Get away from my babies, bad photographer man!
Photo courtesy of my father.
Mama Osprey
All posts by Kirsetin
The Relevance of the Theory of Relativity
The thing about life is this: there is so much to learn and so much to see that we cannot possibly get to it all.
Instead, fairly early on, we’re taught to focus. We learn, slowly at first, that we can’t possibly understand all life has to offer, and we narrow our path. We decide what interests us and we move in that direction, eventually forgetting about the rest of it, the things outside of our bubble, the life we create.
Sometimes, though, something slides into our peripheral vision; maybe it enters our self-imposed bubble, maybe it doesn’t. But we recognize it. We remember, for a time, that there are other things, real things, out there in the world that we don’t spend any time understanding.
Think about it this way: How many times have you heard about the Theory of Relativity. A lot of times, right? And you know that the brilliant Mr. Einstein had something to do with this theory. But do you understand it? Do you know how it applies to time and space and our understanding of those things? Do you remember that it superseded Newton’s idea of time and that part of the theory is that time is not uniform or absolute? I didn’t remember that at all.
As you must suspect, these are not the sorts of theories I on which I regularly ruminate. I think about education theories and parenting theories; I think about travel and friendship and family. I think about words and their roots and how we use them. I think about life and choices, about women and work, about society and class structure, about race, religion, and whether we will ever see peace on earth. But time and space? Not so much.
Still, when these sorts of ideas enter the stratosphere of my incredibly small life, I move towards them. I like thinking about ideas that are outside the scope of my usual life. To this end, several years ago, I bought two books by Joy Hakim that fascinate me:
The Story of Science: Aristotle Leads the Way (Smithsonian Books, 2004) and
The Story of Science: Newton at the Center (Smithsonian Books, 2005).
I’ve read and re-read parts of these books a hundred times, and I still find them fascinating. I love how Ms. Hakim weaves history and science together, taking facts I learned here and there, in different classrooms, and creates a cohesive story.
Still, I’m not a scientist. I don’t plan to start writing extensively about Copernicus or Galileo. But I like the idea that I could. I could study science or write about it. Or I could choose something else; there’s a whole world of ideas and theories that don’t inhabit my current space. I like thinking about everything else that’s out there; I like thinking about the lives of the people into whom these ideas fall. I like to think about how what each of us chooses to focus on impacts first our lives, then the lives of those around us, and finally the world at large in subtle and grand ways that we may never realize.
Those are the kinds of things I ruminate about. Ah, summer.
Birthday Present Cake
You asked about the Birthday Present cake.
It’s an easy one, really. Not nearly as hard as the Under the Sea Cake…that one was hard!
The Pirate Ship Cake was a little tougher, too, but the Jungle Cake and the Race Car Cake weren’t too bad.
The Birthday Present Cake was easier, though. It just took time.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- Chocolate cake (2 8- or 9-inch layers)
- White cake (2 8- or 9-inch layers)
- Chocolate frosting
- Butter Cream frosting
- Box of white fondant (you can buy this at Michael’s, Joann Fabrics, or any store that carries cake decorating supplies)
- Food coloring
- Sprinkles
- Small amount (maybe 1/4 cup) of confectioner’s sugar.
Here’s how we did it:
First, bake, cool, and assemble four layers: white layer, chocolate, white, chocolate. Spread chocolate icing in-between each of the layers but don’t frost the outside yet.
Cut:
- Two long strips of white fondant for the part of the bow that wraps around the cake.
- Four shorter pieces, folded into the “bow” part of the bow. I let them dry on their sides overnight before attaching them to the top of the cake with a little confectioner’s sugar/water mixture.
- One small strip of fondant, folded into a circle to be the middle of the bow. This will also need to dry on its side (to hold its shape).
- One small rectangular piece of fondant for the gift tag. Use a toothpick to carve the letters, then dip it into food coloring, and trace over the letters.
- Fondant number 9s. These are the most time consuming – I stuck my mom with the job! She cut a 9 out of paper, traced it onto the fondant with a toothpick, then cut the 9s out with a paring knife. Nice work, mom.
- Lots of little fondant balls to add to the base of the cake.
Next, add a little food coloring to a small piece of fondant & knead it until the fondant is the color you want–we went with red. Roll small circles, cut large circles, and cut 4 red 9s (1 for each side of the cake).
Make sure to prepare the fondant decorations before you add the butter cream frosting, otherwise, they won’t stick!
Frost the outside of the cake with Butter Cream icing, then add sprinkles to the top. Next, apply the two long strips of fondant, criss cross, around the cake. Press the other fondant decorations into the cake in any way you like. We put white 9s on the top, and red nines and circles on the sides.
Add the little balls of fondant around the base.
After the top parts of the bow dry, set them on the top of the cake. Mix a little confectioner’s sugar and water together to make a thick, paste-like icing. Put it into a small ziplock bag and snip off the end. Squeeze a little of the icing into the center of the 4 “bow” pieces and apply the small, round, middle of the bow to the top.
Squeeze a little more of the confectioner’s mixture to the bottom of the gift tag, and place it near the bow on top of the cake.
Voila! You’ve got a lovely Birthday Present Cake for your nine-year-old. Naturally, you could make this for any age and with a million variations. There’s an even fancier, more complicated version inside the Wilton’s fondant box, but I thought this one worked just fine. Have fun, and Happy Birthday!