This post is all about patience. Waiting seems to be a theme in my life.
First, thanks for being patient with me and the long delay between posts. Unfortunately, I was bitten by the stomach bug that’s been going around. It hit me about 10 days ago, and I thought I shook it two times, but the third time finally got me down this week. So, I’ve had to practice a lot of patience these last four days because every time I felt like my appetite was coming back (usually around dinner time), the nausea and all the nasty stuff that goes with it would come back, too. I’ve tried to get off my anti-nausea medicine because it tends to make me sleepy, but that’s backfired on me as well.
And The Bald Eagle has practiced patience this week, too. It seems like almost every time I’ve gotten sick in the last 10 years, The Bald Eagle has not been in The Nest. He hasn’t purposely flown the coop, but he travels a lot for work, and it seems like the flu bugs always come visit me when he’s already on the road. Finally, my sickness lined up with a week he was home, and so he was finally able to make a small dent in returning the nursing I’ve given him over the years. He makes great toast! I do need to teach him how to scramble an egg for future reference, but great toast was what I needed this time. 🙂
Oliver, our neighbor cat, is a master at patience. Let me show you a typical scene on our front porch.
This is Oliver, or Little O, right outside our front door waiting.
This cat is like a statue. His ability to wait . . .
And wait . . .
And wait never seems to end. And what is he waiting for, you might ask?
His ultimate obsession – our dog, Khaki. And his ultimate challenge – access to our air-conditioned house. This is Khaki looking in through the sidelight of our front door. She was out roaming the land while Oliver waited her out – knowing it was just a matter of time before Khaki had to come back up the front porch steps to get back inside. If you look closely, you can see Little O standing right beside Khaki looking in.
Oliver knows he can easily sneak in once the door is open for Khaki. He also knows his visit will be brief because the temptation of jumping on the kitchen countertop will overtake him within two and a half minutes of his entry into the house. And after he’s escorted out the back door, he’ll recover from the whole affair on our covered barbecue grill and wait for his next chance to snuggle up to his favorite dog and race into our house.
And speaking of Khaki, she has her own skills in patience. Exhibit A.
First, this is a treat that only comes around 2 or 3 times a year – an empty peanut butter jar. Secondly, this is one of those big, bulk size jars. She’s smart enough not to stick her nose into the jar, but she does extend her tongue as far into that jar as she possibly can. I love how she holds the jar between her paws.
Before the stomach bug bit me, I had a couple of baking moments that required a lot of patience. First, I made my Simple Peach Cobbler. It’s simple because it’s only 3 ingredients – canned peaches, yellow cake mix and butter (butter cures all ills), but I don’t call it Easy Peach Cobbler, because it does require some patience in preparation. You need to cover the top of the cobbler with a thin layer of butter. I enjoy making the cobbler because cutting the butter and placing the pieces on top of the dry cake mix is like putting a puzzle together. You must cover every nook and cranny of the top of the cobbler with butter for it to turn out properly. I also enjoy making it because it comes out an unbelievable hit every time.
And then there’s this one accomplishment I have to share with you. A week ago I made this cake for a co-worker’s birthday.
This was one of those ‘I can’t believe I made this” moments, but it did take a great deal of patience since this was my first attempt at trying to decorate a cake like this. I found this great Rose Cake Tutorial and couldn’t wait to try it. If you ever decide to try this yourself (believe me, you can do it if I did) but if you do, make sure you buy or make extra frosting because this does take more than a traditional frosting would.
That’s enough about patience for now. Hope you’re all doing well and have successfully dodged the stomach bug. Thanks for reading!
Baby Bluebird (aka Dayna)
Hello!
I took some extra time off with the 4th holiday to relax and recover from a super busy June at work. Khaki decided she needed to relax, too.
It was also the perfect time to experiment with a few things in the bakery (aka the kitchen). First, Oliver, our neighbor cat, did some experimenting of his own. This is him experimenting with the idea of becoming a garden statue. Can you find him?
That really wasn’t adventurous enough for Oliver, so he decided to experiment with eating Khaki’s dog food. It was an experiment to see if he could keep his head or if Khaki would bite it off.
