On the 12th Day of Christmas

to all my blog readers

May your days be Merry and Bright!

On the 11th Day of Christmas

I offer you Straight No Chaser singing The 12 Days of Christmas. You must promise to listen to this all the way through because it is different than all the others and truly creative and just totally fun!!!

And today and tomorrow are about FUN, FAMILY and FRIENDS and FOOD!

 

On the 10th Day of Christmas

Brian Andreas, creator of Story People, makes great whimsical art with wonderful little bitty stories. Sometimes they tug at your heart strings. Other times they are reminders of how good life is. Enjoy this one and do click on the link I have provided to see what other wonderful things he has to offer.

On the 9th day of Christmas

These are my personal favorite cookies for the Holidays. Enjoy!

Best Ginger Cookies

Best Soft and Chewy Ginger cookies

4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cups shortening
3/4 cup butter
2 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup molasses
3/4 cup coarse sugar or granulated sugar

In a medium mixing bowl stir together flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt; set aside. In a large mixing bowl beat shortening and butter with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds to soften. Gradually add the 2 cups granulated sugar. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in eggs and molasses. Stir in the flour mixture with the electric mixer.

Shape dough into 1-inch balls. You can freeze these now or roll the balls in the 3/4 cup coarse sugar. (Turbinado, which is raw sugar, works well)

 Place about 2-1/2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 12 to 14 minutes or until cookies are light brown and puffed. (Do not overbake or cookies will not be soft and chewy.) Cool on cookie sheet for 2 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool. Store in a tightly covered container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Makes about 5 dozen cookies.

On the 8th Day of Christmas

Today, I will start you with Christmas humor. You might need it if you still have shopping to do. After you've had a laugh, read the recipe for some really good Christmas Wassail and do make it but fair warning...

Recipe for Christmas Rum Cake

• 1 or 2 qts. of rum
• 1 cup butter
• 1/8 tsp. sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup dried fruit
• baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• lemon juice
• brown sugar
• nuts

1. Before you start, sample the rum to check for quality.
2. Select a large mixing bowl, measuring cup, etc. Check the rum again. It must be just right! To be sure the rum is of the highest quality, pour 1 level cup of rum into a glass and drink it as fast as you can. Repeat.
3. With an electric mixer, beat butter in large fluffy bowl. Add 1 seaspoon of thugar and beat again. Meanshile, it’s important to make sure the rum is of the finest quality—try another cup.
4. Open the second quart of rum if necessary. Add 1 arge leggs, 2 cups of fried druits and beat till high.
5. If the druits get stuck in the beats, just pru it loose with a drewscriver. Sample the rum again for cinscistincy.
6. Next, sift 3 cups of salt and feffer (it really doesn’t matter). Sample the wum again.
7. Sift 1 pint of lemon goose, add 1 bablespoon of brown thugar, of whatever color tou can find. Mix well. Grease oven, turn cake pan to 350 greeds.
8. Noe, pour the whole mess sinto the boven and ake. Check the crum again and go to bed.

Now on to the good stuff. awesome Wassail, complements of Pumpkin Ridge Golf.

Wassail Recipe --  Serves? Depends on how much you drink

• 8 packs of spiced cider
• 1-2 Tablespoons of Molasses
• 1-2 Tablespoons of Brown Sugar
• Lemon Zest
• Nutmeg – grate some in – I don’t have a measure on it, but to your taste
• Cinnamon sticks – however many suit you

• Here’s the fun part – add one jigger each of:
• Southern Comfort
• 151 Rum
• Brandy
• Apricot Brandy
• Peach Schnapps
• Grand Marnier

On the 7th Day of Christmas

If you need to pause during the hustle and bustle of the season, this will certainly do it for you. I invite you to click on the image below and then close your eyes and just listen. George Winston's playing of Johann Pachelbel's Canon in C is simply beautiful. It comes from his album December, which I highly recommend.


