Today’s a special one in the “December Delights” series because it’s my Dad’s birthday! So pause a moment to wish him well, please.
As I continued my baking extravaganza today, I took a moment to add pasta sauce to the Reverse Advent Calendar box. It’s full to overflowing now – I’ve got to get a bigger box! – and I’ll continue to build it until Boxing Day, when the whole kit and caboodle goes over to my church where boxes will be collected, sorted, and delivered to the Shepherd’s Table food bank here in town.
For today’s Diva drill, after the final cookies had cooled, I packed some tins and did a “December Diva dash” to drop off an assortment to several friends in town. Due to Covid, it was a “dash” instead of a more customary visit, but I was pleased to be able to spread some cheer this way. I’m not usually much of a holiday baker, but Covid has changed so much for so many of us. Over the past few days, I’ve made batches of six different delectables – here’s hoping they’re enjoyed! (The dark chocolate-espresso bites with the peppermint buttercream and crushed candy canes – wow!)
From the bookshelf, I chose Carl Sandburg’s Harvest Poems, which contains a number of my favorites of his. Sandburg spent his final years in western North Carolina not far from where I live – his house in Flat Rock, Connemara, is well worth a visit. (His wife, Lilian, was as famous in her circles as Carl was in his – she was greatly admired for her advancements in the breeding of dairy goats and their home in Flat Rock contained pastures and barns for her livestock.) “Four Preludes on Playthings of the Wind” is, without a doubt, one of my all-time favorite poems (it inspired a musical piece I’d love to hear someday), and I have over a dozen of the poems in this book dog-eared for quick reference.
Holiday prep – well, now. I live in a neighborhood that has started getting funky with its Christmas lights. A few years back, it became a thing to hang large spheres of chicken wire covered in Christmas lights high in the trees. As more and more people did it, the street has taken on an almost fairyland look. This is “Peach Street,” so you can imagine the fruity centerpiece to this display. Early this evening, I went that way and took a few pictures.
We all could use a little fairy magic this year.
Come back tomorrow!
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