Wisdom

 

Never trust someone who has let you down more than twice.

Once was a warning, twice was a lesson. 

The third time is just taking advantage.

            ... Lessons Taught By Life

Recipe - Costco Copy Cat Cake

Costco Sheet Cake Copy Cat Recipe As Found Online.

Ingredients For Cake:

3 cups white sugar

3 cups flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

3 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups milk, divided 

1 cup vegetable oil

4 eggs

4 teaspoons vanilla extract, divided

Directions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix white sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Add in the eggs one at a time and continue mixing.

With the mixer running, add in two cups milk, four teaspoons vanilla extract, and vegetable oil. Mix until just combined.

Generously spray two 9" x 13" cake pans with cooking spray. Add a piece of parchment on the bottom of the pan to be sure your cake won't stick to the pan. Divide the batter between the two cake pans and place in the oven. Bake cakes for 20 minutes until light golden brown. A toothpick inserted into the cake will tell you if the cake is completely baked.

Remove cakes from the oven and allow to cool while you prepare the filling and frosting.

NOTE: For the cake, I used a ready vanilla cake mix & to those instructions I added an extra egg, using milk instead of water & butter instead of oil.  What a difference!

Filling:

2 cups heavy whipping cream

½ cup milk

1 package instant vanilla pudding mix

 

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, add the two cups heavy whipping cream and half a cup of milk. Begin whipping your cream, and then add in the powdered pudding mix. Whip the mixture until the ingredients are combined, and then increase the speed to whip the mixture into a thick mousse.

Frosting:

1 cup butter

2 cups powdered sugar

½ cup milk

4 tsp vanilla extract

For the buttercream frosting, add the softened sticks of butter to the mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Whip the butter until smooth and gradually add in two cups of powdered sugar while the mixer is running. Gradually add in half a cup of milk. Add in four teaspoons vanilla extract. Continue to gradually add in the rest of the powdered sugar while the mixer is running, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula as needed. Once all ingredients are incorporated and your frosting begins to form, increase the speed of the mixer to whip the frosting.

Fill the cake by placing one cake layer on a cardboard cake board or platter. Cover the first layer with the mousse filling, and then top it with the second cake layer. Frost the top and sides of your cake, and decorate as desired.

 

Me On A Monday - August 28th

 

Good Morning.  I am coming to grips that this is the last Monday in August. It seems I blinked & the month is gone.  Although I cannot complain that it wasn't a good month.  Lots of joys throughout the month.  I had a craving for Costco's "slab birthday cake" & while I knew it was too big for us, I did find a copy cat recipe for it, which I made for my birthday.  Oh My Goodness, the filling was simply the easier thing to make & Oh My Goodness it was delicious beyond anything I had hoped for.  My icing was too sweet for me, but easy to make.  I will share the recipe as a separate post later today.

Currently Reading: I started to read The Beguiling, a book that I had read the jacket description for & was intrigued but once I started reading the book, I was more than disappointed.  This is a book that I really want to send the author a bill for my time wasted & I didn't even finish the book.  Thankfully I had a few other enjoyable reads; The Secret River & A Room Made of Leaves by Kate Grenville.  

I also read, The Fifth Business by Robertson Davies.  For anyone in the theatre, a fifth business character is neither the hero/herione, the confidante nor villain, but which were none the less essential in the plot to bring about the Recognition or denouement.  The fifth business character while unremarkable is vital to several of the main characters story. Have you ever been the fifth business in someone's life or in a specific situation? 

Currently In The Garden:  I've read in a local F/B Garden Group, that I am part of, that 6 weeks after the first Golden Rod blooms are seen, we can expect the first frost.  If that is true, then this area can expect the first frost end of September!!!  Golden Rod for the most part in our region is a weed & grows in abundance on the side of the road & in wild fields.  Golden Rod is often confused with Ragweed which is the hay fever inducer at this time of year.  A big difference between the two is that Golden Rod has bright yellow flowers that contain nectar for pollinating insects. Ragweed has inconspicuous flowers that do not contain nectar but a light pollen that blows easily on the wind. 

Currently Making Choices:  I will be taking a break from Me On A Monday & Wisdom Wednesday for the month of September.  I will return on Monday October 2nd with the link in for the final SPSH finds.  

I may not be as regular checking in with you either.  There are some projects in my life either as the main character or the fifth business that need tending to.  

Be well my friends & I hope you enjoy the last of summer's joys. 🙌

Wisdom

 

If you cannot be the pencil to write someone's happiness, then try to be the eraser that removes their sadness.

