Another Layer of Love at the Very End

My Granna died on Tuesday.  Valentine's Day would have been her 89th birthday.

She began to suffer from congestive heart failure on January 31.  I was thankful to have received a call from my Uncle Randy after the nursing home contacted him that day.  I was blessed to have a husband who encouraged me to stay by her side for the last nine days of her life.  Keith even booked a hotel room for me in Thomaston (over my protestations about the budget and being absent from our home) so that I wouldn't have to drive long hours.  I was able to stay there, close-by, in case the nurses called with a change in Granna's condition during the night.

It is said that when you are born, you have your mother there to help you along; but that everyone dies alone.   That is certainly true.

Granna breathed her last while I was on the five-minute drive from the hotel to her nursing home.  But all of those days that she fought, I was beside her if she was scared or sad or hurting.
I come from strong and determined stock.  When she was born in 1927, she only weighed 2.5 pounds.  Her parents were afraid she wouldn't live the night, but they swaddled her up, placed her in a shoe box on top of their dresser, and prayed.

Growing up in the Depression, she walked to her country schoolhouse with nothing but a handful of parched corn or a piece of corn pone in her lunch pail.  But, she developed a love of learning that led her to a college degree, a career as a medical records technician,  and her passions for oil painting, photography and horticulture.

She expanded the universe of experiences for all of us in her family.  She touched all who knew her with her grace.


I baked two cakes today; a Five-Flavor Pound Cake (September 7) and a Chocolate Sour Cream Bundt (January 31).  I am taking them to the staff of the nursing home on my way down to Warm Springs tomorrow for the funeral.   I appreciate the care and affection they showed my grandmother, and their forgiveness each time I took some Saturday Cake to her without enough to go around.


I will be taking some time off from the blog to let all of the flavors of the last fifteen months sink-in.

2015 Re-Bake and the Recipe for my New Year

Yesterday, I thought for quite a while about resolutions.  The Cake on Saturday resolution of the past year has changed my life.

Many of the recipes that had been bookmarked-but-languishing on my shelves of classic cookbooks became part of this weekly experiment.  The most successful attempts:  Victoria Sponge Sandwich, Cherry Cake, Mace Cake, Feud Cake, Mexican Chocolate Cake (which I will add to my repertoire as a cupcake recipe), Queen of Sheba, Pecan Molasses Bundt Cake with Bourbon Glaze, Basil Pound Cake, Chocolate Ganache Frosting (July 4), Five-Flavor Cake, Hummingbird Cake, Sweet Autumn Cake (without all the crumbs, caramel and nuts on top), Myer's Rum Cake, frosting from Peanut Butter Cake Supreme, and The Chocoholic.

Early on, I was worried about finding the time to bake each week.  But, I was surprised to find that with each Saturday's adventure, it became easier and easier to make time.  I found comfort in making family recipes just because it was a Saturday and not relegating them only to "special occasions."  I came to grips with repeat fiascoes in the form of my burnt-sugar-nemesis, Caramel Cake.  As a result, I also discovered that my husband's encouragement and an Allgood pitch out of the back door can allow me to move-on from, possibly, any failure.  

Best of all, I have had the opportunity to share my false steps and triumphs with Granna each week when I took her a slice of Saturday cake on my visits to the nursing home.  

She's the one who got this whole thing stirred-up in the first place!

Now, what will I do with my Saturdays in the New Year?

Bitter Ending to a Year of Sweet Cakes

Over Christmas weekend, Granna had another stroke.

Unfortunately, I am not the family member who gets the emergency calls from her nursing home.  My father didn't notify me of her stroke for several days, and then it was via text message.  My father and I are not close and perhaps that is why he neglected to tell me immediately.  But honestly, this just reminds me of why I don't have a close relationship with him.

I went to visit her yesterday.  I spoke to the nurses and other care providers who explained why they were legally unable to call anyone but my father when the stroke happened.  They gave me more details about Granna's condition and her prospects for recovery.  I then sought-out Granna in the cafeteria where she was slumped in her wheelchair being spoon-fed her lunch.  She was happy to see me.  The result of this stroke is paralysis of her left side.  Her speech is slow now, and requires more concentration and effort on her part.  Her face is slightly slack in appearance and she has trouble chewing and swallowing.

She is no longer able to eat solid foods like cake.