For a Special Friend

Today is Kathy's birthday, however, it is another milestone birthday that I will celebrate without a loved one.  2015 has been filled with illness, injury and loss. . . and in my cookie world that means I turn to stars.  Simple stars, combined with the following verse,  help me to find a bit of comfort:

Perhaps they are not
stars in the sky
but rather openings
where our loved ones
shine down 

to let us know
they are happy.
                                 -an Eskimo proverb

Kathy LOVED my cookies.  She asked me to make them for her daughter's wedding shower, her son's 30th birthday, gifts for friends .  .  . but sometimes I liked to surprise her with cookies "just because" it was fun to celebrate our friendship.

I made Halloween cookies for her when she introduced me to the online game, Words with Friends .  .  .

 

.  .  .  and this collection was for her birthday when we decided to conquer our fears and sign up for a swim class for adults.  It is still one of my favorite collections.

Kathy's children recently invited a few of Kathy's close friends to a dinner to celebrate her life, so once again I bagged and tagged star cookies in her honor.  Hopefully, this special tribute provided a bit of comfort to her loved ones.

Happy Birthday to my dear friend, 

you will always be in my heart and in the stars. 

Celebrating a Life Well Lived

Dad would have been 88 today, but we had to say good-bye to him a few weeks ago.   I was lucky to have this gentle, caring, hard working man as my Dad.  His was a life well-lived.

From pro baseball to family man . . .  smiling at his surprise 80th birthday party . . .  wearing his Cub hat in the hospital . . .  Dad was surrounded by children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and friends until the very end.

Since Mom has vision loss, Dad always wore a Cub hat with a white front, so she could see him when they were out shopping.

Over the past several years, star cookies have become a special bond between my "Sugar Sister," Donna, and me.  This time I was on the receiving end of the stars, with a special Cub hat included in the collection.

Diane,
Both of us would like to go back to baby shower onesies

 and cute little animal cookies. 

 Instead, we are gazing at stars . . .

Perhaps they are not stars in the sky,
but rather openings where our loved ones
shine down to let us know they are happy.

May you find peace as you look upward,
 knowing that your father is waiting at the gate wearing his white Cubs hat, 
so all of you can find him!
My prayers embrace you and all your family.
--Donna

 

Thanks, Dad, for teaching me the meaning of unconditional love.

You will always be in my heart, and in the stars shining down on me.

Mary Grace Can Do Anything

Great-niece, Mary Grace, is celebrating her tenth birthday and once again she has found a unique way to celebrate.  I always look forward to her cookie requests because she challenges me with her new and creative ideas.  This will be the fifth year that cookies have been part of her birthday celebration, and the second year that she is following the theme that "girls can do anything."

Age 5  turtles
Age 6  pigs
Age 7  gumball machines
Age 8 ice cream
Age 9 brains

When Mary Grace asked for rock climbing cookies I thought it would be a quick and easy design because I envisioned a simple rock wall, but she really wanted a girl on her cookie.  After much consideration I thought the best approach would be to use a royal icing transfer. Here is a photo for my non-cookie friends who do not care to learn "cookie speak."
 

Royal icing transfers can be very helpful in cookie decorating, but they are also very fragile.  Silly me, the cookie I chose for my photo is the only one that cracked.  Let's just say I planned it, in memory of the wrist that I broke earlier this year.

In my past cookie life, the crack would have made me toss the cookie and start over.  However, since my new motto is, "it's just a cookie,"  I just said, oh well, and did not attempt to lift it out of the wet icing and replace it with a new one.  Hopefully, the bumps, bruises, and breaks will only be on the cookie, and not on Mary Grace when she is celebrating her birthday scaling a wall!

Since Mary Grace is celebrating her first "double digit" birthday, I decided to include the number 10 in her cookie collection.  Mom said that MG is beyond the pink stage, I added a little silver to the rope handles, just to give the collection a hint of sparkle.

Love, hugs and cookies for

an amazing girl!