Epiphanies At Year's End

 I sit on the cusp of a new year. 2012 has been a whirlwind of wonder and banality. There has been so much excitement and horror that I often marvel that I am here at all. I marvel at the fact that I have the kind of life that enables me to do what I do and that is something I'll never take for granted. My trials have been manageable and my joys have been many. Along the way, as I've documented some of what I do here, I have, once or twice,...

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Forward To The Next Half Century (Or: It's My 51st Birthday...Let's Have Tea!)

I have a confession to make: I love celebrating my birthday! I always have and I imagine I always will. Some of my fondest early memories of my birthday include geeky gifts such as a transistor a.m. radio from – get this – Radio Shack and mint chocolate chip ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins (Mmmmmm.... Mint chocolate chip....). As a kid I thought that the two best things about my birthday were 1) it was two days before my father's birthday and...

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cattus rumpo baker.

Or, to loosely translated: "The cat interrupts the baker." I was deep in prepping and baking for Christmas Eve gathering of friends and Christmas Dinner with in-laws. While I was waiting for Michele to finish up something in the kitchen a cat suddenly appeared in my almost lap. This is what I get for slowing down for even one second... Close enough, I suppose. (And, yes, they're Grinch pants - thank you, big sister Karla!) Speaking of laps...

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Law & Order: SBU (Special Bakers Unit) - Part 2

In the last episode, the lemon pound cake laid the ground work for a baking sequel. This is that sequel. The names of the dishes haven't been changed to protect the innocent. You have the right to remain hungry. Anything you eat may be used to delight your taste buds or add inches to your waistline. Or some such silliness. When you're on a jury for such a long time, you can grow a little fond of the people with whom you serve. You trudge through...

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