Two Special Birthdays

Two birthdays, side-by side. Garry got chocolate cake covered with chocolate ganache and chocolate buttercream roses...

...While Karen got layered vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream covered with purple fondant with abstract pink roses tied together with a pink ribbon. Happy birthday Garry and Karen!

Disco Cake

I was asked to do a cake for my friends who have triplets who were turning six years old.

The theme was disco!

And so, I made three little disco dancing girls in John Travolta-type white suits with a disco duck in the middle. The disco duck has an afro, natch! And I tried to kind of match the background colours and style of the invitation. It was a fairly large cake, enough to feed 60 or so.

Summer at the Cottage

 My cousins Jane and James have a cottage on Lac Notre Dam near Morin Heights.

This year they drove up from their home in Nashville with their dog Nila. She was pretty uneasy around the lake but by the end of our afternoon visit, she sat with us on the dock.

 The weather was hot and sunny and perfect for having a drink and hanging out at the water's edge.

 It was a really windy day but Richard and Jane braved the hot breeze and went for spin in the paddle boat.

 The disappeared around the island in the middle of the lake and then suddenly...

 ...there they were again.

Big waves as they came into shore. Just after their return, the winds blew in a big rain storm and we had our barbecue at the dining room table instead of on the deck outside. The rains are really needed in these parts so we were pretty happy to see them.

And even in the wind, I managed to do a quick drawing in my sketch pad of our wonderful day up at the cottage. The windsurfers loved it!

Sharp-looking Flowers

I visited a friend last weekend and was delighted to see my painted vase being used with a wonderful selection of flowers from her garden that looked like they were grown especially for that particular vase.

Summer Shadow

I read (somewhere?) that you can get enough vitamin D from the sun when your shadow is your height or shorter at noon. As soon as your shadow is taller than you, the sun isn't strong enough to deliver the goods. I don't remember how long you're supposed to be in the sun to get your daily vitamin D delivery. Fifteen minutes? Not sure. Thought it was kind of an interesting theory though...

Tuxedo Cat

I saw this unusual tuxedo cat the other day and had to photograph him. Often, like my cat Domino, the black markings are like delicate masks. This little guy had a full balaclava!

As I followed him, he ran over to his front step and sat down. Great background for a farm cat. Worth drawing perhaps.

By then the cat had had enough shenanigans from me acting as cat paparazzi and gave me "the look." I knew it was time to withdraw.

Chipping Sparrow Nest

 I spotted a sweet little nest on a spruce tree yesterday.

This tiny nest is about 3-4" across and has a smart roof.

Inside were two tiny blue eggs with speckles. It turns out it's a chipping sparrow's nest. Can't wait till they hatch!

Tree Moving

 That mini-tornado that hit last week managed to knock over one of my large cedars.

 Richard attempted to right it, but his car wasn't strong enough.

 Our farmer neighbour to the rescue!

Richard and he chained up the tree and yanked it up. My job was to slow traffic down at the top of the hill. Thankfully, it was a Sunday and only five cars had to be directed to go around the tractor.

 Once it was straight, they roped it up to a stake in the ground...

And then he backed up the tractor and drove away with the tree looking pretty good. We're watering it now in hopes that it lives. Stay tuned.

Truffles Burger Bar

Truffles Burger Bar is located in beautiful downtown Cornwall, about 45 minutes away.

They have a huge selection of burgers, everything from kangaroo to alligator to one that has truffles and sells for $100. Crazy! This one was lamb burger and not nearly so dear.

 Sides of sweet potato fries with a big selection of flavoured mayos for dipping. I chose basil.

 Other choices included their special which was a boar burger with a side of poutine.

 The chicken burger sure looked good.

And in case burgers aren't your thing, they can serve up a few ribs. Yum!


Truffles Burger Bar, 155 Pitt St., Cornwall, ON K6J 3P5
Tel. 613-933-9112

100 Things To Eat Before You Die #13

Fresh tomatoes from the vine, still warm from the sun, sliced and put on grainy bread slathered with mayo.

 Top with sliced vidalia or other sweet onions, salt and pepper.

 Top with HP Steak Sauce.

This is by far one of the best sandwiches ever! Try it, you'll love it.

Horseball

 Last Saturday Richard and I went to a game of horseball being played down the road in Glen Robertson.

 It's like basketball, played four-on-four. The ball is soccerball-size with six handles.

The goal of the game is to throw the ball through the large nets positioned at either end of the ring. Apparently the game originated in Portugal in the 1700s when they used a live duck as the ball. Thank gawd some things have changed!

And it made this week's Glengarry News!

Wild Weather

The drive home from work yesterday was hellish. I had my four-way flashers on for most of the way. The rain and the wind were wild. Once I got home, I figured I'd better see what was what. Seems my big maple in the back lost a branch.

I was eagerly anticipating a full or half-full rain barrel. No go! Apparently it got blown over (even though we had been testing the eavestroughing the day before so the barrel had some water in it.) The eaves didn't fare so well either.

And this is the oddest thing of all. I have a lovely patch, about 6' x 6' of moss growing beside the front door. The wind pick it up and started to roll it over. (The brown you see is the underside of the moss patch.) How strange is that?

Spaghetti and Golf Cakes

I was busy making two birthday cakes. First one was a faux spaghetti and meatballs cake for pasta lover Jim who celebrated his birthday on the weekend.

As well as golfter Don who turned "fore-tee" over the weekend. Good wishes for both the birthday boys.

Summer Supper

My garden is really starting to deliver the goods. The sugar snap peas I planted in March have been producing for the past month or so...even in this heat! The yellow cherry tomatoes I ate as soon as I snapped the photo.

I took the peas along with my green beans and stir-fried them in garlic (mine from last year), sesame oil and onions, and topped with toasted sesame seeds...

...and served that alongside a few slices of thin-crust mushroom pizza. Great vegetarian supper.