Tuesday, December 13, 2022

A Feast of Celebrations

 


Isn't that a unique cake? Our daughter-in-law created it to mark two birthdays, for our eldest granddaughter and our youngest. The cake inside is the same. Oh, how the children oohed and aahed at the lollipops on the pink side. Everyone wanted one and coincidently, there were five of them! I think it was planned. 


Here are the birthday girls, happy as can be. I love how the three oldest grands play with and care for the younger two. It warms the cockles of my heart. 


I've been folding paper stars, and taught Sadie, who stayed the night with us over the weekend, how to fold them. She learned fast and did a great job. 


These particular stars are 5 cm (2 inches) across and are now part of centerpieces at the church. Tomorrow is a luncheon for the seniors that I've been organizing. I'll be at the church early tomorrow getting the turkey rolls and stuffing into the ovens. Once the event is over, I will get cracking on more Christmas preparations around here. 


As you can see, there's no snow here, other than the crocheted snowflakes made by a good friend now passed on. I set up this wooden village with a tiny creche on the windowsill each Christmas and enjoy imagining the goings-on that might be happening. Perhaps it's a village similar to Louise Penny's Three Pines. 

Have you read Penny's books featuring the Quebecois detective Armand Gamache? I have the latest on my bookshelf, but am waiting until after Christmas to read it. There are four episodes of Three Pines, adapted from the books, on Amazon Prime Video, released in early December. Have you watched them? We did, and found them enjoyable, but not nearly as engaging as the books. 



30 comments:

  1. That is an amazing cake and perfect for the birthday girls! Indeed, it is quite heartwarming that the older grands are so tender towards the littlest ones!

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  2. such a beautiful cake! Here it is snowing and it is cold.

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  3. Love the cake. Sounds like it’s all go in your corner. Love the Louise Penny books. B x

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  4. I can imagine the childrens' delight when they saw the cake!

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  5. The cake is very creative and beautiful!
    The folded stars are a nice project.

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  6. I am saving my copy like you! I prefer the books to the series.

    Happy birthday to your sweeties. Great cake!

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  7. Anonymous6:34 AM

    That cake is amazing. Your daughter-in-law is very talented and creative.
    I like your folded stars. I would be interested in seeing them as part of the centerpieces. Sounds very nice.
    We finished watching Three Pines last night and enjoyed it so much. In fact, I was so disappointed that there weren't more episodes. Sounds like I need to check out her books now.

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  8. Stunning cake!

    I just came across those videos and thought they looked interesting. I'll have to give them a go.

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  9. Anonymous7:43 AM

    What a clever daughter you have! That cake is so pretty!
    The stars for the luncheon look lovely and I can visualize them on a wreath or strung as a garland. Happy Holidays Lorrie !
    Leslie
    Hostess of the Humble Bungalow

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  10. Wonderful cake and what a great idea. Love the 5 lollipops! Those girls are both just adorable. Happy Birthday to both of them. Those paper stars are amazing. I am going to look up online how to make them. I have not watched Three Pines. I find that the books are usually better than a screen adaptation. I will say I was surprised at how well Where The Crawdads Sing followed the book. xo Diana

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  11. Anonymous12:47 PM

    I can't wait to start Three Pines. But I will have to start watching it after Christmas. I have started teaching Ukrainian refugee children a couple of days a week and working with them has occupied my mind and my heart. The cake is a work of art! It's just lovely that the grands will be so close to each other as they grow up. Do you have directions for the stars? I think my young teen students would love them. We have a craft day planned for next week. Have a lovely Christmas season! Carol in VT

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  12. What a beautiful and unique cake! I love it! Happy birthday to your granddaughters. My oldest grandson also has a December birthday. We have had snow but most melts fast. A big snow storm passed us by yesterday and went east to the plains but that was good as they have been experiencing a severe drought since summer. Your paper stars are very pretty. I like Louise Penny's books will look for the videos on Amazon Prime--thanks

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  13. Happy Birthday to the two sweet girls!

