Nope! I'm so much better at "making hay while it rains". When the sun is shining I prefer to be out in the gardens and neglect a lot of what needs to be done inside. We have had some beautiful weather of late and that is exactly what I have been doing. Usually, that is OK but, since most of what is needing to be done inside these days is prep for Christmas...which is fast approaching...a rainy day kind of forces me to stay inside and get it done.
Of course, I still always have my detours. Yesterday I was in my office looking through downloaded images thinking about something I might yet do for the holiday when my eyes were diverted a few inches away. And there it was...the decoupaged sign that I made awhile back and completely forgot about. I'm not sure it is in its ideal spot but, this late in the game, everything already has a place and I didn't feel like doing a major overhaul. Lol Here's where it landed. It is on one of the very deep shelves in the family room and I am OK with it.
And, as I was coming in from getting my mail, what should my "new eyes" spy but the number sign on my house that I made a number of years ago. I made it from an old piece of wood that came off of a very old bench we used to have on the porch. That bench was painted many times and I loved the old, peeling, chippy paint so much that when the bench was no longer strong enough to support anyone, I couldn't bear to part with all of it so I held on to the largest piece and attached my house numbers. I have been fine with it for a very long time...until yesterday when I wasn't. I decided that it needed some color and since I had some of the door and shutter paint left, I gave it a quick swipe. I actually put on more paint than I had wanted but, since there is still lots of chippy, peeling paint, I figure some of the color will be shed soon enough.
And, I'm sure it is no surprise to any of you that there is now yet another random project on my list...that very new, very WHITE dryer vent cover. When I had a new heavy duty dryer vent put in, this is the new cover they installed. Those of you who have been here forever probably remember that my old vent cover had kind of disintegrated away over all of its years of life and I crafted a new one out of a thin sheet of copper. I loved it and it looked so much better than this. But, since this is a whole newfangled vent system, I am kind of afraid to mess with any of it...until now. That white is just getting me and, as soon as I decide what color will work best and get to Lowes to pick it up, another project will be on the ready to-do list.
And then for, perhaps, the largest distraction from my "need to get done soon" chores. I had seen a blogger that I follow make a cookie recipe that was new to me and I decided to get the ingredients and give it a try before I added it to my cookie repertoire. Remember, I have three willing to eat anything grand children living not five minutes away so I thought I would make a batch and take it over to them.
Now, right after I had all the ingredients, daughter #2 sends out a text asking for suggestions for a new cookie she could make for a cookie contest party she and her hubby were going to. I sent her this because it was different and she decided to give it a try as well.
Take a close look at my ingredients getting to room temperature. If you are a baker, you will probably see the issue immediately. I am not a good baker and had no clue.
So, I make the cookies. Now, while the blogger was making her cookies she mentioned that a follower had commented that when she made hers, they spread way too much. So, of course, now this was in my head. I did everything she suggested including turning the tray half way through the bake. The first tray spread and "melted" like crazy...so much so that even after they were cool, I couldn't get them off the tray. They truly looked like a melting cookie painted by Salvador Dali! Lol
And so, thinking because she was in a higher, cooler altitude, maybe I should refrigerate the dough a bit before making the next tray. And so I did...and it didn't help. Even though the recipe said "don't over bake", I left the third tray in a minute or so longer...and now I had melted, dark cookies.
As I said, I really don't consider myself a good baker but I am usually able to pull off a basic cookie. I thought I would see how they tasted and, after some finagling, was able to get some in my mouth. It tasted like butter and the little caramel nuggets were so hard I almost lost a filling. Into the garbage went the whole batch along with the recipe.
I immediately sat down and texted my daughter what had happened and that she should probably scratch this recipe idea. She responded that she had actually just walked into WalMart (which is the only place that seems to be carrying the caramel bits this year) and thanked me for the head's up. But, something was bothering me...did you catch on yet?
I pulled the recipe out of the garbage and, there it was, like the lights on Christmas Vacation...hitting me right in the eye! The recipe called for 3/4 c. of butter and I had used 3/4 lbs!!! I truly don't know how I did that. I was so mad at not only the amount of time and energy that was sitting in the garbage but also about the amount of money down the drain. Luckily, I bought enough supplies to make more than one batch so I don't have to head out shopping again. And, make another batch I surely will because, after hurriedly texting my daughter back and catching her while she was still in the store, she went on to make these cookies for her party and won first place! Now I can't wait to see if maybe I can manage to pull of something at least worthy of the effort. We shall see! Stay safe and stay tuned.
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