LE GATEAU SANS RIVAL

Le Gateau Sans Rival

This recipe comes from my dear mother-in-law, Muriel Corneliusen Dolby. Muriel, better known as “Bana,” was of Norwegian descent and inherited a collection of the family's recipes, most of which are extremely difficult to prepare. This recipe, however, comes from a different source. Muriel was a club woman. I don’t think there are many women who can boast that title today. She belonged to over 30 clubs! Since she attended lunches at most of them, she was able to acquire a vast number of delicious recipes.

One day, she brought me a slice of this amazing treasure. She said she had smuggled it out of her bridge club luncheon in her purse just so I could try it. I was hooked at first bite. It is a bit difficult to prepare but definitely worth the effort.

Be sure the torte is a bit crunchy before assembling

The recipe says there are 8 servings, but this dessert is so rich you can serve at least 16. This just shows how old the recipe really is. We don't eat portions that generous today.

The original, tattered copy of old recipe

I plan on serving this dessert at the drumming ceremony to be held at Woodloft, my home, on Friday night.

GODDESS CEREMONIAL NECKLACES

GODDESS CEREMONIAL NECKLACE

“Questing Woman”

"She who knows her own sacred sound"

For years I have created my Goddess Ceremonial necklaces as a tribute to women everywhere. I have always envisioned women wearing the necklaces to celebrate a particular milestone in their lives or to mark some other special occasion.

In the past, the materials I found while contemplating the design of a necklace determined its final form. But recently, I decided to start trying to customize some of my necklace designs to reflect something personal about the wearer. I made the first of these custom necklaces for Kayla Finley.

Kayla Finley

I met Kayla about a month ago when she stopped by my booth on the Roanoke farmers’ market. She is a healer, a drummer, a writer, and more, and has a strong spiritual connection to Native American culture. She told me her last child recently “left the nest,” and that she is enthusiastically embarking on an exciting new phase of her life.

"She who seeks the path of the ancients"

Kayla purchased a necklace from me and gave it to a friend as a birthday present. Afterwards, she contacted me to see if I would make another one for her. Kayla is such an interesting, multifaceted person, I decided she would be a great subject for my first custom necklace design.

I create my necklaces using unusual items I find at antique shops, flea markets, etc. I use one of my original stoneware clay faces in each necklace and surround it with the appropriate embellishments. With Kayla’s necklace, the embellishments have taken on a new purpose since they must reflect something specific about the wearer. After searching for several weeks, I found the perfect items.

Turquoise, pewter

Sterling feathers

Sterling bird

Egyptian scarabs

Kayla's special necklace,"Questing Woman"

Questing Woman

Like many of my Goddess Ceremonial Necklaces, this one makes generous use of turquoise in homage to the jewelry of the Navajo whose style I have always admired. It is even more apt than usual in this creation, Kayla, because of your love for Native American culture. Turquoise use by Native Americans can be traced back as far as southern Arizona’s Hohokam culture in 200 BC. As I suspect you’re aware, various cultures through the millennia have claimed that turquoise brings prosperity, health or good fortune to the owner. May it do so for you.

The arrowhead and feathers at the bottom of the piece are elements I have not commonly used in these necklaces. Here, they constitute a more emphatic statement of your spiritual connection to Native American culture and your association with the Ring Thunder tribe of Rosebud, South Dakota. At the height of the plains Native American culture, the Lakota were among the most avid users of feathers to symbolize specific traits or achievements of the wearer. The feathers serve a second purpose in this piece by also symbolizing your connection with “Many Feathers.

In ancient Egyptian culture, the scarab symbolized rebirth and renewal. “Questing Woman” includes two scarabs: one to reflect your rebirth and renewal as you enter a new phase of your life, and one to reflect the renewal you provide your clients through your practice of energy healing.

The ascending bird over the forehead of “Questing Woman” represents a falcon. In medieval heraldry, the falcon symbolized a person in vigorous, unrelenting pursuit of a goal. In ancient Egyptian culture, the falcon was linked to the divine. In other cultures and times, this regal bird has represented freedom. Here, the falcon reflects your ongoing pursuit and achievement of spiritual wisdom as you begin a new phase of your life.

- Cheryl Dolby -

I hope Kayla likes her special necklace. Her website is http://www.energy-seeress.com/.

GODDESS DRUMMING CEREMONY

Serendipity

Several years ago, I attended a drumming ceremony given by artist, Lynn Yeatts. I had never drummed before and was looking forward to meeting women in our area of Roanoke, Virginia who practiced drumming. The evening will long live in my memory as one of the most enchanting times I have experienced.

After finding one excuse after another for postponing having my own ceremony, I finally decided to move forward with it.

What about drums? Some of the women who are planning to attend were in need of a drum. I had two in storage, I thought. After digging through my stash of misladen and forgotten items, I was able to find only one. I needed to find more, so today I made a trip to Happys Flea Market and hit the mother lode! It’s amazing how the universe seems to provide at just the right time. I go to Happys every Sunday and I’ve never seen drums and today I found four!

