Doo, Doo, Doo, Lookin' Out My Back Door

Well, not really my back door, but my upstairs back windows.

 

 

Beautiful foggy morning Monday of last week.

 

 Took a walk around the neighborhood on Wednesday.
 

Blue skies and sunshine with temps reaching close to 80.

The weather forecast said we might get some sleet so I wanted to

take the opportunity to enjoy a last look at Fall here in Texas.

Might get some sleet?
Next day!

View from the same window. Ice on the screens.



Ice storm!

This is NOT fluffy snow - it is about three inches of solid ice. Very slick.

The yard men had come last Tuesday to trim all our shrubs so
everything is hacked down.

No, there aren't any giants doin' cartwheels ...

the only happy creatures I've seen dancin' on the lawn

have been the little cotton tail bunnies.

 

Asparagus fern sparkles with the ice

Cattails coated with ice behind the fence

Frozen berries

We have been holed up in the house since last Wednesday night.

I'm so thankful that we stocked up on groceries
and water that day.

I went to Wednesday night services.

We have heat and electricity in our house
and plenty of food.

We are fortunate.

The only stressful thing I have had to deal with is my dog, Trudy.

She is old and feeble and doesn't understand the world of freezing slip 'n slide.

She paces through the house and goes to the back door.
Once outside, she stands and shivers all over wanting back inside.

I stay with her to see that she does her business. So frustrating to

think that she might break her leg or hip when she slips and falls.

She then surprises me by meandering all over the back yard,

stopping to lick the ice, moves on, sniffs, then returns to the back door
without having done anything and yet expecting a treat.
I pick her up and carry her to a small area where there is no ice.
Then I carry her to the front yard so she can sniff where other dogs have been.
I walk to the mailbox so she can stop by the fire hydrant.

I'm concerned for her.

My DH is deeply concerned for me ... he thinks I'm just a little

over-the-top nutty fretting over the dog.

Inside the house is another story. A leak in our upstairs bathroom.

The day it was discovered, an emergency crew came out that afternoon
to jack hammer, and dig their way through to the sub-floor.

They worked until 11:30 p.m. that night and
set up a huge fan to dry it out over the weekend.

Except for the tub,

the whole bathroom has been ripped out.

Fifteen days later, we are waiting for repairs to be done.

This place is zipped up tight. Still.

Holidays, health issues, and other things try to disturb my peace,

but, as I look out my window, I am very aware there are people

around the world who are not so blessed to have the kind of stress we have.

So I made chocolate pie.

1 1/4 cups sugar

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup cocoa

dash of salt

4 egg yolks

2 cups milk

1/4 cup butter or margarine

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 baked 9-inch pastry shell

meringue (optional - no meringue for me, please)

Combine first 4 ingredients in a large heavy saucepan; set aside

Combine egg yolks and milk; stir into sugar mixture. add butter.

Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils. remove from heat. stir in vanilla. spoon into pastry shell. (We prefer to top the pie with whipped cream)

If you like meringue:

Spread meringue over hot filling, sealing to edge of pastry. Bake at 325 for 25 to 28 minutes - this extra baking step isn't necessary if you don't top the pie with meringue.

meringue

4 to 6 egg whites

1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Beat egg whites and cream of tartar at high speed with an electric mixer just until foamy

gradually add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until stiff peaks form and sugar dissolves (2 to 4 minutes). Add vanilla, beating well. 

Today ... I'm baking chocolate Coca-Cola Cake. The recipe can be found here.

 

 

I remember my Mom baking a cake very similar to this that she called Sheet Cake.

My tip on this cake? It took about 30 minutes to bake rather than 20-25, and do NOT add all 6 tablespoons of milk to the icing - it's too thin. I also added pecans.

This afternoon we ventured out and DH drove me to the grocery store. (Earlier in the day I tried to back the car out myself and all the tires were spinning like crazy. Needless to say, I didn't go anywhere.) But yay, the ice is finally melting and the roads are better. The grocery store was packed out and a lot of the items on my list will just have to wait until our next trip ... empty shelves. We take so much for granted here in the land of plenty with innumerable choices.