photo of the week...

Cherry Chocolate Chunk cookies... from the other blog... just thought I'd lure you in with a little trail of chocolate crumbs. Ooooh... that wasn't very nice was it?

Hey... these are really simple and so tasty. I'm not saying you need to bake them today...but, come back when you have time...better yet... print out the recipe and bake them when you just want a lovely chocolate-y nibble. Cookies or squares are great for that... freeze and only take out a few at a time... so much better than having a whole cake staring you in the face.

Baked a couple dozen of these wonderful chocolate morsels... with cherries .. just because it is the season.

My stomach is totally back to normal... don't know what it was except I guess two glasses of wine at the office party were perhaps too much for me ... used to be I could drink a sailor under the table..not that that's anything to be proud of...but..there you have it.

a few days ago.... 5 dozen butter tarts... got some wrapped and sent...some wrapped and frozen and some went off with Mr. B.V. for the guys at the office... the empty tin returned home with notes.... please send more tarts... the cheek! You'd think they were on a desert island somewhere ....

Okay... this is the best of all. I got some baking too! While squares were baking today... I was enjoying my sister's cherry loaf which arrived the other day. A pretty special gift because she doesn't do much baking anymore. Which is why I usually bake plenty and send her a gift box of goodies.

Several years ago she slipped on ice; fell and cracked her skull when she got out of her car going to work ... a serious concussion .. and traumatic brain injury. She was never able to go back to work and missed it terribly ... she loved working at the school.. loved "her" kids as she used to call them. She has fought back so hard and almost single handedly.... using "coping" skills that she has developed all by herself. She should probably be teaching some of the not-very-helpfuls she has had to deal with during that time. .. there is probably even a book in there somewhere.... or motivational speaking... .. Which is pretty darn great considering where she was for the first 3 years afterwards. She's my hero... and is doing very well, but, does have some residual brain damage that manifests in different ways and is so frustrating for her. Baking is one of the things that she finds very taxing.... the reading and focussing on details. If she gets interrupted, she could forget totally where she was in the recipe...or she might get busy doing laundry and forget things in the oven.. or the horses might make some noises and she would absolutely have to go out to see if they were alright.. and not come back in for hours... it could be one of the days when it is too difficult for her to look at small print or try to force her brain to concentrate. So... this is really special...and it is verrrryyyy tasty too.... Mr. B. V. only got one piece.... hahahha.... thanks Vikki..... love the loaf... it almost tastes like there is eggnog in it... is there?