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Cathy signorelli's avatar

I went right out and bought a sifter! I have been on the fence about sifting for years—but now I will be sifting with a whole new thought of what I am actually doing. I love your warm inclusive writing and I feel so lucky to be part of the Storybelly community! You are a gem!!🥰

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Jo's avatar

I can’t remember ever making a cake except from a mix! How shameful, LOL. But every family gathering included that classic Heavenly Salad (marshmallows, tinned fruit, sour cream, Cool Whip) I bet you know it!

We were well into our fifties when I found out that my brother had never tasted even one bite. He was so grossed out by the look of it, he just kept silent FOR DECADES while the rest of us were all going “Wow! Yum! Gimme some of that-there Heavenly Salad!” 🤣🤣🤣

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Deborah Wiles's avatar

omg and lolol. THIS is the Ultimate Sifting, by your brother, hahaha. DECADES of sifting! Thanks for the laugh this morning, Jo. I aspire to your brother’s level of SIFTING, and to never eat “that salad.” (And it is not shameful to have never made a cake from scratch. Besides, we are all here to help, ha!)

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Jo's avatar

LOL, yes, I can tell I’m in good hands here with cake-making and story-making—thank you so much!

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Jennifer Guyor Jowett's avatar

Debbie, the handwriting on the recipe reminds me of address books and how they are a record of family, by showing where people have lived and moved. I have kept the same one all these years for that purpose, with old addresses crossed out and changes documented. I like seeing what I imagine is the record of the birthdays you made the cake for with the dates and names annotated. I'm also reminded that sifting works for writing as well–we dump it all in and then sift out the chunks and unwanted parts while leaving the best in the final version. I need to get to work on sifting!

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Deborah Wiles's avatar

That’s such a great comparison, Jen. I have one of those old address books… must see if I can bring it to-hand. I love handwriting, period, and scribbling, and ways we communicate with our handwriting and drawing. You are spot-on about sifting and writing, which is what I’m writing about in the Extra today, stay tuned, and jump in whenever. Thanks for commenting! xo

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Jennifer Buehler's avatar

I baked and frosted a chocolate birthday cake yesterday using the recipe from the original Claire's Cornercopia Cookbook. I wanted to share a photo, but I don't know how to do that here. Just leaving a note to say how much I appreciate you and love reading your posts.

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Deborah Wiles's avatar

You are a treasure, cake photo or no cake photo. :> I’m so glad you are here. Now I must look up Claire’s cookbook! (We both made chocolate cakes — kismet.) xo

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Jane Kurtz's avatar

Your family and friends are so lucky to be able to gather for stories and cake.

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Deborah Wiles's avatar

I always think I’m the lucky one. Lucky to know you, too, Janie. xo

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Becca Rowan's avatar

I’m so hungry right now, if my oven wasn’t broken (I know 😭) I’d go bake myself a cake!

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Deborah Wiles's avatar

Broken ovens… I will confess here that I cropped that last photo (of Zach pulling the frittata out of the oven) because he (rightly) calls my oven “Chernobyl.” lol. You don’t wanna know. :> (Also, storebought cake is FINE. hee.) xo

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