The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.
Thomas Edison
And that’s where I was today. I planned on having a quiet, relaxing Sunday but I just couldn’t. After yesterday I had to prove to myself that I could bake something successfully. And I did. Yay for me.
Peanut Butter Blossoms or Rosette Cookies.
These are loved by my entire family but most especially by my daughter. In later years she took over baking them and now this year it was up to me. Success. Thank goodness.These cookies are the ones she always chose as her favourite for Grammie Ruby to make. Her brothers’ choices were the Uncooked Marshmallow Squares I made the other day and Peanut Butter Balls. After making those balls for a few years I now buy them at Water Street Bakery. A lot less stressful that way.
Funny. When I was first married I did fancy baking (well fancy for me) every Christmas: Peanut Butter Balls. Rum Balls, Cherry Balls, Scotch Cookies, Hello Dollies, and Mocha Cakes are a few that I remember. But with kids and mothers who loved doing it, well, my Christmas baking fell by the wayside. And to be honest I was so busy with three kids and being a music teacher (so many Christmas concerts) who had the time. Anyway those are my excuses.
That’s it for today. No more baking until the end of the week. Want to keep those goodies fresh for Christmas.
Mary Did You Know – Kathleen Battle and Christopher Parkening
I love listening to this arrangement and I loved singing it accompanied by Peter Gallant.
Take care and stay healthy.
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Christmas Eve does not have a mold or an ideal. It’s just about being together with the ones you love.
Christmas fills me with nostalgia. Memories sweep over me. Into every inch of my being with smiles and tears. That’s life. The interesting thing about memories is they’re our own. Whether they’re completely accurate or not really doesn’t matter. They’re ours. Family members may have totally different ones, remembering the past through their eyes. And that’s ok. Our memories are our memories.
I don’t remember my childhood Christmas Eves. Strange, right? I do have childhood Christmas Day memories but for those you’ll have to wait. They’ll be in my next post.
My grownup Christmas Eve traditions have changed many times over the years.
First there were the married but pre-children ones when we would alternate travelling to our parents homes each Christmas. One year to mine in Charlottetown, PEI and and the next to my late husband David’s in Woodstock, New Brunswick. Do you remember always arranging your life around the Borden/Cape Tormentine ferry departure times? I’m sure we all have those same memories. Pure excitement and relief when you made it and utter disappointment and frustration when you didn’t. Especially if you were that last car that almost made it. (And always putting aside a $20 bill to pay the ferry fee on your way back.)
And life changed
We had children. Three beautiful children.
The most exciting Christmas Eves were after our children were born. Aren’t most peoples. With the birth of our first child we made the decision to always celebrate Christmas Eve and Day in our own home. We wanted to create memories.
On Boxing Day, for two years, we travelled to Woodstock, New Brunswick to spend time with David’s family. The second year we had continuous car trouble on the way there-no heat in the car. Brrrr. Hard with a baby in a car seat who didn’t want to keep a blanket over him. That year my father-in-law met us in Fredericton, NB. Baby and I transferred into his car so we could get warm. How heavenly that felt. Thereafter my in-laws made the wise but I’m sure very difficult decision that in future they would travel to us.
Oh my. Those were busy days. My mom and brother (my father had died previously), David’s mom, dad, sister, grandmother, and us. (eventually the three children.) So much hustle and bustle. Such laughter and excitement. And I’m sure a bit of growling. The two moms plus the grandmother took complete control of the kitchen. Lucky me. And presents that spilled halfway into the room as they couldn’t all fit under the tree. Christmas Eve was also the one time we all went to church together. And Jean Sheen, at that time the church’s outstanding organist and choir director and overall lovely lady, would have me sing a solo, usually Sweet Little Jesus Boy, or O Holy Night. Then back home, kids put in jammies, and opened one Christmas present each. To choose a big one or a small one? Such decisions. Great memories.
But deaths happened.
And life changed.
First David’s grandmother died. (She was known as GG to my kids because she said it would take too long for her great grandchildren to say Great Grandmother. And she wasn’t waiting for that.)
