Monthly Archives: December 2010

The experiment continues

When the Thriller and I were out west on our Route 66 Odyssey last summer, I tasted a Hostess Chocodile for the first time. It was delicious, but I remember thinking, “Mavis and I could probably come up with something tastier than this.” As a result, the Chocodoodle was born. Some of you may already know that Mavis and I are starting a side-business, to hopefully sustain us in our dotage (and to accompany our Social Security benefits, if in fact there are any to be had 10 years hence). We are in the very beginning stages. We’ve yet to write a business plan, but that’s on the calendar. So is contacting health department officials and getting all the preliminary paperwork underway.

Right now, our little two-person company, Mavis and the Bird, is experimenting with recipes. Our Chocodoodles (we are in the process of trademarking the name — surprisingly, no one’s licensed it yet) are the first order of business. [We also know that “chocodoodles” are a rather obscure variation on the snickerdoodle cookie, but we feel there won’t be that much confusion. I mean, I just bought chocodoodles.com, and every variation — .net, .biz, .org, etc. — was available as well.] At present, we’re using Hostess Twinkies as our sponge cake base, but we won’t be doing that for long. We’ve happened on some good cake recipes, to which we will add our own special touches. When that’s done, we will switch over to the homemade cakes.

We’ve always loved to play around in the kitchen, Mavis and I. Over the years, our family have said on numerous occasions, “You should sell this stuff!” We’d always agree and say, “Yeah, we really should,” but then time would march and we’d forget. Well, this time, we decided to remember.

In all my research, there hasn’t yet appeared a bakery or confectionery that uses chocolate covered sponge cakes with cream filling as their specialty. We plan to make it ours. All the major holidays, office parties, birthday parties (why not serve individual Chocodoodles instead of baking a cake?), craft shows, baby showers, mail-orders all over the country…it’ll hopefully keep two old ladies busy. Mavis and the Bird have high hopes of being the next Harry & David.

Well maybe not. :-) But we’ll at least be available for anything local.

And we know that Chocodoodles are not health food. They’re an occasional indulgence for a special day or event, and that will be the crux of our marketing strategy. Still, we will use only the best ingredients available. Our cake will have about eleven ingredients — less than half that of a Twinkie.

There’s a lot to think about. But if you don’t think big, you’ll never climb out of the foxhole, right?

Happy Sumday. Time for some coffee and thinking about chocolate things.

Doodles Day

Chocodoodles, that is. I will provide pictures, so maybe you will want to place an order. Eh, fiends? What say?

I read in the newspaper this morning about the heartbreaking 2-point loss our school suffered against a conference opponent last night. The columnist said that our players got into some trouble because they were “a little too aggressive” at times. Ya think?

Hahaha. Our resident basketball official, RD, has no doubt seen this and worse. I think it’s kind of funny. You know — coverage sack, basketball version. Way to play ’em, Trojans!

So today we make the Chocodoodles. I am going to take some to school for our faculty Christmas party on Tuesday. My colleagues will function as crash test dummies, per se. Then it’s off to the test kitchen over Christmas break, where Mavis and I will attempt to find and perfect the best sponge cake recipe ever. So much to do, so little time.

Happy weekend!

OH, and is PK the absolute best? She made me the most beautiful pink and black mini-pocketbook. It is the perfect size for my digital camera. She is top-drawer. Thank you, dear fiend! :-)

Photo: Steve Stokes, Ashland Times-Gazette

At long last II

It’s Finkday. It has been a heck of a long week, fiends. Like two weeks stuffed into one — and I’ve only had school four days. Monday’s snow day feels like forever ago. Maybe it’s because of the marathons of Tuesday and Wednesday.

Last night was nice. BFF Kay and Bob came over for our customary Thursday night dinner and movie, and they brought delicious gnocchi with beef. We watched Goblet of Fire. Maybe we can get Order of the Phoenix and Half-Blood Prince in over the next week or so, and then go to the theater to catch Deathly Hallows before it falls out of circulation and into waiting-for-DVD purgatory. Then we’ll be all caught up.

Perhaps the next Movie Night series should be the Narnia films. I’ve never seen any of them. Are they good?

OK, time to go make the donuts. And tomorrow — the Chocodoodles. Yay!

The good, the bad…

…and the Scrooges.

Take a hundred-fifty 10- through 14-year-olds and put on a fun, uplifting and (if I do say so myself) quite musical performance, and all some folks can do is complain.

I felt bad for my superintendent last night. He couldn’t even watch the first choir because he was trapped out in the hallway, cornered by people who thought 7 p.m. was a great time to jaw about the lack of seating space in our phony little excuse for a theater. (Look up the word “cafetorium” or “auditeria.”)

“Why can’t she do concerts in the gym?”

Because, dear fiends, of little things like the repeated schlepping of sound and lighting equipment, the need for an acoustical shell to be set up/torn down every time, scheduling conflicts with athletics (because I’m not allowed to do concerts on Sundays), and a couple of other reasons. Ain’t nobody gettin’ paid enough for that noise. So there you have it. I’m going all diva and saying the unsayable: My students deserve better, and until they get it, we can just deal with things the way they are. I’m not above adjusting concert times and the like (though I am convinced you cannot please everyone, and the super will get even more phone calls and impromptu meetings in the hallway), but moving the venue? Uh-uh.

Of course, the opinions expressed above are that of Rat Fink, and not necessarily of anyone in my school district. So, um…please don’t call my superintendent. I’m pretty sure he doesn’t want to hear about the choirs for awhile.

But here’s a fun thing: the concerts went well and I’m DONE for another Christmas. Today, we start on spring music.

They love me, hahahaha

FO

New attitude: check.

Not an attitude check, but attitude — check.

I knew last night was going to have a couple of rough spots, but I chose to not worry about it, and it was lovely. The kids came through, and I was proud of one and all. Two were out sick (both went home from school during the day, so at least they made an effort to be there), but everyone else showed up in the single-digit temperatures, and the audience was great.

There’s something to be said about the conscious decision to stop fretting. It took me a lot of self-talk. You know, the out-loud kind, when you’re alone. They’ve done their best; just about everything I’ve asked of them. There might be some cracks in the mortar, but no one will notice but us. Just relax and enjoy the experience of a bunch of teenagers actually choosing to make art. And it worked. Imagine that.

Those who know me also know that the above comes at a great price. In music (though not in life in general), I’m a fixer. I will go to almost any length to get “the sound.” Well, short of calling evening rehearsals before concerts. Even I have my limits. :-)

Regardless, it’s all over with for another Christmas season after one more, and I’m certain I’m not alone in my relief. Every music teacher in America feels my happiness. Tonight is grades 5-8; should be fun.

Until the flip side…