Uses for Vodka

http://tiphero.com/surprising-uses-for-vodka/

Glass Cleaning
You wouldn’t believe it, but the secret ingredient to the best DIY glass sprays is actually high-proof alcohol! Simply combine a cup of vodka (everclear or white rum works fine too) with 1/4 cup vinegar, and ½ teaspoon of liquid soap. Who would’ve thought?

It gets foul odors out of towels
As we move into a humid summer, you might be noticing that your towels are smelling less than pristine. To combat this, simply add 1/3 cup of vodka into your washing machine along with your preferred detergent. After the tub fills up, let the towels soak for an hour, then re-start the machine. It doesn’t get easier than that!

It soothes poison ivy reactions
There’s nothing worse than having your nice hike in the woods ruined by some nasty poison ivy. If this happens to you, act quick and pour some vodka on the reaction as soon as possible. By doing this, you can target the effect so that you might just have a fighting chance against those itchy welts and lesions.

Crazy Cake

Depression Era Crazy Cake
http://12tomatoes.com/depression-chocolate-cake/?utm_source=glp-12t&utm_medium=social-fb&utm_content=video&utm_term=&utm_campaign=depression-chocolate-cake

This recipe goes as far back as the Great Depression, a time when certain ingredients were very expensive, so substitutions had to be made in order to continue making and enjoying the dishes people loved. While most cakes are made with milk, eggs and butter, these ingredients were difficult to come by in the 1930s, so people got creative and came up with a way to make a decadent, moist, fluffy chocolate cake.

This chocolate cake is just as good, if not better than one stuffed to the brim with butter, milk and eggs. The fact that the cake itself is vegan should have everyone with an intolerance for eggs or dairy products jumping for joy and, though we put butter in our frosting, you could just as easily use non-dairy butter to keep the whole recipe dairy-free.
Recipe adapted from Our Heritage Of Health

Depression Era Crazy Cake

1 hour 30 minutes to prepare serves 8-10

INGREDIENTS

Cake:
● 2 cups all‐purpose flour
● 1 1/4 cups sugar
● 1 1/4 cups water
● 1/2 cup vegetable oil
● 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
● 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
● 1 tablespoon coffee, optional
● 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
●1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
● 3/4 teaspoon salt
( Read more... )

Old Fashioned Rice Pudding

Old Fashioned Rice Pudding
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1068675143188023&set=a.147001075355439.37379.100001366412310&type=3&theater

2/3 c. Minute Rice
2 3/4 c. milk
1/3 c. sugar
1 tbsp. butter
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
Cinnamon
1/2 c. raisins( Read more... )

Microwave Old Fashioned Rice Pudding
https://cookpad.com/us/recipes/343545-microwave-old-fashioned-rice-pudding
6 servings 45 min

Ingredients
2 cups L/O cooked rice
3 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt (optional)
2 cups milk
1/2 cup raisins
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp cinnamon or nutmeg
( Read more... )

Creamy Rice Pudding (Microwave)
http://www.food.com/recipeprint.do?rid=142837
Prep Time: 10 mins Total Time: 45 mins Servings: 10

"This is a delicious, creamy version of rice pudding that I got many years ago. It is good warm or chilled. Note: I made this is a 700-watt microwave, newer MWs are stronger and will require less time."
Prep Time: 10 mins Total Time: 45 mins Servings: 10

INGREDIENTS
1 cup water
1/2 cup raw long grain rice
1 dash salt
3 tablespoons butter
2/3 cup sugar
3 cups milk
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
cinnamon (optional)( Read more... )

The writing process

Adds: Lose the thread of the story and that perfect plot twist because of all those excursions to find information that is just TOO important to have just right or it won't spawn the next parts of the story.

The Door

Meep provided the prompt for this ficlet.

Title: The Door
Author: charisstoma
Word count: 459



“Someone had more time on their hands than was good for them.”

“Excuse me?”

Tobias gave a jerk, “Oh, sorry. My mom used to make quilts and the door,” he shrugged, “she’d call that, half square triangle blocks.. done in glass. It’s easy enough to do it in fabric,” he grinned. “Yeah, the number of quilt videos I watched as a kid growing up, does not bear thinking about.”

“So other than the amount of time it took to make the door window, what do you think?”

“It’s pretty enough but what is it, an abstract or does it hope to convey a bunch of flowers.” Tobias squinted at the window, “Two larger … sunflowers, no those are too tall, gaillardia
perhaps. maybe with some blue hmm bellflowers maybe or cornflowers and then some chamomile thrown in. Asters, periwinkle?” Tobias threw up his hands, “It’s a flower garden.”

A grin answered him. “Yes. Very good.”

“Still a lot of time and work. Would have looked good with that clear swirly glass that looks like the surface of a brook. Can’t see through it, not really, but lets light through.”

The man shook his head. “Not as interesting and then there’s the conversations that can be started with people about it.”

Tobias turned and look at the man and was pleased. The man was interesting in his many parts. “Huh. Okay, what about the bottle cap impressions in the arch? Large bottle caps. Really large, with diamonds in between.”

An eyebrow rose over the strong beak of a nose.

Tobias did a quick reassessment of his own appeal. Had he gone too far? “Umm.”

“I think you mean the coffering of the soffit intrados.”

“Um, yeah, maybe, …. probably?”

Both eyebrows rose before the man’s face broke into a grin again. “The inside curve of an arch is an intrados, a soffit is the underside of a roof formed by eaves or a cornice .. , and the coffering is the series of sunken panels, in this case in octagon shape.”

“You’re having me on.”

“No, that’s really what all of that is and I don’t know you well enough to have you in that manner or if you prefer males to females or if you’ve had anyone inside you in that manner.”

Tobias blushed. “Okay, yes, and no I haven’t.”

The grin became a smile. “Good. Would you like to go somewhere to eat, if you trust me enough I could make us a luncheon.”

“Um, introductions first?”

“Gavin.”

“Tobias.”

“Nice to meet you, Tobias. There’s a nice restaurant just up the way.” The man cocked his elbow offering it to Tobias with a smile.

“Is the restaurant any good?”

“It’s the best but I’m biased.”

“Oh?”

“My restaurant.”

Sequel

Notes:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffer
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/soffit
http://www.doric-column.com/glossary_classical_architecture.html (Intrados)