Pain in the Butt

I've been trying to write this post for weeks. I write a would-be post but when I go to review it a day or two later it just doesn't meet with my own approval. I re-read what I had spent an hour writing and I practically fall asleep mid sentence as it's so ho hum! For the last year and a half I've rarely had any difficulty coming up with a weekly post. It just seemed that my brain was full of thoughts and observations and proclamations. It was simply a matter of harnessing all this brain activity into a coherent theme. But for the past few weeks I appear to be thought-less! This has started to worry me. I think all my creative energy has become misdirected to my Butt.

Maureen punching the Hubby! Even THIS did not inspire a blog post!

The Hubby and I have been training for the Ride to Conquer Cancer - a 200 km cycle over 2 days next weekend to raise money for cancer research. I'm not worried about my heart or legs going the distance. But my Butt is what needs the training! To build up my Butt's endurance, we have been riding increasingly longer distances over the past few months. We use whatever external Butt supports we can. We have padded shorts, ergonomic bike seats, and most precious of all we have Butt Butter! The problem with all this training is that it takes a lot of time and there's not a lot of energy left for much else. I think my Butt has annexed all my creativity!

Paul, Matt, and Geoff are smiling because their Butts are NOT sore...or maybe it's because of the martinis...?!

Looking back on the past month I have surprised even myself by the fact that in the midst of all this attention to my Butt I actually did some time in the kitchen. I am amazing. So here's the best I can do for you today: the month in pictures...

Dinner on the back patio with Cathy and Jon

One of the Daughter's favourite meals is hamburgers. In sympathy of the fractured elbow she got from falling off her bike, we have a BBQ one Sunday evening. They are delicious!

Burgers topped with grilled onion, salsa and guacamole

I fell off my bike in April. While the massage therapist is working on my sore shoulder, she chats to me about her baking exploits. She raves about the Momofuku Milk Bar cookbook. It's a very fun read and inspires me to make Cornflake-Chocolate-Chip-Marshmallow Cookies which are crisp but chewy and salty and sweet...

From Momofuku Milk Bar cookbook

...and Chocolate Chip Layer Cake that is made up of chocolate chip vanilla cake, passion fruit curd, chocolate crumbs, and coffee frosting. This is a gorgeous creation and so deserves more than just a passing mention here. But even THIS did not inspire words of worth! That's how bad it is!

Awesome

The Boyfriend too falls off HIS bike (wait...maybe there's a THEME here...?!).

The Boyfriend's leg...the Daughter's arm!

He gets Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler...

I also made a rhubarb coffee cake but I am so far gone I didn't even take its picture!

I make this Chocolate Mocha Ice Cream Cake...

Chocolate and coffee ice cream on a chocolate wafer crust

...for a dinner in Colin and Sarah's backyard to celebrate one of the first warm spring evenings.

Our hosts Sarah and Colin along with Jon

So that's it. This is what you've been waiting for all these weeks. No pithy comment to end. No bon mots to tide you over until next time. Blame the Butt.