Random Bits of Cake Eater Goodness

A random sample of things that are currently happening in my life/going through my brain:

• Memo to Mother Nature: you can quit with the snow, already. We've got enough, ok? I'd like to see the sun again.
• Speaking of sun, I cannot wait for December 21st to arrive. Why, you ask, can I not wait for the beginning of winter, when it goes against everything you know about me and my attitude toward that beastly season? Well, it's quite simple: winter may, technically speaking, begin on December 21st, but that day is also nature's starting point for the days to start getting longer. Meaning more daylight is in the offing after December 21st, not less. Currently the sun goes down around 4:25 p.m. CST. That's just way too damn early. I need more sunlight in my life, and that will turn around after the Winter Solstice occurs.
• We inadvertently hurt our new landlord's feelings by shoveling.

  For the six winters we've lived here, we've been in charge of snow removal. The Great White Hunter ex-landlord had a clause in the lease that shifted the responsibility of snow removal from him and Tweedledumb to his tenants. This wasn't a problem. We brought a snowblower with us when we moved here. As such, we've always pretty much taken care of snow removal---it's habit by now.

  But we've got a new landlord this winter. We had our first significant snow the day after Thanksgiving, when the landlord was out of town. The snow needed to be shoveled so we took care of it. No big deal. The habit started right back up again. Then it snowed again, and again, the husband took care of it. No big deal. Then it started up again on Tuesday night. By the same time Wednesday evening, we'd received six inches and had snowblowed twice (our snowblower is pretty small and it doesn't handle large amounts well). During the first round of snowblowing, first thing Wedsnesday morning, the landlord came out and told the husband that he was sorry he wasn't able to get to the shoveling right off the bat, but that he would get to it. The husband explained that it wasn't a comment on the landlord's abilities, per se, but rather habit, that he was more than happy to help out.

  I don't think the landlord bought it, however.

  We've had this light, sparse snow falling since Thursday morning. Slowly but surely it's been adding up. The husband snowblowed again yesterday afternoon, but, again, it's been adding up and there was more to take care of this morning---and this time the landlord was all over it.

  I don't want to fight his assumptions about his state of landlord worthiness over this. He's the best landlord we've ever had. Which, if you're a longtime reader of the Cake Eater Chronicles, you will know isn't saying much, since our standards of good lanlordom are LOW, but still, it's nice to know when you complain, your complaint will actually be heard the first time, instead of being ignored until you can't be ignored anymore, (i.e. sewers that have backed up; ice dams on the roof which lead to water coming down the walls, etc.). Our new landlord listens to our complaints. He wants to help when we have problems. That's refreshing. He's a good landlord. Hopefully the christmas present I'm planning will combat this, snow removal habits aside.

• I am in willful denial that Christmas is next week. It ain't. It's, technically speaking, two weeks away because Christmas is on a Sunday and Sunday is the beginning of another week, so it's two weeks away. So there. And don't try to tell me any different.
• I started a new workout plan last week so that I'm ahead of my New Year's regrets.
• We got two tins full of cookies from the obnoxious Cake Eater neighbor's nice wife. It's less than last year (no Chex mix, no caramel coated puffy stuff, no toffee), and nonetheless is a nice gesture and represents a lot of effort on her part....yet...it still grates on the nerves because a. she got the flippin' idea from me and b. she's stolen half my recipes! I have decided to get down and dirty and take the low road this year---I have decided to shake things up a bit. I'm adding date nut pinwheels to my repertoire, as well as homemade caramels and this fabulous caramel and chocolate layered shortbread. We shall see who wins when it's all said and done with.

  Hmmph.

And that's enough for now, my devoted Cake Eater Readers.