Don't you just hate it when bloggers you follow just vanish? No explanation. Poof! Like that last slice of cheesecake you tucked away behind all the turkey leftovers in the fridge....
When I wrote that last post - January, 2020 - I knew that I had wrapped up Tea, Cake and Create decorating classes (with work and family commitments, classes had simply become to much to juggle). But I honestly expected to continue to bake and post recipes on the blog. Then 2020 happened and ...well, you know. 2020.
I started out with a diary of lockdown days on Instagram, and then that grew a little tedious. At that point we were still working (both my husband and I are in the medical field) and although we weren't at the frontline of Covid-care, other hospital responsibilities continued. The kids were at home. A year later, now they are nearly-12 and a solid thirteen; it isn't as daunting an idea as it was back then, but leaving two pre-teen children alone at home while we went to deal with medical emergencies left me with a constant pit in my stomach. I think, for me, that was the greatest lockdown challenge. (I am very aware that many, many families have had much greater difficulties to face over the past two years.) Then there was the cleaning. Endless cleaning. Endless snack-making. And that was even before we had to start distance-learning/home-schooling.
So, any baking I did became purely functional. No frivolity. That's not to say no joy - because the time that we spent in isolation was also very special. Life simplified and streamlined. Since then, I have not managed to bring myself back into the fast-flowing stream of social media.
While I have picked up my piping bags again recently, it has been a relief to be able to bake and not feel the need to document, photograph, photoshop, post.
Do you sometimes wonder if Facebook, Instagram, Twitter don't take more than they give? Do they rob us of the moments of joy?
Anyway... I don't know if you have missed me or these posts - I have certainly missed so many of you! Know that I think about you often - all my class regulars that became such a special part of my Friday and Saturday mornings. (You know who you are!)
While I won't make any promises about being back here soon ... I'd like to believe that I will occasionally visit with you.
I wish you well! Have a wonderful festive season, and all the very best for 2022!
xxM
