Bowling, Repairing, Rapist, Bloody Tears.

As I mentioned, we had our first day of our Winter league bowling and we both bowled like people with no arms. Matt had one good game, I had one fair game and that was it. Bummer. Lucky we have some good games stored for when we are away. We will also be bowling on Friday which is the extra branch, as it were, of the Winter league. This morning I have someone coming to give me an estimate on refinishing our dining table. Unfortunately, through the years, it has got damaged by bracelets, watch straps, general use, etc. Matt thinks it will cost more than a new one to fix it, we shall see. I must be in the mood to get things repaired, I fished out a Kimono I bought in San Francisco in 1988. It was supposed to always be dry cleaned, I had washed it over the years and it had suffered somewhat on the hem - I tried to fix it without much success, I have always been domestically challenged - so the hemline and one seam badly need fixing, plus it wants cleaning. We shall see what they can achieve. It is a delightful garment and has been stuck in a closet for a number of years. The colour is something of the blue in the picture only with dragons on it - does that surprise you? What, I wonder, is the matter with the legal system. This morning a previous victim of Phillip Garrido's was interviewed. After raping her repeatedly and her ultimate rescue, Garrido was sentenced to 50 years for rape and 100 years for kidnapping. He was released in 10 and subsequently abducted Jaycee Dugard whom he kept in his back yard for 18 years. What idiot parole board, judge or other authority made the decision to release him. If I were Jaycee's family I would be hopping mad. Turns out that Jaycee's kids are 15 and 11 which means she would have borne the first one when she was 14. I said it before, he should have been castrated although Matt thinks it wouldn't get rid of the whole problem. Another odd story I heard on GMA today, a young man who has tears of blood. The doctors are totally baffled and can't seem to do anything about it. They describe it as a medical mystery. It happens to him some 3 times a day and the family is at their wits end. If you want to read the article click here where there is also a video clip. The publicity on GMA is a cry for help if there is anyone anywhere who can assist them. I had my regular newsletter from Hershey's yesterday and I thought these Mini Cakes looked rather scrumptious, apart from which we haven't had anything chocolatey for a while. Espresso Filled Mini Cakes 2 cups sugar 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour 3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda 1 teaspoon salt 2 eggs 1 cup milk 1/2 cup vegetable oil 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 cup boiling water ESPRESSO CREAM FILLING (recipe follows)OR apricot preserves or other flavor of your choice COCOA GLAZE(recipe follows) Directions: 1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and lightly flour fourteen 6-ounce custard cups. 2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in water (batter will be thin). Fill each prepared cup with scant 1/2 cup batter. Place custard cups on cookie sheet. 3. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes on wire racks; remove mini cakes from cups. Cool completely. Cut mini cakes horizontally about 1 inch from top. Spread bottom with FILLING or preserves; replace top of cake. Drizzle with COCOA GLAZE. Refrigerate until serving time. Refrigerate leftover cakes. About 14 mini cakes. ESPRESSO CREAM FILLING: Combine 1 cup (1/2 pt.) cold whipping cream, 1/4 cup powdered sugar and 2 teaspoons powdered instant espresso (or powdered instant coffee) in small bowl; beat until stiff. About 2 cups filling. COCOA GLAZE 1/2 cup whipping cream 1-1/2 teaspoons light corn syrup 1/2 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa 1/2 cup sugar 1 tablespoon butter 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract Stir together whipping cream and corn syrup in small saucepan. Stir together cocoa and sugar in small bowl; add to cream mixture, stirring well. Add butter. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until butter melts and mixture is smooth. Do not boil. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla. Cool to desired consistency. About 1 cup glaze. NOTE: Glaze may be stored in airtight container in refrigerator up to 2 weeks. Reheat over low heat, stirring constantly. VARIATION: CUPCAKES: Line muffin pan (2-1/2 inches in diameter) with paper bake cups. Fill 1/2 full with batter. Bake at 350°F. 20 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Fill and glaze as directed in recipe. About 3 dozen cupcakes. Have a great day.