Took this thank you photo for a friend who gifted this cake. Since it’s a half-cake, we should hopefully avoid hyperglycemia. I used a mirror to double the number of candles, then performed minor AI subtractive cleanup to create a stronger composition. (The subject? Birthday Boy or the dessert? Take your pick.)
Category: Living
The American Dream lives on in the classroom
It was a morning of Certified Nursing Assistant and English Language Learning with mainly Somali immigrants. These word choices by learners demonstrate the classroom as a safe space. Their attitudes were remarkable, especially given the appalling statements made by the POTUS this week. The fear of arbitrary race-based detention and deportation is a disturbing reality in Minneapolis today.
One in, one out
This beauty arrived from Williams-Sonoma today: a Le Creuset cast iron gratin dish, my online Black Friday purchase. I generally do the bakes, so I’ll be making good use of this. The dish is made in France, so I will have missed the more extreme tariff placed on China. Our household rules dictate that an old kitchen item must now go to Goodwill.
Life in a cold climate
Waiting for friends at a light rail station, I pushed a timer button to run this ceiling-mounted infrared heater. I used to view these as wasteful, but given this cold snap, I’ve come to appreciate anything that takes the chill off my bones.
Prince library card: I’ll leave home without it
Walking near the Downtown library, I stopped in and picked up a limited-edition Prince library card on impulse. As I continued my walk, I quickly realized it’s destined to lie in a drawer—I’ll never actually use it. I primarily check out eBooks to read on my phone, tablet, or Kindle, and even when I borrow physical books, my phone serves as my digital card.
Gasket secret revealed
Who knew? Our washing machine’s door gasket has hidden drain holes. We noticed water accumulating and causing mold growth, but Dwight found the solution on YouTube: remove the gunk from the hidden drain holes. Unblocking them motivated me to clean the air and water filters in the TOTOs, which I do periodically, having read the manual. Such is our pursuit of excitement this quiet Sunday.
A recurring symbol of the season
Our Christmas cactus suddenly appeared in a nook in our home today. Now that it’s starting to flower, Dwight decided to give it this more prominent spot. We reckon the plant is over 60 years old.
The ripple effect of travel: pourovers and TOTOs
In Japan, we buy packs of these pourover single-serve coffee filters prefilled with coffee to use in hotel rooms. On Amazon, I buy boxes of empty single-serve filters to bring when traveling, filling them with locally bought ground coffee. Here, I’m using one left over from our recent trip. Just one example of how travel changes behavior. A more significant example is the ubiquitous washlets in Japan. We liked them so much, we installed TOTO washlets in our home.
Deconstructed turkey served with gratitude
We’re quietly celebrating this Thanksgiving, and the centerpiece of our meal is Dwight’s stuffed turkey thigh (minus the bone), finished with a rich gravy. The stuffing is equally rich, with about a dozen ingredients, including meaty porcini mushrooms. And we have plenty left over for another meal.
From Gold to Cold
The season’s first winter storm hit overnight, leaving three inches of snow. The hard wind brought windchill temperatures into the teens. Took this photo at Gold Medal Park, then back home I retreated under my blankie and asked AI to turn the G into a C.