Intricate carving

The first two drums are hand carved with what looks like buffalo hide tops. Another one says ‘percussion’ on it. The fourth drum is the one that intrigued me the most. It is not a drum at all but an old tin candy box from yesteryear. It is hard to believe candy used to be packaged in these beautiful tins. This one has faces of women on the top. Even though the faces are highly distressed, they are beautiful. When I picked the box up, I tapped it a few times to see if it was tin..that is when I discovered it would make a beautiful drum for someone to use. When I tapped it a few more times, I was reminded of rain hitting a tin roof. Beautiful and melodious.

Antique tin candy box

I am having the Goddess Drumming Ceremony at my home at Woodloft. If any like-minded women are interested in coming, please e-mail me for directions at mailto:cherdolby@cox.com

7-circuit labyrinth where the drumming will take place

I hope to have everyone seated in the 7-circuit labyrinth I built a few years ago. If it rains, we will move inside. We will drum at 6:00 on Friday, July 17^th. It will also be a potluck. I have a pool so bring your suit if you care to swim before the ceremony.

There will be a lot of very special women attending. One such woman is Kayla Finlay. She took djembe drumming classes with Babatunji Olantunde several times before he passed and will be bringing her beautiful healing Native American white buffalo drum for the ceremony. Kayla has asked me to create a unique Goddess Ceremonial necklace for her. I will post a picture of the necklace tomorrow as well as the special scroll I made for her.

SUNFLOWER JOURNEYS: CONCLUSION

Sunflower Journeys: Conclusion

Window in my laundry room depicting each of the Sunflower Journeys

I came home from each of these journeys with a treasure trove of irreplaceable memories, and I think that each of my grandchildren did, too. We saw that people are fascinatingly different from one place to another, and yet, in many ways, very much the same. If only everyone could be convinced of that and see the value in people everywhere. I hope my four grandchildren gained some insight into the different cultures they visited, and that one day they will continue the tradition. Alli said that she would for sure! Wherever they go, I will be with them in spirit.

Montage of Marcy in Italy and Sicily

After each trip, I made a photo montage to give to each child as a lasting memento of his or her journey. This photographic journal of the trip complemented the daily journal each child kept of her or his experiences while traveling. We also worked together to create a special keepsake of the trip honoring someone who was especially kind and helped bring the trip to life for us. On all but one trip, it turned out to be the tour guide who illuminated the stories behind the sights we saw.

Beth's montage of Mexico and the Pyramids

Zack's montage of Greece

Montage of Alli in France

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Marcy and I created a large painting of an Italian woman who represented Giovanna, our tour guide in Italy, “serving up” culture. In our painting, Giovanna holds a towel and pictures of the places we visited in her arms. We calligraphed Giovanna’s mantra on the painting – “As long as you have culture in your life, you will never be poor."

Painting Marcy created of Giovanna

Box I created for Marcy using pottery shards we found on the beach in Taormino, Sicily

We also created a box using one of my clay faces and shards of pottery that we found on the shores of Taormino, Sicily. I imagine an ancient sunken ship’s lost cargo washing up on the shore when I look at this box.

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Door Beth and I created showing Manuel and infamous parrot

Beth and I created a door depicting our tour director, Manuel. Manuel was enraptured with the beauty of Mexico and helped us appreciate it as much as he did. He bemoaned the fact that so many people in the world do not appreciate the wonders of his country, saying, "Eyes that don't see, hearts that don't feel." Well, that couldn’t be true of anyone traveling through Mexico under Manuel’s guidance. On the door Beth and I created to honor him, we depict Manuel holding the parrot that we had so much fun with in Palaneque. The door is located in my studio.

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Replica of door and knocker Zack and I saw on the island of Hydra

Close up of door with Greek writing and knocker

While in Athens, Zack and I purchased one of the door knockers that can be seen throughout Greece. I wasn’t sure what I would do with it until I saw an old barn door at Black Dog Salvage in Roanoke. It looked almost identical to one we saw on a barn in Greece where donkeys were kept on a mountianside overlooking the sea. I traded two of my stained glass windows for it. Zack and I attached the knocker on the door. Then, Zack burned into the wood the words our tour director, Marina, repeatedly said of him as we traveled – “Not a boy, but not yet a man.” Marina had quizzed our group about Greece continually as we toured, and Zack was always able to answer her questions. By the end of the trip, he was clearly the “teacher’s pet.” The finished door now adorns my garden.

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On Alli’s journey, we didn’t encounter anyone who impressed us like the tour directors on the other trips. So, we decided to create a less specific keepsake than those created for the other journeys. Alli allowed me to work on her painting since she was too busy with her many activities to spend the requisite time at my house working on it. I found a small wooden arched door that provided a perfect canvas for the painting. In recognition of the impressive ancient edifices we encountered throughout France, I copied ghostly images of castles onto organza and placed these in the background of the painting. In the foreground, I placed a woman gazing longingly at them. We named the painting “Dreaming France.”

