baking and other thoughts...

For some reason, I've been doing a lot of baking lately...more than usual, especially with the new baby. Recently I made Chocolate Chip cookies, Ciabatta bread, Apple Pie, Pecan Mandelbrot, and Cinnamon Rolls from scratch. Perhaps its the weather which has been downright chilly, almost wintry at times. Last week we spotted our first snowflakes gathering slightly on the deck. The deer are starting to show their faces again in our woods. And last weekend we caught a glimpse of the long white feet of a snowshoe hare. (Their furry coats turn from brown to all white in the winter.) I did some baking too partly because my mom was up for a visit last week. She came bearing a big bag of freshly picked Haralson apples. We did some tag-team baking which is best when there is a little baby around. I made the crust and streusel topping, she made the apple filling. And perhaps I've been baking more because I'd been reading the latest Amish novel by Beverly Lewis. She is always writing about delicious sounding things they are baking up and I think it soaks into my fiber a little as well. The characters are often sharing these baked goodies with their neighbors and extended family too...which makes me want to do this more often with my neighbors. So banana bread is up next on the baking agenda. (The aging bananas on my counter are dictating this one.)Lately I've been thinking how much I love being a mom too. I think I love it even more than I thought I would. I remember the day I felt thoroughly like I was a real true "mom". It was the Saturday morning that Hub and I took little Bub to get his 3 month photos taken at JCPenney because we had a coupon and then afterwards ran some errands. I picked up some bags of frozen vegetables...something I never used to buy (except for frozen peas because they're best that way) but now I thought they'd be nice to have on hand in a pinch. I don't know...photos at JCPenney and frozen vegetables sounded and felt very "mommy-ish" to me at the time.

Although my baking may have increased lately, my cooking quality sure has fallen a bit...hence the frozen veggies. It's a give and take I guess...where one thing exceeds, something else must give a little!

All for now ~ there's a baby crying!