Making and listening

I got in the back yarn last night and pulled all the dead hosta leaves and decaying spikes out. I'm often premature in doing this, but I tried to cover the little numbs of new growth with mulch so the coming frosts don't burn them. This winter has been wild but it is the first time we've lived here that the flowers have not all come way too early and each night we are racing to cover the whole yard as the chill sets in.

It occurred to me while I was sitting at my desk yesterday, "I know what we're dealing with here... a cake shortage." That's most certainly it, right? I've been trying to curb the carbs and sugar, in addition to the fact that less baking means less cleaning. But hey, some days you just need cake - little morsels of cake that don't take much effort, or time, or pre-softened butter. The recipe is from one of my very favorite cookbooks, the River Cottage Handbook #8: Cakes. Sometimes it uses a gooseberry, others, a raspberry. I used strawberry and they were delicious. Just the soul food we needed.

Since I'm waiting for my turn for the The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society audiobook from the library, I went ahead and started Major Pettigrew's Last Stand, on audio as well. I'm on day two of what I believe is a bad-weather headache, so the only other listening has been to Chopin, and the birds.

Joining Dawn Suzette.