Doing the Happy Dance!

I'm finished. With everything. The Divinity was finished at 11pm last night, I wrapped the last gift shortly after that (I was waiting on a box my husband was bringing home from work, he works 2nd shift.)

What is left behind is a mess! I baked from the time I got up until the time I went to bed last night, but everything is finished, making today a putzing day. I'm planning new quilts and hopefully pulling fabrics and gathering supplies for them. When I'm feeling brave I'll tackle my kitchen in bits until it's clean and shiny and ready for the rest of the holiday food prep.

This was the last cookie to be baked, they are called Toffee Bars. They bake at a low temperature for a long time and are a bit chewy and nutty and have a marvelous flavor.

When these were baking, I made Puppy Chow. I haven't made this for years but knew it would be a fast and easy thing to add to my holiday goodies. Ruthie is often tentative about trying new things, but she tried this and loved it.

Also on the agenda for yesterday was homemade marshmallows. These are marvelous in hot chocolate and I put a couple in my coffee and they melt to a yummy skin on top, a bit coming off with each sip. Yum!

I learned a lesson making Divinity yesterday, my mixer will not hold a double batch! As a result, not all the sugar syrup was able to fit and it's just a little bit gooey...I actually like the texture better having done it wrong, but it did make it much harder to get it nicely off of the waxed paper. Is it really bad of me to feel a bit of glee that this is one recipe my mother-in-law was unable to conquer? My version has chopped soft peppermint in it...It's wonderful!

I thought that today I would be working like crazy to get everything finished, and instead I'm planning new projects and able to relax some before the busy-ness of the next few days. With my exercise finished I'm dressed for the day, I have dishes soaking in the sink and my magazines and paper ready for quilt planning so it's time to run. I hope everyone is ready (or almost anyway!) for Christmas and can squeeze in some relaxation time in the next couple of days.

Happy December 22nd!