Off Again, On Again

So in yesterday's entry, I was bemoaning the fact that I had procrastinated starting to bake the cake. At 9-something p.m., I was very glad that I had.

That's when the power went out.

At first I was furious. Just what I needed. How unlucky for me that the power was out. But then I realized that if I had started making the cake earlier in the evening, the power would have gone out in the middle of baking it, would have ruined it, and I would have had to start all over again. So my procrastination was actually a good thing. (That's my story and I'm sticking to it).

Also, just before the power went out, I discovered, through Google, that there is a cake supply place just 10 miles from here--not on the other side of Sacramento, where I didn't want to drive--so my procrastination ensured that I could get all the supplies I needed rather than trying to "make do" with what I had. This is called "looking on the bright side."

When the power went out, I contacted PG&E to see if there was an estimate on when it would be on again. They said about 2 hrs. It was too early to go to sleep, and it was still kind of hot in the house, so I decided to go to Baker's Square and have some coffee and wait out the two hours.

But when I came home, the power was still out, so the dogs and I settled in for the night, and just as I was falling asleep, a PG&E truck pulled up across the street, with lights flashing. That set Lizzie off. (It also was comforting to know that if someone tried to break into the house, she would set up a ruckus and get all the other dogs going too!) I got up and sat outside watching to see if I could get a clue as to what they were doing, and to be there in case they needed to check this house. But they eventually left and the power was still off. I finally went to sleep.

I woke up at 1:30 and made my mid-night move to the recliner, where I slept until 3-something, when the power was still out and I called PG&E to see if there was a new estimate of when the power would be back on. They now said that the power would be back on around 7 a.m. I was just starting to go back to sleep again at 4:37, when the power came on, and with it all the lights.

I was now wide awake, so I just got up, reset the clocks, checked what I'd been missing on the Internet, and got everything arranged so I could begin the baking marathon (the kitchen counter was now covered again, but in cake-making stuff).

At 8:30, I took Gizmo to meet the person who was going to take her to the vet to have her reproductive organs removed, then came home to start baking cakes.

I got the first two layers and then it was late enough to drive off to Dixon, about 10 miles away, to check out the cake store I had found on line. I bought all the supplies I needed to finish the cake, after a lengthy discussion with the proprietor about which size board I needed. We settled on the 16" board, because I assured her I had a 14" cake pan.

It was nearing noon when I was headed home, so I decided to stop at Chevy's for lunch and had some lovely flautas.

These should have been crisp, but wer soggy
but the jalapeno jelly in the middle was yummy

I got home and checked and of course had a 16" pan, not at 14", so I have to go back tomorrow and get an 18" board. Sigh. (This is called "plan ahead"!!!) But I made the next two layers and then decided that it was lunacy to keep the house baking things when the temps were rising into the mid-90s, so I decided to bake the last two layers (this is a 3-tier cake, each tier 2 layers) after the sun went down.

That would give me time to take a nap to make up for some of that sleep I didn't get last night.

[I should add here another little glitch. I haven't baked/decorated cakes in a very long time and definitely not since the Pergo was installed. Well, apparently when they put the stove back after installing the floor, they neglected to level it. So the cakes, which went into the oven flat, have come out sloped. I'm hoping that by matching slopes when I frost them I will compensate for that fact. (Frosting covers a multitude of sins)]

Scrappy and I settled into the recliner, with the air conditioner humming and the TV on and I fell asleep instantly. What woke me up was the sound of all the power going off again and dogs barking all over the place. Fortunately it wasn't off for several hours this time.

Gizmo came back from her surgery, VERY much in pain and, as Ashley says, "a screamer." It was no surprise to me that she was being overly melodramatic. Ashley doubled up on the pain meds an she immediately headed off to the living room where she could curl up in a ball somewhere and be by herself. The other dogs seemed concerned, solicitous, and respectful of her need to be by herself. (Or maybe they just weren't interested because she was asleep!)

I finished out the day by baking the last two layers for the cake and then blockading all of the layers so Lizzie couldn't get to them. This means that the clean counter is twice as cluttered was it was before I cleaned it up.

Easy come, easy go.