Happy Thanksgiving

 This year I am grateful for the Covid vaccine, good health, good friends and the opportunity to spend the holiday with my family. 

 

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Happy Birthday Chris!

A friend called and asked me to make cookies for a family member's 50th birthday. I said, "sure" thinking birthday---EASY! She then said, "Can you add a few that look like their dogs?"  Uh-oh, not so easy!  Katie sent this picture for inspiration. . .

I did the best I could, but I wasn't very happy with them.   Sheldon, the brown puppy looks like an alien! Fortunately, my friends aren't demanding, they said they were amazing.

                       

 

Happy Anniversary!

Congratulations to my nephew and his wife as they celebrate their 25th anniversary! 
 

Since my family is big on "traditions"--Lamb Cakes at Easter, Cheesy Potatoes (with onions and without),  Grandma O's Cheesecake. . . the vintage car cookie has become my anniversary cookie tradition.

The couple surprised their wedding guests when they arrived at the reception in an unusual way.  .  .

.  .  . so their cookie collection had golf carts, too.

                 Love, hugs and cookies to a special couple!

 

References:

Tutorial for the vintage car cookie can be found at https://www.lilaloa.com/2013/06/just-married-wedding-cookies.html

 

Logan's Graduation

Great-nephew Logan's path to a degree in finance included:  full-time instruction, a gap, part-time instruction, a pandemic and online learning.

The "road less traveled" continued when Logan opted to mask up and explore Hoover Dam, the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas, rather than donning a cap and gown for a socially distanced commencement ceremony.

Logan's non-traditional approach to his college degree, reminds me of these words by Robert Frost:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference 

Congratulations!

BEE Like Mary Grace

 

 

 

For a girl who has celebrated her birthday with pickles, pigs and brains, sixteen candles just wouldn't do!

 

Count them!  Sixteen happy, little bees adorn the letters.

 Great niece, Mary Grace, lives each and every day with these "hive" rules in mind.  .  .

Wishing an amazing young woman a very happy birthday!

Can't wait to see what the future has in store for this creative, loving, adventurous, busy bee!

Graduation Day at the University of Illinois

 

Today we are celebrating a memorable day with special friends.  Markos is graduating from the Gies School of Business at the University of Illinois.

Three U of I grades in three years  .  .  .way to go!

Big smiles on the faces of Mom and Dad as they put tuition payments behind them.

Congratulations to an amazing family!

 

Celebrating Megan's Graduation

Great-niece, Megan, is graduating today.

The ongoing pandemic brought new challenges for senior year, including:  remote learning, playing a saxophone while wearing a mask, virtual concerts and outdoor concerts, to name just a few.  Despite the "new normal," Megan has excelled.

Earlier this year, Meg received high praise for a video she created in her film class, so I decided to try to recreate her image in cookie form.

Since Meg is a musician, I included a cookie version of, Pomp and Circumstance, for her.

Meg's art work was selected to represent her high school in a juried art show, so black and white cookies were part of her collection.

I think of this cutter as my "Meg" cutter.  I purchased it for her 8th grade graduation and have never used it for anyone else.  With a few cuts here and there, I updated it for a more sophisticated look.  Ooops. . .I forgot to add eye glasses!

Finally, a few traditional caps, diplomas and flowers to round out her collection.

Best wishes to a sweet girl as she moves on to the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design. 

Love, hugs and cookies!