Soup and pie day

It's the kind of day where some chose to stay in pajamas all day, curled up on the couch under two quilts reading or watching a moose wander down main street. It's the kind of day to make turkey soup, simmering away all day while you do crafts or watch the colour of the sky change from blue and white to pink and orange. It's the kind of day to quietly try to make a surprise apple pie to make someone feel better. Well, at least the feel better part worked.

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The snowfall has muffled all sounds, it's almost as if there is no one out there. Inside it is quiet also, just the constant hum of the heater. We light as many candles as we can find, one for each of our loved ones who are no longer with us, the biggest candle for our most recent loss. And because of that this year we did not send out cards, put up a tree or buy presents. The front door is bare, no twinkling lights or beribboned wreath. We each bring to mind special memories and let them warm us, these are the gifts that we cannot live without.

Best cookies ever

It is not a good idea to have these cookies around the house. They are full of butter and chocolate chips and some other stuff that makes them crunchy. I made a few dozen tonight to gift them to my brother-in-law, he has always loved my chocolate chip cookies. That is the only reason I made these cookies. We did do a taste test to make sure that they taste as good as they look.

Soup day

The sun and an icy blue sky were a welcoming sight this morning, a crisp,calm morning that makes you want to venture out. The crunch of snowboots on ice. No birds flitting about the trees. The snow cover like thick quilt batting on my dome-shaped lavender plants. The mountains all around frosted with new snow. It is so cold that the cedar hedge has turned a black green colour.
The only thing to do on such a cold day after venturing out is to make soup. With the last of the oddly shaped potatoes from the ranch, I made a pot of very thick spud puree.

Pancake Sunday

We did not use a recipe, the special pan was square, and the pancakes were as big as a plate stacked two or three high, swimming in maple syrup with a fried egg in between.
I still enjoy making pancakes on Sundays but now I have a pancake recipe collection. I use a round cast iron griddle, the pancakes are much smaller, and fruit is our choice of topping. This is definitely my comfort food.

Sick day

I'm home sick (just a head cold) so in between the naps and juice breaks, I managed to have a nice long-distance chat with my Mom, clean up my african violets, put the new Christmas photos on the fridge, journal, flip through my new magazines, read Christmas cards, watched the snow falling, tackled the books on my nightstand , and made a birthday card for my dear friend.

Going downtown has always been an occasion for me and tonight was no different. Maura and I went out for Greek and just two doors down is our favourite bookstore. This bookstore has piles and piles and shelves of books everywhere you look. We never leave this store empty handed. Yes, I did find three books to add to my collection; two by a local author who was giving a reading at the library and one by Mary Engelbreit. But as excited as I was about my books, what really caught my eye this evening were all the little footstools and benches strategically placed around the bookshop.

Only once a year?

They are always there if we care to "see". They are always there if we take the time to look down the alley as we hurry by. They are always there under the overpass as we drive along. But once a year we feel generous (guilty) and donate to the many charities setup to help those whose lives have not turned out as they hoped. Once a year we share our abundance, writing cheques, filling food bank boxes, and emptying our pockets of change at the sound of the bells on every street corner. Once a year we give, and we give big in the hopes that by doing so it will wipe out the fact that the rest of the year we ignore those around us who need our help, every day not just once a year.