 

On the 6th Day of Christmas

This is my favorite holiday appetizer. And, the most requested recipe I have. I let the bakery slice the baguette. Toast the slices in the oven if you choose. Or not. I dare you to try this and not love it.

Wintertime Brie

3/4 cups chopped dates
1 small apple, pealed, cored and chopped
1 small pear, pealed, cored and chopped
1/2 cup cranberries or craisins
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/3 cup apple juice or wine
2 lb wheel of brie
1 baguette, thinly sliced

Preheat oven to 350F.

In a large bowl, combine dates, apple, pear, cranberries and pecans. Add wine or apple juice. Set mixture aside to allow fruit to marinate and soften for at least 2 hours.

Cut Brie wheel in half horizontally to make two layers. Place one layer, rind-side down, in a serving dish. Spread with 2-1/4 cups of the fruit mixture. Place remaining half of Brie on top of fruit with rind-side facing up to enclose the fruit. Spoon remaining fruit mixture onto center top of Brie Wheel. Seal with plastic wrap and refrigerate up to two days.

Bake Brie, uncovered, in a 350 oven until it melts and the edges and the center is warm, approximately 25-30 minutes. Do not overcook as it will be runny and difficult to spread.

To serve, spread melted Brie onto sliced Baguette.

On the 5th Day of Christmas

Today, I share some music. The Piano guys are some of my favorite artists. Grab a coffee,or a hot chocolate or a glass of wine and sit back and enjoy!

I am sorry if UTube chooses to put an ad on first but you can skip in three seconds by clicking on the skip ad button on the right. Don't let it be a spoiler.

 

On the 4th Day of Christmas...

I give you another awesome cookie recipe. We have been making this one like forever. It's Rick's favorite.

PS I forgot to mention, I bake most holiday cookies (those that can be rolled into balls) in early December and freeze individual unbaked cookie balls. I write the baking instructions on the Zip lock bag. This is good on several counts;

• I don't have marathon cookie bake offs near Christmas
• I don't have a flour, sugar and butter mess in the kitchen near Christmas.
• Cookies are stale after a few days but these are fresh baked in small batches through out the holiday season (and beyond for that matter) :)
• Most bake at 350 so you can bake a variety at one time

The Best Chocolate Crackles

! cup of semi sweet chocolate chips

1 cup of brown sugar, packed

1/3 cup of vegetable oil

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup of flour

1 tsp of baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional) 

powdered sugar

Melt the chocolate. 

In a mixer, combine with sugar and oil. 

Add eggs, one at a time. Beat well. 

Add vanilla. 

Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in their own bowl. 

Add to the chocolate mixture, 

Stir in nuts. 

Chill dough for about an hour. 

Form balls by rolling a tsp of dough in your hands (at this point you can freeze them.)

Or, roll in powdered sugar to coat. 

Place on greased cookie sheet or parchment paper.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 10 to 12 minutes. 

Makes about 4 dozen

These taste like brownie nuggets. They are so good and are the best because of the use of chocolate chips instead of cocoa. They seem more moist than other recipes. 

Try them. You'll like them.

On the Third Day of Christmas

Holiday cocktails are a lot of fun. Looking for some new ones? Give one of these a go. Or, whatever, try them all...

On the 2nd Day of Christmas

You know how I love flash mobs...well, here's the USAF 2016 flash mob.
Enjoy and then consider making a donation to the Wounded Warriors or the Parylized Veterans of America organizations this year to honor those who serve us.




See you tomorrow!
Feliz Navidad!

On the 1st Day of Christmas

     Raspberry Almond Shortbread Thumbprint Cookies--oh my!

These are perhaps my families favorite Christmas cookie. I was first given these by a carpooling friend and had to have the recipe, which by the way comes from the Land of Lakes kitchen. Whenever I share them, the recipient needs to have the recipe as well. They are just that good.

