Tribute Cake

 I live in this little pocket in the Midwest that isn't populated with any of my relatives. However, within a 30 mile radius, you can visit virtually everyone in my husband's immediate and distant family.  :-)  So in 1997 when my husband and I started dating, I gained a HUGE local family which congregates at least on every holiday and sometimes on non-holidays, just because.  And since I LOVE to bake, my contribution to every holiday meal is dessert.  Every holiday I pick something new and I try to "out-do" myself each time.

About a month ago, I saw the perfect cake to make for Easter!  My husband's grandmother, Bev., is known throughout the family for her spaghetti and meatballs that she would make for the entire family for various get togethers.  I always have her in mind when picking my recipes and I just KNEW that she would LOVE this cake.

Sadly, a little over 2 weeks ago, Bev's health started to quickly decline and on April 17th we lost my husband's grandmother and my friend, Beverly Schmill.

After a lot of contemplating, I decided to make the cake and serve it at her Memorial Wake.  The cake that was intended to impress her ended up honoring her.   I think that she would have been very happy with my cake and I know that she would be glad that instead of bringing flowers, I provided a cake to honor her and feed her family.

I am not sure how my baked contributions are going to be from now on, without my muse.  I will definitely miss her inspiration, bright smile, welcoming arms, her sense of humor and especially our weekly phone calls about family, crafts, books and boys (the toddler kind).  Death is not something that I have dealt a lot with.  The losses that I have experienced haven't been easy to accept, but this loss I think will be the hardest to date.  I hope that everyone knows how much she will truly be missed by all and especially how I will personally miss her very deeply.