tricks you like to use?

SAVE YOUR PHOTOS MONTH

 

As I was perusing my latest edition of Womans World magazine, I came across and interesting blurb entitled "CAPTURE JOY".  It caught my attention.

Apparently September is SAVE YOUR PHOTOS MONTH!!

 This is taken directly from Womans World:  " This holiday focuses on making sure your cherished moments are preserved for the future.  We asked Cathi Nelson, founder of The Photo Managers, the organization that created the holiday, how to protect your memories. Her unexpected top tip : 'Delete or throw away 80% of your photos.'  That includes blurry photos, doubles or extra scenery shots The, she advises dividing the rest into two piles: those that are album worthy, and those you want to save for other reasons.(they tell a story or bring up good memories, but dont belong in an album)."

SO I REALLY liked this tip.  When I went to Italy I literally look 975 pictures.  When we did our 2 week National Parks tour out west I took 1300 pictures. As I was going through and organizing I realized I had SO...MANY...DOUBLES!!(Like seriously, it was embarrassing). I took a ton of scenery pictures that once I got home, realized all sort of started to look alike, and I couldn't tell you where it was taken!   At one point I counted 27 pictures of the Amphitheatre at Bryce Canyon that all looked exactly the same.   SO as hard as it was to delete those pictures, in the end I didn't miss them.

 I was able to cut down my 859 pictures of Italy to about 300, and I am not missing out on anything.   I still have photos from everything we did and saw, but I was able to cut out the extra "stuff" that was kind of meaningless when I was looking back on it.  Did I really need 12 pictures from the top of the vineyard looking down over the exact same valley but at 10 different angles?  No. how many artistic pictures of olive oil did I really need? Pick the best one or two and move on.  I had 3 pictures in front of the bridge of sighs in Venice...they all looked the same, but one had the best smile.  Keep that one and move on.  Once you get going, it really is easy to start making cuts. 

PERSONAL TIP: I have found that after taking a group of photos, immediately go through and start making cuts right away. Once you start getting in the habit of deleting, it does get easier to figure out what you want to keep and what is extra. If you are on the fence, keep it, but some cuts are super obvious and easy to make. If I have two pictures that are almost identical, i flip back and forth and the one my gut says I like the best, I keep. If I am on the fence and cant decide I will keep it and get a second opinion.

That's the great thing about digital cameras... the instant ability to delete!!

For more tips on storing photos and backing up photos you can visit ThePhotoManagers.com for some free tutorials through November 1st!

GREAT BRITISH BAKE OFF SEASON 11, EPISODE 1 . CAKE WEEK. (sPOILERS)

  FINALLY!!  I  have been eagerly anticipating the newest season of Great British Bake Off!!

Season 11 will be uploaded one episode at a time every Friday here is the United States , on Netflix.

A few changes have been made to the Bake Off format.  They have pitched their tent in a new location (Down Hall), and each contestant will live 24/7 there in their own little bubble together.  So depending on how far they make it into the competition they could be away from their families for a week or for 7 weeks!!  Thats crazy! 

ROUND 1- SIGNATURE BAKE.  For the  first bake of the new season the bakers were assigned  their take on a Battenberg Cake.   Traditionally Battenberg Cake is rectangular and made from 2 complementary flavors, arranged in a way to reveal a design when cut.  It is then covered in Marzipan (a fondant type covering made from eggs, sugar and ground almonds) and decorated.

Prue declared Battenberg a lovely cake to start with, and is typically a marzipan lovers favorite cake (Hers included)

Paul wanted to see a smooth marzipan, start contrast in color and a punch of good flavors.

Battenberg is difficult to make, it requires a good sponge that isnt overbaked but sturdy enough to hold its shape when  cut and stacked.  Cake cant be too warm or too cold when it is cut either.  So there is a lot to think about when making one!

DAVE-  An Espresso Martini . Chocolate liquer and vodka flavored cakes

HERMINE-  Chocolate and Orange cakes. In her marzipan she used orange marmalade instead of eggs.

