We do have a couple of things to look forward to this year. First, my oldest became engaged right after the new year. There will be a wedding this summer. I guess I know where our refund is going, eh?! Trying to get my son to be there for at least some of it, will be a challenge. I foresee a whole blog on how we end up handling this. Anyone with any advice?
Also, my youngest daughter turns sixteen at the end of this month. She says she wants white roses. For this low budget family, this sounds like a lovely way to mark this special birthday. Of course we will try for something else as well. I'm just so proud of the young lady that she is becoming. She is sweet, kind and so good with her big brother. She is beginning to be able to control her ADD to a certain extent and her grades were really pretty good for the first time this past semester.
Last but not least, this is the year my son finishes up high school. His teacher says he will get a diploma at the end of the year. We also have a friend who just advised us to NOT let him have a diploma because more services would be available to him. Meanwhile, his teacher has been trying all fall to get him set up with the programs that he would transfer into when his schooling is done. This is turning out harder than any of us expected.
Now you maybe wondering what that photo is. These are some sugar cookies that I made with my youngest over vacation to pass some of the time. We had so much fun! We were gifted with the colored sugar. Some of that sugar is silver and some of it is gold! I had never seen gold or silver sugar before. They really sparkle! While we were making these I remembered a friend who was very frustrated with being able to make these kinds of cookies. Here is my advice for goof-proof cut out cookies. First your surface has to be right. I use an old pillowcase, but any smooth cloth will do. Then you can't be stingy with the flour. I keep my flour jar right there beside where I'm working. Cover your cloth with at least an eighth of an inch of flour. You need a good coating or your dough will stick. You need a good coating of flour on your rolling pin too. You may need to reapply while rolling as well. Each time you roll out the dough you need to reflour your surface and your rolling pin. Are you seeing the theme here? Flour, flour, flour. After this you need to bake them. Some times cookies stick to the cookie sheet. If you have the money there are silicone sheets and also parchment paper that you can line your pans with to guard against this kind of thing. As I have said before, we are a low budget family. I have never used either of those. After many years of use, I just replaced my cookie sheets three years ago. I've never had a cookie stick. I think the real trick is to just watch them and make sure that they don't overcook. These ideas also apply to other cutout cookies like gingerbread men. I made my first gingerbread men this year! I'd have taken a photo of those but I still need to work on my decorating skills! Maybe next year....!
All for now. Next month will be Applesauce Spice Cake. I just made some yesterday. It is so moist and so aromatic! I love filling my home with the smells of yummy baking! Hugs to you all.
Nancy
