I'm making ice cream again. I don't know how much of this story I've already committed to blog, so let me start at the beginning. Well, in a moment. Right now I need to go and stir...
The recipe calls for "stirring frequently", which means that I pretty much have to hover over the mixture. It has to gain temperature slowly so that the eggs don't turn into a nasty mess. But the stirring is boring, so I have to find things to do while the ice cream is heating, or else I'll go a bit mad. Oh, better stir the thing again...
First I saw the recipe on an episode of Good Eats (great show, by the way). Then I found my old ice cream maker, but that turned out to be a disaster. Then I asked for a new ice cream maker for Christmas. I got one, and I've been making ice cream for myself ever since. And it's time to, well, you know...
I've tweaked the recipe a couple times because the recipe as written is much too rich. Then it was time to try a new variation. My mother doesn't do dairy, but loves ice cream, so I thought I'd try a version using almond milk for her. It's denser (for almond milk doesn't have a heavy cream version), but she says it tastes fine. I haven't tried it myself. (Oh, back to the saucepan...)
Today I'm making the almond milk version. It's finally starting to thicken up a bit (not as much as the milk version), and it's time to dip the thermometer in. Almost 165 degrees Fahrenheit. The target is 170, so I'm closer than I thought...(just a quick check)...It's only been 20 minutes, so either this is starting to go faster for me, or 20 minutes used to seem like such a long time when I started.
I guess buying ice cream is much simpler. It takes a lot less time. But I get a certain satisfaction from doing it myself. Pride of ownership, perhaps...
And now I'm to the last three degrees, the degrees that never seem to climb. It's best if no one is here to watch. I tend to get a bit cranky.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Clutter
Today was my clean-out-the-closet day. Last week I went through my yarn stash and organized it. I'm on a de-cluttering binge, and I'm only getting started.
The thing about clutter is that it blocks all the incoming energy, and it gets you stuck. I cleared out all of the clothes that I no longer wear. Some pieces no longer fit; others no longer feel right. Some of my old clothes are no longer in style. And they all were clogging up my closet with their stagnant energy, making it impossible to bring in any new clothes.
What I really want is some new clothes. But my closet was so packed that I couldn't see what I actually had in there. Now I can. Now I have freed up some room. And now I have room for new clothes to go in.
Clutter can be insidious. It slowly grows. That stack of mail order catalogs starts to grow until there's a tower of them. Then every surface in the house is covered. And then there is no room for anything new.
So, since I want some new things, it's time to clear out the old. The more I get rid of, the more room there is for new and wonderful things to come in.
The thing about clutter is that it blocks all the incoming energy, and it gets you stuck. I cleared out all of the clothes that I no longer wear. Some pieces no longer fit; others no longer feel right. Some of my old clothes are no longer in style. And they all were clogging up my closet with their stagnant energy, making it impossible to bring in any new clothes.
What I really want is some new clothes. But my closet was so packed that I couldn't see what I actually had in there. Now I can. Now I have freed up some room. And now I have room for new clothes to go in.
Clutter can be insidious. It slowly grows. That stack of mail order catalogs starts to grow until there's a tower of them. Then every surface in the house is covered. And then there is no room for anything new.
So, since I want some new things, it's time to clear out the old. The more I get rid of, the more room there is for new and wonderful things to come in.
Friday, June 27, 2008
Misery Loves Company
I got this cough a bit over two weeks ago. It was that day that I had to fight with seventh graders all day. Bad day. I got a migraine from it as well. The migraine went away. The cough has not.
The cough gets a bit better, then worse, then better. It's kind of like a lingering cold. And I'm ready to be done with it.
Then a couple days ago I was sitting at the computer, and the back door was open. I heard someone else coughing.
I'm a terrible person. This made me feel better.
I don't feel so alone anymore. Someone else has a cough too.
The cough gets a bit better, then worse, then better. It's kind of like a lingering cold. And I'm ready to be done with it.
Then a couple days ago I was sitting at the computer, and the back door was open. I heard someone else coughing.
I'm a terrible person. This made me feel better.
I don't feel so alone anymore. Someone else has a cough too.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Upside Down
It takes me practically no time. I go from having to get up at 5 AM every weekday morning to staying up until 2 AM in less than a week. These are the joys of summer vacation.
It's kind of like having jet lag. My body is getting used to the new schedule.
Once I get into the swing of things I'll have stuff to write about. Until then...
It's kind of like having jet lag. My body is getting used to the new schedule.
