The Fourth of July Cake

The Fourth of July, for most in our section of the US, is observed by attending small town parades, enjoying grilled hamburgers and potato salad, and lighting sparklers for the kids once night has fallen. Fireworks are enjoyed as a community and are left to the local government to plan and light (theoretically; it's not legal for the average Iowan to purchase and light fireworks, however, many Southern Iowans do given our close proximity to the less-than-stringent Missouri border). And my family is no different, particularly since Independence Day is my husband's favorite holiday. But I grew up with one very odd tradition perpetuated by my mom: the Fourth of July Cake. No ordinary confection, she begins planning it's facade up to a month in advance. There are only two rules this tradition has: the cake must be thoroughly American-themed and it must be truly hideous. This is in no way a comment on America, rather, the result of one accidentally bad cake after another that established a precedent my sister and I began expecting at each year's celebration.

Past bad cakes have included: Mom's attempt to mix green and yellow to make blue frosting (poor thing was the only non-artist in the family until my sister and I married our husbands); a cake that was so heavily dyed it turned everyone's next day bowel movement grass green; and a rendering of the Washington Monument that looked unfortunately similar to male genitalia. She did have a really stand-out good cake one year: a tribute to the famous Iwo Jima sculpture. It featured plastic army figures.


This year's cake was an "innovative" use of nonpareil sprinkles and almond bark-covered popcorn. Very crunchy. 

My Sister Starred in a Play

This past weekend, we went to see the Ottumwa Community Players' production of  How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. My sister was fantastic in the role of Rosemary.

We Went Kayaking

Our County Conservation Board and our Wellness Coalition hosted a canoe and kayak float down the Des Moines River this morning. My dad, husband, and I participated in my dad's Folbot Kayaks. The kayakers quickly pulled ahead of the canoers. My dad's in the red kayak towards the rear.

My Sister had a Birthday

The Cookies of Christmas Past

I love making iced sugar cookies. Period. And mine are so good that my sister avoids all others at Christmas, knowing that they sadly can't compare. This past holiday season I decided to do something a little different for our Christmas Eve party: I made Christmas Dog Cookies to look like our family's pups. Penny and Ulysses are my and my husband's terriers and Rufus is my parents' long-haired mini dachshund. They were a big hit!

I do my cookies a little differently than most bakers because I have never been a fan of the taste or texture of royal icing. But, you know, I want all of the visual appeal. I have test-driven a lot of cookie icing recipes and have finally created one that I'm happy using.


Until next time...

Dining Set Reupholstery

My husband and I are a young and, as of yet, childless couple. We're still playing house and amassing the kind of furniture expected of adults. Truly, until a few weeks ago our dining furniture was comprised of black folding chairs and a Kmart table my husband's friend gave us after his wife deemed it too ugly to warrant continued residence in their garage.

This prolonged lack of improvement has been due partially to a small budget and partially to pickiness on the part of the writer. We have upgraded and filled in various pieces around the house, all the while leaving the kitchen as it stood. Meanwhile, I have been searching for the right replacement at big box-type furniture stores, online, and at antique stores. We stumbled on it at Calypso, a unique store in Valley West Mall of Des Moines. It was a set with prominent detailing neither frilly nor fussy, seating for six, and was originally manufactured in town. It also had a roughly-used finish, some loose joints, and horrid upholstery. For the fantastic price, we were willing to purchase a DIY project.

A cursory search online unearthed some information about our new furniture. It was produced in the 1920's as part of a Colonial Revival movement. One author, in a brief overview of American decorative arts movements, concluded that this mode is actually the only true American furniture style our country has ever produced. Essentially, we had to copy our own decorative style (which was itself a mimicry of English Georgian), before we thought up anything new.

Another online search produced a useful This Old House clip instructing viewers on the best way to reupholster dining chairs such as ours. During another trip to the Des Moines area, we purchased all the necessary supplies. This past weekend, we set about starting and finishing this project.

Our terrier, Ulysses, observes our strange activities, fearful that we may have lost our marbles afterall.

I hope you noticed the horrendous fabric with which our chairs came equipped.

All in all, this project probably claimed a combined 8 hours of work from my husband and me. We are enjoying the results!

Until next time...

It's Been Far Too Long!

Seriously, I had such good intentions when I started this blog. I'm forever working on  projects and it seems a real shame not to keep a record of them or to share what I discover along the way.

In my defense, I wasn't working at the time of my first posts. Now I'm the first lieutenant, so to speak, for a major area nonprofit. I put much of my daily energy into running our events and initiatives and creating our marketing materials.

Excuses aside, I have quite a few things going on currently. I'm knitting two projects, re-planting the organic garden we started last year, designing the potted plants for our deck, and reupholstering a set of dining chairs. Please tune in as I post individual reports on the progress of each!