Change Time

Quote of the Day:  Eliminate something superfluous from your life.  Break a habit.  Do something that makes you feel insecure. - Piero Ferrucci (found in The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron)

I thought this was a cool way to use army guys.  It was hard to photograph, though.  This sculpture is taller and in dark entryway.  I had to break the rules and use my flash. Sorry, Jon (my teacher)!

March has been a time of change.  I tried a few new things, like a photography class and having a reading of my play.

I tried to look at things from a new perspective.

For a change, I wasn't completely terrified to share my creative work.  I didn't let myself get blocked when I realized that I'd need original music for my play - that turned into a musical.  And, I approached another artist, a composer, and asked him if I could use his songs in my play.  He said he'd ask the band.  It's a start.  He might not be the one, but I have taken a huge step in reaching out, talking about my art, and inviting someone else in.

Today, I was the musician at my church.  I checked and double-checked about the time change, headed out early, and told my 10-year-olds that today they could bring their sleds to church.  They've been wanting to slide down the hills at Camp Confidence ever since we started meeting there this fall.

Then, I came home and made a Sunday dinner (in the afternoon) for myself.  I didn't have the ingredients for my usual sauce, so I opened a cookbook, looked at the picture and read the ingredients. Then, I opened my cupboards and fridge and tossed together my own sauce: Calamata olives, a blend of spices, a splash of lemon juice and Worchestershire sauce.  I threw a sweet potato in the oven and stir-fried some broccoli.  The salmon was done, but the sweet potato was like a big stone, still solid.  I didn't think it would be ready to eat until sometime on Tuesday, so I sliced off one end and threw it in the stir-fry.

Turned out delicious!

And, it looks so healthy!

Julia Cameron tells us that a good way to open up our creativity is to take a new path now and then.  Drive a new way home.  Take a walk in a different neighborhood.  Try something new.  Make a change. 

Go. Create. Inspire!

Journaling Prompt:  What is one way you can do something different and embrace a change?

Classic Vanilla Layer Cake with Mocha Swiss Meringue Buttercream . . . and My Favorite Swimmer

A while ago my older son Charlie asked me if I'd bake the big cake for his swim team's end-of-year banquet and I agreed. The banquet's being held early next week, so I need to get cracking. It's been a blast watching that kid swim in high school and, since he graduates this year, I will miss it. Forgive me if this sounds too cloyingly corny, but I must say it's been a remarkably gratifying and heart-warming thing for me to witness his passion, perseverance, and joy as a member of that team. Charlie's had a great experience and has grown so much. I'm proud of that guy. So proud, in fact, that I spent the entire morning on Thursday whipping up a crate full of his favorite, hefty oatmeal raisin cookies for the swim team to take with them to the state meet this weekend. There he is, below. (Check out that dimple. Go Bears!)

Anyway, now with just a few days to go, I find myself still wondering how the heck I should decorate the banquet cake. Like Hamlet, I'm plagued with indecision. Plagued, I tell you. I don't want the cake to look like I just carried it out of Costco, nor do I want it to look like it's for a bunch of eight-year old girls. Should I make little swimmers out of fondant? A pool out of piping gel? Ugh. This kind of thing always presents me with a quandary.

Recipe selection, on the other hand is usually much less complicated. With the team's cake in mind, I tested out this vanilla cake from Baking at Home with the Culinary Institute of America. A classic butter-based layer cake, it has warm well-rounded flavor and fine texture. It reminded me, in fact, of the sumptuous layer cakes we used to buy occasionally from Sanders stores when I was a child. Sanders was the purveyor of choice, in the Detroit area, for rich baked goods, incomparably smooth ice cream, and velvety chocolates. If you're from around here and you're at least forty years old, you probably know all about the heyday of Sanders. It's sort of still around, in name at least, though sadly only as a pale version of its former self.

But I digress. Pardon me.

About this recipe . . . 

I altered the cake recipe only by upping the vanilla ante a bit, adding in the seeds from half a vanilla bean. For the icing, I used a swiss meringue buttercream that I found in an old copy of  Icing the Cake, by Jill Van Cleave, and I customized it by adding in a dash of Kahlua to turn it into a tasty mocha buttercream. A swiss meringue buttercream isn't nearly as nerve-wracking to make an as Italian meringue buttercream, and I think it's just as good. No hot sugar syrup to pour slowly between the spinning beaters and the side of the mixing bowl, thank heaven. You just whisk the sugar and egg whites over a double boiler for a while, then put the bowl onto the mixer, slowly add in the butter, then the flavorings, and beat-beat-beat until the cows come home. Eventually, it all comes together into something soft, silky, and supernaturally spreadable.