Fortunately Khaki was practicing her patience, and there wasn’t a growl or a scratch exchanged. But I don’t think we’re going to let Oliver make a habit out of this experiment. Khaki tried to eat her food so fast to keep Oliver from getting any I was afraid she was going to get heartburn. (Do dogs get heartburn??)
Anyway, my first experiment was in making my own marshmallows. Why would I want to do that, you ask? First off, I didn’t even realize you could make your own marshmallows. I thought marshmallows could only be made in some big Kraft factory with potions and chemicals us common folk wouldn’t understand. Secondly, I knew homemade marshmallows were essential for the ultimate S’more experience. I’d tried using marshmallow fluff – good, but could be better. I’d also read recipes with marshmallows straight off the campfire. I don’t know about you, but I don’t have a campfire regularly burning in my kitchen, so I needed a better solution.
Turns out making homemade marshmallows isn’t hard at all. It just takes a little patience. When I poured the marshmallow mixture into the pan and patted on the confectioner’s sugar/cornstarch mixture, I realized I’d done it. I ran through the house trying to find The Bald Eagle and yelling, “I did it! I did it!” When I found B.E. shaving his Bald Eagle head, he asked, “What did you do?”, as if I’d just won the supermarket sweepstakes. He seemed a little disappointed when I revealed my incredible feat was that I’d made my own marshmallows. It turns out The Bald Eagle doesn’t like marshmallows. That’s crazy talk!! Who wouldn’t find these to be delicacies of the sugarplum fairies?
And look at the A-MAZE-ING S’mores I made from them.
You can read all about these S’mores and how to make homemade marshmallows here – S’more with Homemade Marshmallows. If you have children, or even know children, it’s a must have treat!
My second experiment involved these Even-Bake Cake Strips.
A friend told me long ago that the best way to get a cake to bake evenly was to wrap the cake pan with wet towels. I never quite figured out how to do that, but these strips use that same principle. They’re silver fabric strips with metal fasteners. 
First you get the strips completely wet.
Then you wrap the cake pans with the strips and fasten them with the metal pin that comes with them.
Then bake as normal. It seemed to really work! My cakes did turn out more even than normal. See for yourself. . .
And the cake was awesome, too. Chocolate Chip Cake with Buttercream Frosting Unlike marshmallows, chocolate cake with white frosting is The Bald Eagle’s favorite. I added sprinkles just for him.
Got milk? You’ll need it with this super moist, super chocolate, super delicious cake.
Happy experimenting!
Baby Bluebird (aka Dayna)
Ten years ago this weekend we brought our precious little Khaki girl home from the farm where she was born. (In case you haven’t been following, Khaki is our Golden Retriever. Yes, we’re one of those families that treat our dog like a child.) It seems like just yesterday when we took this picture. . . 
Yes, that is her water bowl that she’s standing him . . . filled with water. Even back then she couldn’t get enough of water and still today swimming is her absolute favorite thing to do.
And today, this is her – Ninja Doggie stealthy stalking a deer in our woods. She thinks you can’t see her. . .
Anyway, today she went to our new vet for her annual check up. She received a clean bill of health, but in our examination room we found this very funny posting I wanted to pass on.
And then to the right was excepts from a cat’s diary . . .
Oh my goodness!! So funny I could pee my pants!
Of course I couldn’t talk about our pets without showing you an Oliver picture. Again, if you’re not keeping up with all the excitement here in Northwest Arkansas, Oliver is our very entertaining neighbor feline. And this is a typical scene when I walk down to our mail box. . .
Yes, Oliver is a “mail” cat. 🙂 Forgive me, that was The Bald Eagle’s joke and I felt it was my duty to share. He usually doesn’t look this scared (Oliver, not The Bald Eagle). He usually looks more like this. . .
. . . just hanging out. Totally chill and totally cool. We love our Oliver!
Well, since we do treat our dog like our child, it’s time that she and I get back to the special Strawberry Cake we’re making to celebrate Father’s Day. Look for the recipe in the near future.
Thanks for reading!
