She's Still Goin'

When I wrote a blog entry for great-niece, Kendall's sixteenth birthday I included some quotes from, "Oh the Places You'll Go," by Dr. Seuss and I repeated that theme when she graduated from high school.  Four years later, she's still goin'.

You're off to Great Places! Today is your day!

No virus, toilet paper shortage or social distancing will dampen her spirits.

When she had to exchange senior break, spring formals, and a graduation ceremony for on line learning, she returned home, enjoyed her loving family and added a cute little puppy to her life.

She's my glam girl, so there's a hint of sparkle in her cookie collection along with pearls and carnations, the flower and jewel of her sorority.

In a few months, she will be moving out of state to begin her new career with 3M.  I'm going to miss her, but I can't wait to see what the future has in store for this remarkable woman.

  
Congratulations to Kendall and the resilient class of 2020.

Sue is Amazing

My good friend and former colleague is retiring this year after 30+ years of service to Elk Grove High School.  Sue graduated from EGHS, raised her children in Elk Grove and said she was going to "walk" when her first grandchild graduated this year.

No one deserves a retirement celebration more than Sue, but the Coronavirus got in the way. Social distancing and shortages of crazy things like toilet paper may be our temporary "new normal". . .

but at least I can deliver some cookies to commemorate this milestone event.

Sue may be saying good bye to EGHS. . .

. . .and leaving the beloved Grenadier behind.  .  .

however, Sue is amazing, and there is no retiring from that.

Congratulations to a special person, may your future be filled with love, laughter, family, friends and beautiful beaches!

Avery Jaye is One!

It's been one short year since great niece, Avery Jaye, arrived, and what joy she has brought to our family.  In addition to Mom and Dad, she has a large extended family of grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins who love her.  Every time we see her, we are in awe of this special, little girl.

The year of her birth will be an interesting one for her to study when she gets older.  Here are just a few highlights:
-Lori Lightfoot became the first African-American, female mayor of Chicago
-the U.S. Women's soccer team won their second consecutive world championship, and fourth overall

-a record number of women were elected to serve in the U.S. Congress
-the first all female spacewalk
-President Donald Trump became the third President in U.S. history to be impeached
-16 year old, Greta Thunberg, was named "Person of the Year" by Time magazine

. . . and we all developed creative ways to practice "social distancing" as a result of the coronavirus pandemic that has gripped the world and altered our lives.  As a result, her birthday celebration was cancelled, and the special cutter that was purchased for her special day went unused.

However, we are all healthy and look forward to many future celebrations with this beautiful girl.

Avery has brought so much  joy, laughter and love into our family,  she is truly a blessing.  It's been so much fun watching her develop, I'm looking forward to the months ahead as she approaches "the terrible twos."

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO 

A VERY SPECIAL GIRL!

Easter During Social Distancing

We continue to be in the grips of the world wide corona virus pandemic, so "social distancing" forced us to cancel our usual large family Easter gathering. 

Although we could not all be together, I decided to play "Easter Bunny." No contact,  I rang doorbells and left a package on the porches of family members.

My sister, Rita has been working non-stop to create masks for health care workers, first responders, friends and family members.  Given a crisis, she is always there to help out, so I chose to include masked bunnies in her honor.

Great nieces Leann and Mary Grace said Easter just wouldn't be the same without an egg hunt and lamb cake, so, when I dropped off cookies for them, I left Great-Grandma O's vintage 1950s cake pan for them to use.  I love their cake!  Perhaps, it's time for the next generation to take on this annual family tradition.

Happy, healthy Easter to all.

Santa's Back

Santa's back this year sporting a stylish buffalo plaid hat!

I opted for cookie platters for the family this year, but I wasn't very happy with the outcome.  No matter how many times I arranged the tree, it just didn't look very appealing to me.  In addition, the holly berries look like Mickey Mouse. 

Although I made truck cookies in 2016 and 2015, red trucks seem to be everywhere this year, so here is my updated version.

A few snowman and snowflakes will guarantee a white Christmas!

Our Christmas celebration included a new addition to the family, great-niece, Avery.  Her "First Christmas" cookie was designed to mirror her signature style, a headband with a bow.

In past years, this cookie would have ended up in the reject pile once I smashed the bottom of the cookie.  However, I am now trying to remind myself that "it's just a cookie" and make the best of it.

The smashed foot gave me an opportunity to create a tag to add to her bagged cookie that included Lincoln, the family dog.

As Avery joined us this year, we lost her Great Grandpa just a few days earlier.  Dad, Grandpa, Great-Grandpa S.  .  .  forever in our hearts and in the stars. 

Merry Christmas one and all.

Women's Club Christmas Cookies. . .Ten Years and Counting

This year marks the tenth anniversary of baking Christmas cookies for my sister, Rita's Women's Club.   I thought it would be fun to take a look at the designs that I have shared with them to see how my cookie decorating has evolved.

The first year, I made several different designs, each bag having an "itty bitty" cookie with a larger design.  I also made a special set for a woman who was celebrating her 90th birthday.

The following year, I opted to make the same design for every guest at the party.  The Partridge in the Pear tree collection was fun to make and yet, I have never repeated it.  So many design choices for the holiday.

This Santa package shows the influence of "Spring Fling," a Cookie Convention that I attended in 2012.  We learned about creative packaging for our cookies and "toppers" are now a part of all my cookie favors,

I love, love, love this Santa and have repeated and improved upon the design over the years.

Since these cookies are for women, I decided it was time for Mrs. Claus to make an appearance.

The cookie topper had a picture of Santa and the Mrs. kissing under the mistletoe.

Santa in the chimney made his appearance in 2014.  This is the largest cookie I have ever made and I learned why there are so many large cookie cutters available.  The bigger the cookie, the easier it is to decorate.  However, I prefer smaller cookies, so I have not repeated this 4x6 inch design very often.

The peace dove that I made in 2015, is one of my favorite designs.  I love the simplicity of white cookies and the timeless message that I included on the cookie topper.

 

 

A cute little reindeer was the design I chose for 2016 with a silly topper that said:  One night a Viking named Rudolph the Red was looking out the window when he said, "It's going to rain."  His wife said, "How do you know?"  He replied,  "Because Rudolph the Red knows rain, deer."

 

In 2017, I prepared a cheerful snowman design."

 A traditional holiday favorite, a nutcracker appeared in 2018.

And in 2019, Santa returned wearing a stylish buffalo plaid hat.

Not sure if I can pick a favorite from this festive assortment, but I know I'm already thinking about what design I will choose next year.