Once I get into the swing of things I'll have stuff to write about. Until then...
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Graduation Daydream
As mentioned before, yesterday was the last day of school. I was sitting near the door of the classroom when I heard someone outside say, "We're seniors now." It wasn't exactly true as the girls still had three periods to go, but the seniors had graduated the previous evening, so it wasn't far from the truth.
I had a prep period at the time, so I was alone with my thoughts. An image formed in my mind's eye, and that image became a scene, and that scene developed into a montage. As I won't have any new school stories for a while, I thought I'd share my daydream with you.
It begins with the seniors. They're onstage in caps and gowns. They throw their mortar boards into the air. They cheer. Then, they hug each other. Some are in tears. And they all slowly leave the stage.
The stage isn't empty for long. The juniors, who had been watching all of this from the edge of the stage, run onstage to take the place of the departed seniors. They've made it! They are excited. They're jumping up and down, high-fiving each other, and running at each other doing chest bumps. They are so enjoying themselves that they don't see the scene before them, of all the lower grades lining up to take their new spots.
The sophomores now move into the spot just offstage that the juniors just vacated. They look around in wonder. There's this line behind them, but mostly they watch the new seniors in front of them. And the former freshmen also move up into their new spot.
The former 8th graders run into their new freshmen spot, and they're thrilled. They're in high school now, and they won't let anyone forget it. They're almost as excited as the new seniors, and some chaos ensues.
Now the 7th graders take over the 8th grade spot, and the former 6th graders are a bit in awe of their new position. They've finally finished elementary school, and they've come into this new middle school place. They feel a bit out of place as they look around.
The 5th graders kind of act like the 7th graders--now they're at the top of their school. And the lower grades all take up their new positions. The kindergartners slowly leave their initial position to take up the 1st grade spot. And now there's this big hole that the kindergartners have left, but it's not empty for long.
Along come the young 5-year-olds, some pulling their parents while others are being dragged. There are tears in the parents eyes as they place their children in that new spot--the future class of 2021. The parents look at the line of kids, and they see the seniors off in the distance. They are a bit awed by it all, and they wonder if they'll ever see the end of that line.
As the new kindergarten parents stand there, they see the graduates with their parents, celebrating. One of the graduate's parents passes by. She pats the young mother on her shoulder. The young parent wonders how the older one got through it all. The older parent explains that it seems like no time at all that she had been where the younger one was, and she wonders where the time went. They both shake their heads.
Here's where my daydream ends. I got back on the Internet and tried to find something to pass the time. It's not good when I spend too much time in my own head. Things like the above tend to occur to me.
I had a prep period at the time, so I was alone with my thoughts. An image formed in my mind's eye, and that image became a scene, and that scene developed into a montage. As I won't have any new school stories for a while, I thought I'd share my daydream with you.
It begins with the seniors. They're onstage in caps and gowns. They throw their mortar boards into the air. They cheer. Then, they hug each other. Some are in tears. And they all slowly leave the stage.
The stage isn't empty for long. The juniors, who had been watching all of this from the edge of the stage, run onstage to take the place of the departed seniors. They've made it! They are excited. They're jumping up and down, high-fiving each other, and running at each other doing chest bumps. They are so enjoying themselves that they don't see the scene before them, of all the lower grades lining up to take their new spots.
The sophomores now move into the spot just offstage that the juniors just vacated. They look around in wonder. There's this line behind them, but mostly they watch the new seniors in front of them. And the former freshmen also move up into their new spot.
The former 8th graders run into their new freshmen spot, and they're thrilled. They're in high school now, and they won't let anyone forget it. They're almost as excited as the new seniors, and some chaos ensues.
Now the 7th graders take over the 8th grade spot, and the former 6th graders are a bit in awe of their new position. They've finally finished elementary school, and they've come into this new middle school place. They feel a bit out of place as they look around.
The 5th graders kind of act like the 7th graders--now they're at the top of their school. And the lower grades all take up their new positions. The kindergartners slowly leave their initial position to take up the 1st grade spot. And now there's this big hole that the kindergartners have left, but it's not empty for long.
Along come the young 5-year-olds, some pulling their parents while others are being dragged. There are tears in the parents eyes as they place their children in that new spot--the future class of 2021. The parents look at the line of kids, and they see the seniors off in the distance. They are a bit awed by it all, and they wonder if they'll ever see the end of that line.