Baby Bluebird (aka Dayna)
I have a funny feeling that this may only be the first of many times I use that post title. We officially live in a zoo – well, that might be a bit dramatic. We have yet to encounter a zebra or giraffe in our backyard, but I’m not giving up hope.
Of course we have Oliver, our friendly, neighbor cat.
That’s him on the hunt. And what he excitedly brought to me yesterday as I watered my flowers was a little baby bunny he was carrying by the nape of its neck. Now before you get sick to your stomach (like I almost did) this bunny was very much alive and appeared to just be Little O’s latest play toy. So I sprang into action, sacrificing the skin on my arms as I grabbed Oliver and pulled him away from the bunny. Oliver in turn protested by giving me the first ever meow I’ve heard from him. In the end the bunny lived to hop another day. A happy ending for all except Oliver who seemed to be thoroughly miffed at me. Don’t worry, we made up.
Then there’s Oliver’s more rambunctious brothers, Gus and Larry. They’re only allowed to come play at night because they get in less trouble after dark. 
This is Larry, the Bassett Hound and our neighbor. Not his best likeness, but this portrays him rather well. This is him looking in through the sidelight of our front door wanting to know if our Golden Retriever, Khaki, can come out and play. This has become a regular 10pm occurrence. Oliver’s on the welcome mat in the morning, but after dark, Gus and Larry are out on the front porch waiting to play. All the while here’s Khaki . . .
Yes, that is my pillow. She’s catching up on her beauty sleep . . and playing hard to get. Actually, she usually goes out and plays for a little while each night, and after Gus and Larry have had their fill of Khaki (and a few animal crackers), they happily go back to their own driveway.
Unfortunately, you may never see a picture of Gus. Gus is a loveable Yellow Lab, but he’s a shy suitor – usually hiding behind Larry waiting for Khaki to come outside. And he’s also a quick moving, nervous dog. So, he’s hard to catch on film. I think he likes being elusive. . . makes him more mysterious.
And then there was more bunny business. This evening when I came home from work, B.E. (short for Bald Eagle, my hubby. . .but now I’ve actually spelled out Bald Eagle, I guess B.E. wasn’t short for anything now was it.) informed me that a baby bunny was hiding behind our freezer in the garage. I looked back there, and sure enough, there he was. Could this some how be the same bunny I saved from Oliver’s clutches last night? Maybe he’s come back to thank me and give me bunny kisses before he hops off into the woods forever. I immediately have visions of all the cute pictures I’ll take to share with you all before we turn him back out to the wild. B.E. on the other hand is not as excited. I think he spotted the mound of pellets behind the bunny that he had left for us. So, I change my clothes and set out to move the freezer and free my furry friend, but once I move the freezer a couple of inches I look back again and realize, he’s GONE!! Which means he’s on to us and he’s somewhere else in our garage. So the game of hide and seek begins. B.E. and I look everywhere without success. I left out some water and lettuce in the garage – half concerned something else beside the bunny is also out there and will eat it. More to come on this subject. . .
B.E. has been on the hunt for a snake ever since we moved here. We’re both very afraid of snakes. Well, B.E. would just say he doesn’t like snakes, but I’ve seen him do a dance through our side yard when he thought he was about to step on a dead garter snake, so afraid would be the right verb to use for both of us when it comes to snakes. We’ve heard many stories about snakes around here – not just garter snakes, but poisonous ones. So B.E. has become almost obsessed with them he’s so overly alert. I’m praying you don’t see a picture of a snake anytime in the future.
Totally off subject, but I did have a Mexican food craving over the weekend. This is a common craving for me, so I whipped up a couple of The Pioneer Woman’s (PW’s) Mexican recipes. Evidently she has Mexican food cravings, too, because she has several good Mexican recipes on her website. B.E. said the chicken tacos were “restaurant quality”. Wow! You can find them in the recipe section of my blog along with my tips on making them even better. Or you can just click here. . .
https://babybluebirdsbakery.wordpress.com/recipes/pws-pico-de-gallo-and-guacamole/
https://babybluebirdsbakery.wordpress.com/recipes/pws-chicken-tacos/
https://babybluebirdsbakery.wordpress.com/recipes/pws-mexican-rice-casserole/
Time to catch up on a little beauty sleep myself.
