I picked this song for today’s Music Monday because it reminded me of the time we are in now. Summer is winding down, schools are getting back in session, and the sound of cicadas are in the air in the evening. A sort of melancholy time of year to go with this melancholy sort of song. Have a good Monday folks!

I don’t where I have been that I haven’t heard this group before this past week. I am obsessed with their music now, especially songs from their first album Lonesome Dreams. I’m including some songs here for today’s Music Monday. Crank up the volume and sit back and relax. Feel free to join in and post your own favorite tunes to get this week off to a good start!

Another start to a new week. Hope it is a good one for everyone. Just a bit of music for this Monday to get the day rolling. Have a favorite tune? Feel free to post it on your blog for Music Monday.

It’s Monday, time for more music to start the week off with! Have a favorite song? Feel free to post it on your blog for this Music Monday!

Have a good week-end!

Well I did it. I finally got around to trying a cake recipe that more one person has gushed about. The cake its self is known by many different names. “Better than sex cake”, “Better than Brad Pitt cake”, “Butterfinger cake”, etc., etc.

There is also different versions of the cake with some recipes calling for a yellow cake mix. Some call for a fudge cake mix, or German chocolate. Some recipes use crushed Butterfinger candy bars, and some recipes call for using Heath candy bars. I came across one recipe that even suggested sprinkling on chocolate chips before baking and the chips are supposed to melt and sink towards the bottom to create a bit of a chocolate crust.

But the premise of the cake recipes are pretty much all of the same.

Mix up and bake a cake mix according to directions in a 9 x 13-inch pan.

Allow the cake to cool slightly or completely, again depending on which recipe you are following.

Using the handle of a wooden spoon, pokes holes all over the top of your cake.

Drizzle on a half or full can of sweetened condensed milk.

Drizzle on a jar of caramel topping.

Crush your candy bars into fine pieces, and sprinkle on top of the cake.

Spread whipped cream or a carton of cool whip on top and garnish with more crushed candy pieces.

Allow to chill for several hours or overnight.

The Verdict:

Nope.

Will not make it again.

I do not see the hype.

It was a cloyingly sweet cake that resulted in a concoction of sugar overload.

Too much sugar in any recipe will render the recipe of having little taste except for sugar and this is one of those recipes.

Sorry fans of this cake, I am not one.

Minus the one piece that I tried the rest of the cake was tossed into the freezer for me to try and pawn off on the next unsuspecting visiting relative.

By all means, try the cake yourself. Whether you think it’s better than sex, is up to you.

With Tony Bennett passing this past week, I thought it would be appropriate to post one of his songs for this Music Monday.

It’s a rainy morning here today, perfect for kicking back and enjoying some tunes. Have a favorite song? Feel free to post it for today!

It’s Monday, you know the drill! Post a favorite song/music to start your day off on a positive note. I chose the following song for sentimental reasons. Back in the days of Yahoo chat rooms, one of the programs I used was called “Cheetah Chat” in which snippets of mp3’s could be played. This song, along with the cuppycake song were frequently played.

If you are an avid gardener you already know about “Jalapeno-gate”. If not, it’s an issue many gardeners are discovering in several states involving their pepper plants, specifically jalapenos. Seeds and plants that were labeled as jalapenos, are turning out not to be jalapenos but other different varieties of peppers. Rather frustrating if you were hoping for the warm peppers to make your favorite salsa or spice up your favorite dishes.

How the mistake was made hasn’t been discovered yet. Were seeds mixed up? Plants cross pollinated? Disgruntled workers, shortage of workers, or a whole list of other excuses on how the wrong pepper seeds ended up in lieu of jalapenos?

It’s easy to do, confuse seeds, they look the same for the most part. It’s hard to differentiate one pepper seed from another when jumbled all together. Makes it even harder when huge conglomerates buy up seed companies til the vast majority of seed sources are owed by just a couple of large industries.

It’s a bit alarming when one considers the majority of our food sources are controlled by few. Even more so when you realize those businesses are in the chemical industry. An interesting article I came across while looking up the 10 top seed companies in the world can be found here: The world’s top 10 seed companies: who owns Nature? (gmwatch.org)

Even though it’s an older article, it does give one insight in just how companies merge, work together to help each other stay on top of the tier to their mutual benefit, but not to the consumer. The seed world has become a scary place since Monsanto’s early days of Terminator technology. The bottom line, save your seeds, support other seed saving sources, and be assured of what you are getting.

Another garden issue that seems to be plaguing a lot of growers across the Midwest is an issue with tomatoes. Weather related? Soil related? Seed related? Who knows, but many gardeners are questioning why some of their tomatoes are smaller, with curled leaves. Lots of theories have been thrown around, the most popular suggestions are chemical drift and some sort of nutrient deficiency.

It’s a bit odd though, a whole patch of tomatoes and only one or two or a few being affected. No insects noted, no disease noted with discolorations on the leaves. It’s head scratching, but some gardeners are claiming success with treating their curly leafed plants with Tums, egg shells, and several doses of banana water.

For those who have never heard about banana water, you basically place banana peels in water and allow them to seep for a couple of days and then pour the water on your plants. In other words, they are adding potassium to the water. Waste not, want not, a motto for a lot of garden folk.

It almost makes me wonder if it isn’t also a seed issue? Could it be another seed mix-up? Or worse, could it be a GMO seed issue that has affected the plant in it’s conception? When one messes with DNA, one never knows what kind of result will be obtained.

Gardening can be fun, rewarding, therapeutic, and can be hard work. Even harder work when you already can’t control the weather, the bugs, or the authenticity and reliability of your seed sources.

Happy gardening.

It’s Music Monday again, and I chose this song by U2 which this seems to fit the bill today. I have the roofers coming today to do the roof on the house. The garage and shed roofs which were also totaled from the last hailstorm will have to wait. So today’s song about not “having what I’m looking for”, hit’s the nail on the head….. I am looking for money! lol

Have a good day Bloggers!