The next year we were in Berlin. We went to the Berlin Zoo, watched Casino Royale, ate currywurst, had a delicious coffee cake from Thoben's and then spent the whole night cleaning and packing, since it was our last day in Berlin. Not bad, even if it ended with no sleep.
His past birthday in November was strung out over a series of days. First off, I had been very efficient and had already bought his presents by the beginning of November. Then we were out buying Christmas presents mid-November when he shows me a retractable fountain pen, the pen of his dreams. "Maybe for graduation," I say. "That's what everyone says!!" Matt moaned. He sulked around the store until I finally gave in and said he could have it as a birthday/anniversary/Christmas present. He carried it around the store happily until we ended up at customer service to gift wrap it. I took it away from him and had it gift wrapped. He was again sulky and sulked all the way home. Once home I let him open it:
On his actual birthday we had a flooded basement. The plumber came in the early evening and I then had a gig, so we didn't get to celebrate. But Matt got to open one of his previously purchased presents:
He also got a sock-monkey book from my mother, which he had opened early, but I made him put back and open again on his birthday.
The next day I insisted that I could make angel food cake completely from scratch:
Matt insisted on making a black forest cherry cake with cherries he'd brandied in the summer:
The shirt he's wearing in the above photo is another birthday present bought prior to the pen. Heathfield is in East Sussex and home to the Reed ancestral manse. I found this shirt devoted to Heathfield's cricket club online and ordered it for Matt. I warned him not to open any packages addressed to me because they contained his birthday present. They sent it, however, in clear packaging, so Matt could see what it was when he got the mail. Oh well.
We had Gretchen over to make sure we could read the cake recipes. We then fulfilled Marie Antoinette's command and enjoyed our cake.
4 comments:
What an indulging wife you are with your beloved Matt. BTW tell Matt that there is a special place in hell reserved for husbands who tell their wives, "Mother's (or some other female relative) cooking was/is better than the your." A very evil and insensitive remark which also can result in bamboo slivers under the fingernails. Husband's should keep such thoughts to themselves while wives promise to not make any rude comparisons to their fathers. Been there, heard that. Mutti
Liebe Frau,
May I compliment you on your ability to keep your husband's birthday presents a secret until the appropriate day. Some of us get too anxious and impatient in that regard. And kudos to you for making angel food cake from scratch. (All complimentary comparisons to angels and Frau Magister belong here.) I tried that once, then, I must admit, I resorted the second time to using a cake mix. Honestly, making it from scratch was easier and less time consuming. And that looks suspiciously like a golden wrapped Lindt chocolate critter I see peering over the edge of your cake pan. If so, may I just say . . . lecker.
Autumn
Matt has since had to repent of his comment that I can't make birthday cake. I, too, tried an angel food cake mix as practice and I wasn't really that impressed with the result. I recently acquired the Fannie Farmer backing book and they have detailed explanations on how to make "basic" items, including angel food cake. I followed that recipe for his birthday and it turned out great.
Yes, that is a Lindt bunny peering over looking at the cake. He was from the "Easter Beagle" for Matt. The "Easter Beagle" chose that one special because it was Lindt dark chocolate. Why is it in a birthday picture months later? Well, the "Easter Beagle" didn't know that Matt is too tenderhearted to eat chocolate bunnies. Are we seeing a trend here?
Matt's facial expressions and gestures just crack me up. I think he would have made a great silent movie actor...
--Chickadeedee
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