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I took time to make a cake this morning using one of the new kits we received yesterday. This is one of the kits for Princess Tiana. Our store is in a culturally diverse area, so it will be interesting to see how well these kits sell.
I usually try to avoid doing cakes in whipped icing, especially chocolate whipped. This order called for lots of flowers. I didn't leave too much open space!
Here's a close-up of the border of flowers.
I thought we had most of the Friday cakes done when I went home yesterday, but I spent most of the day today working on cakes for today. I only had time to make two cakes for tomorrow. We really needed a third person doing cakes today.
I left work an hour early today because I had already worked four days this week. I got home before the sun went down for the first time in ages!
I made homemade chicken noodle soup for dinner. I hit hubby's with the blender. Worked great. Much healthier than the creamy soups I have been making. This whole soft food diet is going to take some getting used to.
I go to work late tomorrow and Sunday. I'll have to try to get something else made before I leave in the morning. I baked a custard pie tonight while the soup was cooking.
We will have lots of deer hunters here tomorrow. May not be able to get to the computer!
I worked today, so no time for pictures. I did make a unique cake this afternoon, but I had forgotten to take my camera with me today. I'll have to make another one tomorrow. We received three new kits in today for new Disney designs. I'll have to try them out to see if I like them or not. One of them is iCarly which we have gotten several requests for.
No real news on the medical front, but it looks like my hubby is leaning toward keeping the quality of life that he has now and taking a chance on living for at least a few more years. He read a lot of information today that our daughter had given him, and all of it regarding the operation was depressing.
Since I didn't take any photos today, I decided to go back to this time last year and see what I was doing. In addition to making pot holders and table runners, I was still outside taking pictures. This is an edited version of a spider's egg sack. Last year I took lots of pictures of spiders and praying mantis, but I hardly saw any of them this year.
It's in to work early again tomorrow morning, so I'd best get myself off to bed. 5:30 comes early for me. There should be three of us, but I think someone is going to have to help the donut people, so that will slow us down. We made most of the Friday cakes today, so we should be able to make a big dent in the Saturday orders tomorrow. I'll still try to get a couple of pictures. Toodles!
No time for photographs today. This is my leaves in the bird bath from last week with a couple of filters applied. It makes it look like an abstract painting.
I went to the city with my hubby today. I watched the grandkids so our daughter who is a doctor could go with her dad to his doctor's appointment with his surgeon. They didn't get good news. He has had esophageal achalasia for more than 20 years. At it's basic level, it means that the lower esophageal sphincter (muscle) fails to relax and allow food to pass into the stomach in response to swallowing. He has had various proceedures over the years, but now his choices are down to just two: an espophagectomy (removal of the esophagus) or just living like he is now and waiting to see what will happen. Both have disadvantages and no advantages. If he does nothing, he risks cancer or a complete blockage and emergency surgery on an older and weaker body. If he opts for the surgery, there are all the complications from the proceedure itself, then a complete change in lifestyle. There are no good choices.
If I were in his shoes, I think I would opt to keep living with the quality of life that I have until something changes. He is getting along pretty good right now. He has more energy. He has gained a couple of pounds. He is sleeping good a night. So far, the food that I have been fixing has been really good. The only down side for me is that it is more time consuming. I make almost everything from scratch. I will try to share some of my ideas and recipes as we go along.
Being gone all day wears me out. And I have to get up early in the morning. I need to put some stuff away before I go to bed tonight, too. Thanks to everyone who has expressed concern for us. It won't be an easy decision for him to make. I'll keep you posted.
This my my version of a cake with teal, lime green, and brown flowers. It didn't get picked up before I left on Monday so I'm not sure if this is really what they wanted or not. But I'm happy with it. Brown flowers are hard, but I like the way these turned out.
This is my favorite cake from Monday. My directions on this one was yellow and peach roses. I made another one almost exactly like this one to put out in the cake case.
We had a cloudy, cool, windy day today. I didn't go outside except to water the dogs.
I spent most of the day today cooking. I did take a nap and wash a couple of loads of clothes, and catch up on some computer stuff. I finally took time to check my iStock account, and was happy to note that I had sold another photo. It was one of the tomato worm from last year. I haven't uploaded any photos in a long time. Too time consuming. I should go down to my sewing room and do some sewing tonight, but I don't know if I will make it. I will more than likely go to bed early. There is always tomorrow!
I took this shot of Lady on Saturday before I left for work. I had to take it through the glass in the back door to keep from waking her up. I was supposed to have Monday off, but they ask me to work anyway. It wasn't too bad. We got the orders done and several cakes for the cake case, too. I worked by myself today. I had a lot more orders than we usually do on Monday. Today I felt really good about every cake I decorated. I felt like I had done the best I could do. Everyone seemed really happy when they picked up their cake, so that was nice, too. I did make a couple of unique cakes that I took pictures of, but I will wait until tomorrow to post the pictures. I want to go watch Monday night football!
