Reflections

This post is just a few disjointed vignettes, things that came to mind today that I thought I'd share.

Hot Milk Sponge Cake
For me, some foods are profoundly evocative of a particular memory or person.  One of the strongest associations I have is with Hot Milk Sponge Cake, which instantly transports me to my friend Candice's high school bedroom, where I can hear my friend Miriam's laugh and feel the slight stickiness of powdered sugar on my fingers.  I was thinking about making it soon, in part because I miss Miriam so much.  I can see in my mind's eye about half a dozen times when I ate this cake with Miriam, and I feel closer to her just by reading through the recipe.

If it ain't broke...
My parents both have a habit of sticking it out with their possessions sometimes long long after they should be replaced.  My mom is naturally frugal and takes great pride in making do with less and stretching the useful lives of things, and my dad is... um, somewhat disengaged from the world at times.  I used to find this trait somewhat ridiculous in my parents, and they sometimes find it ridiculous in each other.  I remember feeling profound relief when my parents finally replaced our dishwasher when I was in high school, about a year after the door of the thing started falling off on a semi-regular basis.  Today at breakfast at a friend's house we were discussing how much we come to resemble our parents as we get older, and very topically, this evening the Husband exasperatedly asked me "how can you stand that computer?!?  I would find that so infuriating!"  And I was forced to admit that having a laptop that won't stay connected to the internet for more than 30 seconds in a row, that constantly shifts between battery power and charging because the cord and connector are all hinky, and that occasionally goes all purple and refuses to work is maybe... um... not necessary.  I could get a new one really any time, and it's not necessary to wait for this one to be permanently purple and hinky before I call it quits.  And, I promise, if the door to the dishwasher falls off, we'll get a new one within 6 months.


Apple Butter
Apple butter is delicious and useful.  I love it on ice cream, on sandwiches, on toast.  I will be making roast turkey, apple butter and brie sandwiches soon.  Yumm.



Dr. Who is Awesome
By rights, it shouldn't be.  There is no reason why such a campy, ridiculous, far-fetched concatenation of nonsense should be so emotionally compelling, so funny, and so addictive.  After David Tennant left, I was convinced that I would not love the show as much anymore, because he had to be the thing that made it so...so... whatever it is.  But no, 2 minutes into the first Matt Smith episode I was squeeing and clapping and generally enthusing and obsessing about it.  And now, of course, I adore Matt Smith.  ADORE.  This makes no sense.  I cannot explain it.  But it is.