What's the Happy-Hap?

It's the hip new way of saying "what's happening" or "the current goings-on."  In a Shakespearean play it's a "lucky occurrence."  In my case it's continually setting out to write about my experiences with gall stones and pancreatitis but getting distracted by something which is going on around me.  Today that thing is the old man who lives next door.  For the past twenty minutes he's been in his back yard.  Twice he's started walking in one direction or the other only to stop, turn around, and go back to the picnic table.  I don't know what is going on, but I know if I keep watching this I'm going to cry.

Been a Long Time Gone

But that's because I've been busy with my life outside of cyberspace.  Settling into a routine of feeding Oak, clothing Oak, changing Oak's diapers; getting sliced and diced as a revenge prank on my gallbladder; re-reading some old favorites.  Pretty standard stuff.  I'm sure you understand how a person falls behind now and then.  Keep an eye out for a future post about how the doctors who did my surgery tried to convince me that I had post-partum depression.  In the meantime, I'm cooking something awesome today that my mom made for New Year's Steve this year.  If you like fruit and and you like cookies, you'll love this.

Fruit Cookie

1. Take some sugar cookie dough and roll it out flat on a pizza pan.  I'm using pre-made stuff because I'm not a superhero like my mom, but if you are feel free to use homemade dough.  It will probably taste better (unless you're a bad cook).  Bake for however long the package says to.
2. Remove from oven (duh) and cool.
3. Apply icing liberally.  I am using homemade icing because I do have powdered sugar.  Most icings are some variation of powdered sugar, milk, butter/margerine, and vanilla extract.
4. Sprinkle with your favorite chunks of fruit.  I'm using papaya, strawberry, mango, and pineapple.  I wish I had some kiwi and blueberries for more color, but them's the breaks.

Unlike the crap I make up, this is something my mommy makes.  If it doesn't turn out good, you didn't make it right.

Animal Facts: Bats!

Bats, like humans, are one of the few mammals that can fly.  Unlike humans, bats don't ride in airplanes.  Bats have very long arms with creepy little claw-hands at the end.  These claw-hands have an extra strong grip so that they can hold open the stretchy sail-like piece of canvas bats use to fly.  When the canvas is not in use, or if a bat needs to dive suddenly to avoid a predator or catch an insect, the bat simply lets go of the canvas and it snaps back into the specially made pockets on either side of the bat's abdomen.  This is why bats without hands cannot fly.