My sister, my friend . . .

The first best friend I ever had was my sister, Cindy. I can remember not being very impressed when my mother brought her home from the hospital. Having been on my own for almost three years, I was most annoyed that someone else had arrived and was going to be taking half of my mother's attention. I told my mother in no uncertain terms that this baby had to go back! My mom said, okay . . . but that she would have to go with the baby, because it was too small and helpless to look after itself . . . and so, I relented and decided that the baby could stay. Little did I know that I was making a decision that would affect me positively for the rest of my life!

My sister was rather sickly as a child. In and out of the hospital with one fever or another, it would take the Doctors seven years to diagnose her correctly with Reumatic Fever. It was the Easter Holidays and we had both been in hospital to have our tonsils removed. One night a few days after the operation my mother woke up to find me dragging her down the hallway on a blanket to take her to the toilet in the middle of the night. Her leg muscles had failed her and I was doing my best to help her without waking up my parents. She spent several weeks in the hospital that time. I missed my companion, my friend . . . It would be months before she was back to normal . . .



I think that was the first time in my life that I was really afraid that she would be taken away from me. She had been my constant companion for most of my life. We shared a bed together, we played together, fought together . . . even then she was my best friend. She followed me around like a shadow and tried to be like me in every way. When my sister finally did come home from the hospital, she was bed ridden for quite some time. My mother put her out in the garden on a lounging lawnchair sometimes, once the weather got really warm. I remember her being all covered in blankets. I remember dancing and doing cartwheels across the lawn and bringing my other friends over so that we could entertain her and bolster her flagging spirits. That particular bouth with Rheumatic Fever left her with a heart murmur and she had to take pennicillan every day for the rest of the time she was growing up, but . . . if there was every anyone who was going to climb the tallest tree or swim the widest lake, it would be my sister. Nothing kept her down for very long, and if there was every anything going, you could be sure she would be right in the thick of it, and often dragging me in with her. (I do confess, that sometimes it was the other way around, but today . . . this is about her, not me!)



She really had a difficult time of it in her teens. The teenage years can be a roller coaster of emotion for most people, but it was really hard on us. My sister always seemed so angry and sad . . . she really put my parents through the wringer on many occasions, but that was just her way of saying, "Hey, here I am and I need lots of love and attention and help." My parents had quite a few marital problems, so much so that our emotional needs got lost a bit in the shuffle. I coped with them in a different way, but my sister, she coped by rebelling. We did argue and scrap a lot during those tumultous years, but at the end of the day we were always there for each other and we both knew it. We knew that even if we never had anyone else we'd always have each other. We used to talk about ending up like the Baldwin sisters from the Waltons, spending our later years living together as friends and companions, taking care of each other.

I really could spend hours writing about her. In my life, my sister has been my rock. I know always, that when the chips are down, I have at least one person in this world that will never judge me too harshly or find me wanting. She is my biggest fan and my largest supporter, and I love her with all of my heart. She is my best friend, and even though we may now live thousands of miles apart, she still means the world to me, and always will.



Speaking of sisters, I did another little painting yesterday evening. I was inspired yesterday afternoon when we were driving in the car and could not wait to put my paints to paper! This is just a little teaser of the original, which you will find over on Blossom Time Creations.

My sister and I have always enjoyed cooking and crafting together. We often did craft shows together and I have many fond memories of hours spent in each other's comfortable companionship enjoying those very things that we both love so much. Here is a treasured recipe she shared with me a very long time ago. It's not so easy for me to make over here, as you can't get the gumdrops needed for it, but I make sure that whenever I go home I pick up a bag or two to bring back with me so that when the inspiration hits, I am prepared.




*Cindy's Portugese Gumdrop Cake*
Makes one bundt cake
Printable Recipe

This is a recipe that my sister shared with me many moons ago. I am not sure what makes it Portugese, but whatever it is, it also makes it very delicious. This has become somewhat of a tradition in our family. My mother once baked one with half of a rubber spatula in it (not on purpose of course!). This is a tried and true family favourite. Another one from my Big Blue Binder. Tender, moist and full of gumdrops.

1 cup of butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 large eggs, seperated
3 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
generous pinch of salt
1 cup milk
1 tsp lemon extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup of candy gumdrops (the sugared ones), cut in half
(Leave out the black ones)

Pre-heat the oven to 150*C/300*F. Grease and flour a bundt pan and set it aside.

Cream together the butter and the sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg yolks, mixing them in wwell. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk together the milk, lemon extract and vanilla. In another bowl whisk the egg whites until they are stiff.

Stir the flour mixture into the creamed mixture, alternately with the milk mixture, beginning and ending with the flour, making sure to mix it well each time. Fold in the beaten egg whites very carefully with a rubber spatula. Finally fold in the cut up gumdrops. Pour into the prepared bundt pan, smoothing off the top.

Bake for 2 hours in the pre-heated oven, or until it tests down by inserting a toothpick in the centre and having it come out clean. If you feel it is browning too quickly on top, cover it with some aluminum foil. Remove from the oven and allow it to cool in the pan for 15 minutes at least, before you remove it to a rack to cook completely.