Sweets for...Me!

This year I decided that I should be able to have an assortment of gluten-free Christmas cookies, after buying myself yet another gluten-free cookbook-- Gluten Free Christmas Cookies.  I've tried four recipes now, and have about worn myself out.  (I'm not a baker). 

I made pecan praline meringues and thumbprint cookies last week.  The meringues were wonderful.  Yesterday, while it was snowing, I made choclate crinkle cookies, hoping they would be like my grandmother's cookies (not!) and my very first cut-out sugar cookies.

Time consuming.   I resorted to little dog bones after trying a couple of poodles, made with a cookie cutter send by my friend, Ana.  Sorry, Canon, I didn't do you justice.  Caprice ended up blue and broken.  Both dogs have been eaten. 

Not works of art, but somehow, it was satisfying to finish them.  I learned not to roll cookies too thin, and that royal icing really doesn't taste too good right out of the bowl.

Maybe it's not so important to have so many Christmas cookies for two people.  (I can't take them elsewhere.)  Next year, I'll downsize.

Doggie Envy

Just for the record, I'm going to start off by saying I know I can't handle more than two dogs.  Caprice and Canon are quite enough to love, thank you.  But that doesn't mean I can't envy someone who gets another dog.

I went with my friend, Nancy to pick up her miniature poodle Gidgette, who was arriving on the plane yesterday.  The anticipation of getting another little furry body to love is one thing, but her arrival was something else.  She is absolutely adorable.  She was crying and her tiny body was shaking when Nancy first got her out of her crate, but she seemed to get more comfortable quickly as we got to the car and headed for home.  Once we stopped for her to relieve herself, she became perkier.

She must have bonded with Nancy on that ride, because when we got to Nancy's house and Nancy went to get the other dogs, she stood at the car window, whining for her.

The first meeting of dogs was frenzied, with a lot of barking, tail wagging, and some stay-away teeth-showing on Gidgette's part.  None of the dogs was quite sure what to do.  The bigger dogs wanted to play, but didn't know how to handle the little one.  The little one was used to bigger dogs, but wasn't familiar with these.  We spent some time in the house, in the backyard, and on a walk, trying to figure out how to get everyone to calm down.

Although I hated to, I left, because Nancy needed time alone with her new pack.   It was wild and wonderful.  Something I was able to enjoy vicariously and leave it like that.  Envy doesn't mean you have to have the same thing, but have the capacity to enjoy it anyway.  I can't wait to see how this develops.