David’s parents bought a place to winter in Florida; a double wide in a senior’s trailer park and therefore spent future Christmases there. (They couldn’t previously because GG lived with them.)
With these changes new memories were born.
I’m sure if you asked my children they’d say their strongest and fondest Christmas memory was the arrival of my mom every Christmas Eve day. They’d just be bouncing with excitement. Grammie Ruby, with a car laden with presents and treats, would appear in our driveway. Plus her ever present two handled wicker basket that always had extra special treats for immediate consumption. She was our constant.
Our next door neighbours, Charles and Lorraine, would come over later in the evening (after we returned from church and all children were asleep) to relax. Ha Ha. Relax? Nope. Those two men took on the arduous task of putting together toys/castles etc that came in hundreds of pieces with dubious directions. Super calming. Right.
Then my father-in-law died and a year later my husband followed him. Earth shattering.
And life changed.
We were determined to carry on our traditions. We continued (Mom, my three kids, and I) going to the Christmas Eve service but I took a few years off from the solos. Just didn’t have the heart to sing.
But time passed and those all consuming intense feelings of devastation began to lessen. Eventually I was emotionally ready to sing again and continued with the former tradition of singing on Christmas Eve. Thanks Christine Anderson Gallant for your encouragement to sing at these again. But not O Holy Night. Minuses became pluses and this offered me the opportunity to include other beautiful solos into my Christmas Eve repertoire: Gesu Bambino (The Infant Jesus), Mary had a Baby, Mary Did You Know, Maria Weigenleid (Mary’s Cradle Song) plus Sweet Little Jesus Boy. I loved them all and what a gift to share in these special evenings.
Gesu Bambino
My goodness. All totalled I must have sung at the Christmas Eve services for over thirty years. The hardest and saddest part was one year finding out a week before Christmas (from my hair stylist as he knew someone from the church) that the church was apparently going in a new direction and I wouldn’t be singing. That hurt. To this day I have no idea why someone from the church didn’t tell me.
And life changed.
We settled into another new version of Christmas Eve.
Christmas Eve suppers became a gourmet delight of numerous appetizers. Yummy. Later it was homemade lasagna or homemade pizza. But the pièce de résistance was when Mom, the three kids, and I all sat together watching Home Alone and Christmas Vacation. We got to know the movies so well that we’d start roaring with laughter in anticipation of what was going to happen. Great memories.
And life changed
For a few years my brother and his family celebrated with us. And even after Mom (Grammie Ruby) had a stroke they/we still brought her up for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. She was always worried about that. Missing Christmas with us. My daughter married (I have the best son-in- law ever) but they still came home for Christmas. My brother and his family moved to Alberta but then, as many Islanders do, eventually moved back to PEI. Twenty years after my husband died a wonderful man, Richard, came into my life. I know. Never expected that to happen. What a blessing to be able to share these later years of my life with someone. As a dear friend (whose husband also died years ago and has since met someone) told me the other day, “We seem to think that is how life has to be. I just did not realize how lonely I was until this all happened.” How true.
And life changed.
Mom died. Big change. Humongous change.
This is my favourite gift from her. Each ceramic piece lovingly created by her with the assistance of my Aunt Vera. What a treasure.
Then the whole world changed.
Pandemic hit. Only immediate family for Christmas. We made it work.
And life changed.
New grandson. First grandchild. What a joy he is. Love him so much. 😍 His first Christmas. Super excited. New memories being created. Finally my brother and family can come for Christmas dinner plus this year my niece’s boyfriend from England is coming. Wonderful. (Because of international travel we’re all going to be very proactive and take a Covid test Christmas morning as keeping the baby healthy is our first priority. Last week I arrived from Alabama as Richard and I winter there.) The hardest part is my daughter and son-in-law are back in Toronto and won’t be here. I’ll miss them. 🥲
New life. New changes. New memories.
Christmas Eve – Trans-Siberian Orchestra
Take care and stay healthy.
