If my life were summed up in 3 words, this is it (no, not those 3 words, the following three). Lather. Rinse. Repeat. This says a lot about me. Not very interesting, but pretty much describes this deaf loner.

I consider myself a fair cook (we’ve got to eat supper every night, right?) and a bit better than middle of the road baker. I wasn’t born with a knack for either one when Hubs and I eloped in 1969. But by 1975 our family of 4 (kid #3 would wait another 4 years before completing our sum total) could count on a decent supper. But much more fun than cooking I had learned how to bake a variety of breads, cinnamon rolls, frosted cakes, scratch pies (crusts too) and cookies of all makes and models (thanks Betty).

After I acquired some cooking and baking skills I realized I enjoyed making things involving steps, sometimes several. When I baked one pie it was darn good, but if I made 8 apple pies that day, each subsequent pie turned out better than the last. Why is that? My pie crusts got thinner, (the only part of my pie making that didn’t gain) sliced the apples more uniformly, crimped crust edges, more precise. All the steps in pie baking became routine. I could feel when the right amount of water/flour had been added for perfect crusts or bread dough.

I’m positive repetition is the reason I love canning. Doing the same thing over and over (which sounds incredibly boring). Jams, jellies, bread & butter pickles, beets, applesauce, salsa, meat, are all part of the many steps needed to complete canned goods. Buying, preparing fruit and vegetables, making syrups or brine, hearing the lids ‘pop,’ wiping down jars, labeling, washing and putting away the equipment. All part of the process.

Besides the steps involved, most of the recipes I call ‘favorites’ don’t include multiple, easy-peasy layers. You know the kind of bar recipe I’m talking about-some kind of crumb/cookie mixed with a bit of melted butter patted in the bottom followed by instant pudding/milk mixture, cool whip layer, sliced bananas/fruit, including drizzled syrup, more cool whip with maraschino cherries dotting the top. Just not me, although I have a couple similar recipes I’ve used for years.

Here are 2 I’ve been making for decades. Seven layer bars: melt a stick of butter in a 9 X 13 pan, sprinkle on top 1 cup of graham cracker crumbs followed by 1 cup each of chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, nutmeats and coconut. On top of this drizzle one can of sweetened condensed milk and bake for 30 minutes. Literally takes 5 minutes to throw together. Not cheap but if you’re in a hurry this makes a satisfying, tasty bar. But scratch banana or pumpkin bars take about the same amount of time (not counting the buttercream frosting when they’re cooled), taste heavenly and are a fraction of the cost of the 7 layer bars.

My other quickie recipe is “Dirt,” not cheap either. I usually make in a plastic flower pot. Oreo cookie crumbs on the bottom, a mixture of cream cheese, butter, instant pudding, powdered sugar, milk and Cool Whip, alternating layers, ending with “dirt” on top, adding gummy worms and silk flowers. I much prefer scratch recipes though when deciding what I want to serve like German chocolate cake, rhubarb bars or banana cream pie with homemade filling made on the stove.

I’m sure there are throngs of folks who haven’t experienced hardship in their finances/lifestyle during the last 3 years. We are not among that group. There has been a significant decline in how far our money is stretched lately. I’m observant and track prices of the items like groceries/gas/utilities we use.

While I wasn’t actively seeking employment to help out I applied for a job last fall. After the interview I was hopeful and enthusiastic. Part time, baking for a restaurant. It’s taken some getting used to because it’s not way I’ve made baked goods my entire adult life and I’m a very old dog learning new tricks. Very old. And slow. The first couple months were highly stressful and I made mistakes. But the stress has been good for my diet (I lost several pounds).

There are definite perks to this job. I can set my own hours, early or later in the day-doesn’t matter (but you guys know I don’t sleep well and wake up at the butt crack of dawn). I work in a well equipped, good sized kitchen with lots of windows and a great view. The oven’s exhaust is unbelievably noisy but my new hearing aid has a feature to mute most of the noise yet I’m able to hear the oven’s timer. My work week is usually 3 days, 5-7 hours long. Each of these days consists of 6 dozen muffins and 6 to 8 pies. There are 7 varieties of muffins and 18 different pies. Of the 18, 3-5 are more popular than the rest so I make them a couple times a week. The rest are on a rotation and scheduled usually once a week.

The best part of my job? Working by myself. Absolutely. Never having to ask, “beg your pardon? What did you say? Sorry, couldn’t hear you? Excuse me, what?” Long as my arthritic hands, chronic back issues and left knee replacement holds off, I’m gonna keep working. Although my work day varies, it’s just more repetition. Something I’m very comfortable with. After several months it’s just like the rest of my life. Lather. Rinse. Repeat…