LAURA- Raspberry Ripple and Coconut Cake

LINDA- Tribute to her deceased cousin, cake made to look like ambulance.

LOREIA- Bubble Gum and Cream Soda with BRIGHT BLUE marzipan.

LOTTIE- Rhubarb and Custard Cakes, inside is a star shaped pattern.

MAK-  Lots of middle eastern flavors like ginger and orange, covered in a pistachio marzipan instead             of the traditional almond.

MARC- Sour Cherry and Chocolate Walnut Cakes with rosewater Marzipan.

MARK- Turkish Bazaar inspired cake, with orange, pistachio, cardamom and pomegranate flavors.

PETER- Gluten Free dark chocolate and orange cakes with a polka dot marzipan covering.

ROWAN- Mozart inspired Magic Flute BB cake. Dark night sky marzipan covering with an intricate                     temple inspired cake inside.

SURA- Lemon and Orange cakes with traditional marzipan decorated with sculpted marzipan fruits.

________________________________________________________________________________

SO Rowan looks like he bit off more than he could chew. When he took his cakes out and started to cut, a few of them were still almost raw inside, so he resorted to putting them into the microwave to dry them out a little bit.  This means he ran way behind and had to alter his temple design quite a bit.

Sura's cake completely bubbled over in the oven. 

Lotties cakes were so moist she was having issues to keep her star shape looking clean and crisp.

many of the bakers were having issues frosting their layers and keeping them together, rolling their marzipan and wrapping them neatly and cleanly.

ROUND 1 JUDGEMENT:

DAVE- The coffee overpowers and Paul said it just blended the wrong way.

HERMINE- Her marzipan was delicious with the use of marmalade instead of eggs. Judged well and a                     pleasure to eat.

LAURA- No real distinctness in her sponges. Flavors ran together and wasnt real neat.

LINDA- overbaked and dry.

LOREIA- striking color and layers but the flavors were just too intense and overpowering.  Bone Dry                     and too thick marzipan.

LOTTIE- Despite the messy star pattern the colors were wonderful. Her cakes tasted the same but had a                 good sturdy rhubarb jam.

MAC- Pistachio was overdone with the pistachio marzipan. But had a good ginger spice cake.

MARC- The decorations were too busy, and the rosewater marzipan was overdone. 

MARK- Good texture.

ROWAN- Heavy Sponge, too wet.  He had to go with a "deconstructed temple" since he ran out of                         time. But they liked the look of the marzipan covering.

PETER - Very Neat. Lovely Texture. Gluten Free flours tend to make great sponge. Great and Well                         Done.

SURA- Really pretty and neat, good texture and a really lovely piece of cake.

TECHNICAL CHALLENGE: 6 identical Pineapple Upside Down mini cakes.

 Light buttery cakes with a perfect caramel, topped with a pineapple ring, maraschino cherry and whipped cream. 

Get the caramel too dark it can become bitter and can make the sponge too hard to get out of the tin.  Too much caramel the sponge wont rise, too little the sponge wont have flavor.

POOR LINDA... Her syrup was dark, and she put in too much syrup n her tins so her poor little cakes wouldnt rise, then she had to piece them together at the end. 

the last few minutes of the challenge everyone was furiously fanning their bakes with their cookie sheets, pacing and saying things like "oh dear".  Everyone had hot cakes and many had issues with their whipped cream melting and falling off.

POOR MARK!! As sura put her cakes on the table she went to shoo a fly and knocked into Mark, dropping all but 2 of his cakes. WHOOPSIE!!  She felt so bad she was crying.  But they told Paul and Prue what happened so they were able to judge his 2 standing cakes, picking the best one.

