Missing In Action

Gee Whiz! I realized today that it's been almost a month since my last post! How did that happen?! Halloween came and went (it was fun, too). Oh yes, the elections came and went also. Heehee! Not to mention names, but there is a certain loved one in my family circle that campaigns so hard for their side that I simply knew I had to totally disconnect from all communication as election day came to a close and allow several days or weeks for their grieving process to pass this time. Whew!! In that particular time frame when it was so unusually quiet, I dived into my bread machine and began baking up a storm to practice up for my Christmas bread baking. It smelled so good in my house for about two weeks, and bread was flowing out the front door and into all the neighbors' kitchens until they began worrying about gaining too much weight too fast. I've got my five or six recipes perfected now out of that practice run, so the holiday bread baking session will be a snap! Yeah for me! I collected and perfected a bread machine Sourdough recipe, which is unusual to come out of a bread machine; as well as Steakhouse Wheat, which is so similar to those yummy little loaves served on a bread board at your table when you go out and order up good steak (thus the name); Country White, Chocolate Cinnamon, Pecan Banana, and Cranberry Orange. Yipee, I'm rockin'!!

Right after that came a two-week run of nothing but doctors. My stepson's wife went into the hospital and learned that she has terminal cancer. This has set us all back on our heels as she has been such a worker bee and never complained of feeling poorly at all until just at the point she decided to consult someone because she felt like she may have gone from a cold into pneumonia. Seems that was the least of her problems, and we as the rest of the family are wondering how in the world do we help them.

While that was happening, my own oldest daughter had a life-changing vision and decided to take herself off all her pain medications that she has been on for the last seven years. She has chosen to seek another path for her chronic pain, and this is not an easy undertaking; it's a slow and faithful process of doctor visits and determination. I've accompanied her for the last two weeks every other day on her daily doctor treks, and my dear hubby has taken every other day with her. So we are making it and making progress with it. She sought and found a wonderful physician to help with this process, and he uses the latest new innovative medical aid to help make this easier for her. I'm very supportive of her decision as she is a young mother with a hopefully long life in front of her and she is seeking a better quality of life for herself through different channels. Amen, and keep her in your prayers.

And as if all this is not enough, we have a new addition to our family as of today....a 3-week old female ferret who shall be dubbed Mickey for the future and who will, no doubt, keep my grandson Mason highly entertained! Mickey got settled in just this evening with all the food, furniture, and finery a ferret could possibly desire for comfort. Micky probably comes to us at a good time, for Lord knows we could use a little fun distraction about now. I'm sure I will be keeping you posted on Mickey antics and ferret fashions in the days to come, as this is my first contact with a ferret at all.

In closing, I want to share a holiday cookie recipe with you for Rum Logs which you may want to make and freeze ahead for Christmas. This recipe came to me long ago from my brother's wife in his first life, and she was and is a great cook. This is a fun cookie dough to make and work with, and be sure to frost them as this adds so much flavor to the overall cookie. If, after you try this recipe once and find you wish to alter the flavor to your own liking, you can simply use a different extract of your own choosing rather than the rum. But for me, it's my favorite and a tradition at my house during the holidays.

This was made as a 12 x 12" page, 300 dpi, good for printing if desired and sizing down to 8 x 8" is also an option. I created it with FxFoto using a blend of several kits included in their software by their designers such as "First Bell" by Katie Mann, "Everything But The Kitchen Sink" by Janice Dye-Szucs, "My Kitchen" by Correen Silke, and "Baking For The Holidays" by Jeanine Baechtold. You can download the high resolution file here.

We are having a torrential downpour at the moment here along the coast and are under a "tornado watch" which should be expiring just any minute now. Wow, been a lot of rain falling fast! Love the sound of it, though.

Chow for now! Hopefully, I'll be back soon! Take care and enjoy the lovely autumn days wherever you are!