Sketchbook Update

I have continued to keep up my sketchbook with a new watercolor every week. Sometimes it's hard, emotionally and timewise to get it done but since it is my journal, I'm determined. I feel like I'm getting better with my art - what do you think?  Flowers are still my favorite, and I think I draw them better than anything else.  So here are a few drawings, and the photo I used as a model.

I'm Done...

I did not want to share this information with you all until things were final, and now they are, so here it is. Bill and I divorced after 13 1/2 years of marriage. The last 3 years have been so tumultuous, and I'm surprised that I survived without meds or being committed somewhere. I loved him with every part of my being when we got married, but the person he is now is not the man I married. I won't go into details but my close friends and family know what I've been through and have been super supportive.  There were no drugs, alcohol or infidelity but enough emotional abuse that all I can say is that I'm done....

Where I work we have daily prayers that are read over the PA system and in email, and several of them have resonated with me during this time. One talked about loving people as they are, the way God made them, without trying to make them into something that you want.  The other was this:

You never know what it takes someone to come to work. We may never know the inner struggles others are facing, but we can choose to love them anyway. We can choose to offer them grace and understanding. Be gentle. Express love. Practice patience. Your grace may be the only grace someone is experiencing in their life.

So, I'm on with my life as a single person.  Don't feel sorry for me, just be happy that I escaped before it was too late and I have some self esteem left. I have great friends and a job that I like and I'm good at, and family support beyond measure so I'll be okay. I can do this... after all, I am a Redfield girl!

Photo Friday - Buildings

View of NYC from the Empire State Building.

My sister said "who would want to live there?"

It wouldn't be me, but obviously a lot of people like it.

Photo Friday - Spring

My front yard could be the definition of spring right now. Flowers everywhere, green grass and trees getting their new leaves. This is just a small section ...

Grandma's Cookies

As far back as I can remember, my Grandma Redfield always had a batch of a certain kind of cookies in her cookie tin. They were a kind of sugar cookie that had date filling in the middle. I don't know where she got dates in the middle of absolute nowhere in Montana, but she did. My Mom and I were discussing old recipes one day and I said I would really like to have that cookie recipe so I could try and recreate that memory. Mom found it last fall and this weekend I finally got around to making them. They turned out pretty good, the taste is the same as Grandma's but the texture was a little firmer.  That might be because it said to bake in a "moderate" oven and I didn't know what temperature that was so I had to guess, or I used too much flour when I rolled them out. Anyway, I'll have to keep trying.

 Rolling out and cutting the cookies.

 The date filling is added and another cookie put on top.

The finished product. Quiet yummy!

Photo Friday - Weather

We don't have "weather" in AZ really, just heat. But a few weeks ago we had heavy rain one day and then thick fog the next. It was kind of surreal and I had to get some photos!

The Flour Flower Lady Christmas

I love Christmas, and I especially love baking things to share with family and friends. This year I had planned to make my decorated cookies but I got sick the weekend before Christmas so that didn't happen. I did manage to make these pretzel/Rolo/pecan goodies for my friends at work and they were outstanding, and simple. I also made some ornaments with melted peppermint candy in cookie cutters and they turned out very cute and festive tied onto gift bags.

I had a recipe for some energy snacks made with peanut butter, coconut, honey, crushed Cheerios and chocolate chips. They turned out to be very yummy and I gave those out to friends and family too.

Every year I make cinnamon rolls for Christmas morning. I have been using a recipe I found on the Pioneer Woman blog a few years ago. They are really easy, there is no kneading, and you can make the dough the day before and bake them on Christmas morning. My husband ate 3 of them the second I got the frosting on them. They are that good. I always send some home with my guests after Christmas dinner. The original recipe makes 6 pans of rolls but I cut that in half.

For the grand finale I made some Guinness and Bailey's cupcakes. The cupcake recipe calls for Guinness stout in the batter. Then you make a ganache that is dark chocolate, Bailey's, cream and butter (no calories there!) Then you make a frosting with powdered sugar, butter and Bailey's. They were so good! My guests got to take some home. I was disappointed that the ganache turned out pretty solid in the center of the cupcake. I thought it would be more the texture of a thick pudding. It was definitely a great recipe though.

And for flowers, my garden had not yet frozen so I cut the remaining white zinnias and put them in a vase filled with cranberries. It made a pretty centerpiece.

We were blessed to have both my boys with us on Christmas, along with Nick's wife and family, and of course, the best Mom/Grandma/Great Grandma ever! We had such a good time.

My grandkids are so fun! They love my piano as you can see.

Now I'm on to a new year with more baking and more flowers. Stay tuned!