w00t w00t booyah

Home stretch! Or, if you're me - AAAAAAAAAA.

How about putting something on your outdoor trees? We put lights - but how about edible goodies the birds might enjoy?

You've got popcorn lurking in your cupboard, right? Cranberries are kind of pricey this year, but if you don't have popcorn, I feel sorry for you.

Don't discount rolling some pine cones in peanut butter, then birdseed.

We also have squirrels, so tying a string around some baby carrots and hanging those makes sense too. Not to mention some peanuts in the shell.

Get creative - post pictures - and I'll see you tomorrow!

I don't think I've ever been to a Target when they were OUT of gift cards. Until now. Wow.

I mean, out. Completely. Nothing left. At all.

So, I guess I need to make my own, neh?

Here's an idea, but - to be truly green, you'd email that sucker, right?

"A favor to be claimed at a later date." It's kinda dangerous, but it's the holidays.

Enjoy - and see you tomorrow!

Need an idea for a 'new' traditional cookie? Or maybe you've been invited to a cookie party and the chocolate-chip ain't cutting it anymore

Food Network does an annual '12 Days of Cookies' - and this year, it looks like they archived all the years together.

(This also makes a nice gift if you print the recipes off. Just saying.)

Enjoy - and see you tomorrow!

Need an idea for a 'new' traditional cookie? Or maybe you've been invited to a cookie party and the chocolate-chip ain't cutting it anymore

Food Network does an annual '12 Days of Cookies' - and this year, it looks like they archived all the years together.

(This also makes a nice gift if you print the recipes off. Just saying.)

Enjoy - and see you tomorrow!

You know I still work in some Sims 2 action now and again, right?

Garden of Shadows is doing another AMAZING Advent project. You really ought to go look.

Here you go.

Enjoy - and see you tomorrow!

Honestly. You've got flour, butter and sugar in your pantry, don't you?

A little salt, maybe - and you're in business. You've got presents. Well, you have to bake them first, but seriously. You don't have those things in your kitchen all the time? You drive your car on empty too, don't you?



1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

Preheat oven to 300°F. Lightly butter 9-inch-diameter springform pan. Whisk flour, sugar, and salt in medium bowl to blend. Add 1/2 cup butter and rub in with fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal. Gather dough together and form into ball; flatten into disk. Roll out dough on lightly floured surface to 1/2-inch-thick round. Transfer round to prepared pan. Using fingers, press dough evenly over bottom to edges of pan. Using tip of small sharp knife, score dough into 8 equal triangles, then pierce all over with fork. Bake until shortbread is cooked through and pale golden, about 45 minutes.

Using tip of sharp knife, cut warm shortbread into triangles along scored lines. Run knife around shortbread to loosen. Cool in pan at least 30 minutes. Release springform pan sides. Using spatula, carefully remove shortbread from pan (shortbread will be fragile).

--

This stuff is amazing dipped in Nutella. Just saying.

Enjoy - and see you tomorrow!

Honestly. You've got flour, butter and sugar in your pantry, don't you?

A little salt, maybe - and you're in business. You've got presents. Well, you have to bake them first, but seriously. You don't have those things in your kitchen all the time? You drive your car on empty too, don't you?



1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

Preheat oven to 300°F. Lightly butter 9-inch-diameter springform pan. Whisk flour, sugar, and salt in medium bowl to blend. Add 1/2 cup butter and rub in with fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal. Gather dough together and form into ball; flatten into disk. Roll out dough on lightly floured surface to 1/2-inch-thick round. Transfer round to prepared pan. Using fingers, press dough evenly over bottom to edges of pan. Using tip of small sharp knife, score dough into 8 equal triangles, then pierce all over with fork. Bake until shortbread is cooked through and pale golden, about 45 minutes.

Using tip of sharp knife, cut warm shortbread into triangles along scored lines. Run knife around shortbread to loosen. Cool in pan at least 30 minutes. Release springform pan sides. Using spatula, carefully remove shortbread from pan (shortbread will be fragile).

--

This stuff is amazing dipped in Nutella. Just saying.

Enjoy - and see you tomorrow!

What's wrong with a good book? Particularly if it's one you haven't read - or may not have even known about?

Or maybe, out of print. Welcome to the lovely world of used books.

If it must be online, it must be Abebooks, my go-to for anything I really don't absolutely have to have brand new. Seriously. They even do textbooks -

I love getting books as gifts - as much as I love giving them away, perhaps with a few teabags or a scented candle tucked away in the box with it. Portable, durable - and sometimes, the best stories are not the ones written, but the clues left by prior owners between the pages.

I've gotten more than one book of poetry inscribed from a teacher to a student (and some of them, oh so long ago), parent to child, friend to -

Some of the best moments are noting what was highlighted or underlined.

So, no. There is no such thing as a 'bad used book.' Let your fingers do the walking through either the search engine of your choice or the yellow pages, find that used book store near you and rummage at will.

Enjoy - and see you tomorrow!

The original upcycle - go to your local thrift store and find something to make anew.

This is where you can start.

Think a moment. Stuff like Aloha shirts? Dude, I founded on them while I was in Kona for a pittance of what they go for new. Picked up one that easily was a $200 shirt new for $5.

I remember the year I went in and cleared them all out of mugs, just to fill them with trail mix and give them away.

Surely, you have ideas of your own?

Share - and I'll see you tomorrow!

The original upcycle - go to your local thrift store and find something to make anew.

This is where you can start.

Think a moment. Stuff like Aloha shirts? Dude, I founded on them while I was in Kona for a pittance of what they go for new. Picked up one that easily was a $200 shirt new for $5.

I remember the year I went in and cleared them all out of mugs, just to fill them with trail mix and give them away.

Surely, you have ideas of your own?

Share - and I'll see you tomorrow!