The Way to Happiness . . .?

“Idleness begets a life of discontent. It develops self-love, which is the cause of all our miseries, and renders us unworthy to receive the favors of divine love.” ~St. Ignatius Loyola

Our Uninvited Guest remains so . . .

 The cat that decided to make us his home is still with us. He is an old fellow, very mellow, and just wants his head rubbed and his chin scratched. He doesn't scratch or bite but is pretty definite about his likes and dislikes. Although we do not really want him, it has been cold and feeling sorry for him, we have provided a box with some old towels for him to sleep in at night. The rain we had yesterday made the day especially chilly so I gave the cat an extra old towel. He was already in the box so I placed the towel gently over his back. He started purring, curled himself into the new warmth . . . and suddenly jumped out of the bed and glared at the new addition to his stinky, comfy bed. He took himself to the opposite side of the front porch and remained there the rest of the day.

Just before we went to bed, I told my daughter to take the new towel out of the bed so the cat could go back to his abode and keep warm. She folding the towel and left it at the side of the porch. On the way to bed, I glanced out and the cat was sleeping on the rejected towel! When I got up in the morning, he was still shivering and sitting on the rejected towel instead of his warm box bed. My daughter said to not feel to sorry for the old cat as she had also checked on him during the night and he was sleeping in the box. I guess he didn't want us to stop feeling sorry for his plight.

Last Week's Quilt Project with Some Progress . . .

 It was a busy week but I finally found some time to work on the quilt requested by my husband. As I posted earlier in the month, he wanted a pattern that didn't made his eyes spin looking at it. In the matter of color and pattern, we are certainly a couple of 'opposites attract' on that level. He is more sedate in his color choices and I am not. That's what he gets for marrying someone who used to love painting abstracts! I still need to cut out more squares in order to construct the bigger squares but need to buy some new blue fabrics to avoid too much of the same old ones in the overall quilt. Gosh, does that mean I have to go to the fabric store? I am such a martyr for my craft, aren't I?

Completing a Crocheting Project . . .

I finished the edging on my second afghan project this afternoon. I still have lots of loose color change threads to weave in but the major work is done. It is interesting how a minor switch in the way I used the two colors came up with two different looking afghans even though the basic pattern and stitches were the same. I should have been sewing but I was watching a movie on television while I ate lunch and finished my food 15 minutes before the movie ended. So as not to feel too guilty about sitting there to see it to the finale, I grabbed my crocheting and kept my fingers busy!

Easy Almond Cookies

We got a tastes of winter, yesterday, with torrential rain for most of the day. It is still overcast today and cold - the perfect day to warm up the house with cooking and baking.

I think the scent of almond is one of my favorites. If it is in line with something baking in the oven, even better. This one covers both aspects and tastes like you fussed more than you did.

Easy Almond Cookies
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup finely ground toasted almonds
2 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

Preheat over to 325 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or use vegetable oil spray.

Cream together the butter, sugar, and flavories until light and fluffy. Stir in the almonds and flour and mix well. Roll into tablespoon balls of dough. Roll in either granulated or colored sugar. Place about twe-inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Gently press down a bit with the bottom of a glass.

Bake for approximately 15 minutes or so depending on size and thickness of cookies. They should be browned on the bottom and golden around the edges. Let them rest on the baking sheet for a few minutes before removing to cooling rack.

You should have about 3-3 1/2 dozen cookies.

Glaze
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
Enough milk to form a glaze.

Mix all the ingredients together until smooth. You don't want overly runny. Line your cookies up on a cooling rack set over sheets of waxed paper. You can either drizzle it over the cookies or spread it on.  You can dust them with ground almonds, slivered almonds, or colorful candy decorations.