93 days until I get married!!! :-) Yay!
Right now there is a "gooey fudge cake" in my oven. Intriguing recipe. You make the main batter, then top it with cocoa-enhanced brown sugar (a lot of it), and then drizzle boiling hot water on top! Afterwards into the oven for forty minutes. I hope it turns out well.
"What's the occasion?" you might ask.... Is it a Valentine's Day treat for my fiance? Nope. Just for fun? Nope. It's for my daddy! Today he gave his two weeks' notice to one of his jobs! He's been working two full time jobs for around six years now (yes, that means 80 hours a week). The one that he's quitting he'd been working at for over 25 years. Anyway, he's been promising to quit for about.....6 years now(to his credit, while stalling he paid off an incredible amount of debt, almost unbelievable). But, today is a day to celebrate! Dad loves chocolate, so why not gooey fudge cake? I haven't figured out dinner yet, but I figure I have some time (Mom and Dad don't get off until 10:45 PM).
In other news, I'm learning a lot about potting soil. Chocolate cake, mud pies, potting soil....all run together, right? No, I didn't put any dirt into the cake. I wonder if cocoa powder would be good for soil.... Anyway, I'm doing an independent study class to finish up my botany minor. I worked a bit with soils last semester, comparing different mixes (Hyponex=eeew!, Expert Grower=strong start, deplorable finish, Miracle Gro=not bad, Cal's=much much better). Cal is the greenhouse manager at OU and is full of plant wisdom. He mixes his own soil and it's quite a good mix. Unfortunately, I won't always be around Norman to get soil directly from Cal. And, although I have his recipe, it won't particularly be practical for me, at least not for quite a few years.
So, what do I do knowing I have to use sub-par soil? I amend it! So, that's my experiment for the independent study. I bought the Expert Grower potting mix, knowing it was not the greatest, but also not the worst, and fairly reasonably priced. We've mixed in various things and potted up some zinnias in the new mixes. Now I have to watch and record any happenings. I'm excited! Did you know that you can tell a lot about soil from how it smells? It's true! Anyway, if you have any soil questions, feel free to ask and I'll be happy to tell you what I've learned so far. No guarantees. ;-)
