Keats turned seventeen last week and Jonny made a morning run to the grocery store because our younger kids wanted to buy him last-minute gifts. They bought him cheap soda and junk food to give him alongside the canned pineapples I had purchased the day before. Jonny is decorating his office with thrift store art so they popped into the Goodwill where Mabel picked up a pair of bunny ears. They still had their tag attached and I suspect they were donated because of the big ink stain on one of the ears. Why else would someone get rid of a perfectly good pair of bunny ears? I know I won’t be sneaking them into the giveaway bag anytime soon.
This is what it’s like to open birthday presents when you are an older kid in a big family.
Keats mostly received music themed gifts: new strings for his violin, CD sets recommended by his viola instructor, and an Ocarina. He would have liked to receive a French horn as well, but we do have our limits both financial and otherwise.
My friend, Heather, has a little t-shirt shop and she made this custom shirt for Keats. I think it amused him because his eyes twinkled and his lips twitched when he unwrapped it. It was Larkspur and Beatrix’s idea. Poor Bea. Keats isn’t a big talker, but he does give her a hard time about practicing her viola. He practices for hours a day. She doesn’t.
His cake. Sigh. I used to make such nice birthday cakes. Keats requested a very simple ice cream cake. Chocolate cake, vanilla ice cream, vanilla buttercream frosting. It’s been a few years since I’ve made an ice cream cake but in my mind this was no big deal. To make it easy, I bought a gluten-free devil’s food cake mix. I felt clever and on top of things when I baked the cake a day ahead so I could freeze the layers. For the record, it’s very easy to burn devil’s food cake because it’s so dark that you can’t tell. I mean, I knew I had left it in the oven for too long, but I couldn’t be positive that it was actually burned. I let the ice cream soften and poured it into a cake pan to freeze. You can’t really mess that part up. The evening of Keats’ birthday I made buttercream frosting according to a recipe we’ve followed many times. There must have been something weird about the powdered sugar because I couldn’t make the frosting taste right. Oh well, I had to move on and assemble the cake. It went together nicely. But then it was time to slice it and that cake refused to be sliced. It was rock solid. Jonny had to use the bread knife to try to gently saw into it without squishing the ice cream layer out. It occurred to me that maybe I haven’t frozen the cake layers in the deep freeze in years past. Maybe I just chilled them? At any rate, messy pieces of cake eventually made it onto plates. The only positive thing I can say is that the vanilla ice cream tasted good. The leftover cake sat in the freezer uneaten for days afterward. That sort of thing never happens around here, but the cake was just that bad.
A few days later it was Valentine’s Day, so of course, I gave my kids a puzzle. I want to live in this house and run the coffee shop and I don’t even drink coffee.
Later, I realized our pantry needed a major overhaul. The kids wanted to help, so I abandoned the project to them until they lost interest. Sometimes it’s best to simply get out of the way. That move only created a small amount of extra work for me in the form of spaghetti noodles all over the floor.
I moved my cookbooks out of the pantry to free up some space with the intention of getting rid of a bunch of them. Ultimately, only two made it to the giveaway pile. I might want to make that rice pudding recipe in that one cookbook someday.
Another puzzle: this one a fun 500 piece. As an aside, Jonny found an ad on Craigslist from a woman who has 2000+ jigsaw puzzles in her basement for sale. That is both sobering and extremely exciting. Fortunately, she lives far enough away that it would be a bit of an ordeal to visit her.
My kids made their own dugout house complete with a fireplace and chimney over the winter. These photos are cropped tightly, so you can’t see the general mess and disorder that surrounds it, but there are definitely downsides to allowing children to do as they please outdoors. Of course, we never let that stop us from allowing all sorts of craziness and I doubt they will ever forget their little dugout. Jonny added a more permanent roof last weekend (“What? I thought that hole was going to get filled in?”) and the kids are very pleased. My misgivings grew a bit after hearing Jonny warn the boys that in the summer they will need to poke around with a stick before entering because snakes may choose to cool off in the dugout.