Painting of 'Dreaming France'

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In addition to the other keepsakes we created, I found an old window and painted four scenes in each of the four panes, one for each journey. I installed this window in my laundry room where it inspires me even when I’m tending to that most mundane of chores, washing clothes.

Window depicting each of the four separate trips taken with grandchildren France, Mexico, Greece and Italy

Marcy's journal and memory album of Italy

Beth's journal and memory album of Mexico

Zack's journal and memory album of Greece

Alli's journal and memory album of France

It is my fervent hope that the children will one day take their trip treasures from Woodloft to their own homes. So, it is goodbye Sunflower Journeys; too soon you were gone, but hopefully, you will bloom again.

FRANCE

FRANCE

Alli at Chenonceau

On the last Sunflower journey, my youngest granddaughter, Alli, and I went to France. We called our trip The Last Sunflower Journey: Oh la la. The journey started in Paris, France’s “City of Light.” The Eiffel Tower alone suggests how fitting that nickname is. When viewed from the Seine at night, the whole tower actually twinkles because of the lights mounted along its entire 1063-foot height.

Eiffel Tower at night

Probably the most photographed sight in Paris, it proved to be a bit of a challenge for Alli and me. Naturally, we had to see the view of Paris from the top.

View from the top of the Eiffel Tower

After riding a very rickety elevator to the top, we decided we would rather walk down than ride. This turned out to be a huge mistake. We didn’t know it before we started our hike down, but the tower boasts 1665 steps. We walked down and down, around and around, from level to level until we were in a near-zombie-like state. We were dizzy and shaky by the time we reached the bottom.

Down the thousands of steps

Down, down

Finally, we got to the bottom

One of the most impressive destinations we visited outside of Paris was the city of Carcassonne. In an area first settled by the ancient Celts, the Romans laid the foundations for the fortified city that stands there today. The Romans’ successors expanded the fortifications during the medieval period. After a period during which the walled portion of the city was allowed to deteriorate, restoration was begun in the mid-19^th century. That effort has preserved a place that makes you feel as though you’ve stepped back in time. Undoubtedly, that is part of the reason that “Robin Hood” was filmed there. It is an eerie place where the wind blows continuously, wafting sand into the air nearly all the time.

Carcassonne

When we first arrived in Carcassonne, Alli and I prepared to head for dinner at our hotel restaurant. There, we would have a magnificent view of the ancient castle city. While I took a quick shower, Alli dressed for dinner. When I came back into the room, I was surprised to find her lying on her bed, crying. She was homesick. I guess this surprised me because we had been on the go constantly, and I didn’t think she had had time to miss her family. I should have been a little suspicious when I saw her kiss the photo of her dog that morning. The next day, she seemed to be on the mend, and I thought all was well. To my great disappointment, though, she seemed to be having a recurrence of the preceding night’s upset right before dinner. I found her lying on the bed, her shoulders heaving up and down with inconsolable tears and sobs. Fortunately, she was playing a joke this time and she really fooled me! Alli takes acting classes. She is a very good actress – and I was glad to find that she was actually beginning to get over her homesickness.

Alli is over being homesick

We also visited the city of Lourdes, renowned for its shrine and its holy water. At the Grotto of St. Bernadette (as serene a place as I have ever been) we sampled some of this natural (supernatural?) elixir. We brought a small amount back home with us, and it ended up having a use I had not foreseen while at Lourdes. For several years, I have been making and selling my own skin creams that I call Goddess Magic Creams. Someone suggested that I add a bit of the water to the formula, and I did so. Whether it makes a difference or not is hard to tell. But people enjoy hearing the story, and the cream sells extremely well.

Grotto of St. Bernadette

Entrance to the grotto of St. Bernadette

Dordonne cave dwellings

La Cave troglodyte restaurant in the Dordonne region

Another fascinating stop on our trip was dinner at a restaurant called La Cave, a troglodyte restaurant in the Loire Valley. If the word “troglodyte” makes you think “caveman,” you’re right. But these troglodytes were nothing like the prehistoric kind. La Cave, like many residences in the area, was built mostly inside a massive cave. It was rustic and elegant and the food was delicious. There was even a magnificent baby grand piano. No prehistoric troglodyte ever lived this well! These cave dwellings can be found in several places in France as well as in Spain. We were told that they are very much in demand in France, and seldom stay on the real estate market for long when they are sold. And why not. Like most caves, the inside temperature stays around 55 degrees F plus or minus a few degrees. There is little need for heat, no air conditioning bill and almost no upkeep.

Inside the Louvre-so much for culture

Back in Paris for the last leg of the trip, we toured the Louvre Museum and then, that evening, went to the Moulin Rouge. Surprisingly, the latter ended up being the highlight of our journey. Dancers appeared and scenery changed at an increasingly frenetic pace until the entire stage was turned into a giant aquarium. One woman jumped into the tank and swam with five pythons! It was an experience that neither Alli nor I will ever forget.

Alli and caneman at Avignon

We did it all!