drizzle

This morning the rain drizzled down from low, grey clouds, dimming the light. It felt like I was being pulled under water, a hand on my ankle dragging me down into the murky depths. It was depressing and I don't like to play with those feelings in case they get a grip. No fire was blazing in the fireplace and no lights were twinkling. It was time to turn on some lights, time to bring a warm cheer to the room. It doesn't take many to chase away the gloom, a few overhead and two by the fireplace. Their warm yellow glow cheers the room and drives away Harry Potter's Inferi.

It is a bit like the potluck day - dreary. But without the bright company of friends.

I'm not sure if you noticed, but it is December 21 and it is raining. While we've had dustings of snow, there has been nothing that requires a shovel, not even close. The mud season is still raging strong… I'm keeping the mop near the front door…

It wasn't raining much when I took the dogs out first thing in the morning.  I had my hood pulled over my head, but Kabira was content to run around outside for several minutes. She thinks she melts at the first droplet of rain. Of course the poodles weren't bothered - they had important smells to smell. Like intrepid hunters they traversed the hayfield, noses to the ground and ears deafened to my calls. Sniffing must take a lot of brainpower. Spike dilly dallies, distracted by anything and everything. It takes much urging to get him to do his business and come back inside

Last night we were at Trudie and Leo's for supper. We had some pretty good laughs as we'd occasionally stop our conversation to trace the origins. How did we get from discussing the restaurant's staff party to mental illness to big b**bs. What was the thread that wound all these words together. Sometimes it was obvious, but the others? That required a bit of thinking. And then whoosh, one of us remembered! We did this a few times and it made for a good laugh. A party game with no supplies needed.

Butter, sugar and flour came together to make another batch of shortbread. Oh yeah. Butter and sugar. What other ingredients pair in so many delicious ways? I’d done a batch a week ago but somehow the tin is getting lighter… I’ll tuck this box away so I have something to bring when we go visiting over the holiday.

Ginger and cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. The rich, dark gingerbread dough rolled easily and the flat, brown men leaped from their disguise onto the waiting baking sheets. Oh my. Nothing compares to the smell of this cookie. I baked half the recipe; the other half is saved for when we are expecting guests. I'll quickly roll out some dough and bake it in the toaster oven for a welcoming smell.

I found the recipe with my index cards but I'm not sure where it came from. It was basically a list of ingredients, no oven temp, nothing about order of ingredients, just a comment about rolling it out. I couldn't believe how much spice it called for: 3 tsp cinnamon, 2 of ginger and cloves, 1 of nutmeg. Carm loves the result, I'm not so sure… but at least it smells good!