JUDGEMENT:

12: Linda (didnt rise, not properly cooked, patchworked together, too much caramel)

11. Marc- (Very dark, stuck in tin and bitter)

10. Loreia (too light)

9. Dave (just OK)

8. Mak (problem with heat. doughy)

7. Mark (over-caramelized but nice height)

6. Laura ( Dark in Places)

5. Hermine (Nice and light. well balanced. good flavor)

4. Lottie ( Neat and uniform)

3. Rowan (Neat, nice color, nice cake)

2. Peter (Good color, good caramel, good piping)

1. Sura (Well balanced, lovely)

SO FAR LOREIA, MARC AND LINDA ARE IN BOTTOM THREE(Per paul and prue)

SHOWSTOPPER CHALLENGE. Cake Bust made to look like their personal celebrity hero.  Needs to be made and sculpted from cake and decorated with a fondant or icing.   Cake needs to be well baked but have good structure to withstand the weight and pressure. Also needs to have good internal structure to hold the cakes up. Prue says too much frosting is a no-no it can make the cake too sweet.

DAVE- Tom DeLonge . Dark chocolate and Mint.

HERMINE- Lupita Nyong'o. Chocolate and Coffee

LAURA- Freddie Mercury.  Lemon and Elderflower

LINDA- Bob Marley. Lemon and Orange

LOREIA- Louise Bennett-Coverley. Chocolate and Chili

LOTTIE- Louis Theroux.  Coconut

MAK- Bill Bryson. Lemon and Madeira

MARC-  David Bowie as Ziggy Stardust. Chocolate.

MARK- Charles Darwin. Ginger spice with coconut buttercream

PETER-  Sir Chris Hoy. 

ROWAN-  Marie Antoinette.  Chocolate and cherry with choux buns for hair.

SURA- David Attenborough.  Coconut with raspberry buttercream.

 Poor Rowan. Another overpromise.  Choux buns were a total bust so he had to improvise on her hair.

Lottie made a skull head and then covered it with fondant and sculpted, making a much more realistic looking cake.

Hermine sculpting looks ridiculous, but her fondant work on Lupitas dress is legit.

Freddie Mercury is losing his head and has beaver teeth. Laura is having a hard time keeping his head upright.

David Attenborough fell over, so Sura propped him up on a roll of frosting bags, so it looks like a travel pillow.

JUDGEMENT:

DAVE:  Toothpaste and chemical taste from the mint. "Let yourself down on texture and flavor"

HERMINE: Chocolate cake is amazing, fondat on dress looks real. Face not so much.

LAURA: giggled at poor Freddie's head. But very moist and delicious and Paul loved the flavor.

LINDA:   Delicious, and all the elements of a good sponge. Citrus with lemon curd is delicious.

LOREIA: Doesnt really look like her, and chili is overwhelming the chocolate.

LOTTIE: Recognizable, good flavors but overbaked.

MAK: Lovely flavors but very dry

MARC:  Does NOT look like Ziggy.  Dense and overbaked but great flavor.

MARK: Well baked, well done.

PETER:  excellent. Spot on. great concept, witty and well done.

ROWAN: Pauls advice "Say less, do more" Lovely cherry flavor, tasty cake"

SURA:  Good flavor and texture.

STAR BAKER:   Peter wins star baker this week with a good signature, 2nd in technical and a spot on show stopper.

GOING HOME:   Loreia.  Came down to Overbaking and Overflavoring.  Paul saw a lot of potential in Loreia, but as a judge could get involved and tell her to pull back or watch her stuff. 

Loreia: " I am proud. I did quite well to get here and I stayed true to myself".

Great way to start off season 11!!

COMIC BOOK DAY

September 25th is National Comic Book Day!

FROM  NATIONALDAYCALENDAR.COM  "Every year on September 25th, National Comic Book Day honors the art, artists and the stories of comic books. Fans and collectors, readers and artists come together to celebrate the day with events across the country. 

First popularized in the United States, comic books are also called comic magazines. Generally, comic books produce drawn sequential and opposing panels representing individual scenes. Each scene often includes descriptive prose and written narratives. When placed together, the panels form a complete story or a portion of a serial. 

The earliest comic strips, (which later gave birth to comic books), displayed dialogue in bubbles or balloons above characters’ heads. As an art form, the designs can be quite intricate. For example, text, dialogue, personalities, color and imagery all enhance part of a storyline. Over time, these storylines also distinguish eras, artists, genres and themes.

People who collect comic books are known as pannapictagraphist.

