Wordless Wednesday - 43 Years

Classic Monday

It's just 9 days until we celebrate our 43rd anniversary. The photo below was taken on 16 August 1967 in Modesto, California. It was hot, but not so bad in the back yard. Actually, it was cooler in the back yard than in the house, which didn't have air conditioning. Next Monday I will post a photo of our wedding. I can hardly believe it has been 43 years already, but what a wonderful journey it has been and what a great person to share it with. In case you are wondering, JoAnn and I are not in the photo and it was shot by Grandpa Merriam.

A Cake Making Family

I was reading Krissie's blog last week about making cakes and how much she loved it. While she may know she comes from a cake baking family, she may not know how much cake baking has gone on. Just recently I was going through old photos and found several photos of cakes, some not so old, but relevant. I thought it would be nice if our daughters (all 7 of them) could see the genealogy of cake making in the McLean family. Grandma McLean (my mother) did wonderful cakes. The first was from 1956 and our Cub Scout Den. It is as good or better than you can purhase in a store today. I suspect this cake was done while we lived in Guam.


The next two cakes done by my mother are just a little more fancy. The first is for our wedding in 1967 and the second is for Grandma and Grandpa Merriam's 50th wedding anniversary, also in 1967. That may be why the cakes look similar. The anniversary came before the wedding by 2 months and several thousand miles.


And then we get to the our generation. JoAnn has made a number of cakes. You saw one on Sally's birthday blog of the Pink Panther, but in 1983 she did a birthday cake for the Young Women at Church. The color is a little off. My flash was obviously not working, but the cake is beautiful. I think this may be the best cake JoAnn has done. I think we still have all of the pieces in the garage, not to mention many other cake pans. Come Sister's Weekend we may have to auction off (obviously not for cash) some of our old cake pans, pillars, support plates, and so forth.


And the cakes have kept coming over the years, although not nearly so frequently since the kids are gone. Sally and JoAnn worked together last fall to make Bonnie a Barbie cake. It turned out really well as you can see from the photos. I remember my mother making Barbie cakes for my sisters. We take some skills and experiences for granted, but the photos of those experiences to bring memories.


Tell me Bonnie is not absolutely entranced by her Barbie Princess cake!

So Krissie, you are a 3rd generation cake decorator and you and your sisters should be proud of that.