the Dalaverse

Ganache: made!
Cupcakes: frosted!
Bags: packed!
Garbage: taken out!
Dishwasher: running!
Me: showered, dressed, and waiting for my ride!

Whew!

It is all done and packed and only the last anxiety-inducing part - waiting for the car and schlepping everything down to the car - is left.

There were ZERO frosting explosions this year, though I did need to re-whip the strawberry buttercream, so I left it for last. There are still a bunch of stuff in the sink to be washed on Friday, but all the containers that...contained frosting are in the dishwasher, so they won't be all gross upon my return.

I did miscount and make one extra package of cupcakes, so I just addressed it to Baby Miss L - I'm sure her parents will love that. 😉 Also, the last gift I ordered for her - very late - is allegedly going to be delivered today! It's the 30 second dance party button! Which looks so fun and since I know Baby Miss L loves a dance party, it seemed like fate that I should get it for her.

I have only been skimming ye olde flist, but once I'm back home on Friday, all obligations are met and the next week is mine to do with as I will, so I will try to be more present here.

Merry Christmas to those who are celebrating! Happy Yuletide to those of you participating! And happy hump day to everyone else! See you on the flip side!

( 6-day plan, day 6 )

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I just cleaned off the kitchen counter and put the last bowl/spatulas in the sink to soak (the dishwasher is already running, and all the cupcakes are cooked and 4 out of 5 frostings are made (I just finished the strawberry Swiss meringue buttercream) - tomorrow I will make the ganache and possibly also a whipped ganache (I've never done it with butter in it - does that make it more buttercream-ish?) just to change things up a bit.

Today, I baked the strawberry (doubled to make 80), apple cider (60), and funfetti (doubled to make 80) cupcakes - there could have been more funfetti, but not enough to fill a whole pan, so I didn't bother. I added cinnamon bits from King Arthur to the apple cider ones and dipped them in maple cinnamon sugar, which is a change, one that hopefully people will like.

I also discovered that the cupcake carriers I've had sitting in a box under a chair in my living room for a few months are the wrong size (they are for standard-sized cupcakes) so I only have 10 mini ones and I need 13, so I will use the some foil lasagna pans for my brother and sister and one of the kids - they'll get a few more cupcakes out of it, since the carriers hold 2 dozen but the 9 x 13" tray fits about 30. *hands* I'm just glad I still have a pack of them left to use; otherwise, I'd have been up a creek.

Tomorrow is Pipe-a-palooza 7: The Pipening! (yeah, it's kind of shocking to me I've been doing cupcakes for 7 years now - I started in 2019 - but I like it more than the chocolates [and it's also less time-consuming than the chocolates were] and I can't do ice creams anymore due to logistics, though they remain my all-time favorite of the homemade Christmas gifts I've done over the years.) Wish me luck! It's always the hardest part for me. Hopefully I will remember to take pictures to share afterwards.

Whoops, I started this entry an hour ago and got distracted by stuff like packing my overnight bag and refilling my water bottle etc. so I'm just gonna hit post now and work up the energy to go wash my hair.

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( 6-day plan, day 5 )

***

I managed to get into bed by 11 last night, and my alarm went off at 7:20 and I hit snooze a couple of extra times, but I was up and ready to go by 8, which was the goal. It turned out that they only turned the water off in one set of apartments, so at least I didn't have to deal with that! (After the Big Leak of January 2023, I believe one of the "upgrades" was the ability to do this so they don't have to turn the water off for everyone every time, though I could have that wrong.)

Chocolate, mocha, and red velvet (mini) cupcakes are done! I got 80 of the chocolate and the red velvet using the smaller scoop, which is typical of my experience (though one of the chocolate ones got messed up when I put the pan in the oven, so I technically only have 79 cupcakes), and I got 92 of the mocha (usually also 80, though I guess I used the bigger scoop before?), but 2 exploded - a phenomenon I had not seen except on vanilla cupcakes before - so I have 90 usable ones of those. Then I stopped to have dinner and run the dishwasher and take the garbage out, and it was hard to get back in the kitchen then, but I did it. I made mocha Swiss meringue buttercream, and as frequently happens, it curdled when i added the flavoring, so I had to melt it, wait for it to cool down (about 12 minutes) and start whipping it again, which worked, thankfully. Then I made an outlandish amount of vanilla American buttercream for the funfetti cupcakes I will bake tomorrow, since that is what the boys prefer, but I find it grossly sweet.

