Then I went home to frost the cakes I made yesterday for tonight's dessert, and things went downhill after that. I had made 48 little chocolate cakes. The supermarket had an offer on Betty Crocker cake mixes at $1 each, each mix making 24 cakes. Looking at them all I decided there were too many for a commercially prepared frosting mix, I would make my own (which I haven't done before) Therein lay disaster. The recipe was wrong (I showed Sharon the recipe afterwards and she confirmed the proportions of ingredients were all wrong) so instead of a nice smooth frosting my kitchen looked as if a bomb had hit it, with sugar and cocoa everywhere, and nothing that resembled frosting to put on the cakes.
I jump in the car to the nearest supermarket and bought some grapes and watermelon (there's another story in there about the girl at the checkout who didn't know what a watermelon was and tried to tell me it was a canteloupe, I had to summon a supervisor to put her right, and as time was passing I was getting just a little testy by then) however, I took those to Emmanuel instead for dessert. Tim Sean and Nancy were in the Parish Room and asked what I'd made; I said I'd made chocolate cakes but that wasn't what they were getting and told them the story. They both moved in and hugged me. I felt a bit better then.
Between cutting up the watermelon and supper, a member of the Adult Interest Group showed a lovely film about the Buffalo River and the Ozark Mountains in Arkansas. It has fantastic trails and is a wonderful place for hiking and canoeing.
After supper Sharon, who is a very experienced cook, came home with me and took the 'frosting' away with her. She will sort it out and give it back in little boxes I can freeze or refrigerate, bless her. She also offered to help clear the mess in the kitchen but she had her dog with her so I wouldn't let her.
There was some leftover watermelon which I put in the blender with a generous measure of Tequila.
The Republicans' nomination for President is ratcheting up. The front runner you may have heard of is Newt Gingrich. Because I am aware this Election is none of my business I generally confine my observations to Pattisue and Fr Clark, who don't mind me throwing in my two cents worth. And we're all on the same hymn page.
As well as several shady business dealings Newt Gingrich has also had 84 ethics charges filed against him when he was Speaker of the House. He was reprimanded and fined $300,000 by an overwhelming House vote. Nancy Pelosi, the former Speaker, was on the committee which investigated him and is now saying he will never be the next President, it is just not going to happen because she will reveal all the ethics violations which weren't published which - she obviously believes - will scupper his chances.
Therefore I think - me, myself, I personally - that they should go for Obama who is very, very decent, and the one who will, given another four years, pull the country through the global economic crisis to prosperity. (I'm beginning to sound like his campaign manager)
He won the War on Terror. It took a lot of courage to give the Navy Seals the go ahead to take down Bin Laden. If the operation had failed his Presidency would have ended there and then. In Afghanistan the momentum of the Taliban has been broken and US troops are beginning to withdraw. All troops in Iraq have left. Without the billions of dollars it was costing to fight these wars the money will go into rebuilding the economy.
In his address yesterday he stressed his determination to ensure that US manufacturing, and the development of alternative energy industries do not lose out to foreign competition, particularly China and Germany.
I can't expound on all the things he has accomplished, but just to mention a few - he pushed through the Affordable Health Care Act, outlawing denial of coverage for pre-existing conditions and coverage of children up to 26 on their parents'plans; he expanded access to medical care and provided subsidies for people who can't afford it; he ended discrimination against gays in the military; he has improved women's rights in the workplace; he has overhauled the credit card industry. I could go on and on, but these are just a few of his accomplishments, and reasons I think he should be re-elected.
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