Cookie Exchange ~~blog style

Hi Everyone,

It's been a loooong day. Started out with more sleet and ice. I'm tired of this stuff already! Friday we have a huge snow storm headed our way, then a break on Saturday and we supposed to get pounded again on Sunday. It's been so busy at work. In addition to managing the facilities and tenants I also write grants and today was the deadline for one that we are applying for with PTFP for a backup generator. With all the ice storms lately, I sure hope we get it!! It's a lot of work to put one of these together and make seven copies. Since it's due tomorrow (nothing like wating till the 11th hour) I had to over night it. I pulled in to Kinkos at exactly 6pm which is the deadline for Fed Ex pickup. I saw the Fed Ex truck as I was pulling in the parking lot and pulled right up to the door right behind him as he was loading the packages and stopped him just in the nick of time. After all that work I would have been really upset to have missed him. Tomorrow I have to do the close out reports for another grant that we just finished. Then.........I can relax a little and get ready for some down time. Taking Christmas Eve off through New Years Day. I can't wait! Then it can snow and snow and snow. :-)

This weekend I'm going to start some baking (I'm a little behind). I want to make several kinds of cookies and have only come up with two so far - peanut butter blossoms and kalachkis. At work, we have a tradition of a cookie exchange. We each make a batch of cookies and then bring them in and get to sample them all, then we exchange recipes. It is always so much fun so I thought it would be fun to do that here. So if you have a good recipe, please leave me a message and post it to your blog so we can exchange cookie recipes.

Here's my first recipe:

Peanut Butter Blossoms
48 Hershey Kisses
1/2 cup shortening or margarine
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/3 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda

Heat oven to 375 degree......... Remove wrappers from kisses.Beat shortening, peanut butter in a large bowl until well blended. Add brown sugar,sugar, egg and vanilla, beat til well blended. Stir together flour and soda, gradually add to peanut butter mixture.Shape dough into one inch ball. Roll into granulated sugar; place on ungreased cookie sheet.Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until set. Immediately press kiss into the center of each cookie, cookie will crack around edges, remove from cookie sheet, let cool. Makes about 4 dozen.

Variation; use only 1 cup of flour and add 1/3 cup baking cocoa for chocolate peanut butter blossom cookies.

Have a great evening!

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Snow and Ice Storm

The weather outside is nasty. Yuck. I went to work early this morning so I could leave early and beat the snow and ice. I made it!! We are supposed to get an inch of ice and 10 inches of snow. I just hate this stuff when I have to drive in it. I wanted to take some pics, but was too lazy to go outside so I took a few through the sliding glass door and window. LOL

It doesn't look like much now, but there's a layer of ice on everything. But, we have the generator ready to go and it's nice and warm and cozy in here.

Teken from the "inside" of the sliding glass door. The pool looks so sad and lonely out there, doesn't it? Makes me dream of long hot summer days.

Of course, this is not snow, but I thought this was so cute. Coco seems to think that the tree skirt is his new bed. He's totally taken it over. LOL

Well, I was just taking a break from the work I brought home to do so I better get back to it.

Warm Winter Wishes,
Nancy

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Our Primitive Christmas Home

Don't you just love this time of year! I've been decorating the house all week long. I can't seem to leave it alone so I've changed it a dozen times. LOL I thought I would post some pics of everything so far. Subject to change of course. :-)

An old barrel filled with fresh greens and a primitive grungy candy cane peeking out.

Prim tree in and old crock with lights. Just love it!

I decided not to put our "big" tree up this year and just use this little old tree that sits in an old barrel. This one is usually in the dining room. When I brought this home two years ago, Scott says "what are you doing with that thing" and I said "well, dear its for the dining room. He just had a fit and said "oh no". So when he left the house, I brought it in and decorated it, and he just laughed when he got home said "I knew that would be in the house when I got back". LOL

I haven't got the decorations up yet. When we got it down from the top of the Garage it hit the floor and some of the lights broke so I was Walmart bound last night to get some more.

Looking in to the living room from the dining room. Ooops! forgot to move my Mt. Dew bottle.

This is an old hope chest that my fiancee's mother picked up for me. I put a homespun cloth on it and it sits in between the couch and the love seat.

This is not really decorated for Christmas, but I just love our coal stove. Scott built the new tile base over the summer for it.

Look up, see the buttery, isn't it so prim. I have two double windows in the living room and one above each one. I bought them from Shelley of Winterberry Prims. See my earler post for a link to her picture trail.

Cute little tree sitting on an antique table

This is another one my treasures from Shelley. I bought it to put in the bathroom for storage next the the mirror and it just never made its way there. I thought I would use it for some decorating until after Christmas.

Old man Santa in the corner. He's made from an old tree then handpainted. This is the first year I let him stay indoors, most of the time he's out on the porch.

Hanging cupboard all decked out for the holidays.

My centerpiece on the table is an old crock filled with fresh greens and berries.

Thanks for taking the time to gander at our prim home during Christmas thyme. My favorite time of the year.

~Warmest Winter Wishes~

Nancy

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