She and the Rancher went to town yesterday and did some grocery shopping. They bought a nice turkey and a ham, and all manner of vegetables and other tasty things. The Bag Lady is going to bake shortbread and some pastry (butter tarts, her favourite!) and do a few other preparatory things today. Tomorrow she has another appointment with the physiotherapist early in the day, then she will come home and do the few last minute things before she and the Rancher sit down in front of the woodstove for a quiet Christmas Eve.
She wanted to share what it looks like when it's really cold in town, so here's a picture she took yesterday:
She was trying to capture the way the smoke from the lumber mill is flattening out due to the warmer air above it. Of course, she missed a whole bunch of really cool pictures, but what else is new?
24 comments:
such a beautiful picture.
because Im safely ensconced in my warm office in a city where the high is 40 today :)
xo xo,
Miz.
oh, yummy, butter tarts!!
I'm with you on the slacking and the hurried work of making up for lost time.
Merry Christmas, and stay warm! :)
My mom makes awesome butter tarts...Too bad we can't get home this year so I won't get any...Wonder if she would bake some to send over with my sister when she comes for New Years...Hmmm........
:)
Miz!! Our temps are the same.... oh, wait, you mean 40 ABOVE zero...
kcinnova- Merry Christmas to you and yours, too.
Java Chick - my mom made awesome butter tarts, too. Must be the Nova Scotia connection!! I keep trying to make mine taste as good as hers.....
I don't know about you BagLady, but this cold crap can just get out of here now. It's December and we are already down to the single digits and below zero wind chills. I can't even imagine what it must be like in your neck of the woods.
It will be good and warm in your home today once the baking starts.
Tom - it's now been 10 days of unrelenting cold here - I've certainly had enough. The Rancher said that hopefully this extended cold will kill off the damned pine beetles that have been decimating the forests. At least the bitter cold is good for something!
Must get to baking.....
It DOES look cold. Much easier for us to appreciate the beautiful winter light all tucked up and warm! Well, maybe not me in my ice cave at the moment...
I am doing baking tomorrow too! I'm making an apple and berry crumble (vegan friendly) for Boxing Day and my lemon cheesecake for Christmas Day. What is a butter tart? It sounds yummy...
TA x
TA - you've never had a butter tart?! Actually, you probably have, except called something else. They are tarts with raisins (or currants) in a syrupy, sugary goodness. Some people put nuts in them, too. I don't. I'm nuts enough.
I could feel the cold in the pic, df Bag Lady. I could smell it too. That is, I could feel the dry air and the trapped exhaust and whatnot fumes. Well done.
Good luck - I'm sure it will all come together. I've been in baking sewing mode too...no butter tarts tho. I'm jealous...I love butter tarts.
We have the cold here too...I had to drag out the skipants to catch the bus today...it's a balmy -34 (-45 with the wind)!
It's a great picture.
And I don't think I've ever had a butter tart (and looking at your description of them, I know I haven't).
I'll be heading somewhat North of Philadelphia today, and I'll be thinking of you when I'm internally whining about the cold.
dfLeah - I didn't get the camera out fast enough - could have had a very cool (hehehe) photo of the sun peeking through the exhaust from a bunch of vehicles. Missed opportunity.
Geo - brrr - I would definitely be wearing the ski pants, too! Good luck with all your sewing/baking projects.
Tricia - have a great holiday - stay warm! Bundle up and try to remember - it could be worse, you could be in Northern Alberta!! :)
BL,
I've never had a butter tart either but with a butter right in the name, how can you go wrong? You can't, really.
As for the cold and the snow, here in Minnesota we are getting it but good. Unfortunately, I am one of those annoyingly upopular freaks who doesn't mind. I love all 4 seasons and the gifts they bring. Plus it's hard for me to whine about the weather when one of my friends is dying of cancer and another is stationed in Afghanistan. I figure, I got it pretty good despite the sub-zero temps. (See? I said annoying AND unpopular. Everyone probably hates me now! Oh well.)
Have a great quiet holiday out there on the ranch. Cheers to you!
A quiet Christmas Eve in front of the woodstove! Sounds perfect!!!
Lucas - everything is relative, isn't it? We are suffering through this cold snap, but it's more of an annoyance than a hardship. We have heat, and electricity, and our health. I think you have the right attitude!
We should all be grateful for the good things we have, rather than focus on the bad.
Missicat - I am really looking forward to spending a nice quiet evening in front of the woodstove, in preparation for the onslaught of food, family and fun on Christmas day!
Did you check out my Xmas card? :-)
Cold cold!
My mums pastry is the best part about the pie. Regular old pie I could take or leave- but when it's quality PASTRY then I'm all over it:)
Good luck with your final preparations!
Missicat - your card is adorable! I'm jealous.
Sagan - my mom made the best pastry, too! I struggle every year, trying to get mine like hers. Sometimes I manage, sometimes.... not so much.
:)
I thought a low of 4F this week was quite bad enough. I got out my down coat that I haven't worn since I visited a friend in Wheeling WV during their record cold of the 20th century--a low of -24F. I stayed warm outdoors. I went for a walk over the Ohio River when the high got up to -10F, and stood still looking down at the ice for almost twenty minutes before I had to get moving again.
I haven't done any baking yet. I'm going to cook the turkey this afternoon, though, in case the freezing rain amounts to anything and the electricity goes off. I can heat up food on top of the wood stove, but I can't roast a turkey that way.
Mary Anne in Kentucky
That photo capture the cold very well...too bad it won't hang onto it. I truly hope the rancher is right and this kills the pine beetle. Out forests are suffering enough with the infestation known as man.
Mary Anne - sounds like you are well prepared! Hope your ice storm doesn't materialize and that you have a great Christmas!
Reb - we were posting at the same time.
I hope the bugs are eradicated, too - our forests ARE suffering enough.
Merry Christmas, BL and Rancher. I hope you have a wonderful holiday.
Might you photograph the yummy butter tarts and share, please? I haven't the time to bake until tomorrow evening, and they sound so delicious.
Conny - I shall try to post a photo of the baked goods tomorrow..... providing everything turns out well!
Am almost done the shortbread, and have the pastry made for the tarts.
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