MISTY'S MORNINGS

I don't know about you but one of my favorite things about Christmastime is that it truly begins on Christmas Day and continues until the feast of  Epiphany  which falls on January 6, 2013.  Although, if you are like me and have jumped on the Downton Abbey bandwagon wholeheartedly, January 6, 2013 is more importantly the return of Season 3 !  (Isn't that  sacrilegious of me?)  I am already setting the DVR and planning a totally Downton evening.  I am thinking tea and biscuits or maybe something suggested in this article .  What about you? If you are somehow behind on watching this amazing show, check the PBS schedule now and catch up quickly! (You can also watch a quick re-cap episode of Seasons One and Two free on-line here . ) Keep celebrating and keep in touch!

MERRY, MERRY CHRISTMAS! I wish you a day spent with loved ones  and  time to reflect on the birth of our Savior. Oh, and lots of cookies and presents too!

Sometimes God puts people in your path that change the course of your life.  When I was assigned as Marianna's student teacher in the Spring of 1995, I had no idea how her influence would impact my teaching career as well as my family life forever.  I was nervous. She was a formidable English teacher at the public high school and Department Head.  She was not easy on her students or student teachers.  Marianna had high expectations and something about her mix of kindness and perfectionism made me want to not only meet them but to exceed them.   We became close friends and what I learned in observation of her methods prepared me for my own classroom more than any college course I had ever taken.  When she was named Teacher of the Year for the entire state of North Dakota I was hardly surprised.  She was truly exceptional at her craft.  Another way in which Marianna changed my life was to introduce me to these cookies.  Her del...

There are a few regulars in my family's Christmas cookie tradition and this bar cookie goes back as far as I can remember.  One of my mom's personal favorites because she is allergic to nuts and prefers milk chocolate to dark, these toffee bars were a safe alternative to the many varieties of nut-laced toffees.  She made them crispy with a thin layer of chocolate on top.   Over the past years I have realized that my husband prefers soft and chewy cookies and so I began making the same dough but baking it in a smaller pan resulting in a thicker, softer bar. With the addition of more melted chocolate for frosting, my husband now proclaims these soft toffee bars his favorite. The best part about them is how easy they are to make.  Because they are quite rich they can be cut into small squares and therefore make many cookies in a short amount of time and effort.  I brought them to my first cookie swap last week and they were a hit. ...

This week's prompt is to share what's cooking.  The truth is this photo is from a recipe I made a while back and shared here .  These are the cinnamon brioche rolls just before they go into the oven.  I haven't made them in a long time but will be doing so again for Christmas breakfast during our vacation. My middle son often requests them and I want to give him his treat for the holidays. What has actually been cooking lately in my kitchen are Christmas cookies.  I went to my first Christmas cookie exchange party last weekend and snapped this photo of the table of goodies which I shared via Instagram . There were dark chocolate snowflakes, pecan butter balls, linzer jam cookies, Oreo bon bons and more. I brought our family's classic soft toffee bars which I plan to post here to the blog sometime in the next week.  They are so easy and always a hit.  Keep an eye out! 52 Photos Project

The week of Thanksgiving I had the chance to go to Jamestown colony with my son's fourth grade class on a field trip.  It was a chilly gray day, adding to the history and sense of difficulty the early colonists experienced.  Throughout the settlement there are reconstructed buildings one can tour and even see people cooking over fires and musket ball guns being demonstrated.  Like my field trip to Williamsburg in the Spring, I think there is nothing better than doing a bit of time travel in such beautiful natural settings.  PRETTY HAPPY FUNNY REAL Pretty Happy Funny Real

                                    MORNING                                                                    EVENING             steaming espresso                                                          smooth red wine Christmas mug                                                               delicate glass sunlight                       ...

The windows are thrown open today to welcome in what we called "Indian Summer" back where I grew up in North Dakota.  The difference is that it is December 4th here and days this warm in North Dakota occurred in October!   There could be no better relief for me right now than this chance to hear the bird song through the screen while I reflect a bit today.  Things of late have felt heavy.  Ever since I attended Christ Renews His Parish Retreat in October and received the call that my neighbor would no longer be treating her spreading cancer and had only weeks to live, I have felt completely weighed down.  Thanksgiving was special with my mother and father in law flying in for a week long visit.  Even my dear neighbor and her husband were able to stop by for a few hours of conversation.  All I could think is how good she looked, how no one would know that inside she had no immunity, no strength, no remission.  Days later she spent...

Just popping in to say Happy Fall!   I hope you find time to get outdoors this weekend to stomp some crisp fall leaves underfoot.   It does wonders for the soul.

PRETTY Isn't Mrs. Romney a lovely woman?  Even if you aren't a fan of her husband's, it is hard to deny that this woman has a certain lightness of spirit and elegance that seems very natural. Add to that the fact that she is suffering from MS and she is, for me, quite inspirational.  Living as we do in the battleground state of Virginia, we had the chance to see the Romneys and on this day, I was able to shake the hand of the woman I thought would soon be the FLOTUS.  As we all know, that was not to be and the past 36 hours have been a shock to the system.  I guess there were just so many indicators that they would win.  No president in history has won re-election with unemployment so high, approval rating so low and the momentum appearing to be with his opponent.  It would have been easier to take had I been prepared for the loss but I was convinced our country could see that we needed a real businessman for a leader.  I was wrong and many of my ...

*From the archives* With Thanksgiving only 16 days away, I have been busy planning my meal.  We are hosting my in-laws and possibly a few friends.  This recipe for syrupy sweet potatoes is my favorite and is perfect for making a few days in advance. If you are looking for an ooey gooey, marshmallowy coated sweet potato recipe then you are  not  in the right place.  However, if you are looking for a  simple, make ahead sweet potato recipe  that  lets the sweet potato flavor shine, this  is  the place.   First of all, let's not worry ourselves with the yams -vs- sweet potatoes debate. Either one will be delicious in this recipe so buy some orange-skinned potatoes and get peeling. Slice them lengthwise and then cut each piece in half again. Tumble them into a large casserole coated with non-stick spray. Dust them with lots of cinnamon and nutmeg and a pinch of salt. Snow them with sugar and dot with butt...