The term “comic book” comes from the first book sold as a book reprinted of humorous comic strips. Despite their name, comic books are not all humorous in tone and feature stories in all genres.

One of the earliest known comics printed was The Adventures of Obadiah Oldbuck. The 1842 hardcover comic book became the first known American comic book.

In 1896, a comic-book magazine was published in the United States featuring The Yellow Kid in a sequence titled “McFadden’s Row of Flats.” The 196-page book featured black and white print and measured 5×7 inches. It sold for 50 cents.

In 1933, a comic book, Famous Funnies, appeared in the United States. Many believe the work to be the first real comic book. The reprinting of earlier newspaper comic strips established many of the story-telling devices used in comics."

Japan makes up the largest Comic Book Market! Their sales average 6-7 BILLION per year, followed by USA and Canada with a little over 1 Billion.

There are so many types of comics all over the world, from Magna to graphic novels, to alternative to Underground Comix and everything in between. Comic books range from light hearted kid friendly to dark and gritty.  

HOW TO CELEBRATE COMIC BOOK DAY!

• pull out the game stations!!  Lots of games on X-box and Wii that involve comic book characters!
• movie marathon.  Lots of comic book and graphic novel movies to choose from depending on your taste! 
• old TV shows like Batman and Wonder Woman are still showed on local TV stations!
• pull out the pen and paper and try and create your own comic book!
• crafts!  Lots of super hero and comic book inspired crafts for all ages and skill types!
• games:  i know we have so many comic book themed board games in our house!
• read those old comic books!  When we moved I had to lug a giant bin of comic books from NC to ID because they were my husbands. Pull them out and remember why you fell in love with them in the first place!
• Host a comic Book Party!!  Have everyone dress up as their favorite comic book hero. Decorate comic book themed cupcakes , have a photo opportunity and have some movies running in the background!

Comic Book Day is a great way to appreciate the talent and imagination that go into every edition. Even if comic books arent your thing, you can still have fun with it!

ENJOY!!

GREAT BRITISH BAKE OFF SEASON 11

  I cant even tell you HOW EXCITED I AM  for Season 11 of GBBO to hit netflix this Friday!

I am a HUGE fan.   Across the pond they will have access to it 3 days earlier every week, which is going to be SO HARD TO IGNORE SPOILERS!!

What we know so far (here in America anyways)

Steely Eyed Silver Fox and King of Bread Paul Hollywood, and queen of bright color blocking and chunky necklaces Prue Leith are back as main judges.   SO watch out for the claggy bakes, soggy bottoms, booze up the desserts and make those calories worth it!

Everyones favorite shag haircut emo comedian Noel Fielding is returning as host.  A familiar face we are missing this year is sweet little Sandi Toksvig, who left GBBO to focus on other projects.

Replacing Sandi is a familiar face to some, Matt Lucas. (my family knows him as Nardole from Dr Who).  Apparently he is a GBBO enthusiast and rumor has it that on first day of filming made himself sick taste testing everyones bakes! 

Format will remain the same . Round One, signature bake.  Each contestant makes their best version of whatever that weeks theme is.  

 Round 2, blind technical.  Paul and Prue choose a rather difficult item for the contestants to make (sometimes it is quite obscure), give them limited instructions (usually it will just say "bake", but no temps or times.  Or Make creme pat but no recipe...really testing contestants knowledge of baking) and then blind taste test each one and rate them on how well they understand the science behind baking.  

3rd Round is showstopper. Each contestant goes all out and really wows the judges with their creations.  (remember Paul Jagger's  bread lion everyone??)

Each episode one contestant gets awarded star baker, and one contestant goes home.

So here is the lineup for season 11:

DAN: AGE 30. Armoured Guard from Hampshire  Strengths lie in bread and clean decoration

HERMINE:  AGE 39.  Accountant originally from Benin, West Africa, currently living in London. Love of high end patisserie!

LAURA: AGE 31.  digital Manager from Kent. Loves strong flavors and putting modern twists on old favorites.

