Goodbye 2016

Say goodbye to year 2016.

The year I turned 60 is over and done and 61 takes over from here as of this very day. I can't predict what the future will hold. I can only make some choices along the way and see how they play out over the course of the coming year. I somehow managed a few things this past year I might not have accomplished if I hadn't made the choices I did during 2016.

I whined for years to myself and others how I would like to run another half marathon. I got down to business this year and ran it October 22, 2016. I almost let the year get away from me but when I knew the date of this race I figured out a training plan with the weeks left before that date to get ready. It was a tough race with many hills. I did it. That was what I wanted to do. In the past I would have whined about how I didn't have enough time or placed some other obstacles to make it impossible for myself to do it the way I had before but I figured there was nothing to lose except my whining. It worked. I got it done.

I also started the year off with a mileage goal. I calculated the average number of miles I have run the past six years and it is about 560. I thought I would go for 800 miles this year. It was aggressive for me but I figured what could it hurt. My last run for the year was this morning and it gave me a total of 770 miles for 2016. I was short of my goal of 800 but how can I not be more than satisfied that I was able to improve by so many more miles even when I am so much older than I was six years ago?

I'm not sure what made any difference this time around but somehow putting some plans into action did the job. I figured if it didn't work I couldn't be any worse off than my average. No one would be the wiser if I didn't run another half marathon or if I ran my 560 mile average. It wouldn't be any big loss except there were no loss this year. There were only big gains.

It's time to say goodbye to a good year - 2016. It's almost over with only a few hours to spare. Sixty years and I might have learned a thing or two. Now to use that momentum into my new improved age of sixty-one.

Hello there, 2017. What do you have planned?
TT

Chocolate,Cinnamon, Hazelnut Thumbprint Cookies

These handy little morsels were the hit of the holiday season. It's a new recipe I tried and somehow it worked so well I repeated the recipe to make up for all the supply and demand. There was much demand after that first batch and I made more to keep everyone satisfied.

It's a cocoa powder based chocolate cookie with butter and cinnamon...lots of butter and cinnamon. That combination seemed to be the addicting ingredient. It has a few steps but after I increased the cinnamon and reorganized the procedures in the recipe it turned into a great little rich and decadent cookie!
Here it is...

1 cup sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter (room temperature)
1 large egg
1 Tbsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp kosher salt
2 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup hazelnuts

1/3 cup sugar
2 tsp cinnamon

4 oz (1 cup) semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
2 Tbsp hazelnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease baking sheets.
Beat sugar and butter till pale and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla. Add all dry ingredients and then hazelnuts until combined.

Mix 1/3 c sugar and 2 tsp cinnamon in small bowl. Roll heaping Tablespoon size round of dough into balls and roll in sugar. Bake 2" apart for 12 minutes turning baking sheets half way through baking time.


Make indentation with melon- baller in each cookie and remove from cookie sheets onto wire rack.



Heat chocolate chips with butter until melted and combined. Pour spoonful into indentation at center of each cookie and sprinkle with hazelnuts. Let cool for 20 minutes until set.



There is something about finding a new recipe that warms and comforts. It's especially nice around the holiday season when they can be enjoyed by all. Happy Holidays!
TT

Warm Retreat

Did I mention I put up all the Christmas decorations already? It's slightly early for me since I usually don't tackle that until the weekend before December 14th but this year it felt like it should all go up earlier. It's now arranged in all it's sparkling glory practically singing out from the corner where the tree is placed. I even started baking some cookies and made a hearty pot roast for Saturday nights dinner.

The dip in temperatures, the time change, and getting over a sinus cold seemed to have put me back a bit but I think I am over those hurdles. The sinus is almost all cleared up again, the time change is becoming more routine, and the colder temperatures will rise and fall. I have my warm retreat of sparking glory to come home to where I can sit and crochet, read, or bake. It's another part of the year. 

TT

Lapse

You can see how quickly this month might move along since I already missed a day. Umm, what happened to Friday, yesterday?

I'm not sure I can blame this lapse wholly on this fast moving month but also due to the fact (besides pure age) that I am in the (hopefully) last days of fighting an obnoxious cold that has lodged in my nose. It has caused extreme lack of energy, wanting to nap continuously, running for kleenex when my nose decides to be completely stuffed and dry one moment and a liquid faucet in the next. I haven't been at my best but I'm convinced it's almost all in my past. I would like to think of it as yesterday, which would mean I don't remember much of it at all at present.

I have things to do!
TT

Dec 1st

Here is the first day of the last month of this year. It's going to be the typical fly-by since it is so packed with happenings. We need to find extra time for decorating and baking, planning and presents. I am taking the entire last week of the month off from work. I hope I can hold out that long. I know I need it already!

TT