It would come as no surprise to anyone who knows me, or who has read these blog entries, when I reiterate my love of cooking. Spending time in my kitchen relieves any stress I may feel (almost as surely as when I’m gardening!)

Oftentimes, such traits are passed on from generation to generation as was the case with me.

My mother could whip up a meal for the unexpected multitudes, in no time flat, even from a seemingly bare fridge and pantry. She just simply had the “knack” to make anything happen…as her daughter, I’m convinced she possessed magic powers!

She was fascinated by the art of cake decorating. Although she had never had any formal training, Mum bought books on the subject, (as I recall, books on cake decorating were actually the only books she ever did buy!) in an effort to learn all she could about her passion.

Going through some old photo albums, I have discovered photos of a few of the cakes Mum decorated over the years. She particularly enjoyed icing and decorating wedding cakes and I recall her planning the designs she would be working on for days in advance, often travelling long distances to purchase her required supplies for the upcoming task.

These two wedding cakes, both from the 1960’s, were among her first attempts at decorating.

Although simple in design, her ideas were very effective and produced beautiful results.

This photo shows not only a wedding cake made by Mum, but also a doily she crocheted, on the table under the cake.

Mum was never idle and was very artistic and talented, although she claimed herself to be “a jack of all trades and master of none”.

I, for one, remain as proud as ever of my amazing, imaginative mother. She and I were like chalk and cheese in our personalities. Perhaps that’s why we had such a close mother daughter relationship….we admired each other’s unique talents and accepted the striking differences between each other in our personalities.

She taught me so much. What a wonderful woman my Mum was….