April Surprises!

Jenn McKinlay: April is always a big month for me for two very good reasons. First, it is my wedding anniversary (27 years this year) and second, spring has finally taken root. Ha! See what I did there? Spring? Root? Very punny, I know. Julia covered the melancholy that comes with the arrival of April, and I do get it, but I tend to see it as more of a month of surprises.

The wedding anniversary is a big deal because quite honestly, I spent most of my life not planning to marry. Not that I have anything against marriage. It just wasn't part of my agenda. I blame my brother. We're Irish twins and since he was only 11 months older than me, I just did whatever he did. I mean, really, why play house when you can play pirates?

This attitude pretty much shaped my formative years. My poor mother used to put me in a dress every day and then as soon as her car pulled out of the driveway, she was a high school librarian, I ran back upstairs and changed into my play clothes (jeans and T-shirt) and then went to school. This went on until my second grade teacher sent home a note ratting me out because she was concerned that I was wearing the same clothes to school every day and, yeah, I kind of smelled.

Suffice to say, my mother got shorted on the daughter front. She did not get a mani-pedi buddy in her little girl, no instead she got a pre-adolescent who announced that she was going to travel the world and have four children but never marry. Yes, I did! I think it is a testament to her Connecticut Yankee constitution that she didn't stroke out but just smiled and nodded and said, "We'll see."

Fast forward a few years and a few boyfriends later and there I was married to the other half of our whole. Mom was quite relieved. So April is always a favorite month for me because it really does make me believe in the unexpected. Sort of like gardening in central Arizona, I am always delighted when my peach and pomegranate trees bloom and later fruit. Spring always amazes! As does life!

So, Reds and Readers, what is your favorite thing about spring?

Good-byes: Quick or Lingering

JENN McKINLAY: Good-byes. I’m terrible at them. I’m not sure why but I think it has something to do with my XX chromosomes because I know I am not alone in this lingering at the train station until the last possible second and then having to run and execute an undignified skirt in the air leap to catch the train because talking about the incoming weather is so much more important than, you know, actually getting my butt on the train.

I was at a conference years ago where I stayed up until the wee hours of the morning with my writer buddies talking like we were solving all of the world’s problems - we were not - when we finally called it a night, or rather a day, since the sun was coming up.

Do you think we managed to mumble ‘good night’ and part? Oh, no, we stood there sagging on our feet, trying to figure out when we’d meet up the next day at the conference just to say good-bye, because it was the last day and we were all headed home. This went on for fifteen minutes when I finally looked at my gal pals and said, “If we were dudes, we’d just knuckle bump and say ‘see ya’ and it’d be cool.”

This inability to end things extends to my relationships as well. I am the queen of the ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ talk. I’m so good at it, in fact, I think there are a few people out there who aren’t even aware that we’ve broken up. Again, I blame the XX. Hub, like all manimals, has the XY and I suspect the Y stands for “Why are we still here talking when we could be gone already?” or “Why is this person calling me? We were done ages ago. Was I not clear?” I tried to explain that my ineptitude in adios is really a disability. He didn’t get it. Ghosting from social events was created for this man.

I have struggled with endings my entire life -relationships, jobs, even some friendships. But now that I've reached a certain age, I have discovered that there’s an upside to saying good-bye swiftly. Once you get over it, you get to say hello to something new! Say it with me now: “Hello, exciting new adventure!”

Now I could be a scaredy-cat and worry that I won’t like the next job, friendship, or career move as much as the one I'm leaving. And I could refuse to try something new and keep my life exactly the same. But life is just too short not to do what you love with whom you love in a place that you love. So here’s my unsolicited advice, because I’m so good at giving it but not taking it - unless by force - figure out what you need to do to say good-bye to the old and GO FOR THE NEW!

So, how about you, Reds and Readers, are you good at good-byes and making changes or not so much?

Lemon Poundcake Shenanigans

 JENN McKINLAY: Social media can sure feel like a giant cesspool, but every now and then a little gem comes along that entertains me and reminds me that there are some seriously funny people out there. So, last week as I was harvesting lemons and trying to figure out what to do with them, I came across a dude called Afroman and his song about a deputy who was searching his house and paused to eyeball his mama's lemon poundcake. Naturally, Afroman wrote a song about it.

Now, the stars (read Sheriffs) who were featured in Afroman's video which was posted three years ago, took offense to the video and sued Afroman for defamation. This was where it came across my radar because the court case was bonkers! You can Google the case to find out what happened as there will be no spoilers here! But I will say Sheriff Poundcake's ex-wife was Afroman's lone witness. 

In any event, the whole thing gave me a hankering for lemon poundcake, so I made one! 

Here's the recipe, inspired by Seasons & Suppers but tweaked a bit:

Loaf:

• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature

  3/4 cup white sugar

  3 large eggs, room temperature

  2 Tbsp lemon zest,1 large lemon

  1 Tbsp lemon juice

  2 tsp vanilla

  1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

  1/4 tsp table salt

  1/4 tsp baking soda

  1/4 tsp baking powder

  1/3 cup Greek yogurt

  Glaze:

  1 cup icing/confectioners' sugar
  2 Tbsp lemon juice or whatever amount achieves desired consistency

• Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 325 F. Grease an 8x4-inch loaf pan.

  2. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream the butter with the sugar at medium speed until light colored and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and beat in well after each addition, scraping down the sides of the bowl, as needed. Beat in the lemon zest, lemon juice and vanilla.

  3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder. With mixer on low, add the flour mixture to the butter mixture alternately with the Greek yogurt.

  4. Scrape into prepared 8x4-inch loaf pan and level batter. Bake in preheated oven for 50-55 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

  5. Allow to cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then run a knife along the edges to loosen and remove from pan. Allow to cool on a cooling rack.

  6.  While loaf is still a little warm, prepare the glaze in a small bowl, adding enough lemon juice to make a pourable glaze. Drizzle on top, allowing it to drip down the sides a bit. Cool completely, then slice and enjoy.

• So, who else watched the Afroman court saga? Or more importantly, who loves lemon poundcake?