Annivorsary

It’s my first annivorsary today. Anniversary of divorce = annivorsary. I knew it was coming up this month but had to look up the date. And I’m quite pleased about that. Clearly, I don’t have the exact date branded on my brain. The way the wedding date is. The way the date of my brother’s

Single

The man behind me at the checkout didn’t mean to sting me with his words. He saw the flour, icing sugar, chocolate, eggs and milk I was unloading from my basket and said, “Doing some baking this afternoon, eh?” “Yes,” I replied. “Chocolate cake with chocolate orange buttercream frosting.” I left out the part about

Sunny, lemony birthday

This is my friend, Yvette. She’s been one of my best friends since we met at age 13 in junior high. She was cute as a button then, and she still is. Just look at that smile. Today is her birthday. She’s posing here with her birthday present from her significant other. He not only

Feeling good

Birds flying high, you know how I feel Sun in the sky, you know how I feel Breeze driftin’ on by, you know how I feel It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day, it’s a new life for me And I’m feeling good… I can’t put my finger on why, but I feel good

Bring back the merry

Finally, a night with nothing to do. It’s been a hell of a year. And not in a good way. My annus horribilis. The year is closing with a frantically busy, stressful fall barrelling full steam into the holiday season. I won’t be sorry to see 2013 end. Don’t let the door hit you on the way

Easter treats

My idea of a delicious Easter treat does not come from the bunny. It comes from the pig. I love a nice big ham, studded with cloves, bathed in apple juice, and glazed with mustard and brown sugar. The wonderful clove smell throughout the house is half the joy of it. And then we get

Biscuits

My little brother once thought it would be fun to calculate how many biscuits our mom has made in her lifetime. I don’t remember the tally he came up with. So as I was making biscuits myself a couple of weeks ago, I thought I’d try the math, too. Let’s make a conservative estimate that

A Baker’s Dozen…Almost

Christmas just isn’t Christmas without baking. I grew up with mom’s holiday standards: gumdrop loaf, brown sugar fudge, fruitcake for dad, pork pies (that don’t contain pork), and shortbread cookies in festive shapes that we kids loaded with coloured icing and sprinkles, hanging some on the tree and gobbling down more. I think my first

Mmmmmmuffins

There’s nothing like getting up late on a Sunday morning, getting a fire going in the woodstove, and sitting down with warm, delicious muffins within about a half an hour. I found this great recipe for whole wheat oatmeal raisin muffins in a Cooking Light magazine a few years ago and I’ve been making them