Memories from my life....
Lyden and Erin are officially engaged! Now the fun of planning a wedding begins! My role will definitely be different this time around, as mother of the groom. Of course I have offered to help Erin wherever she could use my help, and look forward to sharing their joy when the day arrives. (This photo was taken on the grounds of Blenheim Palace in June this year, by my son-in-law Tyler)
"They will not disappoint. The slight amount of baking powder gives them a softness not usually found in roll-out cookies, which are typically sandier and snappish. These are tender, like a pressed brownie and they particularly excel at a quarter-inch height, slightly thicker than a standard cookie cutter cookie. The cocoa is not an afterthought (like recipes that suggest you swap a couple tablespoons of flour for cocoa to make an chocolate cookie) but has a significant presence that blooms in the oven, leaving you with something that people won’t believe doesn’t have a single bit of melted chocolate in it."
Who could resist? I bookmarked the recipe intent on trying it out when I did my Christmas baking, and I was not disappointed. Rolled and cut, ready for baking:
Baked & iced:
I also made some gingerbread bears and stars - Andy helped me by adding the silver balls to the icing to create eyes, giving them "character" by making some cross-eyed, downcast, etc. and insisted I turn a smile upside down for a frown on one cookie bear ... can you spot him?
View of the canal from our hotel in Venice:
Piazza in Florence, near the Uffizi Museum:
The Forum, Rome:
The Colosseum, Rome:
Poor ol' Norman ... trying hard to stay warm this weekend during the winter storm that hit Calgary with a vengeance on Friday.
With blowing snow and temperatures dipping to the -20's, I was in no rush to go anywhere on Saturday and felt there was no better time to bake some cookies. Found a recipe on the web for these ANZAC biscuits shown below, which produced thin, crisp oatmeal and coconut delights. I also made a batch of gingerbread "men" but in truth, few "men" were to be found amongst the fish, ice cream cones, musical notes, unicorn and elephant shapes (a result of Lyden's involvement).
Andy and I put the garland & lights on the bannister, and also put up the tree, but stopped short after affixing the lights. The tree will now remain "naked" until the weekend of Dec 19th when Rachel and Tyler make the trek home from Vancouver, thus ensuring the Price family tradition of having the kids decorate the tree, remains intact.
Andy surprised me by setting out my snowmen collection last night (while I was attending the CREW Christmas party) all by himself, and I think he did a terrific job!
The collection started about 20 years ago when Lyden was just a little over 2 1/2 and Rachel was 5. We were living on a shoe string budget back then, and with not a lot of disposable income, I found a recipe to make salt ceramic (a very economical craft) and decided we could entertain the kids one Saturday afterrnoon by making some Christmas ornaments, including a few snowmen.
From left to right ~ back row: Rachel's original creations (note the big green "R" on the 2nd tall snowman), Andy's "white tail buck" (sans 1 antler which fell off a number of years ago), front row, snowman sporting a toque created by yours truly, and the 3 remaining snowmen created by toddler Lyden. Each year these snowmen are proudly displayed and lovingly packed up on New Year's Day and safely stored away until the following Christmas.
