Knitting

...is for squares. Or so I was told by a sixth grader last week.

But I should probably backtrack for a bit. Let's start with Michael's birthday! I will first point out the balloons atop the china cabinet. They are still afloat from the Edible Arrangement I received for my birthday. I just can't bear to pop them. They must be breaking some kind of record. Next we'll admire my fine decoration making abilities. The crepe paper was folded together during Disney's Robin Hood. It was just as good as I remembered. Maybe better. I put the Napkin Origami book to use again and folded birthday napkins into party hats. I bought candy and put it in ramekins. We fried catfish and made potato salad. Anne brought strawberry spinach salad.
I made a cake which I read about on my favorite blog. (You really should check it out!) The icing she made is her mom's recipe (she calls it Cloudburst Frosting). It has a flour mixture in it and it is one of the best icings I think I've ever tasted. It's not overwhelming sweet.I made the cake exactly how Alicia Paulson did it. A layer of seedless raspberry jam and a layer of frosting in between the layers with frosting and strawberries on top. If you looked at her blog you may have noticed that she lined the cake pans with wax paper. I highly recommend this. The batter is very thin and the cake is super moist. This seems to be the perfect combination for making it impossible to get the cake out of the pan. I am glad I used the wax paper. Basically this is the best chocolate cake I have made and quite possibly the best I have ever eaten. You have also noticed coffee mugs (unfortunately not the cups and saucers since we were a large party). I also recommend coffee with the cake.

It was a delightful evening especially since the Tigers beat UVa in the college world series. Is that correct? World series? It sounds funny since I don't think the whole world participates. Anyway... Michael was able to hold his head up high after all his trash-talking on the Eastern Shore.

We took Theo to the dog park on Sunday. He tried in vain to get the dogs there to play with him. They were all pooped by the time we arrived. It was cute to see Theo go up to each of them desperately trying to entice them to chase him. He of course needed a bath when we got home.

It was a good weekend. Michael will be home for a month on Tuesday. Theo and I can't wait.

I think I'll make a new post to tell you about the first week of summer camp. It will also have to wait until tomorrow.

A demain!