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Saturday, May 16, 2009

The 52nd Circle Time: The Show and Tell Weekly Thread

Show and Tell is wasted on elementary schoolers. Join several dozen bloggers weekly to show off an item, tell a story, and get the attention of the class. In other words, this is Show and Tell 2.0. Everyone is welcome to join, even if you have never posted before and just found out about Show and Tell for the first time today. So yank out a photo of the worst bridesmaid's dress you ever wore and tell us the story; show off the homemade soup you cooked last night; or tell us all about the scarf you made for your first knitting project. Details on how to participate are located at the bottom of this post.

Let's begin.

Homework: This is the one-year anniversary of the first Show & Tell post. In honour of that milestone, Liv came up with a brilliant idea in which to celebrate the year. Click on that last link (or use the tag list on the left sidebar) and you will be able to peruse all 52 Show & Tell posts. Your homework for this week is to choose one of your favourite past Show & Tells and come to class with it next week. In a comment, you'll share the permalink to your favourite show and tell post that was entered on the Show & Tell list (in other words, the permalink from the person's blog, not the permalink for the roundup of all the show & tell posts on this blog).

This week, I am bringing a Smith Island cake.



It's an 8-layer cake made up of paper-thin yellow cake and slathered in between with a cooked-fudge icing. I learned how to make it last year when we were on Smith Island. I have been in love with this island since I first heard about it from a Washington Post article on the dearth of teachers in island communities. I think about the place daily.

An article I read about the cake a while back spoke about the terroir of the cake--whether it is really a Smith Island cake if it's not made on Smith Island. Does the space somehow affect the overall product, much in the same way New York tap water is said to enhance the pizza dough and bagels in the city?

Terrior loosely means "sense of place" and it is how something edible can take on the characteristics of the space and if recreated anywhere else simply is missing that unique, indescribable quality that made it remarkable in the first place. It is what makes each glass of wine made from the same type of grape taste differently. And yet, what can you do when you are a three hour drive and a 45 minute boat ride away from the place that has your heart?

Have you ever fallen in love with a place simply by reading about it, before ever seeing it. And if you ever got to see the place, were you still in love after you left?

What are you showing today?

Click here or scroll down to the bottom of this post if this is your first time joining along (hint: link to the permalink for the post, not the main url for your blog and use your blog's name, not your name). The list is open from now until late Tuesday night and a new one is posted every week.

Other People Standing at the Head of the Class:

1. Infertility Rocks!
2. Weebles Wobblog
3. My Pathway to Motherhod
4. Hobbit- ish Thoughts and Ramblings
5. It is Written in the Stars Above
6. Parenthood for Me
7. Shannon
8. Wise Guy
9. Alana- isms
10. Emmy
11. Bear and The Comedian
12. Rachel
13. Michelle
14. Dragondreamer's Lair
15. High Heel Happy!!
16. I Want To Be A Mommy
17. Building Heavenly Bridges
18. Wishing4One
19. Meepit
20. Not So Secret Life Of Us
21. Mrs Spock
22. In Due Time
23. Fractured Rainbows
24. The Infertile Sushi- loving Princess
25. Vintage Mommy
26. Fertile Ramblings
27. Cyster A.C. T.
28. blondedawn
29. Life Induces Thoughts, mostly random
30. Baby Wanted: Apply Within
31. Destined to be an old woman with no regrets
32. So Blessed I Could Scream




Want to bring something to Show and Tell?
  • If you would like to join circle time and show something to the class, simply post each Saturday night (or earlier in the week or on Monday if you can't do the weekend), hopefully including a picture if possible, and telling us about your item. It can be anything--a photo from a trip, a picture of the dress you bought this week, a random image from an old yearbook showing a person you miss. It doesn't need to contain a picture if you can't get a picture--you can simply tell a story about a single item. The list opens every Saturday night and closes on Tuesday night.
  • You must mention Show and Tell and include a link back to this post in your post so people can find the rest of the class. This spreads new readership around through the list. This is now required.
  • Label your post "Show and Tell" each week and then come back here and add the permalink for the post via the Mr. Linky feature (not your blog's main url--use the permalink for your specific Show and Tell post).
  • Oh, and then the point is that you click through all of your classmates and see what they are showing this week. And everyone loves a good "ooooh" and "aaaah" and to be queen (or king) of the playground for five minutes so leave them a comment if you can.
  • Did you post a link and now it's missing?: I reserve the right to delete any links that are not leading to a Show and Tell post or are the blogging equivalent of a spitball.

28 comments:

Anonymous said...

Much, much, MUCH lovelier than the cake that I made yesterday (ahhhh, complete with an upcoming blog-story to say the least). I admire your baking skills and wished I could smell and taste through a computer screen! Congrats on one year Show & Tell!!!!!

