The "Shlook" that Heralds Spring!

"Shlook" (as defined by me) is the sound a boot makes when being forcibly removed from surrounding muck.  Our boots have been making that sound frequently as we trudge down the driveway to the car and back.  You may not think that 600+ feet is a long way but when you're prying your feet out of the mud, it could be considered a work out.  Despite the inconvenience, this is one of the first passages to SPRING.  Oh, we've had other indicators, like the first robin and the flocks of Canada geese returning.

It has been a remarkably mild winter, by Atlantic standards, but don't think that makes spring any less exciting for us.  I can't wait to see the blossoms on the trees, the buds coming up in the flower beds and the plants returning to the green abundance.

The snow has receded markedly over the last two days, which is very encouraging, but we've come in to that truly ugly portion of late winter/early spring.  The snow is dirty and grey or brown, depending on whether it's town snow or country snow.  The last wind storm has left debris strewn over the remaining banks of snow and the exposed grass is straw yellow.  I don't know why, but I worry that it won't come back, even though it was nice and green when Ron first saw the place, and last spring once the snow melted and I must presume that it will be green again.

We're planning a short summer holiday to St. John's, Newfoundland and are looking forward to the trip.  There are all sorts of interesting things to do there including whale watching, iceberg watching and clubbing (night clubbing, to be precise...thanks Hopalong!).  (Apparently George Street has the highest club density in North America.  Of course, Ron and I aren't big clubbers, but how can we resist such a claim?)  The scenery also looks stunning, so we are anticipating witnessing all these things for ourselves.  Let's hope the weather cooperates.

House renovations have ground to a halt until Ron can get himself fixed up.  Hernias really put a crimp in heavy manual labour.  We do have all the fixin's to get the downstairs bathroom tidied up and the living room and hallway floor laid to match the dining room.  If Ron ever gets back to himself, he'll have a lot of work to do, poor thing.  We don't have much else going on, so I'll leave off for now.   Drop us a line to let us know what's going on with you.

Raptor-ous!

Hello All!

Old man winter is giving his last gasps and they're cold and snowy.  Fortunately, (& I can't believe I'm saying this!) it's currently raining.  Good news for snow blowing (or lack there of), bad news for driveway drive-ability.  We're more than ready for spring, despite the fairly mild winter, but OMW just won't let go...fighting to his dieing breath.

But things here move on.   I've decided to self-publish my book, so feel free to preorder.  I'm not sure what the time line on having hard copies, but I'm sure I'll tell you all about it when the time comes.  As to other endeavours, I'm sure you won't be surprised to hear that we've completed another cake.  (Oh, have I been griping about it?)  We completed a 40th birthday cake in the shape of a Ford Raptor Truck.  (Now, to be honest, I've never even heard of a Raptor Truck, before the order, but what do I know, I'm just a girl.)  Here's what they look like:  (again shamelessly stolen from Internet)



Here's our version (please note the purchaser didn't want the fancy black paint job):

It was truly a team effort, Ron helped with the shape, wheel wells, front grill and side venting, plus all the finishing work, like painting on the paint finish, covering the board with graham crumbs and various other items.  It was quite stressful.  I find it much harder to recreate something that already exists than to make something completely original.  Of course, there are 100 things that we would do differently now (like centering the tail gate handle better), but as always, this is a learning process for us.  The license plate says "BAD RAP", I hope they get it...as in bad ass Raptor...but who knows.  I resisted making the banner read "Happy Ford-ieth Birthday", but it was a close call.   We battled dry fondant...not fun, mild hysterics (on my part - PS Ron might debate the "mild" description) and a tight deadline.  In my own defense, all I want is a really good product and when things go wrong, or I have to redo work, I get cranky.  I guess it's part of my creative process.  (I don't do that when I'm writing, however.)

We aren't quite sure where the business is going (if anywhere) and I'm not crazy about working 6 days a week, plus extra hours during the regular work week.  Most of you know that I'm fairly lazy by nature, so it pains me to work any more than I have to.  All I want now is a good night's rest and maybe a nice soothing bath.  (We're currently watching the Montreal/Toronto game...there's something a little bit sad about two of the bottom teams trying to beat each other...but on the up side, one of them HAS to win.  Go Habs go!  Not that we're partisan in any way!)

To all of you, (as always) be well and know you have people out there who love you and think about you often.  (PS Why is Don Cherry such a blow hard?  I know that seems absolutely random, but he's ranting on the TV right now.)

Naughtiness and Giggles

As most of you know, I held a little soiree for the work peeps a couple of weeks ago.  What you may not know is that a co-worker, of British origin, had a bit of fun with the Islanders.  As the fete was pot luck, Paul (Brit by birth) offered to bring "spotted dick".  Now, some people will know that spotted dick is a pudding dessert (with raisins - hence the spotted part), but others may just think he's being a smart ass (or smarty pants for the  "G" crowd)...and that would also be true.  (Even he would admit it.)  With time pressing, he wasn't able to actually make spotted dick, but his ingenious wife, Elaine, came up with a solution.  I only have one picture, but here it is (followed by photos of the aforementioned raspberry Charlotte cake):

If this happens to you...go to the doctor immediately!

