A Little Hope

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The foliage on my amaryllises from last Christmas only just died back a few weeks ago. Since it took so long for them to go dormant, I was starting to wonder whether I would have any flowers from the bulbs this winter. Then a few new leaves started to appear in each pot a few days ago. There is hope yet!

A Tribute to Sweet Peachy

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Our sweet Peachy (left) passed away very suddenly last night after fighting a brain tumor for about a year and a half.  She was only with us for a short time – she was an older dog when we adopted her – but she was a truly a part of our family and we loved her.  Sweet Peach, a.k.a. Peachy The Moose, was affectionate, gentle, and full of joy. She loved her new “sisters”, loved to play and snuggle, and especially loved to go for walks. Whenever we would get leashes out, she would do the Peachy-dance: race to the door, spin in circles, run to the other side of the room, spin in circles some more, repeating with a great big smile on her face until we had all three dogs harnessed and were out on our walk. We are happy to have had her in our lives and shall miss her.

Pumpkin Snack Cake

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Pumpkin Snack Cake

Ingredients

2 c. all-purpose flour (stir before measuring)

1 t. baking soda

1/2 t. baking power

1 t. ground cinnamon

1/2 t. ground cloves

1/2 t. ground ginger

1/2 t. ground mace

1/2 t. ground nutmeg

15 oz. (425 gm.) canned pumpkin

3/4 c. granulated white sugar

1/2 c. brown sugar

1/3 c. canola oil

1/3 c. buttermilk

1 lg. egg

2 t. vanilla extract

1/2 c. dried currants

1/2 c. finely chopped walnuts

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting (see recipe at bottom of page)
 
Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a 9×9″ pan with baking spray or with butter and flour.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, mace and nutmeg. Set aside.

3. In a separate bowl, stir together pumpkin, sugars, canola oil, buttermilk, egg, and vanilla until smooth and well-blended.

4. Stir pumpkin mixture into dry ingredients until smooth and no dry spots appear. Then fold in currants and walnuts. Scrape batter into prepared pan. Level top with the back of a spoon.

5. Bake for 38 – 48 minutes or until firm on top and a cake tester inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool on a cooling rack.

6. While cake is cooling, prepare cream cheese frosting. Once cake is cooled, invert onto a cooling rack, then re-invert onto a cutting board. Frost top of cake, then cut into squares. Enjoy!

 

Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

6 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/2 c. + 1 T. confectioner’s sugar

1 1/2 t. ground cinnamon

1 T. + 1 t. milk

1/2 t. vanilla extract

Directions

Beat ingredients together until perfectly smooth.

 

Autumn’s Chill

Along with bringing down a lot of leaves, yesterday’s winds ushered in a drop in temperatures. Brrr! It was only 16F. here this morning. If I didn’t have to rake this afternoon, I would stay in and do some baking. Maybe tomorrow : ) Have a lovely day!

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Snow Falling on Roses

Just three weeks ago, I posted a photo with the title Summer in September. How quickly things change. Today started out with cloudy skies, turning to a mix of rain and sleet, then rain and snow, and just a little bit ago turned over to snow. I am hoping that it doesn’t nip the roses. We have a garden wedding tomorrow! Fortunately, the forecast is for sunny skies and 66 degrees F. in the afternoon.

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Have a lovely day!

Welcome Autumn

A few pictures from the garden this morning … chrysanthemums, alyssum, and black-flowering moudry grass.MumsPurpleAlyssum&Mums,

Moudry&Mums;