P365, Days 8 - 11

It seems easier this time around to get the shot to look the way I want. With the exception of Sootie on the 9th - his right eye could be a little sharper.

 

Sootie, looking pensive.

 

Serving bowl from Grandma Wilk's Spode. Beautiful cobalt blue against old ivory and cherry wood.

Sootie is a hard cat to photograph - either the black patches are featureless or the white patches are blown out. Plus, he likes to stick his nose in the lens.

One of last year's craft projects. Normally, I hate purple - it looks good against the French script paper, though.

Went to Gordon Park on Lake Erie, wildly underdressed. The wind was howling off the lake and the layers that were comfortable in Kent were no match for the screaming wind. A nice birder kindly pointed out the kittiwake. They're Atlantic coast seabirds and rarely come this far inland.

Christmas Cat, an Heirloom, Petals, and the Polar Vortex

The last of Christmas. Sootie loves hiding under the tree. All the ornaments on the bottom are indestructible, since he thinks they're his toys.

 

Used the flashlight in my iPhone to light the angel - notice the tiny cat she's holding. Thanks, Georgie!

 

Flowers are part on Apartment Therapy's January Cure, a small part. Most of the Cure is cleaning, throwing out junk and organizing. The flowers are out of Sootie-reach up on the mantel. He thinks fresh flowers are the kitty salad bar.

Yow! - The temperature Monday when I ran from the gym to my car. A minute and half to lung freeze.

 

The sugar bowl from Great-Grandma's tea and coffee service. Very reflective - needed a large diffuser to hide my bright red sweatshirt and bring down the highlights.

 

Enough for now - Goodnight!



Before They're Put Away...

P365 is on! I started yesterday and will be taking - and posting - a photo a day. Well, posting if they're not too heinous, anyway.

These are some of the new ornament from this Christmas, before they all get packed away.

Owls from Gale's in Willoughby Hills:

A partridge of mysterious origin:

Cute literate snowmen from Georgie:

A china bunny:

And a Kent black squirrel from Chuck:

It's ok if the Christmas stuff stays up 'til Epiphany, right? How 'bout Groundhog's day?

New Year's Day at Kendall Ledges

Cold and breezy, but a nice hike.

 

Chuck, checking his iPhone video. It wasn't actually snowing by the time we got to Kendall, but every time the wind blew, big clots of snow came tumbling out of the trees.

Chuck and me, cold, happy, and dusted with snow.

Christmas Day at Greg and Sheila's

Thanks for hosting Christmas dinner for the family - it was lovely!

Merry Christmas!

Red squirrel north of Beaver Marsh, Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

RussianTeacakes for Christmas

This recipe is from my Grandma Zdenka Kucera. She made them every Christmas, along with dozens of other delicious cookies and pastries. 

Ingredients

1 cup softened butter

½ cup sifted powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 ¼ cups sifted flour

¼ teaspoon salt

¾ cup ground walnuts

Directions

Cream the butter, powdered sugar and vanilla, using an electric mixer. Stir the salt into the flour. Add the flour mixture into the butter mixture, using a slow setting on the electric mixer. Mix in the ground walnuts. Chill dough.

 

Roll dough into 1” balls and arrange on a cookie sheet. Bake at 350° for 9 – 11 minutes, until set, but not brown. Cool on the cookie sheet for 1 -2 minutes, then allow to finish cooling on a rack.

When completely cool, roll twice in powdered sugar.

 

Makes about 4 dozen.

 

Notes:

Soften refrigerated butter for about 15 seconds in the microwave. It should be soft, but not melted. Don’t use margarine or light margarine.

Fluff the powdered sugar and flour with a fork before measuring. Level contents of the measuring cup with the straight side of a knife.

Pulse walnuts in a food processor to grind. The results should look like a nut meal, rather than chunks.

Cookies can be placed about 1 ½” apart as they do not spread very much in the oven.

Cookies are fragile when hot. Give them a minute or two to cool before transferring them to a rack.

Recipe can be double or tripled.

Use a sturdy stand mixer since the dough is quite stiff.