The Genetics of Baking

My mother was an amazing baker. She inherited the gift from her mother, and handed both of her "B" genes down my sister and I. Andrea’s got moms baking gene, and I've got her other "B" gene. Her business gene.

Once my mom was confined to a wheelchair, there were a few things she knew she'd have to teach my dad. At the top of her list, was teaching him how to cook. By the time she passed, my Dad was outstanding in the kitchen. The other feather in her cap, was that she had also taught him how to bake.

Until the day he died, my dad was a pie guy. Not the 3.1514926 kinda Pi, but the lemon meringue, sugar, and hot apple kind. All of his creations were absolutely wunderbar. When my kids were small, he use to ring me up and tell me he was baking pies. He knew I especially loved his apple pie, so if he could put his hands on the right species, he was baking me a pie.

The minute Jukebox was born, he quit smoking. Suffice is to say, the weight gain (due to eating instead of smoking) quickly followed. My husband and I knew there was an issue when he arrived at the door one Sunday morning with his baked goods offering for Sunday supper. We were a little confused when there was a generous slice missing.

I remember asking him “did you have to test ours to make sure it was safe?” Matter a fact he replied "No... I ate mine last night, and I wanted another piece for breakfast!” I can still see the look on his face as he held out the partially eaten pie. Like it was completely normal. In hindsight it was. It was classic Herve!

Who says I am genetically challenged?
It's a beautiful site and smell tres yummy!
Taken: October 14th, 2013

Anyhoo, in honour of my parents, I baked a pie this morning. Strawberry-Rhubarb to be exact.

I was kinda shocked it only took me 70-75 minutes from start to finish. My competitive nature tells me I could have been done faster, but to hone my skill set, I decided to invest the time.

Who am I kidding? The only reason I spent the extra time was because the label read... “For best results ~ BAKE from frozen!”

Happy Thanksgiving Peeps.

Give thanks, and remember to always keep smiling.

A Family Day of Reflection

I spied a cartoon on Facebook this week. Two kids shuffling through the snow with a caption "Family Day”. The one boy starts by saying “Family Day, that’s a joke…” and the kid walking behind says something like “I know... My Dad’s out of town on business, and my mother doesn’t give a shit!”. It was really quite powerful. They were illustrated to look about ten or twelve years old.

Goob, Jukebox, Me & Sweetie....
In the backyard on Toronto Street.
(Photo Credit: DAD)
Taken: October 1995

When it comes to how we raised our children, I think we were somewhat unconventional. 

We did live together first, so we knew we were good in that department. But we never expected to transition into a family unit as quickly as we did. 

Because we were so young, we didn’t have a whole lot of life lessons under our belt to compare to, so we winged it.  

By choice we lived in a small bubble with very little outside influence for a lot of years. Tony worked days, I worked evenings (in  the non street walking sense), which lasted right up until the twins started school. 

I'd love to say we structured it that way because that's what we wanted but from the very start money was sparse. In the very first year of marriage, we chose to invest in a home. I remember being elated when we were given our first mortgage at 12.5%! 

My post isn’t meant to be somber rather it's reflective. As we celebrate today I have to wonder: how will this generation of children make it to the middle? Will owning their own home be out of reach? How will they ever be able to support a family? I think it's all possible yet I feel that I am a broken record in saying that the only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary.

Back to the cartoon. I don't think my children will ever have the opinion that I didn't give a shit. In fact, I am confident that their opinions will always be the polar opposite. They will have wished I didn't have such an incessant need for structure and control. In fact, I am sure they feel that had I minded my own business (you know... by not keeping the rift raft away, nor the partying at bay) they would ALL have been far better off. 

Which in turn provides the reality at hand; I don't know anything. Truth be known? I'm okay with that. Let's face it. Did any of us realize that Mother's knew anything about life in general before we turned 30? 

I know I didn't.

Happy Family Day All!

Let The Festive Party Season Begin

20' Christmas Tree at Red Leaves
(The white decorations are full poinsettias
plants set directly in this amazing tree)

When I fell asleep Friday night my eyes were heavy and my feet were sore. When I woke in the morning, I was amazed by a couple of different revelations.

Firstly, I was shocked that I was actually able to stay up past midnight dancing. Secondly, I was impressed that I could physically start my day without the aid of a walker and/or wheelchair. Using personal history as a benchmark, I know for certain that I had a really great time.

This weekend was the annual MBA Christmas Gala at Red Leaves. Every year it's the very event that officially starts my festive party season. From the time my purple lace dress landed downstairs, it was perfect. Lisa and Jennifer definitely know how to throw an amazing event!

I can 't help but brag about how great an organization this is. I have an innate respect for the tightly woven group we are, not to mention the good we do within the industry. This year, I was grateful to meet those attending for the very first time, but sad to report that some of my favorite MBA members had conflicting engagements. They were missed. 

As I sit here and type, I have to ask. Am I the only one that I can't believe that yesterday was December 1st? Today was our annual Santa Claus Parade and it poured rain outside! No matter what type of precipitation Muskoka's experiencing, my life is crazy busy right now, and I'll have something going on until the Christmas break. 

I am away next weekend on "festive business" but my next dance-a-thon is set to take place Saturday the 15th. I'll give you a heads up; after I attend that Xmas event, I won't have the ability to blog for a couple of days. Oh, and zero photos will EVER surface, you can take that bet to the bank. What can I say? I love FUN. It's how I roll!

Happy Holidays Peeps...

A VERY Belated YOU KNOW WHAT!

Both personally and professionally December is always hectic. Christmas has always signified that everything is about to roll over and we start all over again in January. 

Before I begin hammering on my keyboard, I want to go on the record saying that I'd been counting down to this festive break since Labour Day and with a skip in my step, I left the office midday the 22^nd . Who knew the proverbial bus (unexpectedly filled with a ton of bricks) was driving around town looking to hit me?

BOOM! I awoke with a sore throat the morning of the 23rd  with the oh so “slight cough” creeping in by mid day Christmas Eve. By suppertime Christmas Day the high fever had arrived in dah house & I was down and out for the count. I was so terribly ill there was no Facebook, no Twitter, no “YaGottaLaughAboutit” nada, nothing, zero, zip, squat. 

Not only was I too ill to spread sarcasm and wit to all my social media kin, by the night of the 27^th I was ready to call 911! Who knew you could overdose on Lofthouse’s Fisherman’s Friends? Crikey those boys are powerful! Should have known when I slept with the packet under my pillow for the second night in a row there could be trouble.

Most people would reflect and say “I can’t remember the last time I was that sick” but it seems I do. Yep, it was Christmas of 1989 just six weeks before my eldest son was born.  Ah, the dastardly flu of ’89. It now ranks up there with the plague that hovered over me the Christmas of 2011.

Still on the mend I would like to take a minute and wish each and every one of you a Very Merry Belated Christmas. Better late than never and while I'm at it Happy 2012 all... CHEERS!