Girls who Wear Glasses

There’s a theory being floated that eyeglasses may help protect against covid.

Seems farfetched but, if it turns out to be valid, then I’m in good shape because I not only wear a mask but glasses … five pair.

I’m like the Fred Sanford of glasses — Fred Sanford being that character from the old sitcom Sanford and Sons. Fred was an old junk yard dealer whose vision wasn’t anywhere near 20-20, so he kept a drawer full of eyeglasses and would forever rummage through the drawer for a pair to meet his rotating current need.

My vision isn’t anywhere near as poor as Fred’s, but I do need every pair in order to function because, through the years, what with glaring at a computer screen during the day … all day … every day at work, coming home in the evening only to stare at a computer screen another few hours, plus all the eyestrain from reading and close needle work, my eyesight has suffered to the point where I have to switch glasses all day, depending on activity.

I have a pair for when I’m on the computer — which pair also serves for general purposes, like cooking, cleaning, watching neighbors walk through the quad from my perch on the couch. Then there's a pair for reading, a pair for needlepoint, a pair for television viewing and a pair with transition lenses for driving that serve the double purpose of protecting my eyes from the glare of the sun.

I keep getting messages from the optometrist that it’s time for my yearly exam, but I’m holding off on that. Not just because of the pandemic, but because the needlepoint project I’ve been working on for over a year has so strained my vision that an exam now doesn’t seem feasible.

Once I complete this project, which will probably be my last needlepoint project, I’ll let my eyes rest before scheduling an appointment, so I can get a more accurate evaluation.

Having seen blueberry muffins on one of your blogs last week inspired me to take a stab at making a gluten free version.

I had all the ingredients on hand, added way more blueberries than the recipe called for — because I like blueberries, and cut down on the sugar by substituting some of the sugar with stevia and voilà.

It worked out pretty well insofar as taste, but the muffins are sticking to the cupcake holders. I’m blaming that on the cheap holders that came with the aluminum tins.; and I think, next time, I'll leave off the brown sugar topping.

When the timer went off that the muffins were ready to come out of the oven, I tested the doneness using a method that caused me a lot of grief when, a few years back, having a cake baking discussion with coworkers, I mentioned was my method for checking doneness …. I removed the muffin pan from the oven, put my ear close to the pan, listened and, not hearing sizzling, pronounced them done.

When I told my coworkers of that “listening” method their jaws dropped in disbelief, they said they’d never heard of it and they all laughed.

Thinking back on how the girls never heard of the listening method, thought it was so funny ….. they were millenniums, probably unaware of a lot us from before their time know.

How about it? Do you baking readers listen or use a skewer to test doneness?