Ah that time of year

So it's the time of year that students panic, I mark and the weather warms up.
It's Kate's brithday today. 5 years old. She is becoming more delightful by the day. I love her so much.
I was up till 10 last night making a birthday cake so she could celebrate at her preschool. I made a butterfly, inelegant in its execution but tasted fine. I've decided that canned cream is the pits. You know the type of cream that you've seen in countless movies where the young post-hormonal male opens his mouth and squirts a glob of it. He swallows with no apparent affliction to his hips. Great for squirting, no good for cakes. This is the second time it's flopped.
The problem with cream as I see it is that the squirty type (as above) is no good for cakes, but good for beside cakes. Thickened cream is no good for whipping, as they put something in it to thicken it up. It doesn't whip. Not even a little. And even if I could whip it (something that does seem to elude me, but probably has something to do with a lack of mixmaster) I would then need to get a piping bag to make it all pretty.
When it comes to cream, I lack commitment. Cream and I have a love/hate relationship. I'm actually quite bad with it. I can't eat the stuff. Which is good for the hips. I have recently enacted my difficulties with it by banning icecream from myself also. It always makes me sick. Why does one yearn that which is bad for you?
You may note dear reader that I lack a mixmaster. Yet I still bake. Well it takes courage and strong fingers for mixing butter, and arms for mixing. I actually managed a pizza base the other day. Success! The trick in yeast based cooking appears to be to simply give it a couple of hours to rise. It can't be rushed.
Anyways, I digress. We'll be off to Canberra on the weekend for a little soiree with my brother and his lovely wife. I haven't seen the family down there in nearly 2 years. This is a function of my mother blowing me off each time I want to come. Take M out of the equation for a better life...
In other news, the house in Victoria is finally ready. Two years of trauma and bad building. Hooray for new houses.
My animation students are cruising. I think we'll have some good ones from this semester. The average is nice and high. Hugs to all doing study at this stage. It's the stressy time of year.