December 2, 2009

I've been AWOL a third time. Once again this year life has thrown me a huge curve ball. I wish it wasn't so. My mother passed away following surgery in July, just two months after my best friend, Pam, lost her fight with breast cancer.

My mother

Needless to say, this has been a very tough year. The two deaths in such quick succession has literally punched the breath out of me. I've been dealing with the settling of my mother's estate which is pedantic and time-consuming, hence very little time on line. Soon most of the issues will be resolved and her things distributed, then I will be able to clean out the house and put it on the market for sale.It's all very sad and the holidays have been more problematic then I thought they would be.


My friend, Pam

I spent Thanksgiving with my cousin, Jim, and his wife Mary and some of her relatives. Rachel, Pam's daughter, and I will celebrate Christmas Eve together. On Christmas Day I will fly to Baltimore to spend about 5 days with my brother and his family. All of the traditions have changed, on a dime, and I'm reeling. I'll have to develop new traditions and expand my circle of friends.

There is one new member of the "family" and that is a 2009 silver Toyota Venza, dubbed Sylvia. She has every single bell and whistle I could get, minus the DVD player in the back seat. I love the "hiney heaters!" It is a pleasure to drive a brand-new vehicle. She has all-wheel drive and a V-6, too, so this year I won't be daunted by inclement weather. I'm enthralled with Sirius XM radio and love the little docking station for my iPod.

The "girls", Kit Kat and Cinnamon, are fantastic and fun, and I'm so grateful to have two lovely snuggle partners.

I hope all of you are hanging in there, counting your blessings, keeping the faith, and taking time to smell the roses while bypassing the thorns. Life is short, my friends, and I am bound and determine to squeeze every drop of goodness I can out of it. I think Rachel and I may do a Disney World trip in January. I am going to Mexico for two weeks with my cousin, John, and his wife, Kathy. They are some of the best folks I know to travel with! I plan on 2010 being the year to reinvent Rose.

Peace to you and yours.

Happy Holidays.

Rose

RASPBERRY MERINGUE KISSES


3 egg whites
1/8 tsp salt
3-1/2 tablespoons raspberry Jello (powder)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp white vinegar
1 cup miniature dark chocolate bits

Tip: If you don't have parchment paper, use clean brown paper bags cut into single sheets to line the cookie sheets.

Set oven to 250°. In large mixing bowl, beat egg whites with salt until foamy. Gradually add the raspberry Jello and granulated sugar to mixture. Beat until stiff peaks form and sugar is completely dissolved. Mix in vinegar. Fold in chocolate bits. Cover cookie sheets with parchment paper. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto lined cookie sheets. Bake at 250° for 25 minutes. Turn oven OFF, leave cookies in oven 20 minutes longer. Cool on wire racks. Store in airtight container. Make about 9 dozen cookies.

I had the good fortune to adopt two cats in March 2008 from a Humane Society shelter.


Cinnamon is three years old, a marmalade tabby, shy, skittish, delicate, with baby-like fur, and the instigator of all things naughty. She loves anything stuffed with catnip and crunchy Friskies treats. She is deathly afraid of the vacuum cleaner and televisions. In nine months she's snuck into the garage 3 times and it takes forever to coax her back into the house.


Her younger sister is Kit-Kat, a calico tabby who has two speeds: Off and High. Kit-Kat is two years old, has thick, glossy fur, and can't pass up a toy if her life depended on it. She has already used up a number of her 9 lives, one of which was expended by flying off my second-floor loft without a parachute, and landing on a table lamp one story below.