Tag: cookies

Sunday: Art Institute And Cookies

Sunday was our Art Institute Christmas Day: as anyone should, we went to see Napolitan Creche and Miniature Rooms, and then headed to the Ryan Center to do the projects.

The theme of the projects was a newly opened Bruce Goff exhibit. We missed it on our way to the Ryan Center, but went to see it after lunch, and then returned to the Ryan Center one more time to make more art.

We all liked the Bruce Goff exhibit. I previously mentioned that I was disappointed with the Symbolism exhibit, and Nadia said she didn’t like it either. She said that the Bruce Goff “Material world” was also “Strange realities,” but the funny ones. I agree.

We finally left the Art Institute close to 3 PM, returned home, and then spent the evening decorating cookies. Last Christmas, Nadia did a great job with cookies, and I told her I could use your help, but this year, it was on a whole new level, and Kira helped as well. They decorated all of the remaining cookies and said they could do more 🙂

I was super impressed with this rocking horse – that’s one of the most difficult shapes to decorate.

Now, I am definitely employing their skills next year!

Igor picked up my mom, and they both came to have dinner with us, to socialize with the girls, and watch them decorating cookies.

My mom was really impressed with the work the girls did “on their own will,” and said that she understood how much work I had to do with the girls staying with me, and that she “sympathized with me.” When I told her that I do not see anything to be “sympathized” about and that I only do the things I enjoy doing, she got very upset and went on one of her regular rants about “my generation not being able to understand hers”, but I honestly have no idea how this all got connected in her mind!

Packing And Shipping

I need to count how many total packages I have already mailed; I think it’s more than twenty. Even when I have more than half the addresses in the USPS address book, it still takes time to weigh the parcel, click “does not contain,” enter the dimensions, print the label, cut it out, and attach it. To be honest, when I did it at the kiosk during the after-hours in Palatine, it seemed faster! Or maybe I am getting older and becoming slower 😂.

The last batch was shipped yesterday:

And if you look closer, you will see one more small cookie tin in the background: I received a parcel from Kentucky!

One more angel – or is it a firebird? – on my tree!
One more card over my fireplace!
… and the cookies will mostly go to my girls 🙂

Shipping update:

  • Most of my US parcels have reached their destination
  • The total mailed is twenty-seven.
  • Also, there are(will be) five that I am passing, not mailing, because I will see people in person.
  • And so far, six more I gifted, plus I brought cookies to work twice.
  • Which makes it forty 🙂

Holiday Baking

I am brewing this coffee almost every time I brew coffee at home, and I will soon run out of it. However, the person who came up with this recipe deserves a medal of honor!
Working moments

Last Call For Cookies!

Christmas Time – Cookie Time!

Christmas Time – Cookie Time!

It’s that time of the year again! It’s Christmas Cookie time! Same as last year, and as many years before, and hopefully many years to come: if you want my cookies this season, leave a comment or DM me! First fifteen from across the world/across all my social media, first twenty from the US, unlimited if you are in Chicagoland and can pick it up at my house (while supplies last :)). Unlimited Christmas Cards.

Come and bake/decorate with me Dec 6-7 or Dec 13-14.

Cookie-Making

All the cookies I baked on Friday afternoon and on Saturday:

Continue reading “Cookie-Making” →

Cards And Cookies

It’s that time of the year again! If I know you, IRL or virtually, this post is for you!

Do you want a Christmas card from me? Please let me know!

Do you want a box of my cookies? – Let me know!

Do you live in Chicagoland and want to bake and decorate with me? I will have an Open Cookie House on December 6, 7, and 8; please come!

You do not have to send me a card or cookies as a reciprocation unless you want!

I am ready to share the joy of the season:)

My Cookies Story – 2023

As I already mentioned multiple times, this holiday season was challenging, and I knew what was coming in advance. First, when it was just the conference, I planned to bake cookies on the first December weekend, and I asked Lena to mark her calendar. But then Anna’s surgery was scheduled for November 28, and that weekend was not an option anymore.

Christmas cookies are very important to me. It’s not like “just because I promised” or because somebody forced me; it’s just that I really enjoy both baking and gifting; that’s why I wanted to find a way to make the cookies happen. I decided to take December 8 off, and Lena agreed to do the same.

I purchased all ingredients well in advance. I worked on my Christmas messages to friends. One of my European friends agreed to mail my cards to my friends in Russia from her country, so I prepared ten cards, printed the addresses, and attached them to the envelopes.

Continue reading “My Cookies Story – 2023” →

Catching Up With Christmas

This season, more than ever, all I want is some additional time in my life, and nobody can give me it! There was a marathon of writing cards, packing and shipping, and finding the last missing gifts, and I didn’t go to bed earlier than midnight (and one day, it was 1 AM again!). So many things went wrong this season, that I can only hope it will never happen again.

To answer the question I was already asked: Hettie, why won’t you skip this season or just downsize – I can’t describe the joy of seeing parcels mounting on my dining room table, going into big bags, and then to the Post Office counter! It feels so good that I was not even tired the other night when I stayed awake until 1 AM. I just feel an adrenaline rush, and I am so glad I did it!

A Week In Review

Time will tell whether it was a good idea to try to accomplish the impossible. For the whole week, I would go to bed about midnight (except for Saturday, when it ended up being 1 AM Sunday)and wake up at my usual time, which is between 4-30 and 4-45 AM.

At work, having been in the office for only four days between two weeks of time off, I had endless meetings and then worked after hours trying to do some actual work. I was planning my presents, ordering things, writing the cards, etc. In addition, I had many problems with my conference website, sending tons of emails trying to correct them and meeting with the Talk Selection Committee. I had to prepare a million things for the upcoming PG Conf EU week and manage several 2024 conference submissions.

I took Friday off, and I decided not to go to the Corporate Christmas Party because otherwise, there was no way for me to bake my Christmas cookies. I want to be very clear here: this was not a sacrifice on my side; these are my priorities, and I would be way unhappier if I didn’t do cookies this year.

Lena also took Friday off and left work earlier on Thursday to drive to Chicago so that we could start baking early Friday morning.

I do not recall whether I mentioned it, but this year, due to all of the time constraints, I decided to utilize the Tree Santa company for my Christmas tree delivery because I knew I wouldn’t have time to go and choose it. Since Friday was literally the only day I was at home, I also scheduled the tree delivery for Friday.

It turned out the tree was too thick to fit into my tree stand, so they had to give me one of theirs, and it was not as nice as mine. As for the tree itself, it was fine, but the shape was not as I liked it (too thick in the middle), and the top was “tripled,” and Lena and I spent a lot of time trying to put the star on it.

At 5 PM, we called it a day and went to the Christkindle Market and then to Millennium Park to see the Chicago Christmas Tree and listen to the carolers.

Continue reading “A Week In Review” →