A few weeks back I sent my mom an e-mail booking a date to bake. I knew that I wanted to bake a bunch of goodies this year and it seemed only right that I do so with my mom. You might ask why I want to do this? Especially given past baking experiences with my beautiful copper tops. The reason is because I want them to have as many fond memories of baking as I do.
With the date set, the girls and I anticipated our day of baking more and more as it got closer. Saturday morning with the day finally here and the ingredients loaded in the car, I headed to my mom's house just before 9am. I made it about 2 miles when I realized I had forgotten all my baking pans and cooling racks. Yes, my mom has some. However, with the amount we wanted to accomplish we needed mine as well. So I turned around heading back to the house. I get to the house, go upstairs and begin going through the cupboards and pulling out anything and everything I think I might need. I had three cooling racks, two cookies sheets, 1 glass 9x13 and 1 metal 9x13, 2 loaf pans, 1 metal 8" square pan, 1 glass 9" square pan, four large rectangular tubperwares, plastic wrap, and . . . I think that was all. So I have all these things in a large stack in the middle of the kitchen floor and I think to myself "I can carry these, easy!" Using my knees and not my back I lower down, scoop under and stand back up, leaning the stack ever so slightly towards my upper body to ballance it. I head for the door.
Luckily I had left the door open so I didn't have to open it but I realize I have no way to shut it. I try to grab it with my foot and pull it shut with no success. I decide to come back up the stairs after I load these into the car. Uh, oh! How am I going to get this gigantic stack of pans, racks and tubperware into the jeep? At this point I have still not headed downstairs, so I could have placed half my stack onto the table and come back for it. But no. I decide I can figure it out when I get down there and down the stairs I go.
Once down the stairs and to the back of the jeep I raise my right leg to a 90 degree bent angle, ballancing the stack on the top of my leg while then using my foot to pulll open the latch on the back door. Once the latch releases, I let go with my foot. My leg, however is being used now to help me ballance the stack of stuff and if I move it the stuff will most likely fall to the ground. I can't let go with my hands because my hands are keeping the stack all together. So with the back of my arm and shoulder I crouch down (keep in mind my leg is still lifted and bent in a 90 degree angle - it is not touching the ground) and try to catch the edge of the back door and hopping forward pull the door gradually until I can ballance it onto my shoulder. Once onto my shoulder I am able to bounce backwards and get my head under the door. At this point I fling my head back to get enough momentum under the door to push it all the way up. I am successfull. I then put my foot (of the lifted legg) into the back of the jeep, lower the stack into the back softly, take my leg back and shut the door. I then look around wishing someone had just seen this amazing accomplishment - no broken bones, no broken dishes.
I then get back into the car and begin to head out of the driveway towards my moms. I then remember that I had left the front door open because I had no free hands. I circle the driveway, run up the stairs and shut the door, and then head out.
Although the day started off a little scary, it was a success. I found that I was looking forward to it moras much as my girls if not more. Although they both love to bake and especially loved the process of shredding chocolate, they did not care too much for the waiting necessary to make almond roca. They wanted immediate results. They ended up playing and watching Christmas movies most of the day with a few sneaks to get some goodies.
1 comment:
That sounds like quite the acrobatic feat! LOL That sounds like so much fun! I haven't baked like that since I was a kid!
Post a Comment