Daily Notes- Post number 5199. Snowed overnight, cold and sunny here in Maine. 19 degrees.

 A collection of Gingerbread House Images in the days to come? No. This is the only one.  I've never been around for the actual breaking off a chunk of the house and eating it part....I will assume the cookies are quite hard and stale by then.  The only one I ever made was not made of anything edible.  And I have zero idea where it is.  I recall some guy trying to break off a chunk of the roof....while the house was on display at the Library....I admit to wanting to see that happened when he bit into something made of wood...but I stopped him and held out my hand, palm up...and he gave the piece back to me... I turned it over and he finally noticed it wasn't a cookie.  He wondered why I had even "bothered" to make a house you couldn't eat. I wondered why I had stopped him from breaking a tooth or two.

1.   That's sort of the theme for my 79th year on Earth.  Zero idea of where anything I made in the past....is.  Possibly in the Mysterious Attic-  up the staircase I am not supposed to climb in my old age.... In case I stumble and fall on the way down........well, you get the idea.

2.   Football yesterday was strange, cold and not very interesting.....the Sunday Pizza was very good. Excellent crust.  I think British Soccer is more interesting....right now.  Green grass.

3.   I found another self made bookmark (considering making more)...and did finally finish Mr Perfect on Paper.  

4.   I found a card with one of my favorite quotes. "The floggings will continue until morale improves" on the other side of the card "southwest bacon whopper" @ Burger King.  I am laughing because...I actually haven't changed all that much over the decades........weird...I will always be weird.

5.  I also found a handmade bookmark...in excellent condition. I wonder where the other ones went????? I recall recently bumping into the assorted supplies for this bookmark project....in a drawer. I also recently sat in the desk chair by my sewing machine and looked down to see the perfectly stacked (daughter) supplies there..for all sorts of wonderful projects.....some involving very sharp edged tools. Some never used or used for only one very very nice project........

6.  I had a list of books....went on the library site to try and order them...none in any library collection here in Maine... so I am guessing the list was from Amazon and none of the books are "Library Type Books" Which has now gotten me very very interested in that list. Really terrible books??????

7.   Found a site with directions for the Basic Shortbread Cookie Dough from Gourmet Magazine December 1993.   I made the full recipe and the six varieties of cookie... packed them in a pink bakery box and carried the box on the plane to the Florida house my friends owned. (it was Winter).... I arrived and the McDonald's men who (never noticed me before)...noticed me... and I handed over the box...they circled and ate cookies.   They were very very good cookies... I guess....I was never offered one.  The card here on my desk has the recipe for the cookie dough....one pound of butter makes two varieties... that was it.... none of the variety instructions.

8.   Perhaps one of you has a copy of that December 1993 Gourmet Magazine..????? I'd really like to bake the cookies one more time...and eat some of them before giving the remainder away as a gift.

Daily Notes- Sunday December 7th... Sunshine and still Cold and snowy here in Maine. Dry sidewalks.

 A little square painting of mine... returning via email image from the gal it was given to years and years ago.  To celebrate her new little house....  She might have had a blue door?????  Which I always wanted...at my house but never actually got.  I did get Southern Blue Porch Ceilings...which continue to delight me. Inside porch and outside porches.  Makes the birds crazy as they think it's the SKY.

1.   Woke up and decided I needed a Morning Shower and washed my hair twice... The blood pressure stayed steady- no heads hit the floor.  My hair feels amazingly 'soft".  Really nice. Great Start to the day.

2.    Son figured out how to make the Dollhouse lights go on-- husband never could.  It was an exciting surprise.....I still don't have tiny Christmas Trees for the dollhouse....someday.  And need to find the boxes filled with the Dollhouse Furniture....when we had a cat...he tried so hard to fit himself on the tiny chairs and the couch.  And the beds. I would walk past the dollhouse and see his black fur tufting out the windows.  He liked napping in the dollhouse.