Preparation time: 45 min   Baking time: 14 min  

Yield: 3 1/2 dozen cookies 

Cookie Ingredients:

1		cup  butter, softened
2/3		cup sugar
1/2		teaspoon almond extract
2		cups all-purpose flour
1/2		cup raspberry jam*

Glaze Ingredients:

1		cup powdered sugar
2 to 3		teaspoons water
1 1/2		teaspoons almond extract

Combine butter, sugar and 1/2 teaspoon almond extract in large bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy. Reduce speed to low; add flour. Beat, scraping bowl often, until well mixed. Cover; refrigerate at least 1 hour. Note: You can form the balls at this stage and freeze them on a plate, bag them once frozen for baking closer to Christmas.

Heat oven to 350°F. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Make indentation in center of each cookie with thumb (edges may crack slightly). Fill each indentation with about 1/4 teaspoon jam.

Bake for 14 to 18 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Let stand 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets. Cool completely.

Combine all glaze ingredients in small bowl with wire whisk until smooth. Drizzle over cookies.

*Substitute 1/2 cup of your favorite flavor jam.

Lensbaby

Photgraphy used to be about precision...in lighting, in focus, in contrast, in composition. Enter the digital age. It started with Photoshop. But the learning curve was steep. It moved on to camera phones and a million apps that allow anyone, with a simple click of a button, to change the look drastically or artistically or whatever. 

Lensbaby is that and more. It's still about capturing images in the camera. It's tilt shift which allows the photographer to highlight details that matter most and gives an etheral depth to all the rest. It begins at the center for focus and begins the blur beyond that. The photographer chooses. It immerses you in serendipity. Practice is required but then all good things require that. These are some of my first effort. More to come. Which do you like best?

Mountain High

This is a view I never tire of. It just sucks my breath away. It is really beautiful any time of the day but is spectacular at sunset. It is north facing so it collects all the colors of the setting sun but allows them to migrate and change as the sun move to the west. I had fun interpreting this view in cloth.

Oh what a day!

Sometimes You Just Need to Laugh

Some people complain about Pinterest. They concern themselves with copyright violations or someone copying their art or their photos or their whatever...

I personally love it. It is a virtual filing cabinet for me. Back in the day, I would print things I saw and loved. Mostly art quilts. Then I moved to just saving them on my own PC. Now Pinterest saves them for me. If Pinterest went away due to lack of interest would I care? Probably not!

I look at it almost everyday. Sometimes my focus is recipes, sometimes fiber art. On this day, it was the humor that caught my eye and made me LOL. So enjoy a few with me and as always comments are free. 

And then...

Oh my...

Looks like Amsterdam" s idea of a good art gallery.

And finally. what else would you do on a hot day.

You rock for reading and I only hope you were not drinking coffee when reading this.

The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared

As the story goes...A reluctant centenarian decides it's not too late to start over . . .

After a long and eventful life, Allan Karlsson ends up in a nursing home, believing it to be his last stop. The only problem is that he's still in good health, and in one day, he turns 100. A big celebration is in the works, but Allan really isn't interested (and he'd like a bit more control over his vodka consumption). So he decides to escape. He climbs out the window in his slippers and embarks on a hilarious and entirely unexpected journey, involving, among other surprises, a suitcase stuffed with cash, some unpleasant criminals, a friendly hot-dog stand operator, and an elephant (not to mention a death by elephant).

It would be the adventure of a lifetime for anyone else, but Allan has a larger-than-life backstory: Not only has he witnessed some of the most important events of the twentieth century, but he has actually played a key role in them. Starting out in munitions as a boy, he somehow finds himself involved in many of the key explosions of the twentieth century and travels the world, sharing meals and more with everyone from Stalin, Churchill, and Truman to Mao, Franco, and de Gaulle. Quirky and utterly unique, The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared has charmed readers across the world.

This book made me laugh out loud. At times it seemed like a story that I started and then paused and you picked up the next sequence only to pause again. Just when you think Allan is caught, some hilarious twist shows up and a new path is presented. Death by elephant was perhaps my all time favorite and then I read about how Allan and his friend who made up things in their war on double espionage.  A real treat for some light hearted reading. Give yourself a summer break.

