We had a lovely weekend, despite me having heart issues on Saturday after I started moving the mulch around. It was bad enough that it sat me down and I couldn't catch my breath for about an hour or so, and even after, the heart kept right on pounding all through the day, leaving me capable of no more than sitting on a stool or a chair.I called in reinforcements, and my long-time friend Jax showed up to make the cake while I sent Harvey out to do battle, armed with shopping lists for the fresh fruit and vegetables.
Vivian was of supreme use in determining the kind of cake she wanted (chocolate) and the texture (moist) and the flavor of frosting (chocolate again). It was layered with a berry compote that was just delicious and we all felt like royalty by the time it was said and done.
Vivian and I read books and supervised, as befits our station. While it was in progress, Vivian helped clean up by making herself useful cleaning the batter from the beater. I'm certain that she was able to get Every.Last.Drop.Once the cake was in the oven, Harvey whipped up a batch of egg noodle dough for the beef stroganoff to go over, and it was absolutely delicious, with sounds of enjoyment all around. I confess that I am a real fan of the pasta press, and am unlikely ever to go back to dried noodles, but there was a moment, while watching the minutes melt away, that we were all wondering if we needed to break out a bag of pasta from the pantry.
The cake was delicious, of course, and beautiful to boot. We enjoyed the company of family and a good time was had by all.On Sunday we went on a trail ride on horses, and Vivian loved every minute of it, as you might expect. She did amazingly well, but even more importantly she had a great time. It was so nice to be able to have the afternoon to work with instead of having to drop her off at 4 without any flexibility whatsoever. This is a much better schedule for Vivian, and it showed. We went to Barnes & Noble after the ride and she chose two big books of horse breeds with pictures, and then proceeded to carry them with her everywhere all evening and into the ride to school.