I reworded both recipes, as usual. Can't help myself.

Vanilla Layer Cake with Mocha Swiss Meringue Buttercream

(For a printable version of this recipe, click here!)

For the cake:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter or grease two 8" round pans, or use baking spray. Cut out 8" rounds out of parchment and place one in the bottom of each pan. Butter/grease the parchment.

3 and 1/2 cups cake flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1 Tbsp. baking powder (Yes, one whole tablespoon.)
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup unsalted butter, diced into small chunks, at room temperature
1 cup milk (I used 2 percent.)
4 eggs, large
2 egg whites, from large eggs
1 and 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
Seeds scraped from half of one vanilla bean (I used a Madagascar bean.)


Sift together, into the large bowl of your mixer, the first four ingredients. Using the whisk attachment, add in all of the butter and half of the milk. On medium speed, until smooth, mix for just about four minutes. Stop to scrape the bowl and beater as needed.

In a medium size bowl, blend together the eggs, egg whites, remaining milk, vanilla extract, and the vanilla bean seeds. In three additions, add this into the mixer bowl, beating on medium speed for no longer than two minutes for each addition. Be sure to stop and scrape as needed.

Portion the batter evenly into the two pans and bake at 350 for 35 to 40 minutes, until the cakes spring back lightly when touched.

Let the cakes cool almost completely on wire racks, in their pans. Run a thin knife or metal spatula around the sides, then carefully invert them out of the pans. 

Mocha Swiss Meringue Buttercream (Yield: 3 cups)

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into 1/2" chunks
2 oz. good quality bittersweet chocolate, cut into very small pieces (I used Scharffenberger.)
3 large egg whites
1 cup superfine sugar
1 Tbsp. Kahlua (coffee flavored liqueur)

In a small bowl, melt the chocolate, then let it cool to almost room temperature.

Put the sugar and egg whites into the large metal bowl of your mixer. Using a hand whisk, blend the sugar and egg whites. Place the bowl over a large saucepan on the stove, containing a couple inches of simmering water. Whisk continually by hand until the mixture feel very warm, but not hot.

Place the bowl on your mixer and, using the mixer's whisk attachment, beat on medium speed until the meringue begins to form; it should look white, shiny, and form medium-soft peaks. At this point, start to add in the butter one piece at a time, continually. The icing will begin to resemble butter. Still beating on medium speed, add in the melted chocolate, and then the Kahlua. Keep beating until the mixture begins to thicken. This could take at least ten minutes, so be patient. (Some recipes for meringue-based buttercreams, in fact, have you mixing for as long as thirty-five minutes! Don't believe me? Check out some of wedding-cake diva Sylvia Weinstock's recipes!)

If the mixture starts to look curdled, don't worry, just keep mixing and it will come back together. If the mixture looks okay but seems too warm, take the bowl off the mixer and refrigerate it for about five minutes then put it back on the mixer; chances are it will thicken up quickly after that. You want it to be soft and silky, and it should be extremely easy to spread.

Use the finished icing immediately to ice your cooled cake, or cover it well and refrigerate it until you need it.

(If you'd like to comment on this post, or to read any existing comments, please click the purple COMMENTS below!)

Athena Strikes Again

Quote of the Day:  I really talk too much about my work and to anyone who will listen.  If I would limit my talk to inventions and keep my big mouth shut about work, there would probably be a good deal more work done. - John Steinbeck

(Look at the ideas exploding around my computer.  Oh, ya, the chocolate and coffee help stimulate them!)

I agree with Mr. Steinbeck to a certain extent.  We can talk our ideas out and lose the energy for them.  We can give too much away.  And, sometimes, we need to close our mouths and start writing. 

Unless you use the people that you meet as sources for great stories and dialogue.  Here's an example.

I went to the drive-thru of Grab-a-Java, where you might think I just want a wham-bam-thank you, ma'am, quick shot to go.  To that I would say, you don't know me very well.  I'd just brought my cat to the vet because she hadn't been eating for over five days, and I was concerned. I ended up leaving her there for oral surgery - cavities and infection. (Let this be a lesson to all you kids to brush your teeth.) I needed a little pick-me-up.  I mentioned this to Carla, the owner, as she leaned out the window.  No one was behind me, so we chatted.  I told her about my play Coffee Shop Confessions.  She had more stories.  She witnessed a whole love drama unfold in her little coffee shop - from tryst to break-up, chairs sliding closer together, to being pushed apart.