                        ... Inspiration Power Boost

Me On A Monday - 2nd SPSH Link In

 

Welcome to the second link in of the 2023 Summer Photo Scavenger Hunt.📷  👀

Here's a list, in no particular order, or those indicating that they wanted to participate in the SPSH 2023.  If I have forgotten anyone, I apologize & please let me know in the comments & I'll add you to the list. 👧

Ruth At This West London Life

Bless At My Two Cents 

Liz At Life At The Gables

Deb At Deb's World

Karen At 365 Photos

Leslie At Once Upon a Time Happily Everafter

Karen at Random Reflections

My recent finds: 

#5 A Bridge: From our recent adventure to Fergus.

#6 A School:  This is a school for dogs & I must say they all seem to be enjoying recess:

#11 Extraordinary Water:  the lake at our local conservation park.

#12 Summer Tools.  Weed spray (vinegar, Epsom salts, dish soap); watering can, gloves, clippers, hand spade, hand rake, hand hoe & the all-important kneeler pad.

The 2023 SPSH end date is September 30th, so our next & final link in to share the final finds will be on Monday October 2nd.  See you then.

Wisdom

Hate has talked so loudly for so long.  Greed has talked so loudly for so long.  Liars have talked so loud for so long.

Love has to stop whispering.

                    ... Marianne Williamson

Me On A Monday - August 14th

 Good Morning.  A reminder that next Monday, August 21st is our 2nd link in for the 2023 SPSH.  What have you found so far?

Currently Reading:  finishing up the 2nd book in the Ashmore Castle series. I was a little bored with it, too much conversation dialogue & the plot is far too predictable IMO.  Also read two new to me author,  Shari Lapena books; "Someone We Know" & "The Unwanted Guest".  I liked & thank you Chris for recommending this author to me.

Currently Watching: we tried Luther on Brit Box. We watched all of series one & 3 episodes of series two. I'm done with Luther, too graphic & giving me too many difficult nights of nightmares. Although my favourite character in the series was Alice.  We just finished up with DI Ray (series 1); Grantchester & more of Ridley.

Currently In The Garden:  the Bluejays (birds) have returned after a summer in the forest of raising their young. It's a small start to the signals of the end of summer.  I am having a difficult time with the black squirrels, one in particular, "he's" quite naughty & has a destructive streak in him.  So far "he" has chewed through the rope that held my swinging monk & then "he" chewed through the bird feeder ring causing it to collapse & spill all the seed.  Black squirrels are native to us as are the reds.  

We continue to get a fair amount of rain which keeps the garden & lawns well watered & me indoors.  The weeds are taking over!  I've been taking close up photos of areas of my garden which are too full & will need thinning out this Autumn.

Currently Learning Something New: I did not know until this week, that the British Standards Institute has a 5,000 word report on making tea.  One of their conclusions, is that milk goes in the cup/mug first - (fist pump) YES! My Gran taught us that mostly so we didn't have to stir the tea/milk combo thus saving the use of a spoon ... I'll say no more

And I will leave you with this thought: I'm not just so obsessed with tea. Sometimes I'm thinking about snacks or how I wish some people would be quiet.  I am a cake with many layers!

Wisdom

 

And when it is all over & I am asked what did with my life, I want to be able to say, I offered love.

                ... Terri St Cloud

Me On A Monday - August 7th

 

It's a holiday Monday here; from Wikipedia:

Civic Holiday (French: congé civique) is a public holiday in Canada celebrated on the first Monday in August.^[1]

Though the first Monday of August is celebrated in most of Canada as a public holiday,^[2] it is only officially known as "Civic Holiday" in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories, where it is a territorial statutory holiday.

In other provinces and municipalities, the holiday is known by a variety of names, including British Columbia Day in British Columbia, New Brunswick Day in New Brunswick, and Saskatchewan Day in Saskatchewan; all of these places celebrate the date as a provincial statutory holiday.

The holiday is celebrated as Heritage Day in Alberta;^[3] Natal Day in Nova Scotia,^[4] in commemoration of the founding of the Halifax–Dartmouth area; and as Terry Fox Day in Manitoba, in honour of the Manitoba-born athlete.^[5] The date is also celebrated as several municipal holidays in Ontario, such as Simcoe Day in Toronto, John Galt Day in Guelph, and Colonel By Day in Ottawa. Despite its special designations, the day is not a statutory holiday in Nova Scotia, Manitoba, Alberta, or Ontario; however, it is commonly observed by all levels of government, financial institutions and some businesses.^[6]

On the weekend it was my fur girls' birthday & of course we celebrated with cake!

I hope you all have a wonderful day, what ever you may call it 😎

Wisdom

 

When a clown moves into a palace, he does not become a king.  The palace becomes a circus.

                ... Turkish Proverb