Hey, hay! And Yet Another Cake!

For those of you in doubt of the fact that your urban friends actually live amongst fields etc, here are some photos to prove our rurality.  (Okay, I know that isn't really a word, but it makes sense to me!  Spell check certainly doesn't like it.)

Yes, those are actual hay bales, right by our house!  The farmer came by and mowed his field (the tractor breaking down after just a pass or two - not a John Deere, I must point out) and, several days later, returned, got the thing running and completed the task.  This was followed by a squarish trailer attachment  that sucked up the grass, bundled it and spat out round bales, reminding me of a large metal rabbit.  (Too graphic??)

This picture is just a showy-offy picture of a summer sunset, right from our driveway - yes that's a hay bale on the left side.  Indeed, we've had moments where it seemed like summer was almost real!  Imagine!  Here is the Casablanca lily I was bragging of earlier:

My shadow...aren't I clever?  Oh well, the flower is pretty.

Last but not least, our kitchen has birthed yet another cake, this one for a 50th wedding anniversary.  (I'm sure you would have gotten it without the description, but there you have it, none the less!)  Making the bow almost did me in, but I prevailed...apparently it was so warm out that one of the hearts slid down the side of the cake.  Stupid humidity.  When you hear them complaining on those cake shows about heat and moisture, they aren't kidding!

Front (obviously)

Back

One side (the other looks basically exactly the same)

Will update you soon on any interesting happenings here on our sleepy little island!

Take the Cake!

Hello All! Many greetings from the Gentle Island.  It's official, I've launched my cake business website/blog.  (I haven't bought a domain name yet, so a free blog, it will have to be!)

Here's the link: TAKE THE CAKE!  The site is under construction, but I do have a few pictures up, most of which you've already seen, but it's nice to see all the cakes together.  It you don't want to leave this stimulating blog to check it out (ha ha) here are some pictures of my latest cake (showing the process):

Hand made - each one by little old me.

Butter creamed bottom layer & fondant in the foreground
(The cake isn't off kilter, but it sure looks like it is!)

More hand made flowers

With fondant, ribbon & topper

The final product.

Detail of top.

Back of cake.

As with anything this continues to be a learning process.  I have another cake to get ready for next weekend and a possible third in September, so I'm back to being a cake factory.  At some point I'm hoping that I won't need to buy anything to complete a cake order, but for now we're learning as we go.  (Things like: mental note, make fondant of ribbon a grey colour & THEN paint on the silver!) 

We spent part of the morning watching a hawk sitting up in one of our apple trees.  He seemed quite put out about something, as he kept yelling from his perch.  He must have sat there for a half hour or so & then just flew off towards the river.  Not sure what he was trying to tell us, but it was lovely spending some time with him.  We also have a marvelous Casablanca lily blooming out back.  I'll bore you with pictures on another installment and we've harvested our coriander seeds.  Its very nice having fresh herbs for cooking!

Ah well, not much else to report from the land of potatoes and lobster, but we are getting ready to have a lovely feast of mussels!  Living la vida loca!  Yup, in the wilds of PEI!

Around, Then Off the Rock.

It's hard to believe that the family visit is over already. It seems like we spent weeks preparing and then the time just went so quickly. The weather was mostly uncooperative, but we muddled through anyway. Better cloudy and rainy than 50 on the humidity index. Here are some photos from the visit, proving that we went from North Cape to East Point & places in between and even left the Island to go see some more of the Maritimes.

Seacow Bay, I believe...the map is in the car.

North Cape - one of the windiest spots in Canada

Still North Cape

Singing Sands Beach

Singing Sands is named for the strange squeaking sound your feet make when walking on the beach.  Its rather like a chirp, but can only be heard when the sand is the right temperature.  Fortunately for us, the day turned sunny, just as we arrived, so we enjoyed a lovely picnic and some lazy down time and sand that sang to us as we walked.  The clouds (in the photo above) were amazing.  The picture doesn't do them justice at all; they looked like a painting (not really surrealistic, but impressionistic, I guess).  It was truly amazing and almost everyone at the beach noticed and commented on the unusualness - that may or may not be a real word.

East Point Lighthouse

And we then ventured over Confederation bridge (a 13 kilometre stretch, for those of you curious about such things) and made our way to Nova Scotia.

Steel Sailing Vessel in Lunenburg, NS

Quaint Fishing Shack in Lunenburg

Michelle and Tom venturing in to see the Blue Nose II (under construction)

Pretty Lunenburg Street Scene

Morning Fog on the Inlet - Halifax

Changing of the guards at the Citadel...pure fluke that we were there!

Peggy's Cove - a must see if you're in Nova Scotia

It was a wonderful trip!  Many thanks to our tour guide Liz (one of Michelle's girlhood friends).  After 3 full days in Nova Scotia, we hopped back in the  car and headed home.  I'm very much a fair weather photographer, for the most part, so there are very little photos of our trip when the sky was filled with clouds.  We did visit some lovely little (& larger) places like Victoria-by-the-Sea, Brackley Beach. Souris and, of course, Charlottetown.  We had two very lovely dinners, one at the Inn at St. Peter's and the other at the Dunes Gallery and Restaurant.  At the Dunes we also enjoyed a lovely thunder and lightening storm and were lucky enough to have finished dinner before the power went out.  (No espresso for me...)  That sounds so dreadfully rural & backward, losing their power, but I don't think I could recommend the restaurant any more highly, even for the most distinguished of palates!  It really was delicious.

From the PEI Side of the Confederation Bridge

View from our front door
(Yes, we've put in a new screen door, isn't it pretty?)

 I have three (yes, count 'em) cake order over the next little while, so expect updates.  I had mostly given up on the cake thing, as orders had evaporated, but here I go again!  Be well & don't forget about us!  Lots of love from Prince Edward Island.