Beyond a Love of Ivy and Custard

Looking back at previous posts, I did offer a discounted rate for formal occasion cakes before I started my full-time job at a tribal college in 2013. It was a hectic but good experience. Today is May 29, 2026. Emphasizing the date is further note quite a bit of time has passed. I plan to archive some of my posts of past as I transition this blog and one other into a small scale agricultural business. However, hobbies of the past like baking have not stopped but go a little more slowly.

While I can return to posting in this blog, there is a lot of social media out there that I no longer use and upon attempting to access these of 2009-2012 years past, well is still remains not of access. Anyone who has tried to recall a thirteen to fourteen year-old password can understand..I seem to have a lot of individuals who try to contact me through those old sites and even those who will roll down their automobile windows and start yelling about something written in 2009-2007 era and how awful I am, etc., etc. Well, at my worksite, we always emphasize professionalism when interacting in the community beyond our site. So, the response always goes “Thank you” (and I try to not to say, ” but who are you?”).

The shopify and the blog will have information about upcoming online offerings and be active in the Fall (Sept./Oct. 2026 tentatively).

Inspired by a minister on the East coast who has only one request when she marries a couple- not for a fee for herself, but a donation to the local domestic violence prevention foundation, I felt I could do something similar.

When I was in high school, our Algebra teacher would offer to create the wedding cakes for her former students. She would sell these to them  at a discounted price and for the cost of the supplies to make the cake or around $180.

As for me-  All that I ask is that if the person wishing to order the cake wants more than one tier to make a donation of $25.00 or more.

The other catch to my offer (yep there’s one) is that because of the cost of supplies and my free time, I can offer to take on 13 clients for this Wedding Season (May- August)

It’s spring time here, and where I am from this means it’s a time for preparing the garden for planting.

It’s more than just digging a hole. Mulch, compost, and natural fertilizer are part of my devious plot to get my new tulips and blue bonnets to bloom. Then there’s verimaculture. I don’t raise worm for my compost pile, but it does have potential.

“They” tell me that the old guard way of planning a good flower bed is to plant based on having foliage for spring through late fall.  If you have a shady spot, then you should plant botanicals which thrive in the shade. I will admit that I have never done this, but I am plan to plant for seasonal foliage this year.

Then there’s complimentary color and height.

before things get too complicate for me, I start having those fuzzy watercolored like fantasies/dreams about creating a butterfly and edible fruit garden.  Maybe I will take the time to secure the two new bat houses, the blue bird nests, and the purple martins’ homes. I could raise me a family of earth worms to care for my rose bed.

Perhaps I’ll make peace with that gopher with whom I have hunted like Bill Murray’s character in CaddyShack.

Then again Maggie’s Valentine’s Day present to me was three little baby moles and a 10 foot by 12 foot hole that she opened to find them. That’s our new daffoidil bed. Sleep tight gopher..

well, maybe this year.

Pumpkin Béchamel

Any basic white sauce starts with

Flour

Milk

Butter or oil

Usually starts with two tablespoon flour to one tablespoon butter (or two teaspoons).

The butter is warmed in the pan and the flour stirred in to form a Roux. Then milk is added (around 1 cup for tablespoons of flour).

The mixture is stirred on low heat until combined. Then you can increase the heat to a low boil, or just stir 5-15 minutes. For those who have never heard about Béchamel, chances are you made gravy this way. (Except for gravy, the fat source instead of oil or butter, you use some sort of meat dripping.)

The Adaptation

Add two tablespoons of pureed or canned pumpkin to the flour-butter mixture.

Then add the one cup of milk. Stir on low heat until thickened.

For me, after the sauce was the thickness of gravy, I added 1/4c. Walnuts and one cup of already cooked pasta.

The cons: Often canned pumpkin comes in 16oz or 8 oz. size and it could be bothersome to store the pumpkin.

The pros: Add 1/4teaspoon cinnamon and 1/4teaspoon clove or nutmeg to the sauce. If you prefer a sweeter dish, add 2 teaspoons sugar or sugar substitute such as stevia.

Welcome to WordPress.com! This is your very first post. Click the Edit link to modify or delete it, or start a new post. If you like, use this post to tell readers why you started this blog and what you plan to do with it.

Happy blogging!