I lost a lot of things this past year.
- A diamond bracelet I received from an ex during a trip to Venice, Italy.
- An entire bin full of some of my favorite books—many from my childhood that I wanted to pass on to S. The plastic bin got ravaged by black mold (not a pretty sight) in the basement of my last apartment.
- A box of cookbooks I’d collected for many years that got rained on (in the same leaky basement).
- A vase my mother gave me and a jewelry box she made me when she took ceramics—both victims of a falling shelf.
- My iPhone.
- A wooden antique ironing board I bought at an antique store in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, for my plants (most of which died in my last apartment). I have no idea what happened to it.
- My daughter’s first bicycle, which was stolen from, yes, the dreaded basement.
- Two pairs of shoes I liked.
- And, because I just moved, some other things I more than likely haven’t yet noticed.
But at the end of the day none of this matters.
I noticed the diamond bracelet was gone when I got home after a fun day, on a day that I went to see Annie with S, my parents, my sister and my nieces and nephew. My family came down to New York City for 5 days, and we saw 2 Broadway plays, laughed over several dinners, ate a lot of desserts and spent hours exploring in the Museum of Natural History, all nine of us—and had a great time just being together. The kids played together, giggled, visited the huge Toys R Us in Times Square, had a few meltdowns and ate over-the-top desserts at Max Brenner (okay, the adults ate dessert, too).
I felt the sting of each lost item only for a moment and then I moved on, because this is what matters: family, friends, fun, laughter, togetherness.
I leave you with this cake to enjoy with your friends and family. I added a teaspoon of cardamom, which you can do if you like that flavor (it’s one of my favorites).
I would have posted a photo of the whole pretty cake, but somehow I lost that, too. 😉
[gmc_recipe 4538]
P.S. I am testing out cappuccino machines. This morning I made this latte with the Capresso EC50 and enjoyed it with a slice of the pound cake. What a treat!
