the final flourish

This is it. The last recipe to be tested for the book. It's also a first as I've never made a walnut cake before and I am relieved I didn't have to go through several versions on this final day. Apart from anything else, levels of icing sugar have fallen dangerously low and I might have had to go out to get some more. How ironic that would have been after six months of having cream and butter fall out of the fridge every time we open it, bags of flour crammed into cupboards, and layers of different coloured sugars on every available shelf.

And now I feel like a free woman. Tomorrow, for the first time in fourteen and a half months I'll be able to wake up without thinking about a book deadline. My calendar has suddenly opened up and I realise there is life beyond 14 March, and yet I feel strangely unprepared for the freedom. Maybe I just need to re-test a few recipes...   

So what am I going to do with my time?

I am going to sort out my office. I have a disconcerting ability to ignore the fact that the whole room has crept up around me while I've been working, and I need to rediscover its real boundaries by moving dozens and dozens of children's books, papers, recipe books. I might even find there is room to swing a cat in here.   

I am going to read some grown-up books without looking for food moments and treats. This will be difficult as I've grown so used to my eyes scanning pages for mentions of cakes, biscuits, eggs, ginger, jam, sandwiches, picnics that I'm going to have to readjust to reading whole chapters again. But I suspect I'll still be thrilled when I meet a scone or a fruit cake.

I am going to knit and quilt. The thing I've been looking forward to most is moving away from the computer screen and having something soft and colourful in front of me again. Life will cease to exist in black and white and will turn into glorious Technicolour rather like one of the wonderful transitions in A Matter of Life and Death.

I am going to soak up some new ideas and inspiration. I have my tickets booked and I'm going to be doing some visiting and travelling.

I am going to get some fresh air. Goodness knows, my lungs need some.

I am going to get some sleep. Goodness know, my brain needs some.

Best of all, I am going to spend time with Simon, Tom, Alice and Phoebe who have been amazing over the last year and have seen me through some pretty tricky moments. And they have been the best treat-eaters a cook could ever wish for. This walnut cake is for them.

   

 

Comments

[Ewa]

Oh well done you - I totally understand hitting a deadline and seeing beyond it, such a great feeling. Enjoy every minute, you deserve it - and I can't wait for your new book to be launched into our world! I'm looking forward to seeing your new projects as they appear, such an inspiration, thank you Jane :-)

[irene]

congratulations jane! welcome to life past 14 March.
enjoy all the deadline-free moments.
xoxo

[SamLaTricoteuse]

Can't wait to see this new baby ?
On this walnut cake, is it a Maple Syrup icing ?????
Sugar Taffy season is almost there - we will have a wonderful season: for the sap to flow we need warm days and cool nights and plenty of snow at the foot of the maple trees. Go see my blog: we have had more than our share of snow this year in Montreal, Qc... I may have snow in front of my yard til May at this rate - there is a 6-7' snowbank...

[Lina]

Congratulations, Jane! Can't wait to see the new book! And of course, try out the recipies :)

Enjoy your freedom! You're so creative, you'll soon have another book idea and will be back to the computer screen ;)

[Ali]

Phew - I can sense your relief from here. It must feel good to have it done - savour the moment (and the cake!).

[Emilia]

I can´t wait for the new book!

I have very much enjoyed reading about your test recipes and the concept of the book.

[betz]

yum, that photo is literally making my mouth water. Enjoy your freedom! :)

[Karbee]

Well done! Getting to the end of a deadline is always a liberating experience because it frees you up to live for a while in the world you write about, breathe and invite in new inspirations. I'm really looking forward to this book because I love to bake and eating some good old fashioned treats is right up my alley.

[Maryjo]

congratulations ... and I'm Easter recipe hunting for Russian babka and all of that (shocking the amount of eggs that are called for)!

now tell us the truth: did your family get tired of all the sweets or not? Probably not!!

[kate]

Congratulations!

[ute]

Congratulations! Me, too, am really looking forward to this book. Btw, is there any chance that it will be translated in German? The sooner the better, of course - otherwise my nephews and nices will be too old to cook and read with their old aunt. I´m sure many readers will be interested in your book over here in Germany.
Thanks a lot for sharing your ideas und your wonderful photos in this blog!

[Queen Bee]

Congratulations on finishing your book, I can't wait to read it and sample all those scrumptious looking treats!!!

[Kate]

Congratulations! I can't wait to see the book, and also to see what new discoveries you make as you re-enter the world of color and fiber!

[Steph VW]

Congratulations on finishing the book! The thought of it makes me drool.

[Laura A.]

Warmest congratulations, Jane. I can't wait for the book--now if I had someone to make me the treats that I'll find there. I know I'm late but your first book was waiting for me when I got home yesterday--my happy new job present to myself!

[emily]

delicious. and beautiful. as always.

[Anne]

That cake looks fabulous, and I don't even really care for walnuts. You make everything look so perfect! Tell me your books will be available in Canada.

[Robin]

Yay!! Good for all of you. Just enjoy each other and that beautiful cake.

[gillie]

What a delicious cake. I love walnut cake, well I really love the icing and the walnuts best but I'm happy to eat the cake too!

It must be wonderful to feel so unconstrained, enjoy the freedom :)

[Becki]

Congratulations! I can't wait for your book to come out. Your writing is so beautiful, and your baking presentations are so amazing that I just know they must be delicious, too.

[Stephanie]

Congratulations. The cake and the other goodies you've been showing look great. Too bad it's Lent. I could use a goody!

[Sherry]

Ahhh, wonderful! Congratulations on finishing! I have just finished papers upon papers and this is the Friday before Spring Break which makes me thrilled beyond belief. I shall walk around the neighborhoods and buy bread from the bakery and just lie in bed all day with the sun shining on me while I eat cookies.

But then I have to get started on my Junior Quals and my final exam essays. So summer . . .

[Liz in IN]

Hurrah for freedom! Congratulations on meeting your deadline (and not running out of icing sugar).

Just had to reply, as A Matter of Life And Death (called Stairway to Heaven in North America) is one of my very favourite movies of all time, and was my mum's very favourite. She lost her youngest brother (RCAF) in WWII, and StH/aMoLaD was the only movie that could make her cry.

[Kat]

I can not explain how excited I am for this book. My mom is a school teacher and kids books have been standard in my life. It is going to be a dream come true to have the recipes I've always read about right in front of me.

[Mary]

Congratulations! Your blog is one of my favorite online "treats" that I savor each time I come to read. That walnut cake looks absolutely divine. Can't wait to see what you end up knitting and quilting. Cheers!