I meant to tell you about my weekend. Yes, I realize another one is right around the corner but this week has been a trying one and getting a moment to sit and write has been near impossible.

Saturday, my husband took our oldest to a birthday party for one of her classmates. You know, the kind of party where not one dad is in sight. The kind where the 6 to 7-year old girls get dolled up - complete with nail polish and a pretty updo. My daughter is a lucky girl to have such a considerate father. Normally I'm against any kind of makeup or nail polish on children this age, but sometimes it's necessary in order for your daughter not to feel left out. Especially at a time when she's emerging from her shyness cocoon.

The two younger ones stayed home with me. I wondered whether I should bake something. Exhaustion was setting in but I decided that scones were simple enough.

One thing I changed was the method of forming them. Instead on my usual way of flattening out the dough into a rectangle and cutting it into 16 pieces, I decided it was easier (less counter cleanup) to simply drop them onto the baking sheet. Which was exactly why they look more like cookies than the typical triangular scone. Vanilla chocolate chip scones this time.

Sunday was beautiful, sunny, and warm. On our way to a birthday picnic, the car battery died. A nice family helped get the battery going long enough for us to drive to the nearby auto parts store for a new battery. The kindness of mankind still exists.

Since I knew we'd be spending most of the afternoon at the park, I baked the Sunday cake early that morning. It was a Chocolate Ricotta Cake made with natural cocoa powder that somehow ended up tasting spicy. There were no spices in it. Time to try out the Callebaut cocoa powder.

That's it in a nutshell. Better late than never.