Cake Note 18: "When words escape you, flowers speak" Bruce W Currie




Sophie and Smokie, two of my lovely ladies :)

  ......and flowers speaking are just what I need! WHAT a week - my precious daughter, on holiday in Australia called me Monday, absolutely  hysterical. She had crashed her hire car, it was a write off and she was in a right state. Once I worked out from her screechings that she was bashed and bruised but not seriously injured, I worked out whether anyone else had been injured as a result of the accident...luckily no-one was injured. The accident, unfortunately was her fault so I have worried sick all week about the outcome.

Luckily, she had taken out full car insurance and full travel insurance so the car is covered, the police aren't interested and we have to do now is sort out the medical claim - and you're then left wondering, what twist or turn of fate ...or whatever.....made it so that all you had to worry about was getting her home on an upgrade and sorting out the medical bills, rather than all sorts of other terrible outcomes I don't even want to articulate......I feel so grateful and thankful.

Role on tomorrow when I can meet her at the airport.

Take care

Cake Note 17: 'Just living is not enough... one must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower.

good evening - or is it good morning? I've been chatting to the Australian contingent so time gets away from me. No cakes to post until the begining of November, then so many to make, I'll have no time to post!

Since I'm now back at college, I'm going to post my Botanical studies - dry runs as it were for the actual assessment piece, which will be the Cattleya Orchid - I love orchids, but everyone I buy, dies in days! Soo, the pictures are my 'Chimney pot' of Nasturtiums and my attempt at the beautiful Moth Orchid. The petals are a bit too frilly, but will be better next time :) Optimistice hey?

So til next time, goodnight

Cake Note 16: 'There are worse things in life than death - have you ever spent the evening with an insurance salesman?' Woody Allen

Just a short post from me today and not really about cakes, but about what a sad day it is for me and my family. The photo is of my lovely dear departed brother Jim, who died very suddenly a year ago today - I've done the usual stuff, you know, flowers, Free Press, but I just wanted to make it more significant -- and for me, well Jimmy my lovely lad, I'm blogging you!

You might think that the quote is a bit irreverent, given the circumstances, but he would have seen the funny side of it! He always used to reply, when folk said how nice a funeral was, that the only nice funeral was the one where you were putting your coat on and going home!

He made everyone laugh and apart from his lovely smiling face, I miss that most about him. Sad to say, for a little bloke, he's left a massive hole in our hearts - and he did love my cake so in a way, it's still a cake blog!

I miss you so much my bonny lad xxx

Thanks for listening

Cake Note 15: 'Always be nice to your children because they are the ones who will choose your rest home - Phyllis Diller'

Number One Fan!

October was going to be a quiet month as far a cake orders were going, so I thought, mmm? what shall I do?..house work, gardening, reading, drive off to the cake warehouse in Newcastle and get all my stuff for November and December orders......maybe not - number 2 child phoned on friday last week...'Muuuummmm - could you do me a really really really (you know where this is going , don't you).....big favour...and make me a fruit cake?' - Me -'what, just a fruit cake?'. (fool)...' Oh no, a birthday cake for Steve, he likes skiing, mountain biking...anything to do with hairdressing...Oh, and he likes Leeds United'.
Me -'when for?'.....WEDNESDAY!!

Off course, I did what she asked (bearing in mind Phyllis Diller's advice), and here you can see the start of it - this little Leeds fan is 'Steve' - wears specs and has ginger hair, so I hope he recognises himself on Wednesday morning when I (!!!) have to deliver his cake to the shop!

So, no housework done, no gardening and the only reading was on the t'internet looking for colour schemes for the cake! here it is, I hope he likes it - my daughter is thrilled with it - mainly because she helped with the little model!


And so to bed...so much for the ealry night I promised myself! back to the 'factory' tomorrow, good night, God Bless :)

Cake Note 14: Every day, in every way, I am getting better and better. Emile Coue

....and my head is getting bigger to match! Well bloggers, here I am...late on parade again. Still struggling with this laptop, oh for my scruffy old room with the desktop pc in it...I could type like...well. like a typist!

