The Bard:William Shakespeare' s birthday today (1564-1616) is just enough of a reason  to try a new cake recipe.

Lemonade Cake

Cook's note: Since anything with lemon is a winner for me this recipe looked quite appealing and so easy. Ingredients can be adjusted for less of a lemon flavor

Ingredients:

• I box lemon cake mix with pudding in it (yellow cake mix can be substituted)
• 1 can whipped white frosting mix
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 thawed can of lemonade (6 oz.) 
• toasted coconut
• grated lemon peel (omit if you feel there is enough of a lemon flavor)

Directions:

• Bake cake according to directions on box (28 minutes worked well for me)
• Cool cake 15 minutes
• While cake is cooling whisk lemonade concentrate and powdered sugar together (might be necessary to use beaters to totally dissolve sugar)
• With a large tined fork or skewer poke holes all over cake
• By the tablespoons ladle juice all over cake to soak in holes-you will only use 1/2 of the liquid otherwise with too much it just runs to the side of the pan
• Refrigerate 1/2 hour to set
• Frost cake with homemade white frosting or whipped canned frosting
• Sprinkle toasted coconut over frosting and grate lemon zest over the cake 
• Refrigerate 1/2 hour to set and remove   

Shakespeare wrote dozens of plays sometimes three a year and more than 150 poems and sonnets. As with many poets from long ago little is known about his life. But is known that he went to work as a young man to support his family and married at age 18. When he was 21 he headed to London  working in the theater as an actor and a writer. 

His plays can be thought as long poems . He wrote his lines with careful attention to their length often with 10 syllables in each line and sometimes rhyming words at the end. I find it interesting to note that Shakespeare was different from other poets who gained fame after their death. He was a star in his lifetime and his plays were blockbusters. 

Good night,good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow

That I shall say good night till it be morrow.

Juliet bidding Romeo goodnight: 

from Romeo and Juliet

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My friend Beth, who I have known for over 40 years, has begun a blog about living the last 11 years with arteriovenous malformation or AVM. Simply put it means a blood clot on the 4th ventricle of the brain stem. After two major brain surgeries she was forced to give up a successful marketing career. She struggles daily with with her loss of independence being wheelchair bound.  All those things we take for granted such as walking, driving, swallowing and good vision Beth has learned to cope without them. Her faith, patience, sense of humor and determination are certainly to be admired.

You can follow her story at  http://mybrainhavoc.wordpress.com/

Please scroll down to the first posting which is the beginning of her journey titled: Introduction on April 9th.