As always, thanks for your interest and thank you for reading.
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That is the truth. And yes I discovered that again today.
On today’s to do list was a new recipe and an old one. I’ll start with the new one I found online.
Christmas Magic Cookie Bars
Easy to make. Made me think of a modern take on Hello Dollies. If you’ve never had Hello Dollies they are delicious. I wanted to try these new ones because they looked so festive. Well these new ones taste good. Of course I had to sample a bit. Don’t you? Can’t serve them on Christmas Day if they don’t taste good. 😉. I followed the recipe but the base did not hold together really well. Not as solid as I would have liked. I was able to salvage enough to put in the fridge and I’m sure that will make them better.
Messy looking but festive
Then onto my mother’s Scotch Cookies recipe. So which is it, Scotch Cookies or Shortbread ? What do you make/call them? According to Walkers https://us.walkersshortbread.com/difference-btwn-shortbread-v-scottish-cookies/ Mom really made Shortbread even though she called them Scotch Cookies. Walkers states, “…the main differences between the two styles of cookies are butter content and inclusion of leavening agents.”. As Mom’s recipe contained no leavening agents I guess, as per Walkers, she made Shortbread. You learn something new every day.
Now for Mom the above recipe was great. (Loving that it’s in her handwriting. She had beautiful script.) She could follow these simple instructions ‘cause she knew what to do. She probably didn’t even need a recipe. (What recipes can you make from memory?) But this created some problems for me. I needed specifics. Hmmm. Mix? Mix? How do you mix the ingredients together? By hand or with a mixer? How do you roll out the dough? I seem to recall Mom saying “Don’t overwork the dough or it’ll be tough.” Or was that for pastry.? Can’t remember. How big to cut them? And I was not going to Google to find out. Had to do it myself.
Oh, by the way, I am a very messy baker. Not my countertop. I’m one of those bakers who has to clean up as I go. I can’t stand to have dirty stuff everywhere. So dirty utensils, dishes. pots and pans, go immediately into the sink and I wash up after every recipe. No. I mean myself personally. I get it all over me. I’m a mess. What type of baker are you?
The reason I wear an old sweatshirt when I bake.
This messy shirt is due to the fact that I started by using a mixer. Wrong choice. Went everywhere. Next. Mixed with my hands. Worked better. Oh no. No cookie cutters. Mom always used a heart one. Improvise. Something small. What better to use than a Limoges egg cup. Perfect.
Heaven help me. I was not prepared today. Went to ice them and I didn’t have the bag with special tips I like to use. Now I probably could have just used a knife but…Improvise. Baggie with the tip cut out. Worked. Not pretty but worked. I like things to look pretty and sadly these did not live up to my expectations. And Mom would have put a bit of red or green cherry or a walnut on each one but I only remembered that after I was done. Mary Berry would not be impressed.
Not like my mother’s cookies
Final verdict? These are not my mother’s Scotch Cookies. Look similar. Taste kind of similar. But not as flakey, or as white, and they don’t melt in your mouth like hers. They will still get gobbled up. I hope.
All in all not a horrible day. Both look and taste ok but as I tend to be a bit of a perfectionist, ok, ok, a great big perfectionist, I wasn’t over the moon ecstatic with them. But they are homemade and baked with love.
Onward and upward. Tomorrow is another day. Now off to the treadmill to try and wear off some of my sampling.
Bakin’ Cookies – The Ellas
Take care and stay healthy.
As always, thanks for your interest and thank you for reading.
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If baking is any labor at all, it’s a labor of love. A love that gets passed from generation to generation. – Regina Brett
My mother Christmas baked for years and years. I couldn’t tell you how many. When I was young and I’m sure before I was born. Money was tight, although as a child I never knew that, but I remember her always throwing a few items in the weekly grocery cart in order to have everything for December.
She was especially known for her delicious Divinity Fudge. As a life long member of the United Church Women (UCW) at Park Royal United Church I remember her making copious bags of this fudge every year to be sold at their Christmas Tea/Fair; some plain, some with walnuts, and some with green and red cherries. They always sold out.
