Holy Mole-y !

So. . . the other day, I was sitting here at my computer doing some work. I caught a flash of white out of the corner of my eye and figured that it was just Scooterpoo by my desk. No big deal, right ? When he didn't move and come beg for me to pet him, though, that seemed a little odd.

I looked down to see what he was doing and lo and behold. . . I saw his "toy". EGAD ! I thought it was a mouse. . . which would have been bad enough, but nooooo -- it wasn't a mouse. It was a critter that I have never seen up close and personal like this ever before.

It was. . . a little tiny MOLE. (BTW, y'all, he was already on the roof. Scooter didn't do it and I certainly didn't ! He was already stiff, so I know he had been deceased for a while.)


Being from West Texas, we don't have moles -- we have ground squirrels. I KNOW what a ground squirrel looks like. I am comfortable with ground squirrels. I understand ground squirrels. Moles ? Not so much.


So. . . I did what I usually do. I took lots of pictures to show everyone !

Here they are. . .


(I put him on a paper towel so the pictures would show up a little better -- and so I didn't actually touch him. Okay -- I SO did ! I've always heard about "moleskin", but I just couldn't believe what that might feel like. It's TOTALLY soft and very "sleek"-feeling.)

Mole on paper towel -- the nose was SO interesting to me. His tail is also weird. It's doesn't look rat-like at all, but it kind of is. The hair on the tail is a little pokey-outty, but not "sharp-pokey". Seriously -- so hard to describe. Go fondle a mole. Get your freak on. =D

Put him next to my cell phone for size perspective.

Tiny little "shovel" hands.

This is the underside of his nose. I thought the "crease" was so weird. And, OH ! Those FINGERNAILS ! Yeesh.

Anyhow, the rest of his family is also scheduled for their final goodbyes. I am sad and he seems very cute, but. . . I'm thoroughly sick of the huge dirt lumps in my front lawn and I haven't been able to yet persuade them to move somewhere else. (Like the neighbor's back yard -- which is totally overgrown and where no one would actually SEE their destruction. *sigh*)

Thoughts ?

Sometimes You Just Have to Share Stuff

My mom sent me something this afternoon that made my eyes sweat a little bit.

These are five little girls singing the Star-Spangled Banner at a ballgame between Texas and Tech and they are simply. . . brilliant. Just amazing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKCVS57j284

I do not post this for political reasons or because I think they have amazing voices, given their ages. I am posting this because sometimes you just have share the very.best.things with your friends. It would be wrong . It would be like creating the most beautiful hybrid flower and never distributing the seeds.

Anyhow, I have to go blow my nose now. My eyes are still sweating.

Thoughts ?

Because, Really. . . Who *Doesn't* Like Tea Cakes ?

I made a batch of little "tea cakes" today. They are nothing special as far as the components go -- a little water, a little oil, a few eggs, and my special ingredient -- a storebought yellow cake mix !

What IS special, however, is the pan ! It's a Nordic Ware tea cake pan with 30 "cavities" (which is only fair, because that's probably how many I'm going to end up with).

I made a couple of full batches, but didn't have enough batter to make a third full pan, so I just picked my favorites and poured batter into them.

They came out okay, but I think more trial and error is definitely warranted. It's harder than it looks to get the right amount of batter in each little space, but I will vow right now to continue my quest and make tea cakes as many times as it takes to get it right ! =D

Then. . . I did a little experimenting with glazes. Mind you. . . I've never *made* a glaze before. Evah.

It's not all that hard, btw. Confectioner's sugar + milk + a little vanilla extract makes a perfectly serviceable glaze. Nota bene: A so-called "splash" of milk into your powdered sugar mound immediately renders said sugar to a liquid state -- not really what I was going for. It all worked out fine, though. I just added more sugar to the viscosity until it looked "right". I had a little over a cup of glaze at that point. The plain white glaze had that "powdered sugar" aftertaste, tho, and that's not what I wanted.

I poured off about a third into another bowl and another third into a second bowl. I put a couple shakes of ground cinnamon into one bowl and the same amount of cocoa into the other bowl. Yeah. Miracle.

I still have most of the tea cakes right now, but let me say this -- Robert LOVED them ! They are about the diameter of a quarter and about an inch tall, so. . .these may be my favorite new "tiny snack".

Pics to come.





Update: Pics as promised (and only 6 months late !)

Thoughts ?

We're on Collar #6 Now

Yes, Kismet lost ANOTHER collar last week.

I think there may be a black market -- Collars for Catnip -- operating in our neighborhood. That appears to be the only sensible explanation.

Thoughts ?