A Dutch Baby for Lunch

 

 The recipe says "4 servings" but they're out of their mind. I shared the Dutch Baby I made with Tom and that left half for me. What you see above is my half. I could eat a whole one, no problem. Tom agrees.

 We always order a Dutch Baby when we eat at the Original Pancake House in Cincinnati. That seems to be their specialty. They note on their menu: "An oven-baked, light and delicate, “German” pancake, golden brown and dusted with powdered sugar. Served with lemon wedges, whipped butter and extra powdered sugar for a truly special treat. 13.95 (840 cal)"

 I've only made one once before. They're not complicated but it seems to take an hour to get everything together. A few days ago Tom bought fresh lemons at Aldi (a lemon wedge is required with a Dutch Baby) as is powdered sugar. When I asked why Tom came home with lemons his answer was straightforward. "Dutch Baby". So I knew he was looking for me to make one.

 The batter is very liquid and light.

 I had our dinner plates at the ready as well as the lemon wedges and powdered sugar.

 I baked this Dutch Baby for 22.-1/2 minutes, right in between the "20 to 25 minutes" called for. It seemed done so I took it out. The center had risen more than the sides (it looked like a sombrero) but it quickly collapsed back down as it cooled. I divided it into four slices.

 * I have since remembered that I placed the container on a cake pan which has a  hole in the middle. The extra heat was certainly responsible for the risen center.

 A question I had as I watched it rise was what causes it to rise? There's no leavening. Google provided the answer: "A Dutch baby rises due to the steam generated from its high liquid content cooking in a very hot skillet and oven. The air whipped into the batter is trapped by this steam, causing the pancake to puff up dramatically". 

 I should note that I didn't use a blender as is called for -  just because it means one more thing to wash. Instead I used a whisk and that is entirely sufficient to get a nice rise.

 A Dutch Baby - also called a "puffed Pancake" - is a satisfying meal. It looks prettier than the time it takes to make it. But somehow I need to find a way to make two at once.

Aurora Redux?

  It didn't hurt to try again but last evening (11-12-25) was a weak imitation of the night before. We had the northern lights again but they were quite weak. Here's what I saw:

8:13 pm

 I took this shot early and was hoping for some  evidence that the aurora was starting. The green glow near the horizon seemed unnatural and might have been the initial stages of the aurora.

9:22 pm

 In the center of this shot - and behind the tree - I could see the familiar red glow of the aurora firing up.

9:23 pm

 Now there are multiple areas glowing red and a weak aurora is underway.

9:31 pm

 There wasn't much to see last evening as this photo illustrates. But in normal times I'd be ecstatic that there was anything resembling an aurora in the greater Dayton area. By the way, this was barely visible to the naked eye, and maybe not at all. What is actual vision and what is hopeful imagination?

9:39 pm

 There is again a weak aurora across the northern sky. It's disappointing but at least it repeated.

9:42 pm

 The red has a vertical component to it. It's unmistakable northern lights.

10:28 pm

 A final look before bed. The aurora has ended ... for now. Others took some nice shots overnight but I'd had enough. One never knows how the ebb and flow will work out.

 I did set up a time lapse with one of my Wyze camera that failed. I found no recording at all, even though I checked the settings multiple times. Here's a view of how I had the camera aimed, both before the sun set and after it was dark..

 So another attempt at the aurora but one which produced no memorable results.

Once-in-a-Lifetime Aurora

The Peak - 10:14 pm

  We live in southwest Ohio so our chances of viewing the aurora borealis are few and far between. And even when we do get a glimpse, it's not very impressive.

 I've always been envious of my grandmother's description of the northern lights in Bear Lake, Michigan where they were vacationing (probably in October to see the trees turn). She described a three-dimensional display that she said reminded her of waving curtains.

 Last night was incredible and it was here. I've never seen anything quite like it and don't expect to ever again.

 During the day I began reading reports that either a G4 or G5 magnetic storm on the sun had sent a stream of charged particles in our direction. I've seen the notifications plenty of times in the past and been uniformly disappointed in the results.

 Live Storm Chasers posted this for tonight. Maybe we'll have a repeat?:

 It looked encouraging so I kept my eye on Facebook last evening  to see if any reports were coming in. When I friend posted a picture from Indiana, I knew it was time to go outside and look. I grabbed my cell phone, pulled on a coat (it was 35° and breezy) and headed across the back porch to the garage apron. As I rounded the corner to our back yard this was my first view:

9:31 pm

 It was more than a little startling to see a bright red patch suspended in mid-air. It looked like the sky was on fire.
 I turned and headed in so that Tom could come out and see it, too.

9:35 pm

 All these shots were taken facing NNW.

9:35 pm

9:36 pm

 The intensity of the glow ebbed and flowed. This is a slight zoom into the red aurora.

9:49 pm

 This is a wider view. I understand the red is caused by oxygen particles at high altitudes (150-250 miles) and the green by those at lower altitudes (60-150 miles). The particles were no less excited than I.

Credit: NOAA

 We were lucky that the sky cleared in time to see this. The day was a typically cloudy, wintry day. But last evening the stars were bright points of light and a front had washed the atmosphere clear for this grand spectacle.

