Back home again – for how long…… that is debatable. How did my weekend go and the birthday celebration – well have you ever laughed until you cried – that just about sums up the weekend.
Saturday started well, we were up, packed the car and collected my niece from Sheffield – so far so good. We made good time up to North Yorkshire despite the hold up for the A1M accident.
We had arranged to meet my sister in Bedale in the local hardware store House and Home to hand over my niece and her luggage and so I could buy a silver cake board to put the birthday cake on when it was finished and I was also in charge of buying a first birthday helium balloon.
At 3 o’clock in the afternoon all five of us were stood around in the baking section of House and Home debating which size board would better fit my cake. ‘No problem’ said my sister, ‘you can check the size of the cake board against the size of the cake in the car’. It was only then that it fully dawned on me that the cake was not actually in our cool bag in the car but still in the freezer at home together with the nutloaf! Whoops!!
The thought of the cake being 90 miles away was a bit of a ‘Home Alone’ moment and we all burst out laughing and laughed so much tears rolled down our cheeks. The shopkeeper and shoppers must have thought us all potty.
So the next half hour was spent going over the options….too far to go back and get it………we could make another cake either at my daughter’s house or my sister’s house but it would take time and it was getting late………..we could buy one ready decorated……….we could try and buy a plain cake to decorate ourselves.
So across the road to the Co-op we all trouped and carried on the discussion in the cake aisle.
At this point I thought I had better phone my daughter and tell her the bad news. As soon as she answered the phone my sister and I got the giggles again and I couldn’t quite relate the problem in any coherent way – my daughter presumed I had inhaled the helium!!
In the end we managed to get a cake from Sainsbury’s (a life saver) in a similar style to the one I had planned. Only the top was decorated with buttercream and sprinkles but the sides were bare. So I set too and made more buttercream for the sides and added more sprinkles. I don’t think you can see the join!
It nicely fit onto the cake stand I found in John Lewis for £12 and we no longer needed to use a cake board as the bought cake came on one. This is the finished result.
But the disasters didn’t stop there because next day, Sunday – the day of the family get together – we arrived at the venue just at the same time as I received a text from my sister to say she was really ill and wouldn’t make it and a phone call from my brother to say he was lost! Sat nav had taken him down a track somewhere to nowhere and he had to do a 38 point turn to get back out.
Eventually, my brother found the place and we all came together, bar my sister, and had a lovely lunch and afternoon. Even my mum was well enough to come which was lovely. Little L had decorated a place card for everyone with stamps and glitter – granny had a great time helping too. In true style Sweetie slept through most of her party but loved the cake and had a great time with little Freddie playing pass the balloon.
The term never again springs to mind. I think a combination of having too much on the go all the time and two events close together to sort out has caused a bit of overload on my memory!
On the plus side we now have a spare cake in the freezer for the christening tea on the weekend after next.
Have a lovely day. x
where the journey takes me 2 
Sorry but I did laugh! (you have to really, don’t you? Nothing else to be done). And it’s a blessing in disguise to have your lovely cake all ready and waiting for the christening….one less job for you to do.
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At least it was the cake I forgot and not one of the babies!
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Sometimes we put far too much pressure on ourselves wanting everything to be ‘perfect’. I think the bought cake looked lovely with your added touch and as you say, you now have a spare cake in the freezer for the christening tea and a nut loaf too! I hope your sister is now on the mend. x
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Sister ok now – just a rather bad tummy bug – but missed out on the cake altogether x
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Oh, I had a good chuckle imagining all of you breaking down in laughter in the aisle of the store at the moment you discovered the cake was still at home–90 miles away! But given the photos and your description of the party, it would seem that all went off quite happily (other than your sister’s illness–hoping she has recovered). Glad your mum was well enough to attend. Little L’s place cards were very sweet and I imagine she helped put extra sprinkles on the cake, too. And, as others have mentioned above, now you are ready for the christening–with a spare cake and nutloaf to serve…as long as you remember to take them out of the freezer. 🙂
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At least my family can always see the funny side of things.
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Whoops. It’s good that you could laugh about it. Life’s too short otherwise. Now you’ve got a ready made cake for the next occasion.
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There is always a silver lining!
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O dear. All that planning! All those phone calls! But great recovery. I love the new cake – all the guests would have thought it was planned well in advance to fit the colourful setting. Love the image of you laughing so much you couldn’t talk.
I’m always being so planned I forget things. Like presents. Buy them way in advance. Put them somewhere safe and then forget them.
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The present thing is a classic!
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I have to admit to a little chuckle! In my mind I have visions of you all running from House and Home to Sainsbury’s to the Benny Hill music with your legs moving double quick! Still, all’s well that ends well (apart from your poorly sister!) and you have more cake for the Christening:)
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Now you mention it – it was a bit like a Benny Hill production with us all charging round the supermarket aisles looking for the cakes. Sister better now thank you and unfortunate tummy bug but thankfuly not from eating the cake!
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I am so glad that you were able to see the funny side of leaving your cake in the freezer. Your description of what you did had me laughing too, I could just imagine you all falling about laughing whilst everyone else looked on wondering what on earth you were up to. I am so glad the party was a success and that you sister is now on the mend. Now on to the next gathering…..
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I think it was all made more funny by the fact I was stood holding a ‘cakeless’ cake board!
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“All’s well that ends well”, as the Bard said. Glad you were able to see the funny side of it!
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A good saying indeed!
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Oh blimey is all I can say. I’d have done the same as you and got a fit of the giggles and if my sister was there we’d have been rolling around the aisles laughing. There is always a solution to most problems though thankfully and I think the joint effort between Sainsburys and yourself resulted in a beautiful cake. That will be a funny story to tell your granddaughter in years to come.
Hoping things quieten down for you a bit now. As you say, at least there’s a cake already made for the christening.
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Life is crazy here at the moment – we are back on the road tomorrow up to North Yorkshire again to help my daughter moving house. Having a good laugh helps to keep things in perspective!
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I’ve smiled my way through this post. WHat a serios of disasters and I’m so glad it all worked out and you had a wonderful time.
xx
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I’m glad you were able to laugh about it and that everything turned out well in the end. The cake looks lovely. What a funny tale to tell Sweetie in years to come. X
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Sounds like something I would do! So glad you were all able to face it with good humour and adaptability!
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