TV Dinners

I came across this posting on Pinterest last week and it really piqued my interest! As kids, when my parents were working (they had an ad agency in our house, starting in the mid-'60s), from time-to-time, they had to hit the road to see clients, so we kids got to eat TV dinners. Ya-hoo! But we never had Banquet brand; we always had Swanson TV Dinners.

Yup, just like this. I remember that turquoise logo. But ours always had some sort of apple-like dessert.

More like this. But we rarely got the fried chicken dinner. Generally, it was sliced turkey with gravy (I loved that) or...

...more likely this one. The Salisbury Steak Dinner. But wait! Ours never had soup.
That would have been really high end.

Now this is more like it! (Although I don't remember that fancy-shmancy cobbler.)

Babies!

Robins are nesting in the cedar hedge at the back of the house. I was dying to see those blue eggs, so I stuck my camera into the cedars and did a fast walk-by and kept clicking. Oh. My. Gawd. No eggs but babies! And it looks like this little feller thought the camera was his mum and he wanted some vittles!

Bar Mitzvah Cake

 My friend Cynthia's son was celebrating his bar-mitzvah last Saturday and she asked me to do a cake for his party. Jonah loves zebras.

I did a zebra cake outside as well as zebra inside (chocolate and white striped cake), topped with a little edible fondant zebra complete with a yarmulke and tallis.

It's Finally Here

Yes, spring finally arrived this weekend in the Great White North. My first piece of asparagus popped up.

The fiddleheads in the swampy area in the back of my house were ready to be picked (and eaten)!

 My gorgeous primula was in fine form and happily blooming.

This flowering tree was not mine, but seen on a drive by and Richard snapped this pic.

 Richard got busy and turned over parts of the veggie garden...

...followed by a beer and the NY Times crossword puzzle being worked out on the swing. The leaves aren't really out yet but the air was warm, the sun was hot and the days are starting to last forever. I love this season!

Cake Auction

My daisy and ladybug cake went up for auction with three other beauties on Saturday night at a fundraiser dinner. All the money went to the Madagascar School Project.

Each cake had a lovely description of it. I really got a kick out of the fact they called me "Glengarry Cake Boss." Pretty funny.

 Here are the folks gathering to check out the cakes before the auction.

 And here are the winners of the cake, a couple from Montreal.

They got the cake for $200 and I hope they enjoyed every morsel of it!

Daisies and Ladybugs

I am donating this daisy and ladybug creation for a cake auction benefiting the Madagascar School Project. The dinner and fundraiser is tomorrow night. Let's hope the cake fetches a good buck or two for this worthy cause, helping poor children in Africa get an education and a better chance at a good life.

Hellooo Out There

Richard and I went to a local trade fair a few weeks ago and kept a close eye on this woodworker who, er, looked he might be having a bit of an issue actually seeing what he was doing.

Oops! I guess not!

My visitor Jack

 

When I first spotted this little guy, about six years ago, he was a little vagrant...

...making his home in an old flower pot that I filled with blankets.

Now he's Jack, one of the most lovable and sweet creatures I've ever met. I'm lucky that his mum and dad let him stay with me when they go on vacation. He's always a welcome guest here at Calico Corners.

Of Cakes and Delivery

This cake was to be delivered to Hawkesbury, transferred in the parking lot of Tim Hortons and eventually delivered to Hudson, QC, where it would be a fun surprise for the bride- and groom-to-be at a bridal party lunch.

Just before the delivery, Richard noticed the cake delivery vehicle was sporting a flat tire. He changed the tire and we swapped cars so that the delivery would be smoother, using his car that had four real tires.

Other than getting a bit lost, our intrepid cake transporters met us at the Tim Hortons parking lot and we transferred the cake to their car where it was strapped into their back seat.

And the bride and groom were tickled with the cake since Jen calls Pat "Bear" and Pat calls Jen "Little Bear." And he asked her to marry him on the beach in Miami. The cake kinda said it all!

Police Badge Cake

I did this chocolate cake to feed 25 at a celebratory dinner for a fellow who joined the Cornwall Police Force.

Black Kitties

Richard's Percy has turned into a lovely cat. He's energetic and can't wait to get out and run around but he's also up for a snuggle once and a while. (So is Richard!)

My friend Deb over at her blog Just Cats often posts photos of cats in windows. I just loved the juxtaposition of this black cat and his white china counterpart.

Atchoum the Clown Cake

I was introduced to Atchoum the clown a few weeks ago when a gal asked me to make a cake for her five-year-old daughter. The clown is really colourful and was fun to make out of fondant.

Atchoum herself was at the birthday party and got to see her likeness out of sugar. What fun!

Trees and Earth Day

Earth Day. We decided it was the perfect weekend to plant trees. On a recommendation, we drove to Chesterville and find a guy who had trees.

 And boy did he have trees...

 ...Trees that were still waiting to be born. Baby trees?

 Trees waiting to be transplanted.

 He liked trees so much, he built his house out of trees!

We went home and planted two dozen trees that afternoon in the pouring rain. Happy Earth Day! Bonus points. A little calico cat who had a quick visit and disappeared off into the barn to go mousing.

Sign O' the Times?

I saw this at work last Friday and thought it was a sign of spring. Guess what? We needed it again yesterday!