Thankful Thursday: My Cup Runneth Over

Time for another list. I am well and truly blessed.

I am thankful for:

1.) this glorious day. The sun is shining, the temp is up around 70 degrees F (I've installed a bright yellow button along the right margin that blinks and says "convert me" which you can use if you prefer Celcius!), the sky is brilliant blue, and our autumn leaves are vivid and gorgeous against the cloudless sky;

2.) coffeecoffeecoffeecoffeecoffeecoffee; and while that is a daily given, I choose not to take it for granted;

3.) the Cleveland Browns, no matter how well or not well they do. They are a part of our city's heritage and football is an important part of our state's legacy! ON THIS DATE, Art Modell announced that he was moving our team -- OUR TEAM!! -- to Baltimore. Tonight we have a football game here at home on national tv. I am thankful that we have our team back with its colors and name and history intact!

4.) a clean kitchen and the tools and skills I use in it. They must be darn good, because my husband goes back for seconds and thirds every time.

Which reminds me, I've been cooking so much that we are out of key staples, and I need to replenish. Finally, I am thankful that I am both free and able to go to the grocery store and buy whatever I need from shelves that are stocked plentifully with a variety of items to suit my needs.

That's plenty for now!

 

It's hot & humid. My cue to turn on the oven.

cookie stamps
Originally uploaded by sunspotting.

Yesterday I was invited to join a Flickr group called Stamp Your Sweets & Cookies! because of the above photo. There's a picture of my springerle roll that they liked, too.

I like cookie molds and presses. Cookie cutters I find inspiring, too. There's just something fun about the blank slate, if you will, of a lump of sweet dough. If you can be inspired by a lump of clay or paper pulp or wool fleece, (and heaven help me, I most certainly can!!!) then my goodness, the things I can do with edible medium!!

It starts out with a simple, buff-colored sugar cookie dough. Or gingerbread, shortbread, chocolate, spice, omigoodness! there are so many wonderful flavors of cookie dough.

But why does it have to stay that color? (Ok, chocolate is not the easiest of doughs for a change of color.) Do I not have a multitude of food colors in the pantry? Of course I do. So that's one jumping-off point.

Then, with a variety of technicolor dough, rested, and ready to be shaped, I can cut it free-form. I can cut and stack the cookies, in pre-baked form; or cut them and plan to stack them, Linzer-style (or Oreo style, but Linzer-style, with the lacy cut-outs, is so much more fun!!) post-oven, filled with creme or jam. I can roll some balls of dough and press the little spheres with these lovely cookie presses. I can roll out a large sheet, then re-roll with my springerle roll -- it's another type of cookie press, but in a rolling pin form. Once the images from the springerle roll is impressed, I cut them to separate, and then I have dozens of small rectangular cookies all at once.




After baking, I have some more options!! Decorating options. To frost, or not to frost? Leave it plain? Add nuts? Nonpareils? Sprinkles? Sprinkles come in all shapes and colors (I have some Scooby Doo ones...), as do the many and sugars and edible glitters. There are markers made for food decorating! Amazing. I think that's a wonderful thing.

I've just discovered a neat thing that's been created, and I just don't know how I can live without it. I hope someone can find it, because I really REALLY want this thing.

The German company Stadter (with an umlaut over the "a", but this application won't permit me to use that) has a tool that lets you stamp letters -- actually impress them deeply into the unbaked dough -- into cookies or fondant or Royal icing... whatever your imagination gives you!!! (It's called the Brigitte Cookie Text Stamp.) How amazing is that??? You see why I need this thing?

No?

OK: imagine this, then. Conversation Hearts. But edible. Conversation Hearts are those hard-as-a-rock and tastes-like-barely-flavored-sugar small heart-shaped candies in pastel shades with words and phrases like, "MY MAN", "OH MY", "SWEETIE PIE" "OH YOU"... You get the picture.

And special cookies with special messages. Fun!! It completely appeals to my sense of culinary adventure. Keep your eyes open, and grab it for me if you see it, please! I'd be most grateful.

I'll bake for you!

 

Remains of the Day

I drew this picture of the barn 5 years ago. All the Demolition Crew got to sign the mat today.