I’m reading my first Georgette Heyer book and it is delightful. I need to update my Happy Reading List! The Grand Sophy is definitely a happy book and I’m sure there are many others I’ve read in the past five years that need to be added as well.
These puzzles are incredibly charming and my kids love them! They came as a set of 12 puzzles that each has approximately 40 pieces. The backs are color-coded to make it easy to sort the pieces. After assembling them all, I took each apart and put it in it’s own paper bag in the box so I can get out one at a time for Mabel. These really are fun for all ages.
I’ve been dyeing yarn and playsilks again! I’ll let you know as soon as I have a date for updating my shop. Everything is finished, I just need to add labels, take photographs, and make listings. The photographs often feel like the hardest part!
Can you believe all these February flowers? What happened to winter?
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Pamela Toole says
Ginny, just love your blog, so warm, old school…reminds me of my younger years. Also love how openly honest you are about your life. A house full of children is also comforting…a bit chaotic at times yet when they are gone you’ll miss it. Here ya on the weather here in Ohio it’s been so poetically odd. Climate change the poor earth. Have a wonderful week.
Mabel’s green sweater what pattern? Have two granddaughters.
Deanna says
I do so envy those spring flowers. I know they are here somewhere under the crusty snow.
Patricia Kurenkov says
Oh my goodness! My first Georgette Heyer was the Grand Sophy, too!!!!
You will enjoy all of her books, I think…. she has some mysteries as well.
Lady Locust says
Your posts are showing in my reading list. I popped in via a general search and see you’ve been posting all along. I am A so glad everything is okay and B dismayed, not sure when I will have time to read and catch up. The last post that came through was “Changes” thus my concern. I love the imperfect birthday cake story. They won’t remember all the perfect cakes, guess which one they will remember:-) It will bring smiles upon being remembered. That you love enough to make it, that’s what counts.
Have a beautiful day.
Charlotte (MotherOwl) says
For me as well “Changes” is the last post to show up in my reader. That cake .. it will be remembered. You did not accidentally reproduce my mistake; using potato starch instead of sugar?
That dugout is wonderful!
I’m off th read a lot! of your delicious posts, see ypu in a week or so!
Annie Kitching says
You might enjoy the series of books by “Miss Read” the nom de plume of an English village school teacher. They always make me happy.
Bley says
Absolutely cannot beat a Georgette Heyer! I have read, and re-read, and still read them for relaxation since when I was a teenager:) . Enjoy.
Livia says
I have my happy reads too, and many Georgette Heyer books will be on that list (all my rereads basically), I’ve tried to divide them seasonally and space them out so I don’t reread them until I’m sick of them.
I love all the puzzle pictures, so cozy.
The flowers are lovely. What type is the blue one at the bottom?
Marilyn says
Glad Keats had a nice birthday. I made a cake for Saint Valentine’s day and it turned out fine. I baked some cookies,too. They were left in the oven too long, so we had a black bottom. They still tasted good.
Marilyn
Marion says
Hi Ginny;
Love the lovely flowers appearing. We have some greens showing up but no flowers yet. Keats is right to push Beatrix to practice her Viola. Good for you Keats.
Marion
Joan says
What a great post Ginny. The puzzles are very nice and color coded is a great idea for little ones. Well at least the ice cream was good. Nice gifts for Keats.
Joan
Theresa Boedeker says
Love the charming puzzles of houses. And who wouldn’t want to live in that shop and sell coffee? I too have a hard time getting rid of cookbooks, keeping them even if there is one recipe I may want to use. That cake disaster, in a short amount of time, will be one of your family stories you tell for years.
Kate says
Your kids will probably retell the story of “Keats’ Ugly Birthday Cake” when they get together as adults in the future. We have those stories. My kids won”t let me forget the fiasco of “Where’s the Meat? Loaf” from our vegetarian days. It was supposed to be a replacement for meatloaf and made from TVP. I only made it once, but it was that awful that they still bring it up.
Paige says
Haha oh Ginny thus post was wonderful!! Y’all remind me so much of my family. I know if we lived close we would be great friends and our kids would have a grand time together. Thanks for a good starr to my day!?. Happy bday Keats and many happy returns of the day?
