Just for the recordโ€“I was asked to post this article, I am not one for ringing my own bell.

This weekend was my birthday.ร‚ย  I wonโ€™t say which one, but letโ€™s just say that I was in 4th grade when I started playing the Moldvay version of D&D.ร‚ย  When I was young, my mother started a tradition of making a cake decorated with my current hobby for each birthday.ร‚ย  Around age 12 she made me a Red Dragon cake, based on the drawing in the 1e Monster Manual.ร‚ย  Through the years there was a newspaper cake, when I became editor of the school newspaper, a car cake when I turned 16, and a guitar cake when I went though my hair-metal stage.

After high school the cakes stopped. I suppose making a keg shaped cake is not the kind of thing that mothers aspire to.ร‚ย  This year, my wife conspired with my mother and as a surprise this birthday, I was presented with the following cake.

GnomeCake

Believe me, it tasted just as good as the stewโ€ฆ.