Christmas baking brings back so many memories.
After my dad died Mom spent almost every Christmas at my home. (Until her death five years ago.) So for over 35 years she’d Christmas bake for my family, always making sure to bake her grandchildren’s favorites plus more than I could count. She’d bring hampers full of homemade goodies. Plus she’d bake for my brother’s family, herself, and even once for my best friend. She’d make the tried and true recipes but always was keen to try some new ones each year. All year she’d find them in magazines, newspapers etc and lovingly cut them out to discuss with me their possibilities. After baking them she’d think some were good enough to be added for the next year but others, well, she’d just toss those recipes in the garbage as they didn’t meet her standards. Her baking was most certainly a labour of love. Memories.
The last few years before she died Mom couldn’t do the baking so my daughter and I took over. Mostly my daughter. She’s a fantastic baker. I’d go to her home for an overnighter and we’d bake. Well as I said she’d do most of the baking. I was the helper. Ok by me. We’d follow Mom’s formula, making the tried and true but always adding some new ones too. And yes I’m smiling right now with a tiny tear in my eye. Memories.
This year I’m baking on my own as my daughter is back in her Toronto home. Needless to say there will not be as many treats. And certainly not as much fun and laughter. Still going to follow the past and bake some favourites and definitely a couple of new recipes. But nowhere near what Mom used to bake.
So today it was Nuts and Bolts (a very old favourite), Uncooked Marshmallow Squares (another old fav), and Toffee Pretzel Bark, one batch with dark chocolate and the other with milk chocolate. (a new fav from last year).
Christmas Memories – Frank Sinatra
Take care and stay healthy.
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If you are positive, you’ll see opportunities instead of obstacles.
Confucius
So yesterday’s obstacles were an opportunity to spend time with my daughter and son in law. Yay! .
Continuation of yesterday’s saga.
Leg 3: Toronto to Charlottetown. Started out with a delay of 10 minutes, then 30 minutes and then 50 minutes. That was ok. I got to have egg bites and a Macha Green Tea Latte from Starbucks. Yay!
I had a window seat and what luck. No one in the middle seat. Made my day. Yay! Yay! Yay! Yay! Yay! Inset happy dance.💃
What kind of a flyer are you? The chatty talk to you neighbor kind of flyer or the please ignore me and leave me alone flyer? I am the latter. I’m the flyer who immediately does one of three things: takes out a book, puts in my AirPods, or closes my eyes to sleep. I don’t want to talk to anyone. Not at all. Please no small talk. No chit chat. No life story. Some of you may find that rude but I don’t. I want the quiet time. I realize others like to chat and converse but not me. By doing one of those three things I have noticed that people don’t chat. Yay!
Arrived. Yay! So glad. Now tomorrow I relook at my lists and start doing some Christmas prep.
(Photo from the internet. I didn’t have one. )
I’ll Be Home with Bells On – Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers
Take care and stay healthy.
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Months ago I booked my flights to go home for Christmas. I knew I’d only be in Gulf Shores for a week and a half before flying back but I hadn’t wanted Richard to drive down by himself.
So up this morning at 3:00 am and on the road to the airport in Pensacola, Florida for a 6:45 am flight. Richard’s a great guy. Up early with me and then driving both ways in the dark. I checked in yesterday online so this morning was a breeze. I did go to the counter as I was unsure if they needed to see anything. But nope. All good. I have a Nexus card but at security I didn’t see a special line for it. Thankfully there weren’t many going through security so that was quick. Of course I’m wearing my mask and hand sanitizing. I care about those back home and am trying to reduce the risk of bringing illness back with me. Around me what do I see? Grrrr. I counted eleven other people wearing masks in the airport. Really? Really? Unbelievable.
First leg: Pensacola to Houston, Texas. Made it in fine time. About 10 minutes early. My next flight doesn’t leave until 2:30pm (was only 8:30am when I arrived). Full flight. That’s what happens when you use travel points. You have to take what’s offered. Guess I shouldn’t complain as it was a very low cost to me. Looked for earlier flights but there were none. Not much to do but wait. And wait. And wait. And count masks. Saw fourteen. Oh my.
