I started some Holiday baking today. When I started I had a hard time finding all of my recipe cards. Most of the recipes that I like I've gotten from other people, and I NEVER get out a cook book. But it occurred to me today that I should take some time as I cook or bake put these recipes together into a book of my own including pictures. Creative Memories Storybook has a recipe book template to even help me. I'm so excited to get all my recipes down into a book... even some of my mom's and grandma's that I love. And then I will use a book to cook, my book.
These are a couple of the cookies that I made today. I had to do some baking for Josh and I this weekend... so these aren't for US to eat... but I sure do love this time of year - just for the BAKING!
When I was a kid my family drove up into the Montana mountains and we walked through the snow(most years) and we picked out our tree in the forest and cut it down, and put it on my dad's trailer and drove it home.
I have wanted to do this with my own kids for a few years, but they've always seemed to little to do it. I decided that this was the year to start. So, I found out where to get a permit and I bought three, one for us and the other's for friends. Now, it's actually very cheap to do this. It costs $5 for a permit, and then just the cost of gas to drive up the mountain, which with falling gas prices, isn't to much.
I think that my kids enjoyed this, and I hope we do this for many years to come. I did learn that as a kid I remember the trees being big and full and so pretty... and I was always so proud of our tree. When we drove up the mountain this last Saturday the trees didn't look like I thought they would, they were more "Charlie Brown" like. So, after coming down the mountain, I called my mom. And she let me know what the trees really looked like when I was a kid, and they too were "Charlie Brown" like. But to a kid, I think that the journey up the mountain, and looking for the "best" tree is all part of it, and is much more meaningful then finding a full and expensive tree in a tree lot. (the picture of the car with a tree on top is one of our friends driving down the mountain in front of us... I thought it was a cool picture.)
All of us wives... holding the chainsaw!
Back home in the living room stands our tree that we picked in the wild and cut down and brought home... this is taken with no decorations.
