winter break

Every day, I've been finding time to do a little knitting or spinning...(and sometimes watching other folks checking out my patterns!)

 A friend gave me this fabulous chestnut cream, so I turned it into icing for chocolate zucchini cupcakes and a little brioche shaped cake. I sent the professor and one twin (the healthy one) off in the snow to deliver a brioche shaped chocolate cake, iced with chestnut cream and topped with raspberries, to the friend who gave us the jar.  (ok, the cake was not as well cooked in the middle as it should have been.  I tried hard!)

Sadie the dog went to play at dog daycare on December 24th and ran and played her heart out.  They took this great photo of her. Today (Boxing Day), Sadie and I had a date to a pet shop where we bought her a new crate on sale.  We're hoping this one (her third!) works like a charm. She broke out of her first kennel, her secondhand second one was not in great shape...but she could use it, and we've gotten up to about 2.5 hours in the kennel at a time... so we went for this new hard-sided plastic one, on sale.  Here's hoping it works out!  (she counter surfs when left alone and loose in the house....)

Every day, one (very sniffly kid with a cold) has been practicing his hand writing.  He chooses a sentence or two to practice each day.  Click on the photo to see his work. I promise, I did not tell him to write these! (but I did make chocolate cupcakes with chestnut icing.  A bribe?!) 

I hope you're enjoying warm and cozy days off!