Bits 'n' pieces

 My little corner of the world used to be marked by a sign, very much like this one. But over the years it had weathered and because we are so minuscule, the county said they wouldn't replace the sign. Lucky for the few families that live here, a neighbour took it upon himself to coordinate the county, township and local building supplier (who donated the wood for the sign) and re-created the sign to mark our part of the world. I thought I looked rather Joan of Arkish in this pic...

 A few weeks back we headed into the big city of Ottawa to hear a friend from Israel speak at a hall in Little Italy. I've known Florence (the gal in stripes to my right) since kindergarten and hadn't seen her since high school. Good Lord. Suzanne (gal in red) and I have been friends since elementary school as well as sharing a major in university, but it's been ages. And Bev, (purple) and I hadn't seen each other since high school either, some 35 or more years!

I was invited to a potluck and I offered to bring a cake (natch). I decided to try a recipe I had seen online. Epic fail! The cake itself was yummy. But...the salted caramel frosting was hopeless. It broke partway through cooking and cooling and became crystallized. Having the consistency of plaster, I slapped it on and pressed it into the sides of the cake. And guess what? Not enough icing for the top. Chocolate ganache to the rescue. Topped with homemade caramel apples too. Best of all? It was someone's birthday, so candles were put on and Happy Birthday was sung. The gal came up to me afterwards and said it was the best cake she had ever had. I was touched!