These cookies were so amazing! The recipe came from the June-July 2011 issue of MaryJane's Farm.
1/2 cup butter softened
1/2 cup sugar, plus extra for rolling the cookies in
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup molasses
1 egg
2 cups flour
2 1/2 tsp groung ginger
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
Preheat oven to 350F with rack in middle.
In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars. Add molasses and egg and beat until smooth.
In a medium bowl, mix flour and spices, baking soda and salt. Add to the butter mixture and stir until dough is thoroughly mixed.
With a medium scoop of dough, roll a ball about 1.25 inches in diameter. Roll in sugar and place on a cookie sheet. Flatten slightly with your fingers.
Bake on the middle rack, one cookie sheet at a time for about 13 to 15 minutes. Cookies should look slightly cracked.
Cool on cookie sheet for about 5 minutes and then transfer to wire cooling rack.
Makes approxiately two dozen.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Post-Recital run down
Caitlin had her dance recital today and it was a huge success. I was blown away by all the dancers, especially the advanced dancers. They were amazing. Caitlin's performances went really well, in spite of the fact that she was a nervous wreck. Originally, I was planning to watch the dances from the theatre and a friend was going to help Caitlin with her costume change but Caitlin wasn't ready for that. She insisted that I stay in the dressing rooms with her.
Her first dance was for Ballet III, done to "What I did for love". It was really beautiful. There were four girls in her class and the costume was this frothy, glittery, pink confection of a dress, complete with laced and beribboned choker and a tiara. Chin high, toes pointed, Caitlin nailed that dance.
It was the second dance that had Caitlin worried. For one, she only had three songs in between to do her costume change. Secondly, there was only one other girl in the class and the stage seems REALLY big when you are one of two people on it. Thirdly, on their first run through at the technical rehearsal, both girls sort of blanked on part of the dance and just stood there for a bit. This was remedied with a second run through and it was fine for the dress rehearsal but the seed of panic was planted.
So, Caitlin and her friend take the stage to dance to "Part of your World" for their Lyrical I/II class. And it is flawless. The girls are composed, fluid and graceful, moving effortlessly through their choreography, right up to the final pose. The other girl was to initiate their exit and she waited one moment longer than Caitlin was interested in staying on that stage. So Caitlin roughly jabs her with her elbow. She may have thought it was subtle but no one missed it. Everyone in the wings just cracked up.
And finally exiting the stage, she runs to her teacher and says, "It was great. I didn't have a heart attack."
So, she danced in the recital and lived to tell the tale. Actually, afterward, she was on a major high. She and her friend sang and flitted and danced all over the classroom where they were to wait while the other acts were on. It was such a joy to watch that part, too. I hope this positive experience helps prevent her from getting stage fright later on in her life.
Her first dance was for Ballet III, done to "What I did for love". It was really beautiful. There were four girls in her class and the costume was this frothy, glittery, pink confection of a dress, complete with laced and beribboned choker and a tiara. Chin high, toes pointed, Caitlin nailed that dance.
It was the second dance that had Caitlin worried. For one, she only had three songs in between to do her costume change. Secondly, there was only one other girl in the class and the stage seems REALLY big when you are one of two people on it. Thirdly, on their first run through at the technical rehearsal, both girls sort of blanked on part of the dance and just stood there for a bit. This was remedied with a second run through and it was fine for the dress rehearsal but the seed of panic was planted.
So, Caitlin and her friend take the stage to dance to "Part of your World" for their Lyrical I/II class. And it is flawless. The girls are composed, fluid and graceful, moving effortlessly through their choreography, right up to the final pose. The other girl was to initiate their exit and she waited one moment longer than Caitlin was interested in staying on that stage. So Caitlin roughly jabs her with her elbow. She may have thought it was subtle but no one missed it. Everyone in the wings just cracked up.
And finally exiting the stage, she runs to her teacher and says, "It was great. I didn't have a heart attack."
So, she danced in the recital and lived to tell the tale. Actually, afterward, she was on a major high. She and her friend sang and flitted and danced all over the classroom where they were to wait while the other acts were on. It was such a joy to watch that part, too. I hope this positive experience helps prevent her from getting stage fright later on in her life.
Monday, May 30, 2011
Photos from the backyard
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| Clothes drying on the line and blowing in the breeze. I just love how summery it feels to look at this. |
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| Our blueberries - and the inspiration for this blog. |
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| We've got to wait a bit before they ripen. |
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| Raspberries. |
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| Garlic |
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| Sunshine in a flower. |
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
More questions before 8 am than most people ask all day
It is 8:01 and already we have:
I would like to conclude by wishing their teachers good luck today.
- learned to ball a cantaloupe
- discussed Michael Pollen and what constitutes "Real Food"
- read a riddle and created our own variation
- asked and answered "what is irony"
- defined "garcon" and in what context it is used
- performed a scientific experiment - yes a cantaloupe rind will hold water without leaking
I would like to conclude by wishing their teachers good luck today.
Friday, May 13, 2011
Hike at Patapsco State Park
Since the girls had the day off of school, I decided to take them hiking to Patapsco State Park. We went to the Avalon/Orange Grove Area and it was just beautiful. There was a great playground and we did a hike along the Cascade Trail. There was a beautiful stream with lots of cascades and big rocks to climb. Plus, I packed brownies as a snack. Toward the end of the hike, Gwen started getting tired and she got a little cranky. Something had to be done. So, when the girls were a short distance ahead of me, I slipped behind a tree along the trail and waited. A few minutes later, Gwen starts screaming "MOM!" "MOM!" The girls head back along the trail. As they got close to where I was, I jumped out and scared them. They both had a good scream and then just started giggling. They just couldn't believe that I would play such a trick. They were laughing so hard they could barely breathe. Afterward, it was all they could talk about. We made it back to the car with no more fussing. And the girls have wonderful, fun memories of our hike.
Caitlin as Laura Ingalls Wilder
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Favorite character in "Tangled"
Tonight a friend asked Caitlin who her favorite character in "Tangled" is. I expected the obvious answer, the princess of course! What little girl doesn't like the heroine of the story, especially such a smart and beautiful heroine? Caitlin answered "Mother Gothel". Say what? The villain? Caitlin followed up with her reason, her voice. Mother Gothel has the most amazing, powerful voice and Caitlin knows the words to all the songs in the movie. Music-wise, Mother Gothel is definitely the star. I am so impressed that Caitlin was looking for something a little deeper than beauty in who she chooses as her favorite. Once again, I'm proud of my girl.
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