New Beginnings

For the holidays, I bought those “ready to bake”, plop them onto a cookie sheet, and send them into the oven, Christmas shaped sugar cookies. I had a coupon. I was very sad because I could not buy the chocolate chip ones (which I really wanted) because some people in my family do not consider it to be real chocolate unless it costs at least $20 a pound. I, on the other hand, will crave anything that remotely resembles chocolate. I think I remember reading somewhere once, (probably on someone’s blog, the source of much of my “news” these days), that white chocolate is not really chocolate at all. And I also learned that just because you think that you can draw, it does not automatically mean that you should be permitted to decorate cookies. Oh dear. The icing that came in the “kit” was a vibrant shade of red. It made me incredibly nervous because I have never seen such an electric shade, even in my acrylic paints. I think it had to involve cadmium and that is not something that should be in foods.

I also made pumpkin molasses muffins from the summer pumpkins that I grew. Tired of existing on pumpkin soup, I needed something different. It was experiment. I had no idea whether I liked molasses. Still not sure what it really is. Did you know that elephants love it? Read that too …on the label…but still no ingredients listed except…molasses. Some of the stores were actually out of it. Huh? All that did was to spur me on to find some.

Oh, I’m really not as domestic as all this makes me sound. One of my New Year’s Resolutions is to do better in that department. Hard to do with all these paintbrushes always stuck in my ponytail. That resolution is doomed to be quickly broken along with exercising more and eating right. Not happenin’.


New Year’s is always a soulful time of the year for me. End of a year or the beginning of a new one? Never really sure. It is a time for reflection on years gone by but I am filled with hope that the future brings good things. I’m thinking of global world goals along with the little treasures that life brings. Somewhere, a tiny cocoon has been snuggly spun. Its sole challenge is to stay sound and warm through the upcoming frigid winter months, to emerge in its time, and to keep the wonder and awe alive in us all.

Peace to you all in 2011.