Wedding Cake!

Alright Jessie, put down the camera and grab a spatula! Everything gets loaded and transported to the church after each layer is iced smooth. I have, in the past, made the mistake of trying to complete the cake then transport it. This was much, much easier!

Pretty smooth, for a square.

Caught!

Only took out a small chunk of icing. The rest goes pretty much as planned, bottom 2 layers together, top 2 together, then the columns. Adding the butterflies are fun, easy, no pressure involved. The florist will bring the top, I am praying that it is the right size and fit....

She really wanted the square bottom and round rest. She saw my wedding cake in my scrapbook and loved it. I told her it was because I dropped my own wedding cake the night before the wedding and added a square from Publix to save the day. I thought it was ugly!

Here is the cake (from cakewrecks.com) that inspired the bride.

Of course, I am not a fancy New York Bakery, but not bad, huh?

cake progress

It's okay if the cake mounds a little as it cooks. Professional (?) bakers use different equipment I think, like strips of stuff you dampen and place around the pans so the cake cooks more evenly. pooey....

I just use a really big bread knife and slice off the mound. The family likes this part! The kids like to fold them in half and eat it like a "Cake Taco"

Cream cheese icing costs WAY more than buttercream icing. But it tastes very good. Notice the pineapple chunks are gone. After a call to the bride and her mother, the chunks were chunked. Hopefully the pineapple flavor will still be evident.

Jessie says I look asian in this photo. I'm just happy to being close to finished. Well, that doesn't look very smooth now does it? Squares are more difficult than circles. Let's hope this gets better.

sneak peek

Making a wedding cake, even a small one, is quite an adventure for me. Yesterday I shopped all the ingredients, plus some supplies I knew I was short on. Today I bake!
I'll do the 'Ball and Chain Groom's cake later. Right now I'm trying to decide columns or no columns. The bride picked her 'inspiration cake' which was stacked (no columns), but every cake in my book that she pointed out and liked was columned! Plus, it is not huge, (4-two layer cakes) so columns would make it appear more substantial. Everything points to using them, but the cake she picked out is without. hmm.
One of my favorite parts of baking an event cake is the tryout cake. This one is almost as firm as a poundcake, heavy on the butter, with pineapple glaze under creamcheese icing. Yum.
Pretty good so far, I'll let ya know how it comes out. Hope she likes it!

Gerald

My Husband, Gerald, is the choir director at Yulee United Methodist Church. Of all the good things he does, I am most proud of him for this (after being a great father and husband, of course). When we joined the church, it was a homecoming for me, as I had been raised in this very church and many members of my family still attend here. But for Gerald and the kids it was a new church. It was also strange for them, since I knew nearly everyone and they knew almost no one. As in most UM churches, the pastor left for a different appointment and in came a new one. We also lost the choir director with that move, as she was married to the outgoing minister! No one volunteered for the job and the choir dwindled down to about 5 people. They valiantly struggled on without direction for a little while. The new pastor tried to direct but was busy with trying to be a pastor!
He had no idea how much Gerald loves music when he practically begged him to help. Gerald said he would commit to a year. That also meant the choir gained 3 new members, me, Rubin and Jessica. We were off and running with 8 choir members!
We recruited like the Army! Twisting arms, making promises, bribery, whatever it takes, right?
Each one that agreed to join we'd talk them into bringing a family member or friend along too. So in this picture there are six parent/child sets! This is Gerald's 2nd Christmas Cantata and it was awesome. He picks really big songs that they don't think they can do. Then he talks them into trying. Then he makes them practice like crazy! Here they are SMILING after standing up singing for an hour and a half! They ALL love being in the choir! That's Gerald on the far left, Jessica is the 3rd lady in front and Big Rubin in the black suit, he's our sound booth technician.

Check out the 3 goofballs on the right! That's Rubin and Weldon chillin' wit' da Pastor! They are so funny!
I am so proud of my family, they literally sing God's praises every week, using the gifts that He gave them to His glory. I couldn't ask for a better family.

Peace on earth

Wow! I have been busy! I didn't realize how long it had been since the last post. Sometimes during the Christmas season as I'm rushing here and rushing there, something stops me in my tracks.
Jessie has decorated the whole house singlehandedly, no one else had the time! A friend gave me this angel today, I thought she would look pretty near the little nativity. She does. I hope you take time for advent~ preparing for the coming of Christ in your life. Not the decorations, shopping for gifts, parties, church events and dinners, but taking time each day to realize how important HE is to every soul. including mine. God bless you.

All Stars Retreat

Each year I leave in plenty of time, with the full intention of arriving at the All Star's Retreat on time like everyone else. But every year I get distracted and wander across and down the state, taking a new route each time, until I've wandered the day away and someone has to call and remind me where I'm supposed to be.

This year was no exception. I went to Dottie's house in Palatka to collect smoke and fire damaged fabric from her sewing room. Her river house burned about 3 weeks ago. I am going to try to save her stash. After bagging over 8 garbage bags full and stacking them in the Blazer, I decide to take the road less travelled.

I knew there was a place called Fort Gates Ferry on the St. Johns South of Palatka and North of SR40. I wondered if it might be an actual ferry. After turning off US17 and passing through Welaka on a nice little winding 2 lane I found a tiny sign that advised me to turn right to reach Fort Gates Ferry. Then the road just ended. At the river at the end of a travel trailer park with more permanent residents than visitors. The bait shop was closed with a sign on the door. "be right back". I wondered how long the sign had been dangling there.

After a while a lady came and sat on the first porch and asked if I wanted to cross. She yelled and the ferrymaster ambled along directly.

The ferry boasts a two car capacity, but it would have to be two small cars. I enjoyed the crossing, and when I drove off the ramp the ferryman was already pulling out for the return trip. I was headed west on a dirt road with no signs at all. So, being no stranger to dirt roads I took off. West would have to eventually cross US19 which runs North/South. It did. Eventually.

More Harold's Quilt Shack

Topsy Turvy Time....

Remember last week's photos, all neat and pretty. Well yesterday I had 2 big groups call ahead to come and shop. What a total blast! I had so much fun watching all those ladies pick out fabrics for their projects. I think at one point the Fire Marshall may have fined me for being over on the capacity limit! Now my tables are overflowing with fabric that needs to be put back in place. My cash register overflowed too, see...
Okay, it's a tiny little cash register for a tiny little quilt shop, but I am having GREAT BIG FUN! Thank you to all who came and shopped.