My piping needs work, but I do practice.

Not much left...must have been the Gran Marnier.

I've been in a bit of what I've been calling "cake-maggedon".  I agreed to make a cake for a repeat customer and she asked if I could do a dog.  Well, I've made a car and rolling hills, so why not a dog?  Of course, I said "yes".  Well, making a dog cake isn't all that easy, no matter how much you think it out.  Thank heaven's I could call on Ron's sculpting experience, as he helped shape the dog's body and he helped with blending the fur in etc.  It went better than I thought, even though I think we could improve on certain things.  (Don't I always say that???)  Working as a team, we got it done and here are some pictures to prove it.  (Please note that Owen, the dog, isn't as fat as his cake, but who wants a skinny cake?  His neck isn't as thick, either, but that's another accommodation for the medium.  Who knew that rice crispy treats were heavier than cake?)

We've had a lovely dinner of roasted trout, black rice (seriously, I can't recommend it enough, black rice is phenomenal!) with red peppers and asparagus.

Ron and I spent last weekend in Halifax, celebrating our 17th wedding anniversary.  We ate until we were ready to explode (have I mentioned that we miss eating out?).  I think the last time we went out for dinner is when we were in Vancouver in October.  Mind boggling to those West Coasters who know us well!  Any how, Halifax is a lovely little city that reminds us a bit of Victoria.  We had to commute home after a storm, but we made it home safely (obviously) and have settled back in to the little red Island, which we call home.  There are times when we miss Vancouver, almost painfully and others that we can't imagine living any where else but here.  This is our life here on the Gentle Island and, as always, we look to the future and wonder what it holds.  Be well, all of you.  Know you're loved and missed.  (PS, our current favourite Canadian TV show is "Republic of Doyle", has anyone else out there watched it???)

Enter Old Man Winter

I have to say that OMW is a kinder, gentler man this year.  He came with soft flakes and little bluster, coating our property in a veil of white and shine that makes you happy to see him.  It was cold this morning, -24 or something like that, but it made the trees branches all white with ice crystals that shone in the rising sun.  Truly breathtaking.

Very perversely, now that I've waxed poetic about the sun etc, it's begun to snow even though the weather forecast states "we don't expect any precipitation between now and Sunday morning". 

I'm having a small party for my work peeps.  I've made a lovely cake called "Raspberry Charlotte" that involves a chocolate genoise cake, alcohol (Grand Marnier, to be specific), and a frothy whipped cream/raspberry pure filling.  I'm now about to attempt a chocolate "filigree" border...wish me luck, if it's successful I'll post pictures at some point.  Now I'm off to complete the cake and get myself purtied up before the guests arrive.  (Oh and complete all the other little dished I have planned - carrot and beet salad, broiled asparagus and risotto.  Some folks haven't tried risotto yet, so I'm hoping it turns out well.)  Hope everyone is having a fabulous weekend and knows that we're thinking of you, as always.

And This Cake Makes Nine



Finished Product

Here they are, photos of my latest cake, a combo job for a big promotion and birthday (the couple lives in Nova Scotia, but are having a going away party here on the Island, with family).  I went a bit over board with the decorations, but I had the time and inclination, and I just don't want anything leaving here, that doesn't have some sort of "wow" to it.  I've got a couple of more cake orders coming up in the fairly near future and I live in fear of someone wanting a cake the same weekend as someone else.  We just don't have the capacity for that sort of thing, but I'd hate to say "no" to someone, just as the business is getting started.

Looks like a hot mess, doesn't it?

"Inside beauty is important, but not as important as outside beauty." - Ellen Degeneres (it's a joke, people!)

Other Side of the Road.  (The chicken crossed to get to Toronto)

Anyhow, we finally have some snow again, over ice which is floating magically above water...don't ask me how, we've been having some truly weird weather.  We were supposed to have some folks over for a bit of a get together, but we thought the driveway might be complete goop, so we bumped it until next weekend.  (Fingers crossed, it looks like there's a bit of snow in the forecast over the next week.)  Life is pretty quiet lately, we went to Charlottetown last weekend, just because we could, but have stuck fairly close to home, except for work.  Work on the house is in limbo, as we're afraid to open up floors etc on the lower level, in case the weather gets bad.  We are also waiting for the snow that we had last year, but perhaps it's not to be.  Every day closer to March gives us hope that we might "get away with" an easy winter.  Time will tell.  (No photos, we'll wait until it gets prettier - too much puddles and ice.)

