Que Dieu Bénisse le Réchauffement Climatique.

It is a privilege and exhilarating pleasure to be outdoors today. There have been a lot of rain showers but it is 9:30 am and it is already 12° and today's high is expected to be 14°. It's amazing. In summer a day like today would be such a disappointment but in winter it is difficult to stay inside because it is so warm out there

Mon Emballage de Fête

I got bags from the dollar store to wrap the cookies you see in the previous post. And I made labels with the trade name "de ma cuisine," that bear my signature. They are 4" - 4.5" cookies.

See the cookies here and here.

Biscuits de Travail Intensif

Hours of work but LOTS learned. Now I will take some time off from baking and then return
to it with renewed vigour so as to have lots on hand for my Christmas gifts for friends. I am
 partial to only white Royal icing on sugar cookies whilst everyone else is all green & red.

Le Mars de Lundi

Je avais commencé une nouvelle tradition de titrage mes messages en français… même si mon écriture en français chutes courtes loin de la marque.

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At 8:30 am this morning it was already 11°. The Pineapple Express is here brining warm, warm air from Hawaii to our coast. I walked without a coat (out of necessity) on a grey day and discovered there is nothing like walking the seawall on a Monday morning early and during a break between raise storms. It may have been the least populated walk of the seawall I have ever had.

Even in winter, there is beauty on this wonderful wall walk. My last walk was during the raging storm and this morning there were three trucks of men fixing the broken sections of the retaining wall.

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From today's Huffington Post:

"Environment Canada is warning West Coast residents to brace for "an incredible series of storms" that will bring an "extraordinary" amount of rain this week. According to forecasters "an intense jet stream over the Pacific is gathering very warm moist air from southern latitudes." The warm subtropical weather pattern will "bombard the mountains of Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland from today through Thursday morning." Around Metro Vancouver, residents are warned to expect prolonged rain over the next three to four days, starting with 25 mm to 100 mm of rain by Tuesday morning."

Le Défi de Dimanche: Biscuits de Noël avec Glaçage Royal

The trick is perfectly even cookies or they burn wherever
they are thinner. Even rolling dough takes learning.

Making simple heartfelt gifts for close friends at Christmas is a joy. Today was a lovely sunny day in which to bake. In winter, one handy thing about baking in the afternoon is that the sun shines right through the oven window making it very easy to see exactly when to remove the cookies from the heat.

The results of the day: I have making the cookies down pat. And I can make perfect Royal Icing at outlining, top coating and flooding consistency really well (even if I do say so myself). But I am crap with the pastry bag and application of the icing. It may be that by the time I was ready to decorate, after a long day of measuring, mixing and baking, I was too tired for the detail work involved with decorating.  I will back to it today.

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On another front… I did something daring. I went on a date, 3 days into my 67th year. I met Tony on Craigslist in the "strictly platonic" section (Wherein so many people prove their lack of understanding of the term). He is a short, handsome, caring, very speedy extroverted Italian. I have my doubts that we will meet again. I am ambivalent but proud of myself for answering his ad and meeting him. Trying is good.

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Sunday brought proof of God's existence to the airwaves in Vancouver: Book of Mormon is coming to Vancouver in April. I think I will go twice. tickets go on sale at 10:00 am this morning. Yay!

Googled "Inexpensive Wrapping"

Cheap brown kraft paper with half-heart
cut outs and red glitter painted paper under
the flaps.

There are cheap rolls of black paper in craft stores.
Using a white pen makes for a "blackboard" look. 

Fingerprints of cheap poster paints plus a Sharpie
equals a Christmas light look.

I Love "Homeland"

CIA-issued, rectally-inserted "emergency kit."
And you think the long hours at work are bad.

I am binge-watching Homeland and could not be happier with my television.

Years ago, I gave up my car. Last February I stopped smoking dope (and vaporize instead), and in September I stopped eating bread and eating too many sweets. In November I gave up my land telephone line (and got an iPhone) and next may be cable. TV sucks, but Homeland is fabulous and by buying three seasons and watching them over a week-to-ten-days, I retain a lot of nuance to both the plot and characterization. (Plus, with Uncle Gus' Monkey having won a position with Praxis'  screenwriting competition, my accountant has informed me that movie tickets and video receipts are fully tax deductible.)

I also bought the British version of House of Cards (to avoid having to see Kevin Spacey).

Watching Homeland made me wonder about being a CIA agent. Hello Wikipedia and your links. What you see above is a CIA-issued rectally-inserted CIA "emergency kit." It has made me start to believe everything I see on the show.