Groovy Birthday

Jeff and I hosted a family birthday dinner last weekend and I was challenged with the task of creating a cake that worked for both an elegant 40-something year old woman and an 11 year old skater boy. It took the elimination of a few brainstorms before I came up with a plan that worked. I have to credit my very colourful niece with the original idea. Thanks R!!

I wanted to make a fat free cake so started with 2 white cake mixes and 2 cans of diet Ginger Ale. That's it! I added these 4 items together and mixed until smooth.

I wanted something a little more exciting than plain white cake, so divided the batter into 6 bowls and added gel colouring to colour each bowl of batter a different colour. I used gel because it gives much more intense colour than liquid colour and does not water down the batter. It's readily available at craft stores and I have even noticed it at a few grocery stores as well.

NOTE- because I'm cheap, I didn't spring for the 8 colour gel pack ( at a whopping $16) and just bought red, yellow and blue and mixed colours from there.

Now for assembly: I stated by adding 3 large dollops of different coloured batter to the pan and continued with a second layer of batter dollops, added on top of the first. The batter spread out with each layer of batter and it seemed that the more imperfect the circles were, the better they looked.

I started out with three 'towers' of batter in each pan- next time I'll just go with four.







I layered the leftover batter into muffin cups. In the interest of being pretty, I didn't fill them very full. Next time, I'll probably skip the cupcakes all together and fill up the cake pans to the brim- this cake collapses quite a bit when it cools (and all those ginger ale bubbles disappear).

Bake as directed and voila! I cut each layer in half and made a quadruple layer birthday cake with a light pudding and cool whip frosting.



It really was psychedelically, groovy-good. And it looked pretty cool when we cut into it as well. I should have caught photos of the inside finished product but we ate it all up.

End of summer

It's been a wonderful summer with great travels, wonderful weather and lots of fun with family and friends. A few final images as I unpack our fall sweaters; Jeff caught the the last of the bees in our bamboo blossoms and I compiled just some of this year's bumper crop of roses.

When hanging out the laundry today, I looked up and saw that the leaves are changing. That means it's going to start raining and we'll have to give up the heavenly smell of clothesline-dried fresh sheets.
















We recently started making homemade ice cream- obviously, a hit with Jeff! While it will certainly continue through the winter, I don't think it will quite be the same.

Tofino and Ucluelet

We spent an amazing weekend in Tofino with Jeff's family, hiking through the rain forest, leisurely walking along the beach and having a great time together. For anyone new to Vancouver Island- Tofino really is place not to be missed.




















We took a late Saturday afternoon hike at the south end of Long Beach, stopping to build a driftwood sculpture and search for shells. Both the tide and grey clouds were rolling in but that didn't deter Jeff's niece from finding a few rocks to scale in search of the best view.














Around the eastern side of the peninsula is Grice Bay, a secluded and quiet inlet great for skipping rocks.




















It's a beautiful rain forest hike down to Schooner Cove at the very north end of Long Beach. We packed our lunch and spent the afternoon building sand sculptures and walking in the surf.





















We decided that Green Point, where Jeff's parents, niece and nephew were camping (and the only place allowing camp fires in the midst of a VERY dry summer!), was the best place not only to roast our marshmallows, but to watch both the waves and the sunset.



























































Because the coastal winds and rain can blow in at any time, Jeff and I opted for a hostel room at the Botanical Gardens rather than braving the elements in our tent. A short hike took us from the Garden's gazebo entrance, through the forest down to the beach.































For the final day and a half, we were joined by Jeff's cousin and family. We all ended the weekend with a hike around Ucluelet and picnic on a log, right in front of the water. It was just bliss. This was Jeff and my third trip together to the "West Coast" (of the island!), and each time we have visited, we leave happy, rested and looking forward to the next visit. This place just feeds my soul.







































The only bad thing- the end of this visit signaled the end of our niece and nephew's visit. Having them around has been a breath of fresh air and so much fun for us. We're really going to miss them.

Snowbirds and Cathedral Grove

Jeff and I invited ourselves along for a weekend in Tofino with his parents and niece and nephew. The kids decided we would make good chauffeurs (thanks to some Timbit bribes) and drove with us for the 3 hour trek over the mountains. We stopped at Cathedral Grove in MacMillan Provincial Park for a hike around the huge Douglas fir trees and to stretch our legs.
Just before leaving for our weekend in Tofino, we all went down to the Nanaimo Harbour front to watch the Snowbirds. We had all seen them before but somehow, their performance was much more impressive to me against a backdrop of ocean and mountains rather than the Vanderhoof airport (where I saw them as a kid!!)

Rathtrevor Beach and Parksville Sand Castle Competition

Our niece and nephew escaped rainy, cold Ontario for a two week visit on the sunny and warm west coast. We had such a great time with them, loosing many badminton games, listening to Lemony Snickets, eating ice cream, discussing the best Dr. Who episodes, playing board games, going to the beach and just hanging out. I'm probably slightly biased when I say that they (along with their cousin) are the 3 of the most interesting, smart and all around best kids around... but it really is true.

The start of their visit was less sunny than they had hoped, although we were very happy for a reprieve from the heatwave that had continued through the summer. Even with wind and overcast skies, we had a great picnic at Rathetrevor Beach in Parksville, walking along the mud flats at low tide.

We decided that our niece is half fish and half lemer. When not in the ocean, she can be found climbing some rock formation or up a tree. This girl is fearless.

The anual Parksville Beach Festival includes a sand castle building contest, this year with an Olympic theme. We all agreed that these were pretty impressive, considering the two-day length of the competition.

















































Being the serious group that we are, it was no wonder that the bobsledding Canadian wildlife and the Mr. Potato Head skiing pit crew were two of our favourites.






























The obvious winner was built by a team from Victoria. "It Has a Ring To It", depicting the mythological formation of the olympic rings, was pretty amazing.







































The tide had come in enough at Parksville Beach to keep us close to the shore. It's not as sandy, but there was fun to be found under nearly every rock.