As the new kindergarten parents stand there, they see the graduates with their parents, celebrating. One of the graduate's parents passes by. She pats the young mother on her shoulder. The young parent wonders how the older one got through it all. The older parent explains that it seems like no time at all that she had been where the younger one was, and she wonders where the time went. They both shake their heads.
Here's where my daydream ends. I got back on the Internet and tried to find something to pass the time. It's not good when I spend too much time in my own head. Things like the above tend to occur to me.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
No Students
It is the last day of school. It is currently 4th period. I have a class, but no one is here.
No, it's not a prep period. It is a class for seniors. The seniors had their graduation ceremony yesterday. They have activities all this week. They are excused from classes.
I have classes the rest of the day, however. Special ed. But any class would be wound up today.
Hey, at least I'm getting paid for today. And then it's summer vacation time.
No, it's not a prep period. It is a class for seniors. The seniors had their graduation ceremony yesterday. They have activities all this week. They are excused from classes.
I have classes the rest of the day, however. Special ed. But any class would be wound up today.
Hey, at least I'm getting paid for today. And then it's summer vacation time.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Leaning Tower of Markers
The last day of school is tomorrow. Today they are on a block schedule for finals. The seniors took their finals last week. The math analysis class had a large percentage of seniors (none of them at school today), so they all took their final last week. That meant two-plus hours of nothing-to-do.
The teacher left me a movie selection, and I let the students pick which movie they wanted to see (again). But, of course, many of them weren't pleased by the selection, and they had to find other things to entertain themselves.
Suddenly I heard a commotion. Each student was throwing something towards the boys in the back corner of the room. Then I saw it, and everything made sense.
Each desk had a small dry-erase board, a dry-erase marker, and an eraser under it. The items being tossed--dry-erase markers.
The boys had taken several markers and attached them end to end. At this point they had enough markers to reach about three feet. And with the new markers that had been tossed their way, they were making a go of reaching from the floor to the ceiling.
These were the thicker markers, but at three-foot tall that makes for a very thin "tower". So, the inevitable happened--the thing swayed and broke. The boys would not be deterred, however, and they picked up the markers and continued.
One boy held the bottom steady so it wouldn't break, and a second boy continued to add markers to the top. The "tower" got so tall that the boy had to stand on a chair, and then a desk to reach the top. More markers were tossed their way. I suggested that they might need a third to hold on to the empty section so that it wouldn't break and fall. Eventually someone did.
The "tower" failed several times before the boy got up to the ceiling. He didn't reach the ceiling, but he was within inches. Another marker wouldn't have fit in the space between the last marker and the drop ceiling. One of the girls in class snapped a photo, and the boys let their handiwork fall.
Why didn't I put a stop to this? They didn't have an assignment. They weren't doing any harm. And it was entertaining.
Besides, it made for a great story to put in the note to the teacher. And now the markers have been collected and put in one place (which I'm told is on the agenda for tomorrow).
The teacher left me a movie selection, and I let the students pick which movie they wanted to see (again). But, of course, many of them weren't pleased by the selection, and they had to find other things to entertain themselves.
Suddenly I heard a commotion. Each student was throwing something towards the boys in the back corner of the room. Then I saw it, and everything made sense.
Each desk had a small dry-erase board, a dry-erase marker, and an eraser under it. The items being tossed--dry-erase markers.
The boys had taken several markers and attached them end to end. At this point they had enough markers to reach about three feet. And with the new markers that had been tossed their way, they were making a go of reaching from the floor to the ceiling.
These were the thicker markers, but at three-foot tall that makes for a very thin "tower". So, the inevitable happened--the thing swayed and broke. The boys would not be deterred, however, and they picked up the markers and continued.
One boy held the bottom steady so it wouldn't break, and a second boy continued to add markers to the top. The "tower" got so tall that the boy had to stand on a chair, and then a desk to reach the top. More markers were tossed their way. I suggested that they might need a third to hold on to the empty section so that it wouldn't break and fall. Eventually someone did.
The "tower" failed several times before the boy got up to the ceiling. He didn't reach the ceiling, but he was within inches. Another marker wouldn't have fit in the space between the last marker and the drop ceiling. One of the girls in class snapped a photo, and the boys let their handiwork fall.
Why didn't I put a stop to this? They didn't have an assignment. They weren't doing any harm. And it was entertaining.
Besides, it made for a great story to put in the note to the teacher. And now the markers have been collected and put in one place (which I'm told is on the agenda for tomorrow).
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