Barb says
Love your watering the forest garden pic!
Nicole Cox says
What is that adorable mauve-y pink flower up there?
Bethany says
Someone correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m pretty sure that’s a hellebore, also called a lenten rose. One of my late-winter/early-spring favorites. 🙂
Theresa says
I love doing puzzles and have been searching for 40 piece ones for my daughter Emily. I love the ones shown above. Please share where you purchased them. Thanks.
olivia demkowicz says
If you hover over the words, “these puzzles,” under the photo and click on them, it will take you to Amazon. 🙂
Emily says
Hi Ginny – how funny! Those mini-jigsaws are exactly the ones we have recently finished and I posted about them on Instagram, mentioning how you had reignited my interest in jigsaws! They’re great, aren’t they. Perfect for my five year old xx
Katie Gilley says
This post is enchanting. Thank you for sharing!
The cake – oh my goodness. I recently made a cake that I had to just slop it into a serving bowl, it was such a mess. Luckily it was just the appearance that was off and it still tasted fine.
That dugout is adorable! And I have the same iris – nowhere near coming up for us this year, but I’m always delighted when I see it. It’s gorgeous!
Yellowmummy says
We also love puzzles here. There is always one on the way. Everyone can put one, two or as many pieces as possible…even people visiting us. I find the idea very lovely.
We use a lot the Pomegranate ones.
Shannon says
The first birthday I had with one of my now step kids was my step son Josiah’s 8th birthday. I made him a cake and of course I was out to impress as I wanted him to like me. I made a cake from scratch, put it in the car and made the four hour trip to go see Josiah and family. Along the way the cake had an accident, it fell apart due to the moistness and the car vibrations. Needless to say, when I arrived the cake was a mess. Rather than lose hope, I added a few hot wheels and called it “ A Happy Birthday Earthquake Cake!” The kids loved it and still talk about it to this day, ten years later.
I bet this cake you made will go down in history as the most memorable and may even be recorded in someones memoirs one day!
Elizabeth says
that will be a cake to remember 🙂 It happens to everyone at some point! I love the pictures and how creative your kids are! God bless you dear one!!!
Heidi says
I had a good chuckle over the image of Jonny sawing the cake and trying not to squish the ice cream out! Hard to fathom an ice cream cake not tasting good! I’ve never even TRIED to make one!
Here in Utah we get snow, it melts, more snow, it melts….. weird winter. The mountains have gotten quite a bit though, so good for our reservoirs. My hellebores are trying their hardest to bud up. Finally!!!!!
Laura says
My very first thought when I saw that dugout was “ Yikes, that’s a great place for snakes?” Also, I think I might have to take a break from following anyone in Virginia because I miss it!!! And we have soooo much snow here in New Hampshire that we are having a hard time seeing the light at the end of the tunnel! Those little house puzzles might just be the best puzzles I have ever seen!
GretchenJoanna says
More great puzzles! I’ve already followed your suggestions and sent a few to my grandchildren, or put them on my Amazon Gift Ideas list for later. Thank you for sharing!
Lori D Fowlkes says
wow look at all the flowers!!! I have a crocus coming up but thats it!
Judith says
Hi Ginny:
What a lovely post. Am I correct in saying there is never a dull moment in your house :). I bought the lovely feather puzzle I think the children gave you for your Birthday. I haven’t started it as I need to clear off the big table so I can lay it out. My worry is that the cats may want to help me with it. I’m also reading Georgette Heyer — it is a set of English Manor House mysteries. I have forgotten what a humorous author she is.
Best,
Judith
Lindsay says
I messed up my son’s birthday dinner of ham loaf on Sunday. I didn’t realize it was premixed so we added my normal ingredients. It was runny and I poured them into 9 x 13 pans. It was awful and now we have a running joke about “meat cake.” So, I can definitely relate to your cake disaster.
Joan says
Girl!!! No coffee??? I have six kids and I couldn’t have survived my 30s without it – though I must confess I’m down to a half cup a day now (back in the bad old days it was about two 10-cup pots a day, LOL!:))