I told her that on my way home from the She Speaks event in Grand Forks, I had no less than three ideas brewing. (She liked that metaphor.)

Carla said, "You must feel like your head is exploding sometimes."

I said, "Yes, you know that Athena, goddess of wisdom, war and community, was born out of Zeus' head.  She's my muse.  I feel ideas bursting out of my head."

She laughed.  Another car pulled up.  I finally ordered my mocha to go and was a wee bit late in getting home to teach a piano student.  I blamed it on the cat, at first, then confessed that I had a quick chat with the coffee lady.

Ideas are everywhere.  Interesting characters are lurking in waiting rooms, coffee shops, and in check-out lines across the globe.  And, how convenient with cell phones, now.  I can hear one-sided conversations and piece together the rest of the story.

Carla asked, "How do you know if you have a good idea?"

I said, "I talk about it to people.  There are some writers who guard their ideas and don't talk about them.  But, I find that when I talk about an idea, I get more ideas and stories, and that's how I know I have a good idea, because so many people can relate to it."

On my trip North for the reading, I packed a couple fun wines.  The red is called "Writer's Block."  Roxane and I determined that we weren't blocked, so didn't open that one. 

I just had to try the white, though.  It's called "Middle Sister - Drama Queen."  Seems it was made for me!

May the muse be with you in whatever form she takes.

Go. Create. Inspire!

Journaling Prompt:  Do you like to share your ideas while their brewing, or do you wait until the pot if full before you share what you're working on?  In other words, do you talk about your creative work, or do you wait until it's done to reveal it?

Note to anyone who thinks differently

I, as a stay-at-home mom, do NOT sit on my ass all day waiting for 1)a phone call, 2) the mail 3) my favorite t.v. show to come on. My life is too busy for all three.

Just want that out there. Thanks.

Forgiveness

I find being human has quite a few challenges. One being forgiveness, especially when the person hasn't asked to be forgiven, or refuses to acknowledge they have done anything wrong. I can't see in their hearts and know that for certain, but if there isn't any type of language asking for forgiveness...I have a hard time forgiving. Personal accountability and all of that.

I have been dealing with some fun things in my life for several years and it has reached its head fully the past couple of months. It has kept me up at nights. Causing dreams that make me want to have my head examined. Causing anxiety in an already anxious time.

I went to church on Sunday and listened to the Parable of the Prodigal Son. It spoke of the father's forgiveness towards his son. It also spoke of the older brother and how he also had to forgive. It then spoke of the younger son, and his asking, no BEGGING for forgiveness in his heart, but his father forgiving him on sight. It resonated through me. I prayed with everything I had to soften my heart. Soften. Cleanse it.

Am I supposed to forgive only if the person asks for it? What if they don't want my forgiveness? What if they don't think they have done anything wrong? I am sure I have hurt people in my lifetime unknowingly and would want them to forgive me for my actions, my ever so tactless tongue.

The Bible says in so many ways that we are commanded to forgive. That should be enough. To keep asking for help to forgive, to keep forgiving, because God forgives us. So, I am putting it out there, whether you want it or not. I forgive you. I am tired of the bickering, the heated discussions, the problems. I ask that you forgive my words and actions from bitterness. Let us both have the grace to forgive each other as we are commanded to do. And let's be honest with our own hearts and if we still carry hostility, to keep praying for freedom!!

Ephesians 4:32 ESV
Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

Luke 6:37 ESV
“Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven;

Colossians 3:13 ESV
Bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.

Matthew 6:14-15 ESV
For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Mark 11:25 ESV
And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”

Luke 6:27 ESV
“But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,

Luke 17:3-4 ESV
Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”

Matthew 18:21-22 ESV
Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.

1 John 1:9 ESV
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

1 Peter 3:9 ESV
Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.

Matthew 6:14 ESV
For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you,

As it's snowing outside, I am just telling myself to go around and look at my gardens to see splashes of color here and there. My crocuses are up, and my bulbs are peeking through the ground. Is it spring yet?? I am so ready for it this year!!