3.    Sorted thru several cardboard packing boxes to try and find unused Christmas Cards... I did find a Hallmark  box with 16 cards and envelopes in it.  Nice ones, cream and gold... rather elegant looking when I prefer "jolly".  But I found them and I am going to use them..... 16 cards...I like the abundance of that number.

4.    Sunday pizza.  I like the regular-ness of Sunday Pizza.

5.    I watched British Soccer and so help me....Home Alone...the Christmas Movie.  I'd seen bits of it but never the whole thing.....I was tempted to watch the one after it but...no,.....just no...... it was a four digit channel on my cable- I usually only watch the 3 digit channels.  Had quite a few Christmas Movies....

6.    The TV is recording something for me to watch- I'm curious as to what it could be.... I've eaten breakfast but haven't had my coffee as yet.  So I will make that and perhaps some TOAST with butter and jam.   If I have bread.......ah, son gifted me two slices of his wholegrain bread.... I went and looked....he usually gives me the two butt ends........and that's what I will toast...........Soccer and then Football....today.

Have a wonderful day!!!!!

Daily Notes- Saturday December 6th. Still cold and still snowing.

 Examples of seven years of handmade Christmas Cards.  One is commercially made- can you find it? I hadn't seen most of these in a long long time....happy to have the image.

1.  Well, I haven't created this year's card as yet...the Great Neighborhood Snow Plowing Conundrum has kept me busy (in emails). I have paper and art supplies....but I also have a box of unused commercial cards...so maybe yes and maybe no.  More than one box to use up..plus the card drawer.......

2.  Long chat with my Master Gardener Co-Pilot.  Patty finds me to be incredibly NEGATIVE these days. It's who I am...always wanting to improve whatever it is I am doing, seeing etc.  Seeing the mistakes. Wanting to fix them.  Erasing and drawing a new something....  I think it's good that I try new things. Even if I get very grumpy when things don't work as I want them to.......grumpy is okay...but not all the time.

3.  Son helped me resize the image here...it came in as "side of the barn" large.... from Patty..as big as the Mac screen.

4.  Since there is a chill in the air even with my choice of heat levels..... I will for the third day- say I am finishing the book I am reading huddled under a down lap quilt.....it's NOT a thick book...it's just taking forever... and it's one I actually love reading..... so perhaps I am reading slowly so it does take me three days to finish it??

5.  The usually very quiet fridge is making more noise than I am happy with...Something is going on.. and it's not going to be something I enjoy.  The motor....damn.  Quiet now......make no sudden moves...... and now the furnace thing is blowing on the floor near the sink- to keep your feet warm while you wash dishes...  who ever installed it there....thank you.

6.  The clicker for the porch wreaths is now working...Son took care of it....Now I can have the lights ON when I want them and OFF when I don't.  He resized the picture up top as well....now he's back upstairs. 

Daily Notes for Friday, December 5th. I stayed home--- it's Way Too Cold...My "reactive" lungs....

 I found an image of Assorted Cookies.... when I was growing up, we made all sorts of varieties of cookies.. and my grandmother deep fried up some other European fancy things and then put powdered sugar on them....

1.  Now we don't.  Do any of that.

2.  Son has a list and is buying me things for my SOUP and  Ham and Swiss Roll ups.  He's also doing the Library.  Perhaps the gals at the desk will suggest some books?

3.  No one arrived to "plow the driveway" yesterday.  The day before ALL sorts did arrive.

4.  And that's all I have for you...I'm tired...my neck feels unhappy and stiff...so I'm heading for the couch and my heating pad.... I found some Very Nice Christmas Cards in a drawer. To send to people with a few lines of words from me to them (if I have addresses).  I enjoyed sending the four Thanksgiving Cards I found. Wished I had had more.

5.  As we age....getting a greeting card with a few lines of words- is pretty damn great........ gives us something to pin to the wall.......I'll start working on them....