Hi everyone,
Back from where I hear you ask….you did ask didn’t you? Well, it’s been very exciting as me and hubby spent a week in Romania 🇷🇴 visiting our daughter and her fella. They both teach at a school in Bucharest, and as their Easter Break is a week later than ours, we had a lovely sunny Easter here, then another one with them 😊
This was actually a very big deal for us. We haven’t flown since my accident, so had no idea about the logistics of travelling with a wheelchair, but both airports (we flew from Liverpool) were brilliant.
The other concern was our dog Charlie. He’s so used to having us around 24/7 that we were worried that he would fret. Back in 2014, we used a company called ‘Barking Mad’ just for two nights when our son got married, but apart from that he’s only ever been left with family. Barking Mad take all your dogs details, likes, dislikes, where they sleep, whether they’re allowed on the furniture etc, and pair them up with like minded hosts who look after them in their own home. So with some trepidation, we approached them again. We needn’t have worried. The couple who hosted him were so sweet and sent photos throughout the week to reassure us. Charlie looked to be having a great time! I highly recommend them.
Anyway, back to Bucharest, and we also had a great time 😊 Katie and Josh took us somewhere different every day, always being mindful of my limitations and need to rest. Even so, I managed to walk a little every day with my crutches. The downside to that was swollen ankles, and I did have to go and lie down for a couple of hours a few times, but it was worth it. We found the Romanian people so friendly, and for a city, Bucharest has quite a lot of green space. On (their) Easter Sunday, we went to Herastrau Park, which was beautiful, and had lots of artisanal stalls to browse. We were so busy having a good time, that our phones barely came out of our pockets and we took hardly any photos! The week passed way too quickly though 🙁
We arrived back on my sons birthday. Luckily, he had arranged a family party for the day after! He’d asked me for a cake themed on one of his favourite bands, ‘Muse’, and knowing I wouldn’t have much time to make it, I’d baked the cakes before we left and frozen them. I then chose some artwork from the many I found on google images, and finished it off before we went to the party (luckily I had most of the day to do it)
It was a bit of a rush job, I’m not going to lie, but this is what I came up with…
The cake was vanilla sponge with jam and buttercream. I coloured the grass with Wilton Kelly Green gel colour, made the teddies out of Renshaws white Belgian chocolate fondant mixed with Renshaws regular chocolate flavour fondant, and used Renshaws Lincoln green round the sides. All except the Wilton colour bought from Party Animal Online The Wilton colour is part of a set I bought from Amazon.
Now usually, when I’ve had a ‘busy’ day, I factor in a rest day. A day when, for all intents and purposes, I’m fit for nothing. This time, my rest day turned into a full week. I fell asleep during the day, then slept again at night. Brain fog kicked in, and all I could do was let it happen. Luckily, both me and hubby were kind of expecting it, and he was fantastically supportive. But do you know what? I’d do it all again in a heartbeat 💗 As anyone with a chronic condition knows, it’s all about whether the consequences are worth it, and if it means I can visit my daughter, spend quality time, and see where she lives and works, then it definitely is!
I think that’s about it for now, but I will try and post more regularly now I’m recovered 😀 Oh! I almost forgot! The young lady who won the Easter Cake Competition requested a ‘cake credit’, so I never got round to making that tutorial 🙁 However, she has asked me to make a cake later this month, so I’ll definitely do one for that 😀
Until next time
Stay safe and healthy
Debbie ❤️
Baking for Therapy 