Seasons greetings!

When I drove to the fitness center this morning and pulled into the parking lot, I saw this magical seasonal scene. Every tree had string after string of white lights. A veritable wonderland. I sighed realizing, 'tis the season. I share all this alliteration because today's letter for ABC Wednesday is S.

Lighting one candle
from another -
Winter night.

- Buson

Happy New Year my blogging friends!

I've been lost in the holiday season with Erica home for two weeks, celebrating Christmas late due to a bus that didn't show up to bring Audrey home, lots of fun, frolic and, of course, food! My new year dawned bright and full of hope. . .until, during an intermission from a Star Wars video marathon, Dave and I decided to go for a walk. The rest is history: on the way home I slipped on an icy sidewalk, broke my left hand and my glasses and some of my pride. . .fast forward to the present:

• I am wearing a splint awaiting the orthopedist's decision to operate or just cast my hand on Tuesday
• my glasses are held together with superglue and I'm learning to see with just one usable lens
• the cuts on my face are healing nicely and
• I'm right handed!

Wishing you all good things for the new year!

That was the week that was. . .Monday

Do you get my drift here? Red and green? Feeling the holiday spirit a bit early, I am because we've been having cold, crisp days with snow flurries. And I've been picking up the olives, et al., for Turkey Day and priding myself on my advance planning. . .well, its n.e.x.t. week! Audrey will be joining us but alas, Erica can't get away as she only has Thanksgiving off. Besides, she hates the day: 'All we do is sit around smelling the turkey cooking all day. Then when we finally eat, you know I don't like the meal, and will only eat my usual black olives, mashes potatoes, gravy, deviled eggs and rolls.' So speaks Starch-Face on every Thanksgiving Day since about 1985. Sigh.

Saturday I spent the afternoon at a couple of holiday bazaars. Besides the usual church basement delicacies, I bought the last lemon poppy seed cake because it was an adorable heart!
Speaking of yum, this is a Cupcake Hat I made for Maria, a little girl in Romania. I love this pattern recommended by my dear pal, [the other] Marianne. A quick knit. In fact, it probably took me longer to repair a purl stitch bitten through by 'Bad Cat' when I turned my back to get the tape to wrap the package, than it did to make the hat!! Bad Cat having a self-imposed time-out after flossing her teeth with the above hat.

And a recipe. . .since I now have to revamp sweets to suit my blood sugar, I gave this a try and found it to be quite yummy and not so very 'diet' like:

Orange Mocha

1 sm. pkg. sugar-free orange gelatin

1 c. hot coffee

1 c. cold coffee

2 T unsweetened cocoa powder

4 T Splenda (I used one packet & it was sweet enough)

3/4 c. Cool Whip (recipe calls for Free but I use extra-creamy)

Combine gelatin, cocoa and Splenda in a bowl. Add hot coffee, stirring until dissolved. Add cold coffee. Refrigerate until thick-- it will look like a shiny chocolate pudding.

Stir in Cool Whip Free until blended. Refrigerate until set.

note: may use decaf coffee, or increase/decrease coffee strength as desired.

Fröhliche Weihnachten!

On an ordinary day thrift shopping I came across an extraordinary find, made doubly fun by the announcement over the intercom that all Christmas items were half off. I bought this box of Christmas cards from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, circa 1985, 'For the Holiday: a Christmas Selection From the Wiener Werkstätte'box and all for $.30. The Wiener Werkstätte (Vienna Workshop) was part of the Arts & Crafts movement and its members were counterparts to the earlier European movement, with the likes of the Scottish artist Charles Rennie Mackintosh. They were artisans designing jewelry, fabric, clothing and everyday objects like furniture and pottery with the Arts & Crafts signature of minimalist and unique geometric shapes in 1900 Vienna. Founded by artists Josef Hoffman and Kolo Moser, some of the Workshop members included Gustav Klimt and Oskar Kokoschka. I'm especially interested in that period of German art, pre-World War I and then the Wiemar Republic and its golden child, the extraordinary Bauhaus. So, these little gems were created by Austrian artists who joined the Werkstätte in many ways like one joins a union or political activist group today, as was the custom during that time. Artists were inherently political and stood firmly along the lines they drew, literally and figuratively. The workshop existed from 1903-1932.

Couple and Cat in Snow / Fritzi Low-Lazar

Out in the Snow / Mela Koehler

A Doll for Christmas / Suzi Singer-Schinnerl

(which was always my wish)

Angel With the Star of Bethlehem /Franz Karl Delavilla