Hope you are all well, I'm off to take a seat after my cake making weekend.  Stay in touch!



Peggy's Cove - gratuitous, I know

Sand Storm! (Our just deserts, pun intended)

We've had a few calls from out west, wondering how deep our snow is.  Very strangely, we've had little snow accumulation, with the  weather warming between each snow fall allowing the white stuff to disappear.  Compared to the photos from last year, we're basically snow free so far.  (Which leaves us wondering when the other 'snow' will fall?  Excuse the play on words!)  It did, however, snow a little bit last night, but when I looked out it seemed like more of a sand storm.  The wind had picked up the top soil and dusted it over the white snow, sort of like cocoa on a white cake.  Many of the drifts look like sand dunes and make it seem like it should be quite a bit warmer.  Here's the proof:

This photo is like one of the swirly sand toys from the 70s!

We took a quick trip in to Charlottetown today, just to get out of the house and see what the city had to offer.  We were hoping to catch an artist and craftsman conference, but it was only for vendors who wanted to buy in bulk.  (Perhaps a good venue for me, if I ever get my booked published.)  There's a lovely store in town called "Liquid Gold Tasting Bar and All Things Olive"  (Liquid Gold, for short)  They have a marvelous selection of regular and flavoured olive oils, as well as a wide selection of balsamic vinegars.  The beautiful thing is that you can taste all of them (it's like an olive oil warehouse) before you buy.  The oils are high quality and very fresh, unlike a lot of the grocery store brands that have lost all of their nuances.  I can source both black and white truffle oil there, which is decadent, but finishes certain meals, like risotto, incredibly well.

The house is slowly coming together.  We've rearranged the doors downstairs, so the bathroom has a solid door, instead of frosted glass  and we can now close off the dining room from the hallway, which makes for warmer winter dining.  We have most of the things we need to redo the downstairs bathroom, so that will be our next project and then on to the floors in the hallway and living room.  Good-bye hideously stained carpet!

I have yet to hear from the publisher that I submitted to; it's hard to wait, but then they haven't told me "No" yet, so it's also still hopeful.  I have started my next book, but I'm not very far in to it.  (The last one took me over 4 years, so I guess I have to cut myself some slack.)  I've almost completed the design of the logo for "Take the Cake", so we should be able to start advertising properly.  (Assuming that Ron can take my moods and I can learn not to have a mental break down with every project.)  I have a couple of future cake requests, so I can't just drop out of the business all together.  Well, that's about all from the gentle island.  We're well and content and hope you are, too.  Keep in touch and know that we miss you!

A New Year and a New Cake.

It's been a while since my last post (why does that feel like I'm in confession?)  Ron and I had a quiet Christmas & New Years, as I was suffering from a head cold.  (Classic, two long weekends and I'm sick!)  Ah, well, at least I could rest.  The house is already de-Christmased (if I can use such a word) and we're back in the throws of regular life.  I have a stash of pictures from our Christmas and New Year dinners.  Our down the way neighbours, Vicki and Preston brought us some lovely treats (including snow crab legs) so we've had a couple lovely feasts:

6lb of lobster for $25 - at Christmas!

No trick shot, that's how big his claw was!

New Years Tapas - thanks for the chestnuts Vickie!

We ate crab until we exploded!

It was over the holidays that another friend called and asked whether I would make a cake for her daughter's birthday & being a glutton for punishment, I said yes.  You know the phrase "use it or lose it?"  It applies to cake making.  I had problems with the butter cream icing, the first batch of strawberry cake failed, I ran out of supplies the second batch of strawberry cake didn't want to co-operate when it came to cutting and shaping it.  The cake board wasn't quite big enough, so I only had room for three turrets, I almost ran out of filling, but because I was short on butter cream (due to whatever the issue was when I made it) the top tier of the cake only had three layers, instead of the planned four.  I ran out of purple fondant.  (I do have to say that the fondant turned out perfectly - thank heavens!)  I drove Ron nuts with "this isn't working" and "that isn't working"..."what am I going to do?"  There were many bad words thrown around (at the cake, not at myself or Ron - he kept a civil tongue and just cleared out of the kitchen when I was having a melt down.)  All that being said here is the final result.

Front - obviously...

Draw bridge

Straight on from the front

During construction...just to prove I did make it!  Hard to believe that it turns into the finished product, eh?)

That might be it for cake making...I don't know if I can take the stress and I'm pretty sure Ron may want to kill me because of all the drama involved.  (One could call it creative spirit, but no, it's really just utter panic.)  I get less stressed the more frequently I make cakes, so these long intervals in between make it difficult, and so does all the time I put in to it.  This cake probably took me somewhere around 15 hours or so (maybe even 20...I can't begin to guess), even with Ron helping with decorating and production.  I keep thinking there must be a better way.  Well, that's all for the time being.  Be well, miss you all!