I used up enough butter and eggs today that I had space for the containers of frosting, which is good. I still need to empty and reload the dishwasher, take a shower, and then run the dishwasher again so it's done for the next round. I mean, I have 4 bowls for my KitchenAid, and multiples of each type of attachment (e.g., beater, whisk, dough hook, etc.) but it's best to start the day with everything clean, just for my own peace of mind, though of course on Wednesday, the sink will be full of dirty things since I generally don't have time to empty and reload the dishwasher on Christmas Eve morning, what with all the piping and frosting and packing to go. We'll see what happens this year, since I don't have to leave as early as in past years, since we don't have an early reservation, but I still don't want to push it too late so I can avoid the worst of the traffic. We'll see how it goes.

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( 6-day plan, day 4 )

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Stayed up too late last night and got a late start this morning, so I am already behind on my plan. But I will try to go to bed earlier tonight and get up earlier tomorrow to get back on track. Unfortunately, there is another planned water shut-off for plumbing repairs from 9 am - 12 pm, so I'll have to make sure to make the coffee required for both the chocolate and the mocha cupcakes ahead of time (it has to be room temp anyway), as well as making sure I have an extra bowl for handwashing.

I did get all the fig cookies made and packed into the cute cookie tins I bought so I'm not always giving away my ziploc containers (they are useful and they changed the shape so I can't get any more of the ones I really like), and the pork buns as well (pics) but I didn't eat dinner until after 7 pm and now the dishwasher is running, so I'm done for the night.

oh, I wanted to note that this year, I bought some fancy holiday/red-and-green sprinkles from KAB for the cookies - normally I just use multicolor nonpareils, but these look kind of festive, I thought. I also got red/green sprinkles for the funfetti cupcakes so I will be very on-theme.

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( 6-day plan, day 3 )

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When I saw this year's Winter Solstice happened to fall on the last night of Hanukkah, it struck me as fitting that the longest night would have the most candles in it. Making the most light against all the darkness.

It's due for a chill here this week - not much below freezing, but wind and some rain. I've got nowhere to go and not much to do, and all of this together has me looking at my tea collection and thinking about where to get started and what I might be able to finish. Modest goals building towards larger ones, as the days begin building up again.

So I may have been a little...over ambitious in purchasing eggs and butter and expecting it all to fit into my tiny apartment-size fridge. I did get all of it in there, but there was literally no room to let orange rolls rise overnight so I knocked that off the list. Maybe I will do them for New Year's morning instead.

I also had an unfortunate start to the fig cookies. I made the filling yesterday and I might have put too much cocoa in as I thought it was the bottom of the container so I just dumped it in and well, there was more than I expected in there. *hands* It's fine. Then when I made the dough earlier, it smelled weird. I think maybe the Crisco had gone off? Idk, but I threw out what I'd made and did it again with the newly opened can of Crisco and it smelled correct, so I didn't really get to make cookies this afternoon as planned, but I might make some after dinner, which is how we did it when I was a kid - every night for the 2 weeks before Christmas we were in the kitchen making fig cookies.

I did marinate the pork country ribs last night and they are now in the oven roasting, so that at least is on track.

I also watched Wake Up Dead Man yesterday, and I liked but didn't love it? I'm not sure why? ( spoilers )

This is a long essay about the movie (spoilers, obvs) that goes much deeper into it: Entirely Too Many Thoughts About Wake Up Dead Man by Leah Schnelbach.

Oh, the timer just went off so I have to take the ribs out of the oven, so I guess I'll just hit post!

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( 6-day plan, day 2 )

***

I made a cake for my dad's book group, as is customary, and it wasn't until late in the day, long after dropping it off, that I found out the book group had cancelled its in-person meeting - to be fair, they hadn't known that until the afternoon, what with someone coming down with something and everyone else electing not to drive.

It also turns out that my parents had a building party scheduled that same night. One my dad thought he wouldn't go to with the book group, but could attend since the commute would only be from the lobby to the apartment. One where he could bring a cake that I'd happened to have dropped off earlier that day.

The group had been reading Charles Dickens, and I thought an apple ginger spice cake would be fitting to the general vibe of the novel. It turned out to be a set of flavors that were just as fitting for a near-solstice wintertime party.

I'm always happy when something I've baked finds its way to a good home, and I'm even happier when there's a little story to go along with the cake.

I am officially on vacation - I don't have to go back to work until January 5th! Now the bakepocalypse can begin! I've made more work for myself, but I think it will all work out - I've been planning it in my head, and this is how it goes (please take "run dishwasher" as a given at least once and probably twice each day):

( 6-day plan )

I think adding in the roast pork and the pork buns and the orange cranberry rolls might be kind of nuts? But also having that food on hand will let me eat breakfast/dinner without having to do any real cooking or ordering in. (I will also have some ham and cheese to make sandwiches if it comes to that, and some granola bars for snacks/breakfast if the orange cranberry rolls don't happen.) And I think I do have time before the cupcake baking begins in earnest.

