Remember

In Flanders Fields the poppys blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved, and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders Fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders Fields.

~Lt.-Cnl. John McCrae (1872-1918)

Photo by: http://www.flickr.com/photos/__olga__/ / CC BY-NC 2.0

In honour and thanks for those who served and are serving.

Sundays

I love Sundays in our house.

In the morning we head off to worship with our fellow Finanegans (no, not some crazy cult, just my fun name for the people of our church).

Afternoons are when we kick back, relax, and enjoy our Sabbath. Right now that means comfy clothes, football, easy meals and maybe a trip to the park.

Since I started writing this post, Wiggle Man has waltzed around the living room with a basket over his head, he has put plastic "eggies" in an yellow egg carton (very confusing, since the colour yellow is also pronounced "eggie") and is, at this moment, going through my china cabinet. One moment, please.

He made a valiant attempt to look contrite, but I don't believe it for a minute.

I think I'll grab some leftover Hallowe'en candy and a comfy blanket, and enjoy my two favourite guys.

Conversations

Had you been in our living room this evening, you may have overheard the following conversation:



Me: Wiggle Man, who are the people who love you?



Wiggle Man: Mama!



Me: Yes, Mama loves you. Who else?



Wiggle Man: Dada!



Me: Yes. Who else?



Wiggle Man: Elmo!


Apparently, Wiggle Man hasn't forgotten this:

Of course, Wiggle Man will also tell you that milk loves him. So I'm not sure he's really got the concept. Oh well.

Cake!

I did it. I finished the cake, in time for the Finanekids' party yesterday.

No matter that it took wayyyy longer than I expected. No matter that (almost) each leaf is strategically placed to hide a mistake.



Still, it was a lot of fun. I think I learned a little more about making my own fondant, gum paste and royal icing. Hopefully, when I try it again, things will go a little quicker.



I wonder if anyone actually ate the mice.

Their tails did not survive being put on the cake. I'll just blame that on the farmer's wife and her carving knife.

Of Mice And Me

If you follow me on Twitter, you may have learned about my foray into the world of gum paste. If you're not harbouring a (not so) secret ambition to be a pastry chef/Mom/musician/photographer/whatever I want to be these days, you might not be familiar with gum paste.

My first batch was....less than successful. I'm still not sure why. But, I followed age-old advice and tried, tried again. And came up with a workable batch of gum paste. GP is similar to fondant, but can be rolled thinner, and dries harder for decorations.

And, it tastes awful. (So they tell me. I'm too afraid to try it.) Unlike the new recipe for fondant I found, which actually tastes pretty good. (Tip: store-bought fondant has a tendency to taste like plastic.)

So, I coloured my gum paste, 'cuz I'm cool like that, and then last night, while The Rev enjoyed his Monday Night Football, I made these little guys:





These furry gummy woodland creatures are going to adorn my biggest cake decorating feat yet.

But for that, you'll have to wait and see.

(As will I. I mean, who know how that will turn out????)

Fall Family

This is where we spent our morning.

Finanegans probably know right where this is.

I can't believe how beautiful it is this time of year.

I can't believe how much this kid loves the park. Any ol' park.

There was lots of running. And jumping. And throwing stones and leaves.

About as perfect a day as it gets. Unless, of course, you take into consideration the mild tantrum the above cherub had when the Cracker Barrel didn't bring His Wiggleness' pancakes the blessed minute we arrived.

So, I'll leave that out of consideration, and choose instead to remember this:

My Very Own Wreck

Some of you have been saying very kind things about my domestic, er...abilities. (I was thinking 'delusions', but...)

Well, to prove I'm far from Martha, here's my finished mini pumpkin cake.




Not too bad from far away, is it?


Oh, but then:


Still not awful, I know. But then you turn it around:

And it gets a little sadder.

Well, here are some things I learned. Homemade rolled fondant tastes WAY better than that store bought stuff. But, it's harder to work with. Perhaps I'll try adding even more powdered sugar.

Also, I have no business carving cakes. At least, not yet. So, when I try this cake again (and I will, oh I will--bigger and better, my friends) you can bet I'll use two fluted bundt pans stacked to make a pumpkin shape.

Finally, royal icing tastes every bit as horrible as I remember from my foray into food prep in high school. Yuk.

Now, if only Cake Wrecks showcased amateur wrecks as well as the pros.