Baby Blue Bird (aka Dayna)
Happy Sunday,
This post is a two for the price of one – two different subjects, but under the same title of “A Match Made in Heaven”. This past weekend, the hubby and I celebrated ten years of marriage. Unfortunately, that’s quite a milestone in today’s society. Sometimes I have to remind myself that we are a match made in heaven, but I do completely believe that God brought my husband and I together for the long haul. The last six months or so have been pretty challenging with our relocation to Arkansas, but I know we are better together than apart, and God is always at work in our marriage. I’m very blessed to have such faithful, Christian husband.
It was a good weekend of reminiscing, and we spent a few nights away from The Nest exploring Northwest Arkansas. We went to Eureka Springs and explored Beaver Lake. And very importantly, our delighted dog, Khaki was able to come along, too. Did someone bark, “Road Trip”?!?!
We traveled across some beautiful scenery, and of course, ate some delicious food – including a banana split pie I must try to replicate soon. I did want to share one particular thing we saw. I’ve always loved architecture. As a child, I loved to make my own blueprints. In college my most favorite class was a history of architecture elective. I probably should have been an architect, but somehow I had a total mental block on how much I loved the subject when I was picking my major. It wasn’t until that elective my senior year that I had a V8 moment where I literally whacked myself on the forehead and said, “I should have been an architect!” Anyway, this church is called the Thorncrown Chapel. It’s an active church with regular Sunday services each week, and I thought it was simply breathtaking.
Now for the second meaning behind the title, “A Match Made in Heaven”. . . it’s finally time to talk baking!! This is a blog about me AND baking, so it’s finally time to get to the good stuff! And the good stuff to me is . . . (drumroll please) . . . butter and sugar! To me, that’s a total match made in heaven. So, it’s only fitting that we start out talking about baking with the ultimate sugar cookie recipe.
When we moved here to Arkansas, one of our new friends introduced me to The Pioneer Woman through a cookbook she gave me. And I have become completely enamored with The Pioneer Woman’s recipes. (Her real name is Ree Drummond in case you didn’t know.) You’ll notice a lot of her recipes on this blog, and this is the first one. She had such a vivid description of this cookie, I could almost taste it before I even creamed the sugar and butter together. And the real thing did not disappoint. This cookie tastes exactly the way Ree describes it in her first cookbook – “light, crisp, and melt-in-your-mouth”. Let’s just say it’s almost a shortbread, but just a slight bit too dense to be a shortbread. (Ree does have an outstanding shortbread cookie recipe on her website. I’ve made them and they’re A-MAZE-ING! I’m sure they’ll be the main attraction in one of my future blogs.) Here’s the link to the recipe from Ree’s website. http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/09/my-favorite-sugar-cookies/
I made the batter before we left on our trip Friday and had it chilling in the refrigerator for about 48 hours. That way I had something to look forward to Sunday night – nothing beats the Sunday night blues better than sugary, buttery bliss. Ree says to refrigerate the dough for an hour before baking. I’m not sure that’s really necessary. The batter was plenty firm before I refrigerated it, and by the time I baked the last batch it was back to room temperature. Of course I thought that last pan came out the best, but I guess that’s probably always true for me because it usually takes me that long to get the baking time perfect. Also, I’m finding that when I make Ree’s recipes it always makes more than what she says it will. I don’t know if I just made the cookies smaller than she did, but I had about 4 dozen compared to the recipes 18.
In the cookbook Ree has great pictures of the recipe process, which has been super helpful to me in the past, but I noticed on her website she didn’t have the normal pictures for this particular recipe, so allow me.
Use a cookie scoop to drop balls of dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet. I know this picture looks a little like mashed potatoes, but I swear this is really sugar cookie dough. Believe me, I don’t get this excited about mashed potatoes.
And then when the cookie dough balls are on the cookie sheet, I think it looks like scoops of ice cream. . .
Again, I promise this really is cookie dough. . . not mashed potatoes or ice cream. Here, I’ll prove it to you.
