Drive through Algonquin Park

Every Thanksgiving we drive through Algonquin Park to get to Richard's family who have a cottage near Huntsville.

The colours this year were truly outstanding! Lots of reds. I heard it was because of the very hot, dry summer.

On the way west, I noticed this scenic beaver dam for the corner of my eye, so we stopped for photos on the way back.

Interesting to see the dam up close and how it really does hold back the water. And the pyramid-shaped beaver house in the background. Beavers are so "dam" clever!

Happy Birthday Sis!

Today is my sister Marci's birthday.

 She was such a cutie!

My mother loved to dress my brother and sister up. I think my brother actually had leiderhosen that Mom brought back from Austria.

My sister is a great big sister!

 She was the coolest because she played guitar.

We all wanted to be like her. There's my friend Roberta holding onto the guitar case!

Looks like I'm having a grumpy birthday here. My brother is trying to whisper something to me. My sis looks angelic.

Mom won these dogs at bingo or bridge or something. I got the brown guy, Marci got the black poodle. Kinda funny because now she has two black poodles (real ones, that is).

I love this photo of my dad and my Uncle Gus and Marci. Not sure of the date.

 Happy birthday to the best big sis in the whole world!

Blue Bottle Cafe at SFMOMA

At the Blue Bottle Cafe in SFMOMA, all their desserts are based on artworks in the museum. Fabulous idea or what? This arrangement of cookies is based on the sculpture garden, just outside the indoor cafe.

 This simple plate of cheese and crackers is a nod to Josef Albers minimalist "Squares."

An ode to one of my faves, Barnett Newman. (Did I ever mention I had a barn cat named after him? Never mind.)

The big show that was on during my visit was by Cindy Sherman. Here's her inspired dessert.

 Frida Kahlo Mexican wedding cookies.

 A Wayne Theibaud layer cake; one of the cakes from his "Display Cakes" painting.

 And of, course, the Mondrian cake...the reason I was at the SFMOMA in the first place.

Three of us tucked in to these artful choices. Heck, even the coffee is a piece of art. Wouldn't this be a dream place to work? Designing and baking artwork every day. Sigh...

Full Circle

 My cousin Lizz, who lives in San Francisco, posted this on her Facebook page back in January 2012. She celebrated her birthday with a piece of Mondrian-inspired cake from the Blue Bottle Cafe at the SFMOMA.

I just thought this cake was the cat's meow and I decided I had to try and make it. When was I ever going to get to San Francisco and have a piece?

Since Mondrian's 140th birthday was March 7, 2012, I decided that was the day to try to reproduce this cake. One of my blog's most popular posts ever was my step-by-step Mondrian cake post. It came out okay, but not exactly like the real one!

Flash forward a few months and I get an email from Caitlin Williams Freeman, the cake artist who invented the cake. Someone had pointed out my step-by-step blog and she invited me to visit her if I was ever down that way. And guess what? In late September I was! So...I got to meet her (on my left) along with her head baker Leah Rosenberg (on my right). Oh, and that's my cousin Lizz beside Leah, with her Mondrian bag; she's the reason I saw the Mondrian cake in the first place.

And yes, the cake was fantastic. Even more fantastic to meet the baking gals! Life is so much fun sometimes.

Fall Cake

I've wanted to paint with food colouring onto a fondant-covered cake for sometime now and decided the time was right. Every year over Thanksgiving weekend at Lake of Bays, (near Algonquin Park) I paint a scene in my sketch book. Richard's family has a cottage there and all his family come up to celebrate the season. We all cook various meals and have a wonderful time. I usually bring a cake.

I was happy to hold the cake up to the scene that inspired it. Under that fondant was a carrot cake and we dug into it after our turkey dinner with all the fixings. Hope your Thanksgiving was wonderful.

There's No Place Like Roam

While in San Francisco, we went to the burger place called Roam on Fillmore Street. All the food is served "from pasture to plate."  

The burgers were fabulous! I had one called Pacific Blue, full of fresh veggies, blue cheese and sauteed onions.

Richard's Heritage burger was equally delicious with fontina cheese, bacon and caramelized onions. We paired our burgers with an order of sweet potato fries and another of russet fries. Yum-o!

 I washed mine down with a local beer, Stone IPA.

 Richard loved his Allagash White.

We were lucky to be introduced to the owner of Roam, Lynn Gorfinkle, who shared a few moments with us. A fabulous lunch and I can't wait to go back and try their ostrich burger!

Musee Mechanique

When you enter the Musee Mechanique located on Pier 45 of Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco, you are greeted by the Gypsy Queen.

Oddly enough, I had visited this museum 10 or more years ago when it was in a different location in San Francisco, so I was delighted to stumble upon it at Fisherman's Wharf. And it's free to get into to boot!

 It is full of arcade games from a different time.

 A time when you could spend a penny or a nickel and have your fortune told.

 Or watch silly musicians play for 30 seconds or so.

 Now it costs 25 cents or sometimes 50 cents.

 But where else could you have your palm read for such a bargain?

Although there are some more current video-type games around the sides of the museum...

 ...most of the games of chance are more old fashioned and fun to watch.

 This one was a particular favourite. I should have this at home! Wonder how/if it works?

 Put a quarter in and watch people smoke! Yipee!

 Barbershop quartet singers for twenty-five cents!

This sailor kind of creeped me out. But still kinda fun!

Birds, Birds, Birds

In Muir Woods, located 11 miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge, I noticed this lovely raven who didn't seem to be afraid of me. In fact, I think he thought I was going to feed him! He seemed very happy to pose for me.

In San Francisco Bay, we sat at the water's edge and watched this cormorant dive and he came up with this big fish.

Back closer to home, I went to lunch in Alexandria and noticed this great blue heron sitting at the water's edge...

 ...a stream actually runs under the restaurant that was once an old mill.

He swooped down and picked out a fish for his lunch as we sat indoors eating ours.