First Snow of the Season

  At 7 am when I went out to read my gauge I was more than a little disappointed that the forecast had been so wrong. When I went to bed the forecasters were saying "one to two inches, with isolated amounts near three inches".

 I measured a mere trace.

 Then it began to snow. By 8 am it was coming down at a pretty nice clip. All told, I just measured 1.5" at 3 pm. Some reports are coming in with more than five inches. So the forecasters weren't wrong. I was.

 A view of our back porch.

 Looking to the south across our driveway.

 And a view north towards the woods.

 While it was still snowing I recorded an 8-sevond video of the driveway apron and Tom's Chevy Silverado parked there:

 I just took Parker out after a seven hour delay and found some spots open to the grass due to the sunshine we've been having. The snow is now sloppy and wet. It's 33° and we're having a lot of melting.

 This isn't early for a first snow but it seems sudden nonetheless. Two days ago we had a high of 60°. On 11-05 it hit 68°. So it's more than a little adjustment to now look out upon a winter-white landscape. But we're in for months of this - and worse - so I'd better get used to it.

Tom's Cochlear Implant

Note: This post will contain some post-surgery pictures.

 Squeamish? None are seriously graphic but consider your own temperament before reading.

  I've known Tom for eleven years now and we've lived together for the last five (in fact, it's almost six years since he moved in on 02-25-20). Of course he was already hard of hearing when we first met due to Ménière’s Disease. But it's grown steadily worse through the years and now he can barely hear me unless I almost yell.

 He wore a hearing aid for a while until he crushed it while working at an Amazon warehouse. He said it didn't help him much anyway. So he's been without any assistance for many years. He tries to keep his better ear (right) facing me and he keeps closed captioning on the TV.

 Many times I've suggested a cochlear implant but he felt due to the long-term nerve damage it wouldn't help. But this year, perhaps due to desperation, he made an appointment with an audiologist to see if it might help.

Tom chose Southwest Ohio ENT Specialists.

 On 07-09 a comprehensive hearing evaluation was done. Here's one of the results:

 Once insurance approved the operation, Tom returned for a "pre-op" appointment on 10-29-25. In the interim he's been to the hospital  three times, for an MRI (08-09), an EKG and blood work.

Surgery Day - 11-06-25

 We were asked to be at Kettering Medical Center at 11 am so we left just after 10 am in anticipation of heavy traffic. There was very little and we arrived about 10:30 am and registered. We were sent to the Surgical Waiting Room and given this "Surgery Tracking Card". Texts were sent to my phone throughout the afternoon as things progressed.

 Also there were monitors in the waiting room where I was able to watch the progress and see the color of Tom's procedure change as each step was completed.

 This photo was taken while Tom was in the operating room (his tracking number [4434417] is green - step 5).

 Tom had been taken to pre-op about 11:30 am and I was able to tag along.

 We first arrived in pre-op for this picture.

 Tom's undressed and put on a surgical gown. Why he had to completely undress for a procedure on his head, I don't know. Maybe it's a matter of patient comfort. 

[Tom says it's due to the sterile operating room environment]

 Tom's ready for the OR as a nurse goes over last minute instructions.

 There's even time for a little TV while he waits for them to wheel him into the OR. We don't know what the movie was - or even what the channel was - but it involved a circus and actor Danny Kaye.

 Now for the long wait. I watched the colors change on the monitor and finally the doctor came out and talked with me. It was just after 3 pm. My guess is that the surgery started about 1:30 pm and lasted an hour and a half.

 When I was taken back to recovery to see Tom he was still in the surgical gown but managed to get dressed without problems. He said he was "very groggy". Here's how he looked:

 The bandage stays on until tomorrow Dr. William J.D. Turner said to cut through the knot and the whole bandage could then be lifted away from Tom's head.

 We picked up a pain med and an antibiotic at CVS when we got home and ate at Gold Star. Tom hadn't had any food since 9:30 pm the day before ... and only a sip of  water to take his pills.

Removing the Bandage - 11-07-25

 Tom says he felt like he was wearing a hat today. Late afternoon he removed the bandage. It came off fairly easily and the blood on the bandages was minimal.

 Here' a "before" picture (taken 11-02-25) of the area where the surgery was to take place:

 And here's the area after surgery (taken today):

 How does it look the next day (11-08)? Here's a look behind the ear:

Cochlear Initial Stim: 11-26-25

 I assume that to mean "stimulation" because that's exactly what happened at Tom's 9:30 am appointment. By 11 am I got a text from Tom: "I can hear voice but its tinny, almost like underwater. It will get better with use and training".

 When Tom got home - about 1 pm - I was amazed that we could carry on a conversation. That's not something we've been able to do for a long time, and certainly not with me on his left side nor without me raising my voice.

 Later he mentioned how odd it was to hear my typing on my phone's screen ... from across the room. Or later when I heated coffee in the microwave in the kitchen. ""I could hear the microwave beeping," Tom said. These may be common sounds, but not for Tom.

 Here is how the wound looked last night:

More later ...