Winter Wonderland

The last two weeks have been snow and vacation. Finally built that snowman Gwenny's been planning for months. Traveled to Knoxville for Christmas in February. We've been so busy playing that I haven't collected my thoughts in weeks. But the house is coming together. Most of the stuff is put away. Time to move back to organized, creative school, thought out meals, daily workouts, and chronology.

At my parent's home, my sisters and I sorted through decades of photos. My grandmothers back in the day - so beautiful in their pearls and victory rolls. Our childhood - the field trips and the wind suits and the hours and hours on horseback. Memory after memory sparked and relived around the kitchen table, three sisters awww-ing and hugging and beaming. My family is blessed with a beautiful history together. A cause for celebration.

To keep the party going, let me share some of the crew's favorite moments this winter.

From the Farm:

Standing by the banks of the much swollen creek

My beautiful niece

Playing Pooh Sticks

In honor of the flaky forecast, our last snow day:

First taste of snow cream - shocking and amazing

She finally built her snowman! That hair was all her idea.

This winter is full of good memories for our kids to reflect on later.

That being said, bring on the warm weather!

Chocolate weather {or another cookie recipe}

We are having chocolate weather. All I can think to serve for snack are chocolate chip cookies, hot chocolate, biscotti, mochas. Rain and snow and more rain {and maybe pregnancy} will do that to you. We have chronic wet feet. Big one stalls at the open van door while she musters the courage to face the rain again, leaving small one and I dripping - chocolate seems to be our only cure.

 The snow brought at least 30 minutes of outdoor fun. More than that for Abby - this was her first snow, small as it was. Her excitement was contagious when she realized she could eat the white powdery stuff all over the ground.

Almost contagious. Small one was unsure of the snow, and why she needed mittens, and a hat, and a coat. She thought momma was entirely overprotective with the winter clothing. Except the pink boots. Those could stay.

A morning of firsts, passed from daddy to daughter: snow angels, snow men, snow balls. All tiny due to the tiny snow. Perfect for tiny hands.

And when tiny hands turned red and became more cold than fun, momma was able to pass on fudgy warm cookies, like only-edge-piece brownies. They were so delightful {and devoured} that I must pass on the recipe.

Double Fudge Cookies

Ingredients
3 c or 375 g powdered sugar
3/4 c or 65 grams cocoa powder {best you can find}
1/4 t salt
2 1/2 c chocolate chips {I use the 70% cacao 'pound plus' bar from Trader Joe's and cut up what I need}
4 egg whites
1 T vanilla extract

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Mix powdered sugar, cocoa powder and salt in a medium bowl. Stir in chocolate chips. Mix egg whites and vanilla in a separate bowl. Add whites and vanilla to dry ingredients and mix with a fork(!) until batter is wet through.

Using a teaspoon {from your silverware drawer, not the measuring variety}, scoop small balls onto the parchment paper-lined cookie sheet, leaving plenty of space. These cookies double, even triple in the oven.

I know they look like little plops here, but magic happens in the oven.

Bake in center of oven for 13-15 minutes, until tops crack.

Remove cookie sheet from oven and allow cookies to cool on sheet for 3 minutes, then move parchment paper to a rack and cool completely before removing. I used a 'cookie spatula,' a small square silicone spatula - they picked up beautifully.

Makes two dozen cookies.

Did I mention they don't require flour, don't require beating egg whites until stiff, and would make the best ice cream sandwich on the planet??

Note for my glutenous friends: A friend made these for me and the girls as part of the funeral fare. Bookmark this recipe as an easy gluten free recipe if you don't have a gluten free kitchen - no need to buy special flour.

What I'm Reading

Baby, it snowed outside. The girls and I are stuck inside again.

If I had nothing else to do, I would make a huge pot of tea and read, curled up in our big blue papasan chair. But really, who can afford such self-indulgence?

It got me thinking about the books I love right now, and I thought I'd share.

For G:

• The Jesus Storybook Bible - amazing. No, AMAZING!! Tim and I enjoy this one as much as Gwennan. In fact, the other day, I closed it after reading the 10 plagues and said, "This is the best book. Wait, this really IS the best book."
• Is Your Mama a Llama - I love the rhymes in this one. It's so sing songy that G bobs when we read it,
• The Belly Button Book - "beebo." Who wouldn't love a story about hippos and their belly b's?

For Me:

• Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass - We watched Tim Burton's "Alice in Wonderland" the other day, so I wanted to read Lewis Carroll. Not sure where Tim Burton came up with the plot of his movie, but I rather liked it. Alice in Wonderland was a reread from my college children's lit class, and I enjoyed it, again. This was my first time with Through the Looking Glass, and well, it was odd.
• A Study in Scarlet - The first adventure of Sherlock Holmes. I just started this one, and I love Doyle's writing style as well as his cooky characters. In case you think my taste random, it is a little bit. I'm on a classics streak right now because they are free to download to my phone (love public domain!!), and my phone is the most portable, easiest to use while nursing  reading device I have.
• Doctrine: What Christians Should Believe - I've been working on this one for a while because it's just too meaty to read in one sitting. Fantastic book that covers the foundations of Christian belief.

That's my reading list during this cold month. What are you reading???