An Urban Conversation

The MIX exhibit for this year is called Urban PDX. After photographing the city, I chose to work with two bridges: the 1930's built St Johns bridge and the newly introduced Tillicum Crossing. Our task was to create one large piece, with dimensions of 30x40 inches in portrait orientation and one piece that is 8x20 Inches.

For the large piece, I knew that I did not want to have a typical colored sky. I love this piece of discharged cloth  that to me resembles a sky at sunset and so the background is whole cloth. I chose to give the St Johns bridge elder statesman status and feature it very boldly. The new younger sister is juxtaposed across. She is created with a contemporary floral and a black and white graphic print. I don't usually put borders on art work but the sunset needed to be reigned in. This piece is named
An Urban Conversation.

For the smaller piece, I stepped out of the box completely. This bridge backdrop was created on my IPad with a photography app that distorted the bridge. It was then taken into Photoshop where the orange colorations were created and grunged. This was printed on my home printer and the black bridge was appliqued on top. I love working this way.

The Margerie Glacier

I am reminded that my word for the year is to stretch, to experience for the first time...

We were in Alaska last week on a cruise ship and spent the day in Glacier Bay National Park. Oh my!
In spite of the grey and rainy weather, these views were spectacular!

Thankful for

Got a tear in my eye...

 

Uptown Funk

Well this one sure is fun!  I am so glad that people have the talent and take the time to do these kinds of creative things. Enjoy the new and old.


 

Edith's

Margarita's

The Stockton's and Millar's

And Mexican coffee. Oh my!

Quivira Golf Club

Golf at Quivira with Rick, Claudia and Bill. The course was short but mighty. Hitting to the side of a hill, or an uphill run, or carrying a rocky ravine all added to the difficulty. If your ball didn't fly well, the views were spectacular as many were set on the edge of the ocean.

We are seen here snacking on sliders and tacos after hole 8. They were waiting for us when we arrived. Such hospitality was so impressive!

A really fun outing.

New 52: Cabo

We flew in today, on February 29, our extra day. The food, colors, flowers, are exquisite. Seems like we are getting an extra vacation day this trip. Yippee!

More  to come but don't you love this graphic. Complements of the Addlib app.

Gracias por mirar!

Coronado Stroll Around

We started on the boardwalk, which overlooks the San Diego harbor. Headed west on Orange Street and walked all the way to the Hotel del Coronado.

Found a nice little restaurant with sea food omelets for a tasty brunch. It was the kind of place that loans fishing poles. Perhaps we could have caught breakfast.

And finished our walk along the harbor, golf course and many lovely homes including this one with a flowering bush above the entry. Not quite 7 miles. My dogs are barking.

New 52 - a Stretching Routine of Sorts

My daughter, Caite, and I decided that we would like to try new recipes this year. Don't you just get so stuck in a food rut. My first attempt was these delicious potato stacks. They are actually quite easy and are a really nice touch instead of baked or even scalloped potatoes with the meat or fish of your choice.

If you have a mandoline for slicing, the potatoes are nicely uniform in slice width. Using the mandoline was new for me also. Just heed the safety guides as I nearly took off the tip of my finger. It's still sore a month later. Here is the recipe link: http://www.recipetineats.com/cheesy-potato-gratin-stacks-muffin-tin/

Enjoy!

Well OK Then...

February 8 and first post of the year...
A new computer and adjusting to Window 10, which is not easy.
Trying to load and work with Photoshop on the Windows 10 platform.
HMM not easy either.

A segue into my word for the year which is drum roll please....

My initial intention was to stretch this aging body on a regular basis as in yoga or some other stretching class. But then I thought, stretching can also be to expand my thinking. I'm going to run with this one.

I love this little flower. It's formal name is Calliandra haematocephala. Easy for you to say. But it is the perfect example of the word "Stretch". It begins life as a little bud that strongly resembles a raspberry. It gradually begins to fatten up and then poof, it throws out all of these thread like petals. 

What's your word for the year?