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  14. What a fabulous birthday cake to celebrate those two beautiful granddaughters of yours! I have not heard of the Three Pines, but I’ll check it out.

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  15. I can imagine how much work it was to create the birthday cake! You have a talented DIL..
    I have read a few of Louise Penny's books but somehow I lost interest.

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  16. What a beautiful and unique cake, I can only imagine how much your granddaughters loved it! The stars are so pretty. I've always wanted to make them, but just haven't taken the time to learn... Maybe next year. I have a box full of crocheted snowflakes that were my mothers. I'm not sure where she got them or who gave them to her, but they are beautiful. What a good idea to make a garland with them. Hugs.

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  17. I had not heard of Louise Penny, but as I like all things Canadian I am off to find the books. What a fantastic cake, clever and very pretty. This idea could spread. You windowsill village is beautiful, and I can imagine every better when there is snow outside. I also have a Christmas village, but this year it is not emerging due to the presence of two very energetic twin boys :)

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  18. This birthday cake has to be shown... just fabulous - so beautiful - nam, nam, I have to make myself some coffee first.
    Ahhh... splendid.
    Happy birthday kids. Thank you for your beautiful photos.
    The paper stars are very pretty.
    Happy greetings to you. Viola

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  19. All so beautiful, the awesome cake and the stars. You are such a creative bunch of gals, all of you!
    My reading time is precious and lately I've not had enough - hoping the quieter days of winter after the holidays will be a blessing!

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  20. Lorrie, I want to come visiting and learn how to fold those stars too, love them. That cake will be remembered for many years to come . . . very creative.

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  21. The cake looks gorgeous. By the way, it has been lovely to follow your oldest granddaughters grow from toddlers to teenagers.
    Some weeks ago I was going to add "Bury Your Dead" (in Finnish) to my shopping cart but then I thought it's a little bit too dark for my Christmas mood. I also read that it would be better to have read at least some of the previous books of the series before this one.
    We have a perfect amount of snow now. :) Many things are well and right, but in the world there are so many bad things happening that this Christmas will perhaps not be the happiest of our lives.
    Stay well!

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  22. The cake is very creative and involved a lot of work I have no doubt. It's always great to see different ages of children interacting together. One hopes that it continues later in life but that is not always the case unfortunately.

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  23. Yes, we've watched the Three Pines series. The series, in my opinion, has not captured the true community that Penny gets across in her writing and the humor mixed in with the seriousness of the crimes. Maybe as the series goes on it will come around. Books are always better. I am happy that they are trying. :)
    That cake is brilliant! Your daughter's cake decorating skills are so impressive. Happy birthday to your oldest and youngest.

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  24. The picture of the two birthday girls is charming, what sweet smiles! So loving of the older granddaughter to share so sweetly with the younger one. And that cake, wow! Your daughter-in-law is talented! It's a perfect blend of a touch of chocolate sophistication and little girl sweetness. Lorrie, it makes me smile to know that you are planning such a nice event for the seniors at church. I guarantee that they will appreciate it and enjoy it all. Your paper stars are little pieces of art!

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  25. The cake looks divine - however, keep the lollipops, I'm going for the chocolate! The paper stars look lovely - I wish I knew how to make them. That would be a beautiful thing to do for next year.

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  26. That cake is amazing! So beautiful and such creativity!

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  27. The cake is beautiful and unique! I've read the first couple of Louise Penny's books and enjoyed them very much. I wondered how the show might compare. It sounds like it would be fun to watch.

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  28. Lovely alllll...

    Have read quite a few of those books.

    also saw one of the episodes, the first...

    Merry Christmas...

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  29. I love the cake idea. We're celebrating mine and my grandies birthday on boxing day.
    I have read almost all her books. One is under the tree for me. We've been enjoying Three Pines. It is difficult putting a book on the screen, but I think they've done well.

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  30. What a fun and creative cake. I love the stars too. they would make a wonderful decoration for your church. Now I must search for the Three Pines on Amazon.

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