Latest offering, I made this cake for  21st birthday...now the worrying thing is, I used to look after this 'little boy' when he was three.......maybe the quote should say....I'm getting older and older!

I have an abiding memory of taking him to see Disney on Ice - Beauty and the Beast...he spent the whole of the show saying 'Yes but Jean...when is the wardrobe coming on' - :)

He's into drums and drum kits, this cake was to represent his own black and silver set. It's a chocolate cake filled with buttervcream and Duerrs fabulous seedless raspberry coonserve, coated with white chocolate ganache and sugarpaste. My thanks go to the marvellous Marion Frost of Patchwork Cutters fame, who thougtfully designed a drumkit template and consequently dug me out of a hole:) My thanks.

October will be a quiet month on the cake making front...I have started year two of the C&G Sugarcraft course so will have my hands full....as well as a trip to Australia for Christmas to see my beautiful granddaughter Zara - and her Mum and Dad, of course:) Hope you like the cake - goodnight readers (even if it's only my loyal follower, Rebecca!

Cake Note 13: "Whatever you want to do, do it now. There are only so many tomorrows" Michael Landon.

Do you remember him? 'Little House on the Prairie' and Little Joe in that American programme with Hoss Cartwright! I loved Little Joe when I was a child.......reminds me of my Mother so much and I cannot for the life of me remember the name of the programme...oh, well, it'll come to me:)

OK, so here 's a cake I have made for my very dear friend, for her Mother who will be 92 on 20th September -  the very same days as my own dear departed Mam. Not sure where the other photo is, but I daresay I'll find it before I log off....AND here it is! The request was for a copy of an earlier cake, with a pink Stargazer lily - I did a bit of crimping on this cake, it makes a really nice edge.  Anyway, this little sweetie is going home with it's owner tomorrow, and I'll be baking an 8 inch chocolate cake for a 21st birthday for next week.......the boy likes drums, so I'm planning on a drum kit and maybe the names of a few famous drum rolls around the sides.....come on....name that drum roll....the one the gorilla does for the cadbury's chocolate advert:

Long week for me even though it's been a short one..if that makes sense. I've started a new flower making class and this time my teacher is going to demonstrate Moth Orchids and butterflies. I have been desperate to learn how to make moth orchids....so watch this space:)

Over and out

Cake Note 12: "“I put all my genius into my life; I put only my talent into my works.” Oscar Wilde

It's been ages since I last wrote on my blog - sorry if anyone has missed it:)

One of the reasons is because I have moved into the modern age...and got a laptop! No idea how to work it, lost all my favourite websites and passwords, and generally lost the plot! Still struggling with the keyboard but I am much improved, thank you.

The other reason is that I haven't made any new cakses until recentley - as I may have said before, they're like buses! You'll gather I've got one to show off about. The quote from Oscar Wilde is not about me boasting about my skill....perish the thought! Rather, it explains for me the nature of the choices I was given on this cake. I was asked to make a cake for a 16th birthday for a girl...Oooh I thought, lots of girly pinks and stuff...but no, doesn't like pinks or pastels or anything remotely girly..but she loves rabbits.......so rabbits are what she got! I tried to make it a bit sparkly with the top hat and the fountain coming out of it, but the colour scheme was lemon sugarpaste and brown ribbon......I hate this colour combination personally so was worried the 'owner' wouldn't be happy with th end result. Hence the reference to putting talent into my work! As my friend said - 'It's not your cake Jeannie...make it and move on'....Luckily for me, the owner was pleased with the cake...and as a result, so am I:)

I hope the birthday girl is as happy with the sugarpaste rabbits as her Mum was!

I'll try not to leave it too long next time...2 more cakes on the go. And, I have also signed up to do year 2 of the C&G course I completed last year...let's see if I can rack up another 3 distinctions and 1 merit:) Yep...showing off now...goodnight everyone (or at least Becki..my devoted follower...hope your back gets better soon:)