That island sounds amazing! This is a timely post, as I think the place that has my heart is what I brought for Show & Tell as well today. It is the Yorkshire Dales in England where my sister and her family live. Honestly, the most breathtaking place I've ever seen with lavendar heather hills juxtaposed between Ireland green fields where sheep by the hundreds graze, and all of this land crosshatched by old stone walls, stone barns, and stone homes. It took me weeks to get over the loss I felt coming back to my suburbanite cement and vinyl siding town. In fact, I don't think I'll ever fully recover!

Anonymous said...

Yes, I have fallen in love with Ireland. ( my love was rekindled when I watched the movie Ps i love u) We have tentative plans to go next year.

Shannon said...

That cake looks deelish!

Alana said...

Yellow cake with chocolate icing is my absolute favorite kind of cake. Yours looks SOOOO very delicious! :)

Cara said...

Perfect post and cake to celebrate the year-of-show-and-tells!!

I am in LOVE with Alaska. The idea of it, the sights and smells and the sky-show! We swear we will cruise there one day!

Emmy said...

Oh my, that cake looks delicious!

I have fallen in love with a place by reading about it, but have yet to go.

Happy one year of sharing!

Tash said...

The pink flowers reminded me that *I* have a picture somewhere I need to share with you. Hmm, timetimetime . . . .

Kim said...

I fell in love with Boston just hearing about it. Later I got a chance to move there with my then-boyfriend (now husband). We lived there for 5 years and it was exactly the way I had imagined it. I loved every minute there and sobbed when we left. But later we moved to San Diego, which I liked better and didn't think I'd love.

AwkwardMoments said...

oh , Yum Yum YUm and more YUM! My grandmother used to make me a cake like that for my birthdays when I spent the summer with her. Beautiful job

Sunny said...

First, congrats on one your of Show & Tell!

Second, I wanted to let you know that your book came in the mail today, and it was perfect timing. I was having a really crappy day (IF related) and we were about to leave for a potluck dinner with a bunch of other families. I flipped through your book and read the last page, because I'm annoying like that. :) Your brief letter had me in tears. Thanks for sharing your compassion with so many... me included.

Anonymous said...

Mmmmm....yummy-looking cake! Thank you, Mel, for hosting this. It's really helped me to dig a little bit in my writing, instead of just perpetually whining about not having children.

You ROCK!!!!

Kristin said...

What a gorgeous cake.

And, I have fallen in love with a place just by reading about it...Conrad Maldives Rangali Island

Anonymous said...

Um....Mel? I keep putting in my link and it's disappearing. Do you not want my blog in the class?

I'm sorry if I offended you in some way....

..al said...

That cake looks amazing!!!! Sheesh...would love to dig into it!

Getting ready for the homework!

..al said...

Happy Anniversary!

Tiger said...

Happy Anniversary!
That cake looks oh so to die for :)

Wishing 4 One said...

Your cake is goregous!

I have fallen in love with Madagascar, its on our list and we have yet to go. They recently had some govt unrest, so its cool we waited.

Billy said...

Happy Anniversary!

Mrs. Gamgee said...

The cake is stunning! I so envy your baking skills!

For me, the Oregon coast was a place that I had always wanted to see... and when I was finally able to go (for a couple of vacations) it didn't disappoint. The wind, waves and wildness of it still live in my heart.

MrsSpock said...

Ooooooooo....so scrumptious!

Lori Lavender Luz said...

Newark. I've always had a soft spot for Newark.

Or, "Sewark," as I fondly call it, even though I have never been there.

Kidding. I think it would be Italy. My palate has always been Italian, and I could easily have lived a past life there.

Beautiful cake.

Anonymous said...

That cakes looks really YUMMY!!!

battynurse said...

That cake looks truly yummy. I want some. Makes me want to make a chocolate cake too.

Vintage Mommy said...

My first oohs and aahs go to Mel for that amazing cake! I made some Irish soda bread this w/end; yummy but decidedly homely!

dawn said...

mel, the cake looks amazing and i wish i could have some RIGHT NOW!!! :) congrats on a year of show and tells!

the one place in the world that i knew i would love before visiting was puerto viejo, costa rica. :)

Beautiful Mess said...

Beautiful cake! I made a cake this weekend, it didn't look as beautiful as your though. Can I hire you to make my next cake?

Baby Smiling In Back Seat said...

Happy Anniversary, S&T!

Montenegro sounded amazing to us on paper, but in person it was far more awesome than we'd imagined. Except for the whole thing about being the playground for the Russian mob, I'd love to spend extended periods there.

Mobsters have good taste in holiday destinations.

The Steadfast Warrior said...

Oh Mel, chocolate! How did you know I was craving it? ;) Lovely cake!

There's a place on Vancouver Island here in BC called Cathedral Grove. I had read many times about the park in our temperate rainforest where the trees are wider than the arm spans of 10 people. But to have actually gone and seen it and experienced the jaw-dropping beauty and enormity of the forest is an experience I'll never forget. I have since been back a couple of times and it is no less impressive to learn the the lumber from one of the largest trees could build 2 two-story houses!