Cookies and Wine?

Well, kinda.

I made chocolate chip cookies this evening. It was a miracle that I had all the ingredients in the house. Never again, I'm sure. But I think even Mawtha would have been impressed with that feat in our household!

I did have to look through this mess--the closet behind the stove--to find a cookie sheet that fit the AGA. What a mess. Never did find the right one. Do you think Mawtha lives like this? Hmm. I dunt thenk so.

Therefore, it was the smaller sheet which fits the smaller oven. Oy. Three cookies at a time, mind you. Yes, that's right. Three at a time. Are you giggling?

Aw, the idiosyncrosies of an AGA stove. Gotta love 'em. (Or else you would go mad.)

They turned out well. Yum. Think I need to add dark brown sugar next time, rather than just the light. I kinda went solely with the ATK recipe.

Mmmk. Now for the wine. The hub had ordered some from Napa/Sonoma way back when. Now, ya know, I'm normally allergic to the stuff--at least the red variety. But I was willing to give it another go. Y-u-m ! This one has to be my fave.

Then we opened this bottle. Coming in a close second. Now, why, all of a sudden, am I not flaming red? Or swelling? Is this a better wine? Gotta figure this sh*% out!

All the while, the kitties sat by closely by the warmth of the stove. Loverly Abby, aka Phoebe.

And trusty ol' Dave by the "farrr." (The vent under the sink.)

Awww, life is gud. Indeed it is.

xo
ro

Winter Wonderland

The kid and I went out sledding this morning in the back yard. There is about an inch of ice over the snow, so it was perfect for tobogganing. This old toboggan goes way back to my pre-teen years. It has lasted all these years and still holds the weight! Just wax her up and she flies like the wind. We had too much fun.

The trustworthy old walking stick helped walking on the ice. Don't want to break a hip! lol

The kid testing the ice on his head. Something I always suggest doing. Hmmmm.

Greens drenched in ice.

And, of course, Bella didn't want to have anything to do with the cold stuff. Just look at that indignant face! But, we had to let her try it, again.

And later today . . .

We'll enjoy the salsa we made last night. Yum. (No recipe, we just kinda added and tasted using the new Cuisinart.) It's a perfect day to stay inside, relax and nibble!

xo
ro

A Snowy Day

Most of us here in Nashville are giddy with the snow we're getting. Oh-so-pretty. I think we're all hunkered down in our bungalows enjoying the peacefulness of it all.

It started mid morning. The birds were filling up with as much as they could. Funny how they know when it's coming.

The kid and I went to the DMV this morning to get his diver's license! Yay. It's official. Keep your children out of the road!

He's actually a very good driver. Hey, I am entrusting him with my dear old Ollie car, aren't I?

By the time we got back, the snow had begun to stick to the roads.

A little walk about the place.

And enjoyed the silence.

After I ran some errands, I went up to the bedroom where Bella wanted to go out on the porch. Of course, she didn't last too long out there before figuring out the white stuff was actually cold on the tootsies.

Oh, please let me in.

She went right to the down.

Where we both warmed our bones.

And watched the snow fall from the bed.

Until the hub came home. He, Frankie and the kid went for a walk.

The kid shot this on their way back in.

Beautiful snowflakes make me happy. And speaking of which, a very Happy Birthday to my dearest friend Amy. Cheers to many, many more Aim. This is my favorite picture, ev-ver!

xo
ro

Around the House

The hub brought some pretty roses home the other night to cheer me up. They are so pretty.

And cheerful.

I've been doing a little nesting this week. Moving things around and such. I had found this sweet piece in Sausalito.

I loved the celedon shade on the little eggs.

I have it hanging in one of mom's plant arrangement.

Now I'm just waiting on the snow!

xo
ro

The Moon, the Stars and Some Cows

I've been battling that ol' brown cow over head. Trying to shoo him away.

It indeed it is brown--the one that hovers over us like a dark cloud sometimes. Kelly has confirmed this because her mother says so.

I got out yesterday and ran some errands. The sun was out and it felt good to be out. Today was a dentist day replacing my old crown with a new, permanent one. I had expected the worse. The removal of the old crown two weeks ago was horrific. It took that long for the temporary one to settle down. But today's was pretty easy. Thank goodness that is behind me! Regardless, it was still good to get out of the house. (Sad, when you're happy to get out to the dentist!)

We are expecting some snow beginning tomorrow night. We're all (well, most Nashvillians) are rooting for the Salchow (sow-cow) to fly over head and leave us with lots of the white stuff. (Another one of Kell's cows.) I somehow think I'll like this one much better than the ones of the brown variety.

Thank you Aim for your rallying call and Kell for the cow twalk.

I'm trying to better here in blogland. Promise.

xo
ro

This and That

Bella has been enjoying my being home for a substantial length of time. I believe she had given up on me. She was pretty perturbed over our last trip during the Holidays. Prima donna. But I think she's over it, finally, and has forgiven me. She's been right by my side.

I've been puttering around, trying to get little things done. Piece by piece. Room by room. I finally cleaned out my bedroom and rid it of all the dust that was beginning to grow. I can't believe how much was there. Then I moved on to the bath. I can't believe how much junk had collected in my drawers since we moved in, um, nine years ago.

Yep. They have not been cleared since then. Bad, I know. This doesn't even do the bad justice.

These four are my catch alls. You have them, right?

Yes I was on a tangent. I scrubbed the floors, the shower and every other surface. Sherry comes up with this idea for using the Pampered Chef stone scraper for the shower stall. Hmmmm. And, guess what? It works perfectly for scraping soap scum off.

While she was doing that, I was working on replacing the fan/light in the powder room. It's been driving me mad for years. Finally, I got that little project done. Yay.

After all was said and done, the bathroom is in marvelous shape. Thank you very much Sherrie for motivating me to get 'er done right. I piled two large shopping bags full of soaps and other goodies I have picked up over the years in mine and the hub's travels. One bag went to Sherrie and the other will go to the nursing facility. There's all kinds of goodies I found that would be great for game prizes like airplane travel kits the hub brought home. Of course, I had enough miscellaneous travel size shampoos, soaps and the like from hotels to supply the county!

Today I finally replaced my Cuisinart and I brought it out for a test run.

Lemon/Blueberry scones again. They were flakier than my first batch. Not that I need to be tasting these fellows. I have yet to lose a pound of the weight I have gained since the summer -- and even more recently.

I have been melancholy, just can't seem to find my grind yet. I will though. In time, I suppose. Until then, if I could accomplish a couple of small projects like I did this week, I'll be doing pretty good. There's still the kid's room to dismantle and redo, the storage basement has been weighing pretty heavily on me. Hoarder! And of course, so many other areas that need a good weeding through. We'll see how much I get done. ha. Seems spring cleaning is starting a little early. Or, in actuality, I never did get to my fall cleaning. Time for catch up, for sure!

xo
ro