Ready For The Season!

December Already?!?

Where has the year gone?

Admittedly, I haven't gotten as much accomplished this past year as I had hoped but it hasn't been exactly boring either. More like challenging actually....

The glaucoma is pretty much under control with meds but my corneas have been a bit more cloudy/blurry than usual which has slowed me down a bit and made outdoor mobility a bit more difficult. Medically, there is little that can be done without risking the sight I have left - which I'm not willing to do - so I'm learning to take things a bit more cautiously outdoors and ask for help a bit more often. Not easy - but necessary for safety and mobility. Inside my own home and on my PC or Kindle, I take it slower on the bad days and savour the good days!

Last winter was quite icy so the ice grips stayed on my boots pretty much from November through March. Mother Nature had been teasing us with occasional fluffy flakes and flurries over the last few weeks but the white stuff really arrived this past week. It started around noon on Wednesday and by Thursday morning, we here in Winnipeg had received almost 10cm / 4 inches of the white stuff.

The new ice grips are now on my winter boots. 

Sigh. Personally, when the snow comes, I'd love to just be like the bears and crawl into hibernation till spring but ... life goes on and I must carry on with the day to day activities - even those that require me to layer up, lace up my boots and traverse the conditions that the city snowplows have left. (Some are much better than others - especially at intersections!)

As always, I started gathering my Christmas baking supplies in September. That may sound a bit odd, but you'd be surprised how much of the baking supplies actually go on sale as kids head back to school and again as Canadians prepare for Thanksgiving the second Monday of October..

In late October, I made my annual trip over to Mordens' of Winnipeg on Sargent Ave to get much of my chocolate for the Christmas baking.

By the beginning of November, I finally had all of my Christmas baking supplies but had trouble getting myself motivated to start. Baking turns out better when I am relaxed and in the mood so I didn't want to push it - yet.

As incentive, I told myself that I couldn't start reading a new book till the Christmas baking was done! (Given how many books I've been reading the last couple of years, that is HARSH!) I did manage to chop and roast a 3 pound bag of almonds as well as chop 1 1/2 pounds bittersweet chocolate and make a batch of bark (Boo Boo Candy) that first week.

By November 7, I finally convinced myself that the next 3 days would be strictly baking! I was ready! I mixed up dough for Chocolate Spice Cookies and transferred the dough to a smaller bowl so it could chill in the fridge for a couple hours. When I went to rinse the larger bowl and utensils, I discovered my drain was clogged! I called the caretaker but he was sick and couldn't come till the next morning. So, I bailed out the sink, washed the dishes and bailed the sink again. The next morning I woke to a murky smelly mess in my sink.

The caretaker called a plumber who came that afternoon and spent 90 minutes unclogging a smelly mess! I don't even want to imagine what was in that smelly clog! I'm really careful about keeping clog type items like grease or food residue away from my drain but I know other people in my building aren't as concerned. I lost 2 days of planned baking but the upside is the drain now runs really great!

It was crunch time! Over the next 10 days I whipped up a storm of holiday treats:

2 batches "Chocolate Spice Cookies" (12 dozen)

1 batch Double Chocolate Almond Shortbread (10 dozen)

1 batch Truffles (7 1/2 dozen)

1 1/2 batches Peanut Butter Bars (10 1/2 dozen)

2 batches of Boo Boo Candy (with that first batch earlier, that made 5 1/4 pounds).  

I took the next few days to catch up on errands, appointments, laundry, cleaning and finish the Christmas shopping. Luckily, I don't have to buy a lot of gifts. Back in the late 70's, I started buying a Christmas ornament (handmade whenever possible) for my nieces and nephews. They got an ornament from Auntie every year till they were 18 or moved out of the house. I also did this for a couple of friends kids as they grew up. This gave them enough ornaments to decorate their own small tree. I've continued that tradition with children in my life. Other than that, I only buy gifts for a couple of close friends. Most people in my life get baking.

This past week I resumed baking and did one more batch each of Chocolate Spice Cookies and Truffles as well as a 1/2 batch of the Chocolate Shortbread. Then I packaged it all into gift bags for family, friends and people who help me out through the year.

BTW, as I finished each recipe, I divided it into small portions, wrapped and labelled it before storing in a zipped bag for the fridge or freezer. Doing the pre-portioning step, at that point, saves a LOT of time later. I also keep lists of quantities/packages needed and made as I go. When the treats are all made and I am ready to make up the gift bags, all I have to do is lay out all those pre-portioned packages so that each bag gets one of each type.

I had designed and printed my Christmas cards back in early October. The decorations went up last weekend.

Every year, I have a self imposed preparation deadline of December 1st to be ready for the festive season. I cut it closer than usual this year but I think I'm ready for the holidays! Other than a few trips for groceries, I can pretty much ignore the stores and crowds till January! YEAH!

The year has had its challenges but It has also been good in that I've gotten to spend time with family and friends whom I love. I've shopped with friends, visited over drinks and meals, spent a day in July at Gimli with gal pals and enjoyed my annual autumn walk with a dear friend. I've also spent a lot of time reading - mostly cozy mysteries and a few biographies. As I said, I didn't allow myself time to read this past month but I have a number of books waiting for me on my Kindle! I'm hosting a small dinner party this month and have a few get togethers on the calendar over the next few weeks so I'm feeling thankful and ready for some fun!

Life certainly can throw some challenges at us but I hope you will find some time to truly relax and enjoy this holiday season.

Merry Humbug!

dn