I don’t do social media like Facebook, Instagram, etc. A blog, then, seemed to be the best way to let people know what’s going on.
I’m also going to occasionally comment on whatever is on my mind. You’ve been warned.
Another Rowing Milestone
On Monday, I hit 500,000 meters. My app tells me that is equivalent to rowing the length of Lake Michigan. I started in July, but I started out slowly. I’m hoping to hit the next goal a little faster. Aiming for 1,000,000 meters by August.
Workout Room Update
My workout room is mostly done. I need to put a mirror up on the wall with the carp picture. It was a pleasure to start really using it last week.
Birthday Cake
Once again, this year, I tried to find a bakery where I could buy what many consider to be the traditional birthday cake: yellow cake with chocolate icing. Once again, I failed. The bakeries I checked with actually told me that I should just buy a mix from the store and my brief internet search suggested that as well.
I do not understand why this attitude of “a mix is better” does not apply to other flavors as well. Here, for instance, is Freed’s Bakery list of cake flavors:
Signature Cake Flavors
– White Cake
Our signature white cake is both light and delicious. The perfect base for any flavor combination.
– Chocolate Cake
Our chocolate tea cake is rich and decadent and just perfect. A bit heavier than our white cake, though still fluffy and delicious.
– Marble Cake
Can’t decide? The perfect marbleized swirl of our white and chocolate cake.
– Red Velvet Cake
Our traditional rich red velvet cake. Deep flavor and a deep color.
– Almond Cake
A light white cake with a lovely almond flavor. Great with raspberry, amaretto, or Nutella.
– Lemon Cake
A light lemon cake with a flavorful citrus burst. Great with seasonal favorites like strawberry or raspberry.
– Carrot Cake
Our classic carrot cake chock full of pecans and fresh carrot. Perfect with our signature cream cheese filling.
There are Betty Crocker cake mixes in all of those flavors (and more) except almond. So why is yellow cake different?
At any rate, it was clear that I would have to bake my own cake (using the Betty Crocker mix) and I did so:
And since I had all the accouterments, I went all out and created a true birthday cake for myself:
I must say it was very good. I will be freezing a lot of it to enjoy in the coming months.
Winter’s Nails
I asked my technician to give me something blue and wintery. I love what she did:
Brindy’s Busy Holidays
Holiday Dog
Brindy is loving being in sweaters. Here’s her latest:
Christmas Cactus
I spent the last week working on making Christmas cacti. These are the first flowers I have made in months. It felt good!
Holiday Nails
The Transformation Begins
The first steps in transforming my 2nd bedroom into a workout room:
Redoing a Room
I have a 3-bedroom house. The main bedroom is huge, and I have a king bed, the dog’s kennel, my rowing machine, and a chair with an ottoman in it. The other 2 bedrooms are a Jack and Jill arrangement, with one “bedroom” having been my computer and craft room since I moved in.
The other bedroom was just that, a bedroom:
In the year-and-a-half I have been here, this bedroom has only been used once or so. I have decided, then, to turn this room into a home gym. I found someone I could donate the furniture to, and they picked it up on Wednesday. So here’s the basically blank slate I have to work with:
I’ll post pictures as things move along.
Tuples and Attributes 