Second leg: Houston to Toronto, Ontario. Full flight. Thought we were leaving on time but sat in the plane for an hour due to bad weather delaying our departure. Plus side we left. Minus side two hours of turbulence. Plus side last twenty minutes into Toronto were smooth. Yay. Was worried as it was forecasting lightening and I wasn’t sure if that would delay or cancel my flight but it worked out well.
Third leg: Toronto to Charlottetown, PEI. The dreaded text message. Flight cancelled. I assumed that would happen as there’s a snow storm there. Rescheduled for tomorrow afternoon. Plus side I get a visit with my daughter and son in law. What a sweetie. Coming to get me at the airport and then driving me back tomorrow. So this is TBC until tomorrow.
I have no idea if this post even makes sense. I’m exhausted.
I’ll Be Home for Christmas – Pentatonix
Take care and stay healthy.
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The decision to breakfast early at The Southern Grind Coffee House was successful. Only two other people there. But by the time we left it was half full.
This is a lovely coffeehouse/gift shop. Lots of nicely distanced tables (even a few outside). The food was delicious and very filling. Richard especially loved the oatmeal but wasn’t sold on their coffee.
Richard: oatmeal, sausage biscuit, and coffee Mine: breakfast bagel and orange juice
We purposely chose to go to The Wharf today as it was their Holly Days on Main Festival.
Minus #1: There weren’t many vendors and really nothing that interested me enough to stop and look. It only took us maybe 20-25 minutes to walk around and view their displays. The stroke of vertical awareness will come in March when we attend The Festival of Art in March. We’ve previously attended it and it has a lot more happening (at least it did three years ago).
Didn’t realize I also captured myself. Oops.
Minus #2: What was I was most anticipating? Having an ice cream cone from Kilwins.
But because they hadn’t opened by the time we were done I didn’t get one. (Insert pout here.)
Guess the store in the above pic was lucky. It didn’t have to worry about me entering with my ice cream. Lol
BUT I will be back there another time. My fav is their Chocolate Peanut Butter. They have some other very nice ones as well. To check them out click on this link https://www.kilwins.com/products/original-recipe-ice-cream Ahhh. Yes. I’ve been here a few times in past years.
How was your day? I hope you had lots of +s. Comment and tell me about them.
Accentuate the Positive – Dr. John
Take care and stay healthy.
As always, thanks for your interest and thank you for reading.
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My husband died when I was 42 and for twenty years I was in a “fake it” mode.Whenever people asked me how I was doing I’d put on my ‘fake face’. (Those of you who have been there or are there now know exactly what I mean. Most people want to hear you say that you’re fine. Don’t really want to hear how you’re really feeling and you don’t really want to tell them.) Now don’t get me wrong. I had many moments of joy, especially involving my children, but my deep internal mood was not one of happiness. Then shortly after retiring I had a brush with death. (Why do so many teachers have health issues right after retirement?) This brought about a complete change. It wasn’t that I consciously decided to be happy but somehow a feeling of happiness immediately overtook my being. Strange how things happen. Sorry. This wasn’t how I meant to start today’s post but somehow it evolved this way.
So about today.
The last time Richard and I wintered in Gulf Shores a lovely local coffeehouse opened, Happy Pappy’s.
We went there a few times before we made the mad dash back to PEI due to the pandemic. What a time that was. Right? Hard to believe it was close to three years ago. We had the fastest trip back and easiest border crossing ever.
Today we decided to go to Happy Pappy’s again. Brilliant. Especially as it’s only a few streets away from the gym. Richard had a chicken salad croissantwich , coffee, and an oatmeal raisin cookie. I had a hot chocolate (really barely warm), egg bites, and a Reese’s peanut butter cookie. Oops. I have to get better remembering to take food pics. Richard was very happy with his (surprised me by saying it was excellent). Mine? Nope. I wouldn’t have it again. Cold hot chocolate and the egg bites had a spice in them I didn’t like. Cookies were delicious! But we will definitely go back as it’s a cute little spot and we want to try some of the other delicious looking goodies. Kind of makes me think of Samuels in Summerside, PEI.
