Dear Astrid,

I promise that next year I will try harder to make you a nice cake. Linus suggested that this was possibly the ugliest cake in the whole world but that he was sure it would "taste great". Just for your amusement, this is what is was supposed to look like (scroll down a little to the incredible cake).

Of course there's a story behind its ugliness; involving long car travel, family reunions in a wheat-belt town,  Historian's mum staying at our house, a family dinner amongst the renovating rubble and worries about having enough food, chairs, cutlery and lighting, falling in a slow motion and spectacular manner and spilling a whole hot bowl of Tofu Massaman Curry (thanks mum I'm sure it would have tasted wonderful) all over various guests (guess there wasn't enough lighting), half-made decks having to be made "safe" and finally pouring melted chocolate into a mould and swirling for hours (well maybe 10 minutes but swirling till chocolate sets makes watching paint dry exciting) and cursing as the stuff wouldn't leave the same mould when asked (and repeating the last 3 steps 3 times)....in the end it didn't matter and I had a bit on an epiphany. 

You go to all the trouble to make a knock out cake but for whom? The parents all do "drop and run" for a couple of hours of kid-free bliss (or one-kid-less-bliss), the 5 year olds don't give a toss as long as there's the required lollies, chocolate and icing...in fact you could forget the actual cake and just have those piled on a plate and they'd be as pleased as punch (pretty much what we have here).

Still, just for you my sweet little 5 year old, I'll make a really complicated Blog-brag-worthy triumph next year.

Wait, that's right the epiphany, I'll pile the lollies, chocolate and icing in a more attractive manner!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY SWEET LITTLE SASSA!