McYummy

"Mom, is it okay if I bake something?" Little Girl asked.

All day and half the night, i answered.  You know you are welcome to bake whenever you want.

"Yeah, but I just wanted to make sure you weren't about to use the toaster oven."

Nope, it's all yours.

"And do you still have those pans that fit in it?"

Sure, they're right here.

"Cool."  She spent a few minutes gathering ingredients and then said, "This recipe is really originally an experiment someone did, and I just want to try it."

As she puttered and mixed, she noted that we are almost out of vanilla.

Time to buy some vodka, then, i said.

"What!" #1 Son almost yelled as he came in.   "Did I hear you talk about buying vodka?"

To put in with the vanilla beans, i explained.  You leave it for about six months, and you have vanilla extract.  That's what extract is, mostly, alcohol.

"Oh, I didn't know that," he said.

"Yeah, so mom buys vodka once in a while to make more vanilla," Little Girl said.

"And since you just use it to make vanilla, i guess it doesn't matter what kind you get, you just buy cheap stuff?" he asked.

Actually, i noted, the better the brand of vodka, the better quality the extract, so i don't just buy rot gut brands.

"Rot gut is right!" he said.  "I can't stand the taste of vodka, that stuff is nasty.  I don't know how anyone can drink it!"

A little while later, Little Girl pulled her finished creation out of the toaster oven, topped it with one mixture, and made the icing that went on top of that.  She had plenty of icing left, so when she cut a pice, she put it on her plate and drizzled more icing on.

"Oooh, this is good!" she said.

"What's good?" #2 Son asked.

"This cinnamon cakey-type dessert I just made.  Have some!"

He helped himself, took a bite, and exclaimed, "Cinnamon Melts!  This tastes exactly like the Cinnamon Melts we serve at McDonalds!"

"Really?" she asked.  "I've never had those!"

"This tastes exactly like them!  The cake part is a bit different texture, but the taste is exactly like it!  Festus!  Come taste this!"

Festus came and tasted.  "Yummm!" was his pronouncement.  "It tastes just like Cinnamon Melts!"

"See, I told you!" #2 Son said.  "You came up with a recipe for Cinnamon Melts, but better!  Kid, you did good!"

#1 Son, Bigger Girl, and Sweetie also had their share, and all agreed.  It was good.

They attacked so fast, i only got a picture of half of it.  This part didn't last long, either.

Today is

Baby Boomer Recognition Day

Baymen's Seafood and Music Festival -- Tuckerton, NJ, US (this year including a micro-brewers tent with the seafood and music; through tomorrow)

Eastern Music Festival --  Guilford College, Greensboro, NC, US (an acclaimed festival and school, with world-class guest artists; through July 26)

Father's Day -- Egypt; Jordan; Lebanon; Palestine; Syria; Uganda

Go Skateboarding Day -- and break something?  leaving this to the young; sponsored by the International Association of Skateboard Companies (IASC)http://www.goskateboardingday.org/

GRABAAWR / GReat Annual Bicycle Adventure Along the Wisconsin River -- WI, US (fun bicycle adventures for all ages, levels, and abilities; through next Saturday)

KCQ Country Music Fest -- Saginaw, MI, US (country music's hottest stars, classic car show, art fair, and great food)

Long Beach Bayou and Blues Festival -- Rainbow Lagoon, Long Beach, CA, US (celebrating Cajun/Creole culture, food, music, arts and crafts, and even a Mardi Gras parade; through tomorrow)

Longest Dam Race -- Fort Peck, MT, US (a run that crosses 1.8 miles of the Fort Peck Dam, as well as a fun run, a bike race, and more)

Madame Lou Bunch Day -- Central City, CO, US (Old Flop House Celebration of the Madam who ran the city's most famous house of ill repute during the gold rush, complete with period costumes and a brass bed race!)

Martyr's Day -- Togo

Mermaid Parade -- Coney Island, Brooklyn, NY, US (wacky and wonderful and worth every wild moment)

Midsummer's Day -- Aland; Finland; Sweden

Napoleon Bivouacs -- Waterloo, Belgium (reenactment of Napoleon's military camp at the sight of his battle battle against Allied forces led by the Duke of Wellington; through tomorrow)

National Aboriginal Day / First Nations Day -- NT, Canada

National ASK Day -- prevent gun violence and accidental deaths, ASK if there is an unlocked gun anywhere that your child plays

National Peaches & Cream Day

Norskedalen's Midsummer Fest -- Coon Valley, WI, US (celebrate summer solstice and Sankt Hans Dag[St. John's Day] the way pioneer Scandinavians did; through tomorrow)

Pixie Day -- Ottery St. Mary, Devon, England (reenacting of the "Revenge" of the Pixies who bothered the town until midsummer in 1454; now fun, games, music, pageant, and more)

Reaping Machine Day -- Cyrus McCormick was granted a patent for his mechanical reaper this day in 1834

Solennität -- Morat, Switzerland (on Morat Commemoration Day, a Youth festival remembering the pivotal role this tiny town played in winning a battle in 1476)

