Cranberry Bliss Bars - I picked one up from Starbucks for my daughter pre-dress rehearsal after I forgot to feed her. We were both surprised at how good it was. I searched for recipes and settled on this one. I made a half batch, worried that we would eat the whole thing and it's a good thing I did because we ate the whole thing. They were a hit all around and voted immediately onto the permanent Christmas cookie list.
Excuse the crummy photo, if you please.
Beeswax Candles - I'm kind of over making beeswax candles, apart from tea lights, but my children wanted to dip tapers a la Tasha Tudor. I set them up on the coldest day and then had to run and feed the baby. I don't know what happened in my absence, but we did not end up with many elegant taper candles. Shrug. They are beautiful when lit and the children had fun. I will be cleaning sticky beeswax off the floor and porch for months.
Aside: Have you ever read a biography of Tasha Tudor? It is interesting to see how much calculated effort she put into creating the life portrayed in her books. It's less romantic and natural than it appears, particularly the bit about marriage. That's kind of encouraging, isn't it? I mean to know that all this fairy tale childhood stuff doesn't necessarily come naturally, even to those who promote it? Children rarely pay attention to how hard their parents are working for anything so they probably gloss over the mess and whispered curses. So probably if I don't remind them that St. Lucia's day is today then no one will care if we miss it this year.
We are on break from school until Epiphany. Or rather, we were on break. We decided, much like the March girls, that unlimited free time puts everyone in a foul mood. So we are reinstating a mini school day from 9:00-10:00 every morning. No lesson plan, but work will be done in addition to stepping up household chores. I love that my children have learned, in a very real way, how much happier they are when they work hard and contribute to the family's well being.
