Sweet baby Jesus – it’s never felt so good to be back in Wisconsin. That text was Tara’s way of letting me know her plane was on the ground last night. Woo-hoo!

For a while there, we weren’t sure that was going to happen. When her flight from Manzanillo touched down in Dallas, they sat on the runway for almost 40 minutes waiting for another plane to clear the gate. And she still had to make it through Customs. Upon hearing this, I got to work doing what I do best and manifested her onto that flight. I literally said, “You are not missing this plane,” putting the Universe on blast if you will. This must have worked, because she arrived in Milwaukee at 9:17 p.m. Whew!

Just like a week earlier, the trip to the airport took place in the dark. I was a little worried about the roads after our Thursday snowstorm, but Highway 12 was perfectly fine. It was a bone-chilling 5° but I just waited in the cellphone lot with the heat blasting until she had gone through baggage claim.

Despite Tara’s text, she had a great time in Mexico. No matter how fun the getaway, it always feels good to return home. Especially when it’s been a week. And especially when you’ve got a groovy guy like me waiting for you.

Just sayin’.


Saturday, I’d been feeling restless. I would have loved to have built a fire in my scowly faced wood stove and watched a movie or two, but it’s hard to relax knowing you’re going to have to venture out after dark. Rather than pace around the house continuously, as I found myself doing, I decided to make cookies to pass the time.

Bad idea, you might be thinking, after my Wednesday night cookie fail. But these were spritz cookies, something I’ve mastered over the years. It isn’t the holiday season until the cookie gun comes out! Two hours later, I’d baked a festive array of vanilla, almond, coconut, and lemon cookies.

Go me!

It was too cold to do anything outside. Luckily, I got that out of my system on Friday with a chilly hike along the Bark River.

That birdhouse, by the way, was dedicated to Dick – yes, our Dick, aka “the bird man of Fort Atkinson” – in recognition of his contributions to the community. Pretty cool, huh?

We ended up with 4″ from the storm. Plenty to coat the trees in a beautiful blanket of white, like this beauty in our yard.

You know, I could easily string up lights next year and turn that into a living Christmas tree. Hmm…

With all that snow on the ground and the bitterly cold temperatures we’ve had, you’d think a white Christmas was a guarantee. But you would be mistaken. It’s going to warm up over the next few days, flirting with 50° and rain by the end of the week. Bah, humbug.


By the way, I’m having issues with my comments. Most of them are landing in your Spam folders. Normally, I’m a huge Spam fan, but this ain’t canned meat, folks. I’m working with WordPress and Akismet to resolve the issue, but in the meantime, if you haven’t heard from me in a few days, please check your Spam folder. A couple of you have done so and successfully sprung me from jail. Thank you! Freedom never felt so good.

In the meantime, I’m wondering what caused me to land on the naughty list. It’s not like I go around leaving lewd comments (anymore). Geez Louise, I didn’t even get into this much trouble when I rearranged the letters on a coworker’s office window to turn something cheery into something leery.

And for the record, when I said “our Dick” above, I was referring to the former owner of our house, WordPress. Get your mind out of the gutter!


45 responses to “Redemption in red, green, yellow, and blue.”

  1. Affinity for Spam aside… a man who bakes cookies is a serious catch.
    And yes, that tree would be perfect with lights.
    Thanks for sharing your snow pics. We had less than a dusting last night and while it’s only 9 degrees today, we’re still looking like a green Xmas here.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. I don’t bake all that often, but I did make that killer peach pie over the summer. There’s hope for me yet.

      I guess we’ll have to see how quickly our snow melts. We really haven’t lost any since Thursday, but it’s been below freezing. That changes tomorrow.

      Like

  2. Beautiful pictures. My son goes to school at Erie and they had a lot of snow. And their chances if white christmas is 33 percent 😊! It is a wild weather.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I saw all the snow in Erie on the news. Honestly, I’m a little jealous!

      Liked by 1 person

  3. Your cookies look amazing Mark, you should mail me some crumbs 😆

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Ha! If that’s the way the cookie crumbles – in the direction of PA – I’ll see what I can do.

      Liked by 1 person

  4. You were in my spam folder, Mark! I did rescue you. That looks very Christmasy but those temperatures would definitely interfere with my walks. I go into the 20s but that’s about it! Great to have Tara back and hope her blood hasn’t thinned too much from being in Mexico. Those are gorgeous cookies, so vibrant!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. The spam thing is so annoying. I’ve only been blogging on this platform for 15 years! I got out today for another walk, but it had warmed up to 29°. Much more tolerable.

      Like

  5. I don’t know what a Cookie Gun is – I’ve lived such a sheltered life. Or are you the Gun with the Cookies? 😆 Maybe it’s your links to bellydancers or the link to your MadLibs post. Google may be smart enough to read between the lines this time around and put you on the watch list 😆😉

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I’d link to a cookie gun here, but apparently, too many links in comments can count as spam – and that’s something I’m guilty of. Check your folder, by the way. Pretty sure I left a comment on your Wordless Wednesday post.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Oh thanks Mark – Yes I didn’t get that one 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

  6. Surprisingly enough, you’ve never landed in my spam folder. Actually, Blogger just flags some comments and I have the choice whether to publish it or trash it.

    Those are beautiful cookies. I’m assuming you flavor with extract? Why no peppermint? Or are you like my son-in-law who doesn’t want any food that tastes like toothpaste? Merry Christmas!🎁

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I meant to add, my spammed comments are only happening in WordPress. It’s the Akismet third-party they use that flags them.

