Jennifer Parker

The Democrats do not seem to understand that a decent portion of Americans voted more against the Republicans than for the Democrats.

Small glazed golden-brown loaves of cranberry-orange bread are on a baking rack.

More holiday baking! This is cranberry-orange bread with an orange glaze. All the orange juice required for the recipe came from my parents' trees.

I greatly respect any student of English who persists after learning that the phrase "I think not; he ought to buy a yacht" rhymes.

In honor of National Black Cat Day.

Five loaves of golden-brown piña colada bread, glazed and topped with toasted coconut, are cooling on a rack.

I have resumed my holiday baking! This is piña colada bread (including the rum!), topped with pineapple-rum glaze and toasted coconut. This is a known crowd-pleaser, and baking it always gives me a sense of accomplishment.

#NoKings. The church across the way decided to join, so church bells were audible for parts of the protest.

I am standing next to someone wearing an inflatable suit that looks like an animal skeleton. She is holding a sign with small balls glued to it and that reads. "Free Balls for Members of Congress Who Have Lost Theirs."

Someone wearing an inflatable suit that makes it look like he is riding a flamingo.

Several people in inflatable animal suits - from left to right are an aqua unicorn, a pink dinosaur, and a white unicorn with a pink tail.

#NoKings in the "war zone" of Riverside, California.

Recently got started on my holiday baking. This is my experimental loaf of the year: apricot-ginger bread topped with a lemon-ginger glaze and chopped dried apricots tossed in sugar. Not shown: almond spice bread and pumpkin bread.

A platter of frosted cupcakes with patriotic decorations, including flags and fireworks.

Cupcakes ready for my annual Fourth of July feast. I love my country, and because of that, I hate its current government.

I'd argue that capitalists are the ones going around buying up the practices of the vets who have built successful practices caring for animals, not the vets. Sort of like other capitalists bought out the practices of doctors who cared and have now moved on to buying up hospitals.

A USPS address sticker with a different message placed near a crosswalk in Riverside. I think the combination of texts here is great; the preprinted text reads "Priority Slap" and the handwritten text reads "F*ck ICE."

Seen while out walking in Riverside, CA.

Gluten-free shortcakes on a foil-lined cookie sheet. They are dark brown because I used a teff flour blend, and teff flour is dark brown.

Getting a head start on my Fourth of July food. These are gluten-free shortcakes made from scratch, which I will use to make strawberry shortcake day of.

I just ran out of litter and cat food at the same time - the ailurophile's equivalent of running out of shampoo and conditioner at the same time.

A modified version of Hartford Election Cake baked in a tube pan. My version, which I call Democracy Cake, is gluten-free.

A modified version of Hartford Election Cake baked in the traditional loaf pan. My version, which I call Democracy Cake, is gluten-free.

Two finished Democracy Cakes! The traditional pan is either a bundt or a loaf; I approximated with a tube and a loaf.

It's something of a production to make because the fruit has to soak in rum overnight and because the cake itself is entirely yeast-rising and made from an enriched dough. It requires two rises and then a 45-min bake, but I think it's worth it!

HEC originated in the 1820s, well before women had the right to vote. Baking it was one way they symbolized their commitment to both the country and democracy. Now, I vote and bake to show my commitment.

Democracy Cake is my term for a modified version of Hartford Election Cake, made to be gluten-free (I use a teff flour blend) and using vanilla and orange extracts instead of orange blossom water.

There is a special election in my area of California, and tomorrow is election day (l already mailed my ballot). And an upcoming election day means Democracy Cake! So I just got the raisins and dates on to soak in rum, vanilla extract, and orange extract. The main baking will be done tomorrow.

To top it off, TR established national parks, forests, and bird sanctuaries and was into trust busting. Of course TR wasn't perfect, but Trump has a LONG way to go if he wants to actually compete here, never mind "win."

The assassination attempt was during a public speech. After being shot, TR simply said, "Ladies and gentlemen, I do not wish to alarm you, but I have been shot," AND delivered the rest of the speech as planned. I also can't imagine Trump responding like this under any circumstances.

Theodore Roosevelt got his NPP for moderating the peace talks between Russia and Japan after the Russo-Japanese War. So he had to know enough about the interests of both countries to make an intelligent contribution. I can't imagine Trump being able to do that for any of the listed countries.

Not only can he not compete with Obama, but he also can't compete with the other US president to have won a Nobel Peace Prize AND survived an assassination attempt.

Reading about MAGA and MIGA makes MEGO.

A handwritten yellow sign in a window reading, "My family fled a dictatorship for this?"

Seen in my apartment complex. The sign reads: "My family fled a dictatorship for this?"

An outdoor sticker with the handwriting message "Love Life Like Trump Loves Putin (Deeply)."

Seen while out walking in Riverside, CA. Let's love life even more!

A gathering of protestors outside the Riverside courthouse.

#NoKings Riverside, 6/14/2025.

Had a tempered glass baking dish spontaneously explode last night. I found pieces of glass from this dish several yards away; it didn't just break. Apparently, this is an inherent characteristic of tempered glass, but rare enough that it's still considered safe and durable.

Golden-brown gluten-free syrniki pancakes draining on a paper towel.

First-ever attempt at gluten-free (or any) syrniki to be eaten after the borscht.

I looked at several other borscht recipes to get a better idea of which spices would work. Because most of them just used salt, pepper, garlic, and dill as seasonings, I decided to just stick with those.