Local girl wins 2nd place!   I don’t even know where to begin. Karen decided she wanted to compete in a cake-baking contest. I say, “Hey, sounds like fun (for you). Where’s it going to be?” She says, “At the senior center”. WHAT? Are you sh**ing me? The senior center? What could we possibly have to do with the senior center?

Karen and her friend Becky decide to enter cakes into this bake-off competition. Karen bakes what she calls her Daffodil Lemon cake. She bakes this delicious cake (an entire blog could be reserved for her baking process) and then I do what I do best – drive her over to the center, cake knife and camera in hand, and think kind thoughts.

We arrive just before 5pm (you probably already guessed it wouldn’t be any later than that) and situated in this oversized meeting room (I am guessing Bingo lives here) are 3-4 long tables covered with cakes – just shy of 20 in all. So Karen places her cake amongst the others. To provide fairness and anonymity, all cakes are indicated only by number – no one knows who baked what. Karen’s number? Lucky 13.  Note the broken serving dish.  There’s a message here…

The three judges get introduced. They have been tasked with viewing, tasting and judging 20 cakes (what kind of mortal sin did you have to commit to deserve this job?). After careful analysis, the winners were determined and announced.

Drum roll.  In her first cooking competition ever, out of almost 20 entries, Karen won 2nd place! You go girl!! In recognition of her accomplishment, she received an engraved glass cooking pan.

She is already planning for next year. Something soft and malleable I hope – who knows if I’ll still have teeth by then.