While I was outside with the dogs yesterday, that were poking around at something in the yard, so I went over to see what it was. This furry little creature looks like he is sunbathing, but I think he was dead. My hubby found two more dead animals over by the garden this morning. We have had a few mice in the house this fall, but not too many. We still have cats, but the dogs make them stay away from the house in the sheds. One of the females has a litter of half grown kittens. Bet they are wild!
It was absolutely beautiful here today, but I didn't get to enjoy very much of it. It was already 70 degrees when I left for work. We were swamped with cake orders again today. I worked on today's orders for a couple of hours, then I had to start working on cakes, etc. for our cake case because it was empty. As a result, I have to go in and work tomorrow. If I had been able to help with tomorrow's cakes today, I might have been able to stay home tomorrow. Oh, well. We didn't have any plans anyway.
Today was a wonderful, perfect fall day. Warm and sunny. And I didn't have to go to work until this afternoon. So this morning I was able to do some cooking and some sewing and after lunch, I grabbed my camera to go out and see what I could find. I really like the way the sky fades from a dark blue at the top of the photo to a very pale blue at the bottom. No editing, except cropping.
Most of the leaves have already fallen off of the sycamore trees. This one is hanging on for another day.
Found this fellow lurking on the side of a tree. Does anyone know what kind of insect he is?
Most of our fall color has faded and most of the trees have lost their leaves but our bald cypress is just getting started. There is a shallow layer of needles under the tree, but the color in the ones left on the tree is stunning. In the sun, they look like polished copper.
I only worked five hours today, which was okay by me. I'm working on the sleeves of my granddaughter's dress now, so I may be able to finish it this weekend. I go in to work at 11:00 tomorrow, so I'll have some time, but I will probably spend most of it cooking. Hubby loves mashed cauliflower, so I'll probably do that, at least. Looks like we will be busy tomorrow. We have a whole stack of orders and one of the girls is out with H1N1. Sunday looks pretty crazy, too, but I'm not scheduled to work. I'm hoping for another nice day so I can get out with my camera again.
I have really missed posting my meager thoughts and activities (such as they are) on my blog. I have also missed going out with my camera. So I'm doing both today, and making you sit though it! LOL
This is the table that is out on my screened in porch. Not a necessarily attractive arrangement, but I liked the way sun was slanting in.
I still have a few petunia plants on the south side of the house that haven't given up. The leaves are protecting them from freezing.
Here's some of the leaves that have collected in the bird bath. We live on the edge of a rise, so all of the leaves blow out of our yard. The wind does the raking for us, thank goodness!
Time to go fix dinner. I'm going to try meatloaf tonight. Hope I can get it mushed up enough that hubby can eat it!
I worked by myself on Monday and Tuesday of this week, but didn't have time to be very creative. I did do this cake, which I was rather proud of.
I'm finally digging out from under the pile of paperwork that has accumulated on my desk. I still have a way to go, but at least it is all on my desk now and not spilling over onto the floor. I think I have most of the bills paid. Still need to check my bank balances. I had received an Etsy order back in October, but didn't have time to get it shipped until today. I was totally out of practice. I hadn't received any orders in some time. I've been too busy to make any new things and get them listed. I'm still working on dresses for my granddaughter.
I'm also sending a lot more time fixing food than I usually do. I haven't found much good information on the web about soft food diets, but I did find a good site today about making homemade baby food. I've been afraid to try anything with meat in it. I'm going to give it a try today and see how it goes. My handheld blender has been a big help. I'm going to try to add a little ham to some navy bean soup. I'll keep you posted. Thanks for all your prayers. If you think of any good ideas for soft food, let me know. If we can keep body and soul together without surgery, that is the way we are leaning now. He will still have a test on Monday, and a consult with his doctor on Wednesday.
Wow! Sorry it has been so long since I was home long enough to post anything. It has been crazy around here. Here is a photo of us (on the right) with my hubby's family that joined us for our 40th anniversary celebration on October 25th. Two of his sisters are in the bottom row in the center and his two brothers are in the top row. Not too bad for a bunch of old timers. My hubby is the baby of his family.
Thanks to everyone who has been praying for him. He is feeling much better. His doctor's decided not to operate last week, so he came home on Thursday, but I have worked every day since then. If I'm not working, I'm doing laundry or cooking special food for him. He is on a soft food diet, and so far, it seems to be working. He was supposed to have another test done today, but the tech who was scheduled to do the test was sick. So I've been making creamy soups, etc. so he can have something to eat. It hasn't been too bad, just time consuming.
We have finally had a couple of sunny days. And it is still warmer than normal for this time of year. The farmers are all happy because very few have their crops out of the field yet.
Another photo from the wine garden. Not quite as cute as the wart hogs, but charming none the less.
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