Berlin's Whimsy

Still tangled in loose ends.

That's my old wedding ring----the one I wore for over 17 years. And though my ring finger has remained empty for a year and a half now, my divorce is only now finally official in the courts of law. Yep, I'm officially divorced.

The notification came via cell phone one day last week when I topped a local hiking trail in the clear bright sun. Even in all of its potential glory, the news was a bit anticlimactic given all of the milestones I passed this year. Even so, it's official. It's over.

But not forgotten. No, I have many, many loose ends and complications to contend with. Even still. For you knitters out there, envision nearing the end of a very large knitted project with your very last ball of yarn---yarn that is a sold-out dye lot----only to find that the yarn is entangled in not only the vacuum cleaner but the garbage disposal, too. Yards and yards and yards of it. I'm now faced with either cutting my losses or ever so patiently, untangling the mess. Just another step in the incipient repercussions of divorce...

In Light of it.

Even with fairly warm temperatures outside, it's still the holiday season. (Am I right? What with our September-style weather, I wonder if we have entered into some new form of time!)... Winter, where for art thou?

What to do? Bring on the lights...

 

...and their magical transformation. 

Delicate.

I enjoy the delicate details of the holiday season---of winter. Snowflakes, both handmade and formed by nature.

Frosting bits here and there with sprinkles of sugar.

The thoughts of friends that spark new creations.

Winter light still shining. 

Cozy Holidays.

We hung our first bit of holiday decorations tonight. My son impressed us all with his intricate snowflake designs----a nod to his excellent origami skills, I suppose. As we sat around our small kitchen table, I thought of all the years I patiently helped them with this tradition... the many times the snowflakes were cut in two; the paper folded the wrong way; even fingers nicked with scissors. Tonight, however, it was my son who showed me new designs and helped his sister when she became confused in folding... Growing up.  

And even as cozy as our little snowflakes look in our front window, our house pales in comparison to the light displays of our neighbors! I'm living in a winter wonderland!

*******

A few of you asked for the recipe for Monkey Bread. I use a very basic bread recipe that I place in my bread machine. I set my machine for the "dough" cycle and when it is complete, I separate the dough into balls that are the size of ping pong balls. In this previous post, I explained the process of first dipping the dough balls in melted butter and then a mixture of granulated sugar, cinnamon and a hint of cardamom.

Here is the bread dough recipe:

Sweet Milk Bread

• 1 1/2 C. whole milk
• 2 T. unsalted butter, at room temp and cut into pieces
• 4 C. bread flour
• 2 T. sugar
• 1 T. + 1 tsp. vital wheat gluten
• 2 tsp. salt
• 2 1/2 tsp. SAF instant yeast

Place the ingredients into your bread machine according to your machine's guidelines and set the machine for the "dough" cycle. Alternatively, you can make this bread by hand: place all of the ingredients in a large bowl and mix until it comes together. Check the dough for proper consistency-----it should be a little on the sticky side. Knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic (when you pull up a piece of the dough, it should stretch readily without tearing).

Once again, this previous post explains the process of making Monkey Bread and if you have any further questions, please email me. Enjoy!

Much Ado about Nothing.

I joined the masses and created a Facebook account. That giant sucking noise you hear in the background is my time wasted away on that site---- it's very addictive. Who knew it would be so easy to keep in touch with friends and family far and wide?! Addictive and fun... Join me there if you wish.

And all of you fellow Flickrettes out there----am I alone in my dislike for Flickr's new interface? It's probably just my adherence to what I know, but I find it more cumbersome and complicated. I thought it would grow on me but it hasn't.

And lastly, I will post a full Monkey Bread recipe tomorrow (sorry it's been so long in coming for those of you that requested the full recipe)!