Graduations, Babies, and Connections!

Hard to believe it's been thirteen days since my last post.  We had a problem with our internet connection, since we don't have Roadrunner or cable.  Our provider (that company that starts with a big "V") when contacted told my daughter that the problem could only be repaired by a house call (actually road/telephone pole call), and finally, today it was resolved.  It's been a long, almost-two-weeks, fast from the internet at home.  While I was able to connect at work and also on my Windows phone to at least get email and check facebook, I wasn't saavy or patient enough to attempt composing an actual blog post on a phone!  Thought I'd just ride out the technology snafu and here we are, at last reconnected.  The repairman told my daughter Katie that a wire out by the road had actually worn out or shorted out, and thus our blackout.  Like anything else, you don't realize how much you miss it until it's gone.  Recharged, it was fun to watch Henry and Pete participate in a Skype call with their daddy tonight before they went to bed.  Two little boys were very excited to see their father on the computer screen (first time), and were talking simultaneously.  They are new to Skype and once they figured out how to see and hear each other at the same time, it went very well.  It's a great way for families to communicate at a distance.

Over the past two weeks, a lot has happened.  I have two new great-nephews!  On the O'Farrell side, my nephew Adam Britten and his wife Rebecca welcomed their second son, Drew Ryan, on June 14th, weighing in at just over 9 lbs.!  Then  yesterday, on the Eddy side, my nephew Roddy and his wife Emily also welcomed a second son, Breccan Robert (at a whopping 9 lbs., 11 oz.!).  It's been a good year for babies in this family!  And tomorrow, also on the Eddy side, my nephew Gordon and his wife Mary will be having their second baby boy, Daniel.  An abundance of little fellas!

During the internet draught, a lot of baking also took place.  This past weekend I made three cakes.  The first was for my nephew Will's graduation party, celebrating his moving on from Saratoga Springs High School to The College of Charleston in South Carolina this fall.  It was a bittersweet moment, because Will is the youngest of four boys, and my sister Anne and her husband John will be empty nesters come August.  While the boys come home for holidays and any chance they get, with Will's oldest brother Jack getting married next week (to his beautiful fiance Kristin), his brother Ben following a career path in New York City, and brother Patrick interning at a golf course in Westchester until the fall, the boys aren't home often enough for a family that loves to spend time together.  I get to join them in August for our annual trek south to Emerald Isle in North Carolina.  It's a week of sun, fun, happy hours, dinners "at home" and board games.  I always call it my mental health week, but it is so much more.  It's a period of time every year when I consciously tell myself as it's happening, "Remember this.  It's good and precious and these moments will come in handy in the middle of a cold, Saratoga February."  This year,our trip to Emerald Isle will be especially meaningful.

Memories of a very happy graduation weekend ~ congrats, Will!

The second cake for this weekend was for Nancy Stevens,  the winner of this blog's monthly contest for May.  It was a marble cake covered in swirls of chocolate mocha frosting.  She decided to "redeem" her prize to coincide with her daughter Megan's 24th birthday.  They all loved it, so it was well worth the effort and I'm glad Nancy won.  Get YOUR comments in before July 1st and you have a VERY GOOD chance of being the winner for June!!!

The last cake on Sunday was for a little boy named Toby.  His mom works at Skidmore and she asked if I'd bake a cake I'd never made before -- a lemon cake with chocolate frosting.  It had a soccer ball on top, made of fondant, and was for Toby's 8th birthday party.  I didn't get a photo of Megan's or Toby's cakes, but I did manage to snap a few shots of Will's cake (in the collage, above).

Some exciting news is that my Williams-Sonoma order arrived -- my new Cuisinart red ice cream maker, with two freezer bowls!  I am VERY excited about that, and planning to make sorbets and frozen yogurt recipes (to be posted) as soon as I have the energy to unpack that big box!  It's standing next to my refrigerator at the moment, taunting me to open it, but I will wait until I can devote the proper energy to finding it just the right place for it to hang out on my kitchen counter (or not).  Still haven't decided just where I want to show it off!

The disappointing news is that it looks like my striped-cake recipe was not a contender for The Today Show's "Best Birthday Cake" contest (winner to be announced and on air June 28th) and that's OK.  I gave it a shot.  Since they were only contacting the three finalists, no word means my cake must not have been in the running, which is kind of sad because it did get RAVE reviews by my son-in-law's co-workers.  So, maybe next time I'll try something a little less ambitious than a national morning television show.  Maybe a county fair.  But, as my friend Lynn often quotes...  "Shoot for the moon.  If you miss, at least you'll land among the stars!"  As far as I am concerned, there are plenty of stars in my midst, right Will?  I know if you shoot for the moon, you'll land there!  - xoxox, Aunt Jeannie