Maybe I'm back?

I think I might be ready to start writing more often, thanks to inspiration from a distant but very friendly friend. He just started a blog and has been telling delightful stories from his childhood. Reading his charming posts makes me want to write again. Now, if only I could find something to write about. Here I go...squeezing my eyes shut, holding my nose & taking a deep breath before the plunge.......

Mostly what's on my mind today is getting well. I've been one kind or another sick this month (including while visiting son in New York) and it's getting old. The bright side is that my calendar is nice and empty, a true luxury! Thus I am able to stay in bed for all the rest I might need and occasionally foray out to a Room I'm working on. There is a LOT of sorting to do in that room and I rarely have time to concentrate on it. So yay on me!

I've found a new system for sorting papers. In 'the Room' I have a lot of stacks of papers that have been willy nilly, going wherever they wished, for the last 2 years. They are finally all in one place, but they look daunting! I usually open the door, take one look, turn around and go back to the hallway. So a couple days ago I emptied a stack that was on my rocking reading chair. The papers got dispensed with in mere moments so it seemed like I was on to something. The next round consisted of picking up another handful of papers and doing the same thing...simply taking them where they belonged. Including in the wastebasket. Again, yay me!

But a glitch loomed...I had to quit before the handful was gone. So I put it on the empty rocking chair, a risky move to re-clutter something that was just de-cluttered. But it worked perfectly: now when I go in the room, I just head for the bite-sized project that got left on the chair. Ie, I no longer am repelled by the sight of mountains of paper. Genius. Or at least determination.

Here are 3 pictures from my trip to NY. Claudine with a bindi on her forehead, Mia holding on to a flagpole in the park, and Claudine/me playing with Facetime on my iPhone.

Today I have to decide what to make for Christmas food gifts. I have my heart set on making a loaf each of every quick bread recipe in my new cookbook but Dan has diplomatically (for real!) cautioned me to approach it as simply as possible. Hmf. That's boring, but I know he's right. I'm leaning towards my wildly famous carrot cake. Or soon to be wildly famous. No cream cheese frosting on these...instead a refreshing lemon glaze. In fact I'll copy it for you:

Carrot Walnut Bread
From Ladies’ Home Journal in probably the 60’ or 70’s
1 loaf
350 for one hour

1 c. vegetable oil
¾ c. sugar
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla
1½ c. flour
1 ½ t. b. soda
½ t. cinnamon
½ t. salt
1 ½ c. grated carrot (3 large)
1 ½ c. ground walnuts
Lemon glaze

1. Grease a loaf pan, dust lightly with flour.
2. Combine oil, sugar, eggs and vanilla.
3. Sift flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; add to sugar-oil mixture.
4. Stir in carrots and nuts
5. Mix JUST til blended.
6. Turn into pan.
7. Bake at 350 for one hour or til center springs back.
8. Cool in pan 10 minutes.
9. Cool completely on wire rack.(see "My way" below for another option)
10. Top with lemon glaze.

Lemon Glaze:
Combine ½ c. powdered sugar, 1 t. grated lemon rind and 1 T lemon juice in small bowl; stir til smooth; drizzle over top and sides of bread.

My way:
Cool the cake in the pan. After cake is partially cooled (keep it in the pan) poke holes in the cake and drizzle the glaze over top and sides.

There. Whew.