Solstice -- 10:51GMT/6:51 am EDT; related observances:
     Aimless Wandering Day -- use the extra daylight to wander someplace with nothing particular to do
     Anne and Samantha Day -- remembrance for Anne Frank and Samantha Smith, and their contributions to our worldhttp://www.anneandsamantha.com/
     Daylight Appreciation Day -- celebrating the benefits of sunshinehttp://nationaldaylightday.com/2013/05/05/national-daylight-appreciation-day-celebrates-benefits-of-sunlight-on-longest-day-of-the-year-june-21/
     Finally Summer Day/Finally Winter Day
     Hump Day -- Tasmania (because it is the shortest in the year, Taswegians today feel they are over the "hump" of winter.)
     Inti Raymi -- Inca (festival of the sun god Inti, ongoing);Sacsayhuamán Andes Mountain Natives (winter solstice and New Year festival)
     Litha / Yule -- Wicca/Pagan (northern hemisphere / southern hemisphere)
     Midnight Sun Baseball Game -- Fairbanks, AK, US (begins promptly at 10:35pm local time, and played without any artificial lights allowed)
     Midsomarsblog -- Norse Viking celebrations (time of fishing, trading, and raiding)
     Midsummer -- Midsummer Festivals begin -- Juhannus Day in Finland and Midsommar in Denmark and Norway, celebrated over the next several days in many Scandinavian traditions; often this time is also associated with betrayal, as the sunlight begins to decrease, this is when Baldur was betrayed, as well as Sigurd.
     Midsummer -- Asatru/Slavic Pagan
     Midsummer Baal -- Ancient Celtic Calendar
     Polar Bear Swim -- Nome, AK, US (if they can break through the ice!)
     Solsticio de Invierno / Ano Nuevo Aymara -- Bolivia (Winter Solstice / Aymara Indiginous People's New Year)
     We Tripantu -- Chile (Mapuche natives winter solstice festival)
     Wadjet Summer Solstice Ceremony -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate, it may have been a multi-day ceremony that began on Midsummer's Eve)

Spirit of the Woods Folk Festival -- Brethren, MI, US (a family friendly good time in the park)

St. Alban's Day (Patron of epileptics, people with hernias; against epilepsy, hernias, kidney stones)

St. Aloysius Gonzanga's Day (Protector of young students, young men; Patron of AIDS care-givers and patients; for relief from pestilence; Castiglione delle Stiviere, Italy; Valmonte, Italy; against sore eyes)

Tiger-Get-By's Third Birthday -- Fairy Calendar

Ulloortuneq -- Greenland (National Day)

Virginia State Championship Chili Cook-Off -- Roanoke, VA, US (the best chili from around the country, and much more)

World Handshake Day -- no one likes them fishy, and it's not a contest; practice a firm grip and a smile! not to be confused with National Handshake Day, today's sponsor is here

World Music Day -- begun in the UK, now celebrated everywhere


Anniversaries Today:

New Hampshire becomes the 9th US State, 1788


Birthdays Today:

Kris Allen, 1985
Prince William (William Arthur Philip Louis), 1982
Juliette Lewis, 1973
Larry Wachowski, 1965
Sammi Davis-Voss, 1964
Doug Savant, 1964
Berkeley Breathed, 1957
Rick Sutcliffe, 1956
Benazir Bhutto, 1953
Nils Lofgren, 1951
Meredith Baxter, 1947
Michael Gross, 1947
Ray Davies, 1944
Mariette Hartley, 1940
Joe Flaherty, 1940
Bernie Kopell, 1933
Maureen Stapleton, 1925
Jane Russell, 1921
Jean-Paul Sartre, 1905
Al Hirschfeld, 1903
Reinhold Niebuhr, 1892
Henry Ossawa Tanner, 1859
Daniel Carter Beard, 1850
Daniel D. Tompkins, 1774
Martha Dandridge Custis Washington, 1731
Increase Mather, 1639


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Evita"(Musical), 1978
"Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg"(Wagner opera), 1868


Today in History:

Jews are expelled from Nurenberg Bavaria by Emperor Maximillian, 1498
The Incident at Honno-ji takes place in Kyoto, Japan, 1582
In Montreal in New France, a slave known by the French name of Marie-Joseph Angélique is put to death, having been convicted of the arson that destroyed much of the city, 1734
Halifax, Nova Scotia, is founded, 1749
The first Victoria Cross is awarded during the bombardment of Bomarsund in the Åland Islands, 1854
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police fire a volley into a crowd of unemployed war veterans, killing two, during the Winnipeg General Strike, 1919
The first successful west-to-east navigation of Northwest Passage begins at Vancouver, British Columbia, 1940
Columbia Records introduces the long-playing record album in a public demonstration at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City, 1948
Ellen Louks Fairclough is sworn in as Canada's first woman Cabinet Minister, 1957
In handing down the decision in Miller v. California 413 US 15, the Supreme Court of the United States establishes the Miller Test for obscenity in U.S. law, 1973
SpaceShipOne becomes the first privately funded spaceplane  to achieve spaceflight, 2004
Pluto's newly discovered moons are officially named Nix & Hydra, 2006
Greenland assumes self-rule, 2009
The U.S. officially charges Edward Snowden with espionage, 2013