What I'm considering now is whether I should make the frostings and immediately put them in piping bags (with specific tips in) for storing in the fridge instead of trying to do the transfers all at once on Christmas Eve morning the way I usually do. Filling the bags and then keeping them in tupperware might be easier? But I've also found that sometimes my "time-saving" plans end up making things worse, so idk.

Anyway, that's my plan for the next 6 or so days! It's a good thing I enjoy cooking. *g*

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As I've been saying over the evening: my father's book group usually meets in person, but due to one of the members coming down with the flu, the decision was made to meet on Zoom like it's 2020 all over again. But their loss was the party's gain. The cake I made for what would have been the book group's meeting instead went to my father's building's winter holiday party, so it still made its way to a good home. An apple ginger spice cake seemed fitting for Charles Dickens' London - they were meeting to discuss Bleak House - and it managed to slip into a general wintertime holiday festival without any issue or trouble. Once people started in on it, it went quick.

I'd had a stressful day, due to meeting with a therapist and my parents at the same time. It was necessary and it was useful and by golly was it stressful. After it was over, I simply went back to my apartment. Nothing else. Then I thought I could sit in my apartment or I could go to my parents' building winter holiday party. I went with the party. I'm fairly hammered at this point - it wasn't an open bar as such, but there was rum and there was tequila, and all I used as a mixer was a slice of lime and about a quarter cup of commercially made eggnog at one point. And the eggnog was with the tequila, not the rum, which isn't a choice I'll make if I attend another such function.

For all that I'm not anticipating tomorrow, with all its responsibilities, I'm good with having gone tonight.

So I packed up my jars of candied pecans and my bag of "prizes" and schlepped into the office today for our big huge holiday party - it was 5 departments' worth of people, so like 90 of us, so instead of everyone sitting in a room and eating together, we mostly stayed in our little departmental groups, but the beer-free beer pong was INCREDIBLY popular, Name That Tune also had a good turnout, and the food was excellent. Assistant J did a bang-up job organizing various game stations for people to play - there was also Jenga and Uno available, and a couple of gaming consoles he brought in so people could play Fortnite. *hands* I commended him and told him everybody loved it. And I did not have to lift a finger, except to bring the bag of prizes, aka, my stash of small gifts I've accumulated across the year but haven't given anyone yet, so there was a couple of packs of playing cards still in their wrapper, a couple of candles, 2 cute notebooks, some mini puzzles, and some holiday soaps. I also had a travel mug and a bigger candle to use as extra gifts for the secret gift exchange in case someone didn't show up, and it turned out my boss had given her secret exchange gift to someone else, so she ended up using the mug, and I gave the candle to a co-worker who tried to sign up for the exchange a week after I'd sent the assignments out. I felt bad about telling her no, but there was no way to make it work, except for me giving her the extra gift in the moment - she seemed really touched by it. And of course, several people asked me why I hadn't gotten a gift and I was like, I know who everyone is giving to, so it doesn't feel right to participate, but they didn't seem to buy that logic. *hands* I stand by it though.

I did get some lovely gifts though - a Calamityware mug from my boss, a couple of candles (one apple-and-cinnamon scented and one Frasier fir scented), a bottle of mango jalapeno hot sauce, and some Korean snacks from the co-worker who recently went to Seoul on vacation. And I got to leave at 3:30, so I was home by 4:45, which is truly a blessing. I also got to see and hug a lot of people I haven't seen in months, so that was also great. I truly do like most of the people that I work with, and I do miss seeing them, but ugh, it is so not worth going into the office more frequently to do so, imo, because so much less work gets done (even on days when there isn't a party). I probably won't go back until March if I can help it. *g*

Oh, and most importantly, my candied pecans were a hit! One of my attorneys basically ate the whole jar while he sat at his desk and the others all seemed genuinely excited about getting into them. So that worked out well.

Two more days and then I am on vacation for the rest of the year! I can't wait!

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Humble Bundle's got a bunch of Adrian Tchaikovksy's books on offer here, if you are interested. I haven't read any of these ones, so I got them all (for $18) but I have liked sci-fi stuff I've read by him (even if he is way too into bugs for me).