Take a drinking glass and smear the flat end with butter. Then dip the buttered end into sugar. Gently smash the cookie dough ball with the buttered and sugared end of the glass. IMPORTANT – Re-dip the glass in the sugar before smashing down each ball.
Ok, I guess that could still look like mashed potatoes, but wait. . .
This picture does not do the finished product justice, but it does demonstrate the size of my finished cookies and the fact that you can get about 4 dozen out of this recipe since I had one and a half more cookie sheets full to add to the bounty of sugar cookie bliss after I took this picture. Yummy!!
By the way, our little neighbor, Oliver, seemed to be protesting that he didn’t get to go on our road trip this weekend. After we emptied out the car, I went back outside and found this when I opened the garage door. . .
I think this is Little O’s way of saying, “Next time I go or this car doesn’t.” He’s such a crazy cat!!
Sweet dreams!
Baby Blue Bird (aka – Dayna)
Hello Friends!
Some days it’s easier to love NWA (Northwest Arkansas for you newbies) than others. Today the Bald Eagle (my hubby) was having a hard time finding much to love about NWA. I always try my dangedest to find something positive in everything. So let me list just a few things that have been really great about our experience here in Fayetteville so far.
My commute to the office is 12 minutes! For those of you daily commuters you know this is A-MAZE-ING! I don’t consider Cincinnati to be a real big city, but even there you have to live in an apartment, condo or row house to have that short of a commute. I had up to a 45 minute commute before we moved here, and I know that is a short commute for all you in LA and DC. The only time I had a commute even close to 12 minutes in Cincinnati, we could count 15 different homes we could see from our front porch. Here I have a 12 minutes commute, and this is the view from our front porch . . . 
Trees! Glorious Trees! We’ll get to the happiness and hazards of the woods some other time, but this view is much better than the roof tops of 15 other homes in my opinion.
And then sometimes I look out my front door and this is what I see . . .
Which leads me to another wonderful thing about our home in NWA . . . our neighbors. This little kitty is one of our neighbors. His name is Oliver. My husband calls him Little O (I told you, Bald Eagle likes to give the things he loves nicknames! Read https://babybluebirdsbakery.wordpress.com/about/ if you missed that part.) In this picture Little O’s about to take a nap in my empty flower box. He’s got the attitude of a dog and the body of a cat. He follows my husband and our dog around like a puppy. In fact, he’s totally in love with our dog, Khaki. He loves to rub up against her, chase behind her, try to ride on her back, etc. Most mornings when I get up Oliver is on the welcome mat of our front porch waiting (usually sleeping)for Khaki to come out for her morning walk. But outside of Oliver’s entertaining personality, he’s also a fierce hunter. In the short time we’ve lived here, he and his brother and sister cats have killed a snake, a rat and mole. Oliver knows how to earn his keep!
By the way, my flower box now has flowers in it. And Oliver is still partial to it . . .
This is kind of full circle to my first point, but we’re very fortunate to live on a beautiful piece of land. First of all, we live about a half mile off the road down a wooded, private drive. Let Khaki show you. . .
(Sidebar – Yes, this is Khaki taking herself for a walk with her leash in her mouth. She is definitely our off-spring – has to be in control at all times.)
We have 5 acres of woods with a small creek running through it. After a few dry days, it’s just a really pretty rock bed. But after a really good rain, it looks like this . . . .
My mom thinks this looks like a beautiful impressionist’s painting. And that’s a rose-bush there beside that creek. This week it’s in bloom . . .
My friend said you can smell it as soon as you step out the front door. Unfortunately, my sinus issues keep me from smelling most things. Sad when you’ve got a beautiful rose bush like this one. An unbelieveable blessing when you’re driving past one of NWA’s chicken farms.
So, that’s a bit of the bright side of life for now. I remind Bald Eagle tomorrow is another day, and we’re blessed to have had this one. He agrees. (I was going to end on some cheeky pun about life being a bed of roses, but I decided to spare you. You’re welcome.)
Until the next time . . .
Baby Blue Bird – aka Dayna
Baby Bluebird's Bakery 