      Yes, I love the flavor extracts! The vanilla is from extract I made with vanilla bean pods a few years ago; the rest are OTC, if you will. Those four flavors (and orange, which I skipped this year) are my go-to’s, but I would not be opposed to trying peppermint (though I imagine a little goes a long way).

      Like

  7. I remember having issues a long time ago with missing comments. Why they ended up in spam, I have no idea. I think WordPress just likes messing with us.

    Your cookies look great (although I don’t think I could eat a blue cookie… not that you offered).

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I’ve had other bloggers show up as spam before, but I’ve never been the one on a time-out. So frustrating!

      I started using gel icing food coloring and I love how vibrant the cookies turned out. Then again, I had a heavy hand.

      Like

  8. Someone, I think my grandma perhaps, made Spritz cookies every year, but no colors. I loved the way they just melted in your mouth. What a gorgeous river walk and I love that Dick is honored with a bird house. Do you hear from them at all anymore? I also think that tree in the yard would be amazing with lights. Glad Tara is home safe. Enjoy your holiday!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. My mom always (and still does) make spritz cookies every year. Clearly that has rubbed off on me.

      Dick and Carol stopped by one day last summer and Tara got to show off her new gardening beds. They asked if they could dig up a peony they planted and loved. Odd request, but knock yourselves out. (They later had their granddaughter stop by to do it.)

      Have a wonderful Christmas!

      Liked by 1 person

  9. Wuhoo – Tara is home! I didn’t even know such a thing as a cookie gun existed. Fantastic.

    The pictures from your Bark River hike are fabulous! So beautiful!

    Merry Christmas to team MarTar!

    Like

  10. Really beautiful pictures! I’ll be experiencing super cold temps in a few days when I go to the Arctic Circle – Helsinki and then Lapland in Finland!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thanks, Nancy. I’m looking forward to reading about your adventures and seeing some great photos!

      Like

  11. Glad Tara made it home in good stead . . . due to your charge to the Universe!

    Enjoy those cookies!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. We have been! That cookie gun was a wise purchase years ago.

      Like

  12. Le tits now! That reminds me of the hilarious SNL skit! I’m so glad Tara made it back home safe and sound. Those cookies are pure magic. I love that the birdhouse is dedicated to Dick—there’s just no way to make that not sound dirty. Merry Christmas to you, Tara, Laverne, and Shirley!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Yep, that’s some classic SNL right there. Hope you guys had a great Christmas too!

      Liked by 1 person

  13. Your comment on my Portugal doors landed right where it was supposed to. You must have manifested it!
    I’m glad Tara arrived home safely (and probably oozing tequila from her pores). Imagine all those poor American Airlines customers (or, now, former customers).
    Le tits now. I didn’t know you spoke French!
    Merry Christmas to you, Tara, Shirley, and Laverne (I figured Shirley’s gotta get sick of always being mentioned last.)

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Ha…well, more like I manifested a response from Akismet, who admitted the error was on their end. They gave me a Get Our of Jail Free card and all my comments are showing up as they should now!

      Tara’s actually not a tequila fan, but if I’d gone, yeah…I would’ve smelled like a margarita for a week. Shirley thanks you for flipping the script and mentioning her name first! 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  14. Those cookies look great! Well done. And I love the bird hotel.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I think “hotel” is a much better description than “house” given the size of that thing!

      Liked by 1 person

  15. Once again, never had something you mentioned. Spritz cookies?

    Like

    1. I’d be shocked if you haven’t heard of these. They’re called Spritzgebäck in Germany – buttery dough is pressed, or “spritzed,” through a cookie press (or in my case, cookie gun), giving you the ability to make all kinds of cool shapes. They’re a holiday tradition, at least in my house!

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Nobody in my Swiss Italian household made this or, if they did, I wasn’t aware. 🤷‍♀️

        I know of them, but never had them.

        Impressed you put the Umlaut on the a. 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Are you still impressed if I just copied and pasted from Wikipedia, Umlaut and all…?

        Liked by 1 person

      3. Yes. 😂 It’s the end result that counts.

        Liked by 1 person

  16. Hannah and I walk by that birdhouse almost every day! And most days there is actually a bird hanging out on it, which is not the case for every birdhouse in the world.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I suppose that birdhouse is practically in your backyard, ha! We inherited a bunch of backyard birdhouses from Dick, and you’re right: we actually rarely see birds in any of them. They do flock to our feeders though.

      Like

  17. Such colorful cookies! And, gorgeous scenery as always.

    Liked by 1 person

  18. First of all, I love the falling snow on your blog! Second of all, I’m gonna need to know your trick for getting your Spritz to turn out so brightly colored. Mine always seem to fade in the oven.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I used gel food coloring this year, as opposed to liquid drops. It really makes for vibrant colors, and you can go as dark as you want.

      Liked by 1 person

  19. Your cookies are gorgeous! Seriously, they are a work of art.

    Yay for Tara making it back home.

    I honestly thought that the letters read LET TITS (out) NOW, and I was wondering who was holding them hostage?

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Not me, Suz. I support letting them out all the damn time.

      Thank you for calling my cookies a work of art. I definitely made up for burning the previous one!

      Like

  20. Getting caught up and reading out of order, apparently. I’m so intrigued by the cookie gun. I know you’ve mentioned it before. I don’t suppose you set up a camera and filmed yourself using it by any chance?

    Like

  21. […] of you were unfamiliar with cookie guns. They are more commonly referred to as cookie presses and are used to make classic spritz and other […]

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  22. […] little confidence in my baking skills. Even after making a peach pie and red currant crumb bars and spritz cookies from scratch, I still shrugged my shoulders every time and tossed out a self-deprecating […]

    Like

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