I am attempting to clear out my fridge and freezer in order to lay in baking supplies for all the Christmas baking, so today I used up 2/3 of a bag of blueberries and made this blueberry muffin cake. It's very good, and very easy. I still have about a pound and a half of cranberries in there that need to get used up, so I'll probably be trying some orange cranberry rolls or make those scones again, or possibly both. *g*

Today I packed up my gifts for my co-workers (jars of candied pecans, as there were no nut allergies when I polled them) and also a bag of "prizes" for whatever games are happening at this party on Tuesday (a couple of candles, a cute notebook, a little book of pasta recipes, some holiday soaps) and a couple of extra gifts in case someone bails on the secret gift exchange (another candle, a travel mug), so we'll see how it goes.

It actually did snow last night and this morning, and if it does that again on Tuesday, I'm staying home, but for now the weather looks clear.

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Fascinating read here: Whose League Is It Anyway? on Defector. The comments are mostly worth reading too - I especially liked this one: "One of the reasons that collective bargaining exists is that it channels labor into a well-controlled process of negotiating and grieving within a framework that still respects the legitimacy of capital and is willing to enforce its prerogatives with violence."

I also added both books discussed in the post to my to read list: Every Day Is Sunday: How Jerry Jones, Robert Kraft, and Roger Goodell Turned the NFL into a Cultural & Economic Juggernaut by Ken Belson, and Lords of the Realm (about baseball) by John Helyar.

Also, I don't know who Maggie Nelson is (I am old), but I thought this was a really good piece of criticism of her new book: Maggie Nelson Sputters And Stalls In ‘The Slicks’, which is apparently a (hamhanded and faily) attempt to parallel Taylor Swift with Sylvia Plath. I mean, I'm not going to lie, I enjoy many of TSwift's songs and I'm not a huge fan of Plath's work, but come the fuck on!

Anyway, I continue to find my subscription to Defector worth it, even if I don't read it as often as I'd like.

In other news, I was up early this morning, because the super said he was going to stop by to install my new apartment doorbell (when they put in this app-based front door system, it for some reason caused the bells at the apartment doors to stop working), but he hasn't shown up yet, and I'd be very surprised if he does at all. Oh well, I will try again when I'm off next week. Maybe 3rd time is the charm!

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I've been teased with snow before, and I'm hoping I won't get teased again tomorrow. It'll be somewhat inconvenient on Sunday, but I've been inconvenienced in such ways before. I can handle it. I know workarounds.

Earlier today, buying fresh eggs, I told someone I'd be using them for cake. "Tis the season," she said. "Cake's always in season," I told her, and got an earnest laugh.

I've been tasked not only to make challah tomorrow, not just one cake for my dad's book group, but two cakes for a small party he's hosting. The request was only for one cake for the party, and there's no way I'm making only one cake when I can manage two. It'll be a long day of baking. I welcome the work. While the work's helped by already having a lot of what I need for the cakes, the time it'll take is what I'll need to look into - dividing it up, assessing how best to parse it out, that kind of thing.

In addition to all the other chores and errands of the day.

I've sent two fics off to beta readers, and I've got that last original project which I need to start tackling to edit. That there's a very nice feeling by itself, too. Just going from one project right to the next. It's not always something I can pull off, and I value it when I can manage.

My brain, as the meme says, was soup yesterday - I was so wiped out by Tuesday's everything. I logged off and took a nap and even so I slept hard last night. So I think I made the right choice not to go back into the city for the farewell to the CEO event tonight. I already have to go into the office on Tuesday for our holiday party, which part of me would like to avoid as it is now a big huge thing that I, thankfully, did not have to manage. It sounds like the party committee is as crazy as ever, and Assistant J keeps asking me things and I'm like, you're going to have to talk to $SomeoneElse about that. Like, it's nice that he wants to inform me, but also I would like him to take some initiative and fix things or at least suggest solutions. Anyway, we'll see how it goes. I did coordinate the Sesa, so hopefully that goes off without a hitch - only 20 people this time, but some of them haven't done it before, so that should be good.

I also kept thinking today was Friday and then being sad because it's not. I mentioned it to my boss who was like, "it can be Friday! take tomorrow off!" but I still have too much stuff to finish because as of next Friday I am off until January 5th.

Maybe someday I'll have something interesting to say here again, but for now, I don't. I am not very happy about what is happening with the Mets this hot stove season, but ugh. At least the Knicks are kinda good?

I did watch the Supergirl teaser trailer, and I'm excited to see what they do with it, but also it makes me feel like they aren't going to ever give us Kon, now. Or they'll use his animated!YJ personality instead of his much more fun comics personality. Sigh.

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