Brian and I have had a busy weekend. We've been getting our trailer essentials and loading them in. After a wonderful trip to Target, we are now set with dishes. Since I keep everything, all of our bedding is set. There are just a few more items, and then we are ready for our first trip. I am hoping it warms up a little more before we head out! Destination...not sure yet. We are thinking Boyd Lake, but haven't made up our minds.

We get to have dinner over at mom and dad's. Since I worked the past few weeks, I haven't had time to visit much with them. A couple of Sunday's ago I went to listen to my father preach and then had lunch with them afterward. It was nice to see them and just spend time with them. I miss them a lot.

Ah. Work. It's going well. I started earlier than I usually do and potted up hundreds of roses in a short time. About 120-125 in one day. I will be having down time because a coworker is back, so I am going to try to keep using my muscles so they don't go in shock again. It would be a lot easier if it were warm!! Not sure what my schedule will be like. It's all up in the air right now, just like every year.

Things to pay attention to in your gardens. With the warmer weather this week, I would water again (of course) and about day 3 of warm weather, you can even fertilize. March-April is when I normally do it, but you can wait until May. I just noticed that when I fertilize a little earlier, the bugs seem to stay away more often. A healthier tree they do not like!! Also, make sure your iris beds are cleaned up. This is the time where fungus and bugs start going crazy. Pretty much clean up is starting...just keep the mulch around things that the cold air could hurt. I still don't prune my roses until April-May.

This weekend I will be planting spinach, beans, onions and lettuce and different intervals to get started on the crops. So excited to have fresh produce again!!

Here's to a happy, work filled spring! I can feel it!

Playwright Night to Remember

Quote of the Day:  Playwrights work in collaboration.  Their words to the director to the actors to the audience, and many people in between. - This is a paraphrase from Kathy Coudle-King, playwright and director, and my own sentiments.  That's what I love about theatre.  You're part of a creative team.

Mary Aalgaard with Kathy Coudle-King

Here we are celebrating after the readings during the She Speaks event in Grand Forks, ND, March 5, 2011.  They had some technical difficulties with the Skype attempt with Australia and Canada.  Some of it worked out fine, and it was cool to say "We're waiting on Toronto," but other times we had nothing or fuzz.  We're not quite to The Jetson's stage on that.  Also, I had technical difficulties with my dad's video camera.  Didn't push the right button, so no video.  However, I did receive the DVD of our table reading from two weeks ago. Thanks, Matt!

Michael Harvey, Wendy Swerdlow Pedersen, Mary, Nancy Swerdlow

These are the actors who read the cutting of Coffee Shop Confessions.  Mike read Sam. Wendy read Jewell. Nancy read Lolly, and Tori Remer read Micki, the teen girl, but like a teen girl, slipped off before we got a photo.

They did a fantastic job.  I laughed.  I cried.  I held my breath.  I felt my heart beating harder when Jewell walked on with the cell phone in her hand in a heated discussion with her husband.  It was a reading, not a production, but they did some wonderful acting with their eyes, expression, voices, character, and props - the cell phones.  They did get up and move during the mixed up cell phone bit.  Oh, they were wonderful.  Thank you fine actors for bringing my characters to life!!

They were also gracious in welcoming me to their stage, The Firehall Theatre in Grand Forks, ND.  The actors thanked me for sharing the script with them at the same time I was thanking them for lending their voices and talents to my words.

My first authors' panel (not the most flattering picture, but, eh, what can you do?).

We had a "talk-back" discussion with playwrights, audience, actors and directors afterwards.  It was a positive, enlightening experience.  All the readings were great.  Each quite different and unique.  I enjoyed seeing and hearing what the other playwrights had done.

My best writer-mama-pal, Roxane Salonen, drove up from Fargo to celebrate with me!

My Grand Forks writer friend and fan, Janet Speath, came to watch the readings.  Thanks for your support, Janet!  It was Janet who got me connected to this event.

My sister Nancy and her husband KC at the Bethany Church Dumpling Dinner.  They came to the show, but I missed getting their photo at the Firehall, so snapped them up here.  They were great supporters and full of comments and tips to make the show even better.

A tray of what we Midwesterners call "bars."

A sweet ending to a practically perfect weekend.  I have a few details to work out with my script if I want to use music.  It's tricky.  I'll need do my research, get permission, or better yet, find a composer and do original music.  Any takers out there?

Journaling Prompt:  What are the ingredients to a wonder weekend in your world?