Fruitcake Cookies

My wife's grandmother has a secret Christmas Cookie recipe. She got it from someone in her town in West Virginia many, many years ago. She was sworn to secrecy.

After decades, she told her daughter (my wife's mother), and finally my wife. They are a Christmas treat that I look forward to every year. My wife makes them now and sends a tin to her grandmother.

I've watched her make them, but I'll never tell what's in the recipe.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

The first big snow storm is always exciting.

Yesterday, the snow started falling in the afternoon and continued through the evening. We woke up to over a foot of snow on the ground.

We are supposed to get more snow tomorrow. It looks like winter is here - just in time for a White Christmas.

Decorating Gingerbread

Over the weekend, we went to dinner at a friend's house. They invite people over in December to eat and decorate Gingerbread Houses.

This year was great for creativity. One group designed a "Green" Gingerbread House complete with a water tank and solar panels. Another group abandoned the house and built a skyscraper out of wafer cookies and graham crackers.

We decided to focus on small detail and made an English country church. My wife and I were especially proud of the rose window - made with Fruit Roll Ups.

A tale of two Decembers

Last week, I started off in warm San Francisco and ended up in an ice storm in Boston.

In between meetings, I was driving in Palo Alto and took the picture above. I couldn't believe that the flowers were still blooming.

By the end of the week, I was back home and hunkering down through the ice storm. It started with just rain, but overnight the freezing rain coated everything with a 1/4 inch of ice.


We lost power for a short while, but didn't have any major problems. We have a wood burning stove which kept the house warm while the electricity was out. Some friends of ours are starting their 4th day without power.

The ice was beautiful, but it is causing a lot of problems here in Mass.

Hobee's Breakfast

I was in San Francisco Monday and Tuesday for some meetings.

Yesterday, I got a chance to go to Hobee's for breakfast. It is a popular place in the Bay Area and after eating there, I can see why. The food was amazing.

I decided to get Huevos Rancheros which, as you can imagine, is not frequently on the menu in New England. The dish is a made by putting black beans, cheese, eggs, sour cream, and chorizo in a tortilla. After I finished, I was full until dinner-time.

It gets cold in Ottawa

I flew to Ottawa yesterday for work.

While I was there, I learned that Ottawa is the second coldest capital city in the world. It also has a beautiful downtown.

As I walked in the city, I realized that I should have brought my winter overcoat.; it was cold. The wind was whipping through the city and was bone chilling. But, the buildings were spectacular to see, and it reminded me of being in Europe.


There is a canal that runs through the city center. During the winter, it freezes over and creates a long ice skating run. You can see in the picture below that it is just starting to freeze. If I go back, I'll bring my wool overcoat and maybe try skating.

English Butter Toffee

Let the Christmas treats begin...

After the Thanksgiving feast last week, I have been thinking it would be good to eat in moderation for a little while.

But, last night, my daughter announced that it was time to make some kind of Christmas treat. She convinced my wife that we needed English Butter Toffee.

So much for my thought about eating in moderation. I can't resist Toffee.