Something else that's cool? As long as the picture was out of the frame, I took advantage of the chance to 'correct' my name. Instead of the 'rjop' initials that applied to me at the time of creating the drawing, I was able to sign it as 'rjogarcia', a far happier name. The 'p' was for my ex-husband's surname, with which I remained saddled after my divorce.

My name is Rebecca Joy Oerkfitz Garcia. I am thrilled to have 'Principe' deleted from my name. I hated it. And I don't use the word "hate" lightly. Particularly, ESPECIALLY, when there are humans associated with that particular "4-letter" word.

I'll always be an Oerkfitz (my maiden name) and a Kopsell (my mother's maiden name), and I absolutely LOVE, and am proud to be, a Garcia. (I still can't believe how lucky I am!!!) (I wish my level of happiness for everyone getting married. Or WHATEVER venture. Really. It's amazing when you find your soulmate/calling.) It is such a blessing to be rid of unnecessary chains, such as unwelcome names/people/commitments. Marrying one is marrying ALL. 'Nuff sed.

It's far better to have both kept my birth name, and to have a married name with which I may be proud, and with which I may make them proud, too. I have a good heritage of my own. I have married into a family which has been blessed with abundances of inherited pride, from the Philippines and from Rural America, the same as my roots. How God has blessed me.

 

All in a day's work.

That used to be the shed. Criminy.

It seriously changes the landscape at Bill and Louise's farm. It will take several visits to acclimate.

Or not. Time will tell.

I'm very glad now that I made my drawing.

 

Oooooh. Ahh.

...and there are many who WOULD say that the pot of gold is truly within the walls of such retail oddness and ecstasy as Big Lots. It's the American take on a modern bazaar, but less livestock and no bargaining.

(Picture was taken on the evening of June 21 on our way in to dinner at Mariachi Loco after A Prairie Home Companion.)

This is ALL the sun that's left for now!

We are gonna get ZONKED. Oooh! Confirmation recieved in the form of thunder! NICE. I love summer storms.

The air is thick with the intoxicating scent of ozone, damp soil, and lush foliage. Mmmm.

I'm sitting between opened windows with my 2 most attentive pets, a cup of green tea with honey, some knitting, and Cubs v. White Sox (GO CUBS!). Bring it!

Oooh-there was just a BIG lightning strike. And it was very close. Bert 'Shaggy-&-Scoobyed' off the back of the couch even before the strike was done. Poor, freaked out kitty. Cleo did the opposite, hopping up onto the couch for some power snuggling.

The drama, the smells, the companionship... I just love summer!

Rain Delay

Five minutes ago, we were watching "This Week In Baseball". Now we are in a rain delay, sans rain, but loaded with very ominous clouds and occasional lightning flashes. It was wise to delay!

What I *do* think is odd, however, is the failure to resume regular programming. It was very entertaining! Instead, we got the split scoreboard, one side explaining why there would be no baseball anytime soon, and the other displaying who we wouldn't see play.

Oh, HAIL No...

Looks like the thunderstorms which plagued (but didn't dampen) the Garrison Keillor performance last night are hardly finished! It's been a very long time since I've been in hail. And this I had to run into! I had to rush out to clean the garage to put the car away.

 

Fuzzy Pic, But I'm Having a Blast!

Time for Guy Noir!

Earlier in the performance, during one of the songs, the power went out. Just for about two minutes, and the performers didn't let it phase them. That was interesting, in and of itself. This was caused by a very powerful thunderstorm that "plagued" the performers throughout the broadcast.

I put the word "plagued" in quotes because it didn't seem to bother Keillor, et al. It was fascinating to watch how they all turned it into part of the program -- it was seamless. Their improv skills were so perfectly honed that it was impossible for us to tell whether they were truly reading from the scripts in hand or letting the weather (whether by prediction or circumstances) dictate. There were a few thunderclaps that were obvious (and perfectly played, God!! You definitely have good comic timing!!) but otherwise, just so impressive to watch.

 

Sun Dappled Puppy

Our patio and 'new' patio furniture is a popular hangout for critters of all types!

>PHEW!< Especially on a hot, humid day like this.

photo credit: Rick Garcia