German Chocolate Cake for My Sweetheart

Made my SO the “famous German chocolate cake.” The quotations have actually been added by my son. This was the cake my oldest son always requested for his birthdays, and the younger son even asked for it a time or two himself. It’s a great old three-layer recipe, a lot of bother with lots of egg yolks and whites beaten stiff then folded in. The frosting is cooked and stirred until your arm aches. But the trouble is worth it in the end, because the eaters usually brag and gorge on it once it’s served. It was a hit with the group once again. Even the SO’s granddaughter, who is a finicky eater, gushed, “That is sooooo good.”

We’re celebrating my SO’s birthday. It really isn’t until the 30th, but his son and daughter-in-law, and granddaughter are here this weekend. Everybody has big news. The son has been offered a promotion, however it means a move to New York City. A big change for them from Austin, but it’s evident that they’re proud to have this opportunity. The granddaughter, who lives with them and goes to junior college, will also have to make some changes. Everybody expects her to move in with her boyfriend down on the coast, and go to school somewhere down there. I had a talk with her last night, and told her not to give up on her education, no matter how “in love” she thinks she is. I felt I could speak from experience and maybe she would listen because of that. Don’t know if it registered. She doesn’t seem as focused on her education as I think she should be, but that’s easy enough for me to say from my vantage point in life. 

But I do enjoy having them, especially her, almost as much as my SO does. In fact, it’s me who often ends up sitting late with them, telling stories and laughing after he's gone off to bed. We will miss them once they move away. Seems there is less and less keeping us in this hot climate. I sure wish I could stop obsessing about New Mexico. It's a really poor time with this real estate market to try to sell this house. We've done so much to it, and really ought to get top dollar when we are finally ready to make the dash for the mountains. Of course, because of that same lousy real estate market, places are really cheap, cheap up there. Sigh! 

Until yesterday, I have kept up the work on the novel, and will take it back up today once our company leaves. I’m still pleasantly surprised at what all is in the pages, things I had totally forgotten about, and lots of stuff I can build on. I have said before, and will say again, writing a novel for me has more to do with architecture than with form. I generally start with the characters, and maybe a situation, and a vague notion of the ending, but everything else is just as much of an unknown for me in the beginning as it is -- hopefully -- for a reader. I've been marking up pages and plan to take the whole manuscript with us when we head up to Denver.

Sat outside this morning in the quiet sunrise with just the kitty and watched the hummingbirds fight over the feeders. I have them spaced so far apart this time, that it really keeps the dominant males busy trying to fend off the other birds. They are such a joy to watch, and their little cheeps filled the air, along with a cardinal's song, and a hawk or two that passed over screeing. Nice way to start a day. I know when the day comes, it will be hard to part with this place. I do love it so much. But I also know that in time it will be more than we want to keep up, and the summers have become so brutal, it's hard to watch all our efforts through the rest of the year, dry up without any rain in the forecast.

Onward ....