Day 51 of 365

This weekend has been girls weekend for the last 10 years or so. But not this year.

Every year my daughter and I have gone away for a girls weekend. We always take three days in April to go on a mini vacation, just the two of us. We've gone to Portland and California, but mostly we go to Sun Valley. We walk around the grounds of the resort, watch some ice skating, and hit the yard sales. There's nothing like going to a yard sale at a multi-million dollar home. We've gotten high quality items at cheap prices and have enjoyed peeking into lives we'll never have. The Gold Mine thrift store in Ketchum has been another not-to-be missed stopped. The things rich people donate!

But this year there will be no Sun Valley, no ice skating, no yard sales. My daughter has to work this weekend and besides, she says, we've already spent enough time together this year. She's probably right on that one - I did live at her apartment with her for two months when I was recovering from my latest surgery.

Not all is lost, though. The school districts in our state took a hard hit last year with budget cuts and most schools have had teachers on furlough days this year. It just so happens that today is a furlough day for my husband. So for the first time we're having a husband-wife weekend. I shouldn't admit this, but I could count on one hand the number of times we've been away together - alone - in the past 26 years of marriage.

This is our first "official" weekend and we've decided to head to the mountains for some rest, relaxation, and writing. (Not that I need rest and relaxation - I get plenty of that at home when he's at work!)

McCall, Idaho is our home for the next few days. Snowy, cold, it's-still-winter-here, McCall. But such a beautiful drive!

And a physical therapy/exercise update: 5 for 5!

Day 50 of 365

We've got to break this sugar addiction we have going on in this house, so today (I think, I plan, I hope) will be my last baking project for a while.

Usually  when I make sugar cookies they go to someone else. My family gets the rejects, but I've never made a batch just for us. So when my husband came home and saw yesterday's Peeps cookies, his first question was, "Who are the cookies for?" and was quite surprised when I said they were for us. We, of course, devoured them for dessert.

Which leads us to today. I went to the trouble on Monday of going to WinCo and bagging my own groceries to get ingredients from the bulk aisle for the White Chocolate and Peach Oatmeal Cookies. Which then, because of the absence of dried peaches, became the White Chocolate and Apricot Oatmeal Cookies. But as I looked at the ingredient list closer in this month's Food Network Magazine, I had to/wanted to make some adjustments.

So today to celebrate (or mourn) my last baking project for a while(?) I'm posting the recipe along with my picture. I use my KitchenAid mixer for all my mixing, but if you don't have one, just use a large bowl to mix the ingredients. (But the mixer sure is handy!) I'm not a recipe writer, so I hope the directions are clear. If not, let me know and I can clarify.

Debz Apricot and White Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies
1 stick butter, softened
1/2 c packed brown sugar
1/4 c granulated sugar
1 large egg
3/4 c flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 c oats
3/4 c dried apricots, chopped
1/2 c walnuts, chopped
3/4 c white chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350. In mixer, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the egg and mix well. Scrape bowl. Add the flour, baking soda, and oatmeal and mix until combined. Add apricots, walnuts, and white chocolate chips and mix until blended. Roll mixture into balls (my recipe made 20) and put on cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Press the dough a bit with the palm of your hand to make round cookies. Bake 15 minutes or so. Let cool and enjoy!

And a physical therapy/exercise update: 4 for 4.

Day 49 of 365

When I was growing up, Easter was more about the Easter basket for me than anything else. We didn't go to church and I don't remember if we had Easter dinner with the family or not. But the Easter basket? I remember that.

It was a large pink plastic basket with a white handle. Full of Easter grass and candy. Jelly beans, a chocolate bunny, marshmallow eggs, and the best candy ever made - pink and yellow marshmallow Peeps.

I know some people hate Peeps. And I understand that. I feel that way about those disgusting, nasty, paste-tasting orange marshmallow Circus Peanuts. I know some people love them, but I can't even look at a bag of those without wanting to gag.

But I love my Peeps. Except now I buy them for myself, and they are usually eaten before I pull in the driveway. And it's only the yellow bunnies that I buy. It seems the pink ones and the yellow chicks don't quite taste the same. There are also many other different colors out and I've tried a few, but they're still not as good as yellow bunnies. I've tried the Halloween ghosts and pumpkins. No thank you. I've tried the chocolate covered ones. Not again.

So I anxiously look towards Easter so I can get me some Peeps. Yellow bunny Peeps. But this year, I didn't buy any Peeps. I don't know why. And I missed them. A lot.

Which led me to make some sugar cookies. Some Peeps sugar cookies. They're not made from Peeps, but they sure look like them. And they taste almost as good.

A physical therapy/exercise update: worked on the shoulder again today. I've done 3 days out of 3 so far this week. Yay!

Day 48 of 365

I did it again. Worked out, that is. I didn't do too much shoulder work (didn't want to do two days in a row), so I did the exercise bike instead since my new knee has been getting a bit stiff lately. I'll get back to full-blown shoulder work tomorrow. (I hope.)

I made some sugar cookies again today. I'll decorate them tonight or tomorrow, so that might wind up being tomorrow's picture for the day. I haven't finished them, but I'm sure they're going to be cute! (I hope.)

I was also itching to get outside and do some garden work since we finally have a sunny day. It was in the 20s here last night so it's having a hard time warming up much. Doesn't look like it's going to get out of the 40s. And the joints don't work as well when it's cold. Maybe it'll warm up more before the day is over so I can at least do something out there. (I hope.)

I did do a walkabout around the yard to see how things are doing. I finally have arugula coming up - and that was planted way back on Day 30. I also have one cucumber coming up, but those planting boxes aren't really working out too well. They're getting watered, but these cool nights and cool days haven't helped the sprouting process. The strawberries we planted on Day 16 are up and have several leaves. I have tulips blooming (even those that were covered in snow on Day 5). Our trees are beginning to turn green, and our tree out front is starting to have pink blooms.

Although I am a little jealous of the beautiful pink blossoms on our neighbor's tree.