Friends, Food, and a Project

The week is nearly gone and I have not even begun to wrap gifts yet! Yep, the other room is overrun with boxes. I’ve got to get in there and get things condensed and begin wrapping because Liam is coming to spend a few days and he sleeps in that room.

I made an amazing cake last weekend! No! Really! It was delicious. So much so that I am planning to make another this weekend. I’ll share more about it later.

Even though you cannot tell it very well in this picture, it is a two layer cake and uber moist!!! Delicious! I hope it turns out as well next time.

On the day we moved into our home in Oklahoma, a family moved in next door that night. We lived beside each other for eight years. I was honored to be a part of their lives. This week I got a message from one of the daughters, now married, that she was in town and would like to visit. Not only that but she had her ~3 month old son with her AND her sister and her 1yos were there too!

I was so excited to have the opportunity to meet their children and hug their necks and visit for a while! So, Tiffany and I left early on errand day to have breakfast with this beloved family. I took THM Cinnamon Bundt Cake with me. I was a bit nervous sharing it because it is sugar-free and has no wheat either. Unfortunately I ran low on butter extract so it did not taste as glorious as it did on Thanksgiving morning but it was gobbled up all the same. I did manage to get a couple slices home for Michael and Sean to enjoy.That’s the picture from Thanksgiving morning. The glaze was darker when I made it this week. As I said, everyone liked it, sugar-free and all. It was a nice, well-rounded breakfast complete with strawberries & bananas, a veggie fritata, bacon crumbles, and cheese. As usual, we dine well together.

It was so nice to catch up with them, hold their children, and love on them all. It was a good morning and over all too soon. I’m already looking forward to the next time we will be able to visit, even though I know it will be a long way off. Of course, I would like to commit to keeping in touch but realistically, it’s not going to happen–I’m just not good at that sort of thing. Their mother and I don’t stay in touch and we live in the same state. These two girls live out of state.

Afterward Tiffany and I ran errands in record time. I tried to spend a lot less this week and am sad that I only manage to shave about off about twenty-five percent of what I usually spend. We made breakfast last until 2:30 and we got a rotisserie chicken from Wal-Mart and devoured that poor bird in the car.

Michael finally got around to refinishing our kitchen table. That poor thing has been so abused. We have had it for twenty years though. It had burn marks and scratches and who knows what else. He had trouble getting the surface clear enough to stain it. We went with a reddish stain. And I have to admit, it looks much richer than it ever did before.

They were putting the legs back on it here. I didn’t get a picture of it after they’d finished. Michael is making us baby it though. He even had me dig out some place mats. I hope this doesn’t last too long, although I completely understand.