Cookies Baked, Books Read

I think this is the earliest I've ever gotten my Christmas baking done, and I'm feeling more than a little smug! The cookie tins went to the post office this morning, and there are plenty of cookies left for the plates we will make up for co-op friends and my parents (actually, the one below is for my parents).

 Really I only really baked butterballs (the white cookies with the chocolate tops). The saltine candy (with the pecans on top) only goes into the oven for five minutes, and the fudge (in the back, with a cranberry sticking out) is the easy kind with marshmallow fluff. And neither the orange balls (front right) nor the Oreo/Kahlua balls (back right) require more than shaping and rolling in powdered sugar. So I guess finishing quickly wasn't that much of a triumph. But they all taste very good, so maybe it doesn't matter that they were easy to make!

Here Katie is dipping pretzel sticks in chocolate and sprinkles, as gifts for friends. Good thing she's getting to it, or there soon wouldn't have been any pretzels left to dip!

I scheduled a slightly lighter-than-usual week this past week, to allow time for baking, but with two more co-op meetings before our Christmas break, history couldn't be neglected! We started the Cold War this week. Very interesting stuff. I don't think we ever made it past WW II when I was in school, so I expect to learn a lot this year! Here are some of the books we were reading last week.... 

 Katie is reading So Far from the Bamboo Grove for book discussion, and Travis is reading I, Robot for his Lost Tools of Writing II class (their next paper is a short story with the emphasis on character). The polio book is mine, and would not have been my first choice for this time of year but I placed a hold on it at the library a while back and it finally came in, so there you are!

And, a peek into my reality, here is what happens around my house when any books or papers are on the floor -- the cats feel compelled to walk on them. And lie down on them.

 Harry is wondering when I am going to sit down on the floor and read some of these nice books. And cuddle a cat. Or, even better, skip the books and focus on the cat. That is his commanding gaze.