Cakes and Bakes

Tuesday. 8.20 a.m. I took Alfie out for his usual outing along Strudwick Drive at around 5.25. It was relatively mild thank goodness. No rain or excessive sunshine. On the way towards Oldbrook Green, there is an oak tree on the grassed area with bushes around in, just behind the bus stop. Alfie always stops there to have a sniff and a wee, but fortunately, he didn't see the black and white cat hiding behind some of the foliage. If he had there would most definitely have been a great deal of barking. The cat was very still and quiet. I think it must have realized that moving with a very vociferous dog was not in its own interests.

I'm back in the kitchen, baking cakes. I have just this minute put two tins of Victoria Sponge into the oven. They should be ready to remove in around 20 minutes. Closely following Delia Smith's recipe. I have actually doubled up the quantities as the first time I made a sponge it came out really think. Probably because I didn't include baking powder in the mixture. I presume it produces more air and that would make it rise far more. Just have to wait and see how this turns out.

Currently working on the plot for a new storyline. This will, hopefully, run concurrently with what I've already written. 

Later. 4.40 p.m. The Victoria sponge didn't come out quite as it should have done. Unfortunately, it hadn't been in the oven long enough. Either the oven wasn't set to quite the right temperature or the bake wasn't long enough. Just a couple more minutes I would have said. It tasted fine, but not up to my usual standards.

Wednesday. 6.00 a.m. Alfie and I did our usual thing and were out around 5.35 but he didn't intend to walk any further than he needed to, determinedly took me home to the flat when he'd done what he needed to. So that was that.

Milk went off again! I wanted to make a cup of tea yesterday evening and when I poured it out into my mug, it came out as yogurt, not that I would want to eat it. The 'best before' date was 4th August, so it should have lasted a good deal longer than it did, so that means no tea or breakfast cereal this morning- yet again! Why is this? I reckon it's a good deal older when it's dated at the dairy, so by the time you buy it, it's virtually out of date. Mystery, nevertheless.

I've been grappling with setting up my FitBit, which has been laying on the unit in my bedroom for months. I've managed to charge it (it is a Charge 3, for those who are interested.) which is something of an annoyance as I'm never sure it is charging when I put it in the charging device. You have to get the gold contacts to connect with those in the charging device and it should vibrate to show it's working. I have also managed to reset the time on it by using the app on my iPhone and it now seems fine. You can change the clock face and I have managed to set a new one, so it's up and running and I can keep a track of the number of steps walked during the day. So, another box ticked.