LINDA: AGE 61.  Retirement Living Team Leader from East Sussex. Strengths are classics and home comfort cooking

LORIEA: AGE 27. Diagnostic Radiographer from  Durham. Rarely follows a recipe and makes jamaican food

LOTTIE: AGE 31. Pantomime Producer from East Sussex with a dark sense of humor and is a perpetual perfectionist

MAKBUL: AGE 51.  Accountant from Greater Manchester. Great at pastries and loves to incorporate honey from his own hives into his baking.

MARC: AGE 51  Bronze resin sculptor from Cornwall. After losing a leg in a motorbike accident, took up baking bread as a form of therapy. 

MARK: AGE 32  Project Manager from Liverpool. His baking style is influenced by his irish heritage and he has an affinity for african and asian flavors as well!

PETER: AGE 20  Accounting and finance student from Edinburgh. Also a competitive badminton player, Peter has been cooking seriously since he was 12. He loves to use traditional scottish ingredients whenever he can.

ROWAN: AGE 55 Music Teacher from Worcestershire. Passionate about french patisserie, he also has a love or recreating 18th century Georgian era recipes. He loves to use flowers in his decorations.

SURA: AGE 31. Pharmacy Dispenser from London. iddle eastern and asian influences is a hallmark of her food. Loves to improvise and inject personality into each recipe and particularly enjoys fragrant floral flavors like cardamom, rose and orange blossom.

Looks like a great bath, cant wait to watch and have a follow up blog post tomorrow!!

CHECKERS!!

 

Did you know, September 23 is checkers/draughts day!! 

(British is Draughts, Checkers is American.) 

Whenever we would go to Cracker Barrel my youngest son and I would always sit at a checkerboard and play while we waited for food.  When he was younger he wasnt much of a challenge for me, always just pushing pieces to empty spaces and not thinking about the consequences of those moves, or anticipating my moves. I used to trounce him. (I dont believe in holding back just because of their age. They need to learn that life is about losing too).  Now that he is 17 it is rare that I can beat him as soundly as I used to. He has definitely matured and gained more strategy. He now thinks 2 and 3 moves ahead and uses that logic to his advantage. This is a great educational tool!!

HISTORY AND HOW TO PLAY:

This game has been played for over 5000 years!! WHAT???  The first known game of checkers (or a variant) was played in 3000 BCE in the city of Ur (a Mesopotamian city now in present day southern Iraq)    The game we know as checkers today was developed around the 12th century. Checkers is a strategy board game for 2 players, played on an 8x8 checkerboard.  Each player has 12 uniform game pieces,( placed on dark squares closest to their side of the board)  and is responsible for capturing the opponents pieces by diagonal moves and jumping them. Winner is last person standing with pieces.

how to play: (from wikipedia)

Checkers (or Draughts) played by two opponents, on opposite sides of the gameboard. One player has the dark pieces; the other has the light pieces. Players alternate turns. A player may not move an opponent's piece. A move consists of moving a piece diagonally to an adjacent unoccupied square. If the adjacent square contains an opponent's piece, and the square immediately beyond it is vacant, the piece may be captured (and removed from the game) by jumping over it.

Only the dark squares of the checkered board are used. A piece may move only diagonally into an unoccupied square. When presented, capturing is mandatory in most official rules, although some rule variations make capturing optional.  In almost all variants, the player without pieces remaining, or who cannot move due to being blocked, loses the game. Regular pieces may only move forward and not backwards, unless they are a king. (see below)

When a man reaches the kings row (also called crownhead, the farthest row opposite side of the board from your starting side), it becomes a king, and is marked by placing an additional captured piece on top of the first man (crowned), and acquires additional powers including the ability to move backwards and (in variants where they cannot already do so) capture backwards. Like men, a king can make successive jumps in a single turn provided that each jump captures an enemy man or king.

Here is a great video overview of How to Play Checkers.

RULES:  For complete list of rules click HERE

Most kids can learn to play checkers around age 4 or 5, earlier if you have the patience!!  Some form of checkers is played around the world, and there is even interntional checkers(or draughts) competitions. 

Enjoy a game of checkers with your family today!!