Tuesday, June 07, 2005

Creative Sisterhood

Tonight was Creative Sisterhood and it was a wonderful evening. I was thinking this afternoon that it hasn't even been two years since we started gathering every month and it feels an essential part of my life.

I am honored these five women come together with me in my home each month so we can share our lives in a safe, loving environment. The things that happen in our circle are amazing. Truly, we experience miracles sometimes.

This afternoon I snapped a photo of the table with the cake and all on it - even though this was a very casual night and nothing fancy in sight.

I made a new recipe of chocolate cake. I'll post it below. I'm sorry but I don't recall where I got it from. But, it was tasty. Martha says it's definitely a top 5 cake, maybe a top 3 - maybe even number 1. Obviously, I love to cook for Martha - she's so appreciative.

You can also see the jar. Each month we have the opportunity to write something down and it's kept on a shelf in my dining room all year. Then, we open them and share if we wish and keep them private if we wish. We've only done it one year so far - obviously, since we've only been going that long. We opened them in February and it was really interesting. We had planned to do something different but the jar was such a great experience we did it again.

You might also notice candy canes. We always have candy canes - specifically Bob's Candy Canes. I had some the first Christmas and Martha told us a story about Bob's and how they're better than the others. So, I've made sure I have some Bob's candy canes every month since then. So, even when it's over 90 degrees, we have Bob's Candy Canes available.

In other news today I've worked on garden tour things. I'm worn out. I will be glad when this event is done and I can bask in the success (positive thinking!).

Chocolate Cake

1 stick of butter
1 Cup of water
1 cup of shortening
2 tablespoons of Cocoa

Bring to a boil then add
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar

Mix well Add 4 eggs

In a separate bowl mix
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla

Combine with other ingredients then bake @ 375 in a 9 by 13 pan. Cook until done - about 30 minutes.

Icing:
6 TBS of milk
1 stick of butter
2 TBS cocoa

bring to a boil then add:
1 box of powdered sugar
1 tsp of vanilla

Mondays Always Get Me Down

Frankly, I've got so much on my plate at the moment that I can't afford the effort to be down, even if it is Monday.

I've been chained to the computer, working on garden tour stuff today. And I have another day of that ahead tomorrow. I'm growing very weary of these projects that take every ounce of my energy for a few weeks.

I did take time to go have lunch with Terry this afternoon but that was it for fun today. Otherwise, just work.

Tonight I was looking for something in my desk and ran across a postcard I bought in Paris that summed up my world at the moment. This is just part of the card, but it's so very true.

My home is just out of control - as it always gets when I'm working on a big project. All my attention is devoted to that and my life falls apart. I'm in the middle of that now, and I just don't care for it at all. But, so it goes.

Well... I must get back to one of the many tasks at hand. Last night I was working furiously, trying to beat the 3 a.m. pickup at the post office. That's such an insane thing to be doing. Tonight I'm printing 1200 postcards that will go out tomorrow. I still have to do publicity faxes and emails so they're there when people get to their offices tomorrow. I want to do that before I go to bed, although I'll need to be back up and working before most people will get to their offices.

But... it's 1:05 a.m. now... so I should try to finish up a few more things and get at least a little bit of sleep.