A post in which it is the Kindred gathering

The first thing I did when I woke up this morning (early - I was up before the freakin' alarm I forgot to turn off) was check email.  We hadn't heard from Geoff on whether or not he would be coming, and I wanted to know.  There was an email from him, and they were coming.  I was glad.  He specifically said in the email that he and Tori had discussed it and she had encouraged him to re-connect.  I have to say that impressed me.  I immediately sent her a commendatory email.  With all that happened last year, she had to step aside from a big hurt to exhort him to come - and to come with him.  I wouldn't have blamed her if she had never wanted to see us again.  It takes a big person to look around that for the sake of their partner.  I am a firm believer in giving credit where credit is due. 

That done, I headed to the store for butter.  Since the butter had to be put out to come to room temperature before I could start my cake, that had to be done first thing.  When I got back from the store, I threw some cheese popcorn in the microwave for breakfast (hey, it was on sale, and I wanted it - and there were certainly worse things I could eat, right?).  I was hungry.  After breakfast, I confronted the orange cheese-powder stains on the clean shirt I'd put on to go to the store.  I swear I'm going to ruin every shirt I own.

After that, I finally got around to taking an inventory of the things I needed to bake my cake.  It has been months since I did any baking, and I had no idea what was in the house.  Additionally, I used almond flavoring in place of the lemon flavoring in a pound cake I'm making for Lady Beth, since she can't abide it (and of course Russ chimes right in there).  I figured I was out, but apparently I had used the last of it the last time I baked and gotten some more, so I had a new bottle.  What I was out of was cake flour, plus I didn't have enough sugar.  I had also completely forgotten to get any cream.  Dammit.  I also realized I hadn't put out enough eggs, so I put out two more. 

Since I rationalized that the butter had to be set out anyway and the other eggs had to come to temperature too, I decided to take a wee nappie.  I did sleep for a bit, but not much.  I fell into the internet vortex and chased guys for a while to absolutely no purpose or result. 

Eventually I got disgusted with that and went back to the store (for the third freakin' time) to complete the ingredients I needed to bake what I was calling in my head a 'forgotten' cake, since I had forgotten to get basically everything that went in it.  On the way back to the house I started figuring time in my head.  Because I had wasted so much of the morning, I was going to be pushing it to get everything done.

I threw a frozen lunch in the microwave and started working on my cake.  I was nervous about it.  Because I was making it for the Kindred, I of course wanted it to be perfect, and I was out of practice.  Plus I felt kind of rushed.  I've had enough of these fall to be kind of superstitious about it.  Baking a pound cake, for me, can be a surprisingly zen thing.  If I'm upset, I can't bake - my cakes will fall.  So I made a conscious effort to relax.  There was an old Margaret Rutherford (as Miss Marple) movie on TCM, called Murder Ahoy! It's one of my favorites. I turned that on and listened to the movie while I measured, sifted, and beat the batter.  Since I hadn't made one in so long, I made sure to take my time and be very methodical.  Making a pound cake is like making love to a reluctant woman (perhaps that's why I have had such issues with it)- you have to go slow and steady.  At one point I thought I had broken my batter by adding too much liquid at once, but it came back together, and it was some of the nicest-looking pound cake batter I've ever made.  Of course that's no indication of how the cake will turn out. Nonetheless, when I got it in the oven, I breathed a sigh of relief.  I called Rhonda to tell her I would be just a smidgen late to pick her up.  I laid out my clothes and got my cake out of the oven. It turned out nicely.  I left it to cool as I showered. 

When I got out, I had to go ahead and glaze it.  Despite adding extra butter to the glaze, and the cake still being warm, my glaze turned out a bit too thick, and looked a little gloppy, but other than that it was fine.  I was a bit worried about the crumb texture, etc, but at least it hadn't fallen.  I quickly loaded up the car and ran to get Rhonda.  We were barely late at all, but since the party started at 6pm, that wasn't a huge issue. 

The party started off with a circle.  We affirmed each other, and we all talked about the things for which we were grateful.  Needless to say, I didn't have to think very hard about that one.  Then we presented Geoff with his Master's Cover.  That had been discussed ahead of time, and was very touching. 

And then it was time for FOOD.  Lady Beth prepared her lovely baked ziti, which is scrumptious.  Everything was good.  Almost before I knew it, it was time for dessert.  I am usually my own worst critic, but I have to say the pound cake was a triumph - probably one of the best I have ever made.  The crumb was fine, the crust was delightfully crunchy/chewy/sugary.  It was a great cake, and worth the pains I took. 

It was great to see everyone.  Lynn was in town and I got to spend a little time talking to she and Lady Beth with just the three of us.  I had done some thinking about an issue that had been weighing on me this morning, and I talked to them about it.  They were supportive, and Lady Beth, being Lady Beth offered not just advice, but a practical solution, God bless her.  Although I was very touched by her gift to me, I feel disappointed to be another person taking from Lady Beth.  She is so giving, and so selfless.  As with parents, so many people seem to believe that her energy/resources/self are infinite.  They aren't.  I worry that she's burning herself up trying to take care of everyone else when she is not in the best of health.  I took her gift very gratefully, first because I know it would have hurt her for me to refuse, and secondly because there was no way for me to refuse without being rude.  But I was kind of disappointed in myself for doing it.  Completely without justification of course.  The only thing that salved my conscience was that I had been speaking with her only for advice.  It had never crossed my mind that she would directly intervene.  Knowing her as I do though, it should have. 

It was a lovely evening, and seemed to go by in a whirl.  Before I even knew it, people started to go.  I thought people were leaving early until I looked at my phone and realized it was 11:30!  When I realized the time, I rounded up Rhonda, the veggie ziti (I usually get the left-overs of that - Yay), the gifts, and my Rhondee, and pointed Gracine back towards Greenville.