Birthday Cake

Better late, than never! 

Having written about missing not having a birthday cake on my birthday, I decided to make a `special` cake for tea today with my Mum.   So yesterday out came the mixer, tins, ingredients and I got baking.... and this is the result.    Not as professionally or artistically decorated as it could have been but time was short. 

The sponge, with a thick layer of chocolate buttercream filling and chocolate on top, was delicious, and thoroughly enjoyed by both my mum and myself!   Anyone fancy a piece?!

No Birthday Cake

Today is my birthday, and after spending the morning working as normal, I took the afternoon off. 

It was a nice sunny autumn afternoon, so I took my Mum out for a ride along the coast to Burnham Overy Staithe and we sat in the car by the water.  Very surprisingly for a sunny afternoon there was only one other car on the whole of the car park, so it was very quiet and peaceful.  As the sun went down there was a beautiful sunset.

Funny enough the one thing I missed this birthday, was not having a birthday cake - I don`t mean a highly decorated iced one with candles, but not having a home-made birthday cake of any kind.   Obviously as a youngster my mother had always made me a cake, and then when she became unable to stand to cook, I always made myself one.   Not a fruit cake, as I`m not fond of fruit cake, but usually an orange chocolate chip one, with chocolate on top to decorate it.    But, this year I`d not felt inclined to  bother to do that. I`m getting older and I didn`t think I`d miss it - but when it came to tea time - I did.
It`s strange isn`t it, how a small thing like that, which has been a part of the pattern of life, can be missed so much.  

Ring, ring!

I was sound asleep and dreaming, dreaming something about a piano being delivered and they`d then got to the front door and were ringing the door bell.

 The sound of that bell was so real.

And I awoke, and could still hear the bell ringing, it sounded like my front door bell.   It couldn`t be.  I looked at the bedside clock it was quarter to three in the morning.  It was dark.   Then I heard it again, yes it was my door bell.

I was alone in the house, I felt alarmed.   Whatever it is, I`m not going to answer the door I thought.  It must be teenagers on the way home playing about.   It went again.    So I stumbled out of bed and went into the other room to look out of the window and down to the front door.    I couldn`t see anyone there, nor anyone in the road.   Did  I imagine it?   I looked at my car, yes that was still there ok.    I went back to bed.

A few minutes later my phone rang.    What to do?   Should I answer it or not.   By now I was feeling more alarmed, I could feel my heart thumping,  perhaps something was wrong and someone was really trying to get me.   I looked at the number showing on the phone, it was a mobile number, so that didn`t tell me anything. 

To answer it or not?   I decided I`d better answer it, so I picked it up and said a very curt  `Yes`, not my normal way of answering the phone.   I somehow expected to hear no reply, but a voice said, It`s Xxx...... I`m so sorry to ring you in the middle of the night, but I`ve just driven all the way up to here (the house next to mine) and I`ve been trying for half an hour to get my key to open the door and it won`t, can I bother you for the key you hold. 

Putting on my dressing-gown I went downstairs and got the key for him.   So relieved that it wasn`t bad news or anything like that.    Then I went back to bed, but sleep was a long while returning.

All Saints Day

Today is All Saints Day and is the day that was also my Dad`s birthday. Tonight our church held its special service for All Saints Day and the coming All Souls Day.

As we entered the church we were all given a stone. During the service we were encouraged to think about that stone as our loved ones who were no longer with us and to think of the journey of our life that they had shared with us. We then brought these stones to the front of the church and built them together into a cairn.

Following the very moving sermon by our minister, we were invited to come and place lighted tea-lights on the cairn in memory and giving thanks for our loved one. The church lights were then dimmed and we sat as long as we each wished before quietly leaving the church.

It was a very special, emotional, meaningful and moving service.