As always, thanks for your interest and thank you for reading.
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Today’s a beautiful day and yesterday was a beautiful day, so that means it’s a great life.
What could be better than sitting on the deck overlooking the clear, blue waters of the Gulf of Mexico and our white sandy beach at 7:30am enjoying the warm 20 degree Celsius weather? Ahhh. Nothing. (Richard he loves his early morning walk on the beach.) I enjoy walking the beach too but also enjoy just sitting, looking, and listening.
Our footstep to our beach
The weather has been lovely since we arrived. Now granted this is our first year here in December. January, if anything like the past, will be cooler.
We were smart this past year. We slowly put away $$$ to use for meals by selling items we no longer used or needed on Marketplace plus our little side hustles. Our goal was to save enough to have one breakfast and one lunch/dinner out every week. And we reached our goal. What a fantastic feeling; NO MEALS ON OUR CREDIT CARDS. Yay! What a nice treat every month not to have that on our bills.
After the gym we headed to the Tanger Outlet Mall.https://www.tangeroutlet.com/foley As we’ve been many times in past years we have some fav stores. Mine are TJ Max, Kate Spade, and Michael Kors, though this year I’ll also be spending lots of time in the children’s stores. Get ready David for some surprises.
The next stop was just across the street to Marshalls. Another fav. Bonus. Two people stopped me and told me they loved my hair.
I guess December’s not a great month to shop there. Things picked over. Hopefully January/February will be better.
Our plan was to stop at the Safari Club https://safariclubgulfshores.com/ for a late lunch/early dinner, whatever you want to call it. But the best laid plans… Apparently if they’re not busy in the afternoons they close whenever they want. (Told to us by a person in the zoo beside it.) Not open for us today. That’s ok. We’ll go another day.
Lovely to sit on the deck overlooking the beach. What a way to end this beautiful day. Pub food. We had burgers, fries, and coleslaw. Mine was ok. Richard loved his as it was on sourdough bread.
It’s a Beautiful Day – Michael Bublé
Take care and stay healthy.
As always, thanks for your interest and thank you for reading.
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A great relationship is about two things: First, appreciating the similarities, and second, respecting the differences.
Our old friend George
He’s been here on our beach every year, sometimes on the deck next to us and sometimes on the beach. I know, I know some of you might say it’s not the same one but don’t burst my bubble. I like to believe it’s George.
Breakfast this morning was at Sunliner Diner, one of our favs.
Mostly the same. One difference: cutlery is now given to you in a small paper bag with their logo on it. Covid I’m assuming. We ordered our usual. Richard got the Corned Beef Hash and I got an omelette. Funny how the mind works. When our food arrived I was sure the servings were much smaller. I looked back at photos from 2018 and you guessed it. The serving sizes looked similar. And silly me. I forgot to take pictures this morning. You’ll have to take my word for it. Here are the photos from 2018. Still basically the same meals with some differences. Back then Richard’s corned beef was cut smaller and I had grits and fried green tomatoes. Today I replaced them with a fruit cup and Richard had fried eggs instead of poached. Things change.
Comparing the cost of the trip to Gulf Shores from PEI in 2018 to 2022.
Bridge toll 2018: $48 2022 $50.25
Gas. 2018: $246 2022 $373.98
Hotels. 2018: $260. 2022 $190.23
Food. 2018: $282. 2022 $140.66
Guess this needs little explanation. We learned from the first trip. We can do the trip in three days and two nights if the weather cooperates. Bring protein bars so we don’t stop to eat midday. (Have a free breakfast at the hotels and get the evening meal from a grocery store or a chain restaurant.)
Everything Must Change – Billy Paul
Take care and stay healthy
As always, thanks for your interest and thank you for reading.
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Debi's Junket Journal 