Breakfast, Pie, Cake, and a Saturday to Remember

As weekends go, this is a good one. I've been doing more cooking than baking lately, but this weekend found me baking a pie for an old friend, and a graduation cake for my nephew. I was glad to see how much they were enjoyed, especially since I cannot partake in the fruits of my labor (carb detox living).  It really didn't bother me at all to skip the pie and cake; it is such a pleasure to see how much they were enjoyed by everyone else!

Yesterday morning (Saturday) started with having breakfast with my good friend Claire at a brand new place she suggested in downtown Saratoga Springs -- SPoT Coffee at Market Center on the corner of Railroad Place and Division Street. It's a beautiful and cheerful coffee bar that also serves cook-to-order eggs and wraps, and lots of other things. I had a big cup of hot black tea and a goat cheese and mushroom omelette, skipping the bread choice that accompanies every order. Claire had scrambled eggs in a spinach wrap and a cup of coffee. We sat by the sidewalk in the heated and enclosed porch and did what we always do when we get such time together, solve our own and the world's problems! Time goes too quickly on such occasions and I can't wait to go to SPoT Coffee again, and do exactly the same thing!

On the way home, I took a detour to deliver the apple pie (Martha Stewart recipe) to Lynn who worked at Skidmore College years ago. Now, in her early 80s, she has finally given up the 9-to-5 and is getting some overdue time to herself! There's no one who deserves it more, and I hope she will be able to now spend more time traveling and visiting with her family, most of whom live a distance away. It was so good to catch up and sit with her while she enjoyed a piece of her pie. It was a surprise, requested by her beautiful granddaughter Kristin who is one of my daughter Tricia's best high-school friends (they're both 30 now!). It just made me realize that time flies so quickly, and that it's good to step back, stop, and smell the apple pie! We chatted until it was time for Lynn to leave for a few hours of beauty with her hairdresser, and me to get home to finish my nephew Patrick's graduation cake.

Lynn's apple pie

Henry and Peter came upstairs to my little apartment to help me finish the cake, a black and white marble cake with buttercream frosting. They got to sample the trimmings, and each had their own ball of fondant to play with while I did the serious work. Henry really helped this time by holding the flower nail as the frosting roses were constructed. He was fascinated seeing the roses come to life, and I was thinking that he just might remember this moment. He's almost five (seems impossible) and we're beginning to have very interesting conversations. Every day he says something worth writing down to remember! Pete was busy drawing pictures with a pink highlighter, and as Henry and were engrossed in fondant, I looked up to see Pete drawing all over my kitchen table, a long, bright trail of pink swirls and lines. I gave him a wet paper towel and he cleaned his artwork until it was all but a memory, so proud of himself!

It was snowing lightly last night, on the way to my sister's house for the graduation party, and I was glad to get there and join the warmth of the evening. Patrick graduated in December from Florida State University, and has landed a good job that he likes, so life is good. Anne and John had a big spread of foods that included lots of no/low-carb options, so I was able to eat well without feeling deprived (shrimp, cheeses, nuts, turkey chili)!  She had a house-full of our family and friends, with little cousins happily playing together. It was a terrific ending to a lovely day, a day that focused on how meaningful relationships make life so much richer!

A warm welcome...

Cousins

Will (left) and Patrick (the graduate, right) Bishop!

Congratulations, Patrick!  So proud of you!