Rainy Day Baking

Woke up to rain today-and an aching back and legs. The cause of my pain and suffering?

Leaves

Yes, leaves-the bane of my existence. The good news is that two weekly attacks on the little nasty buggers has reduced their numbers to just one pile. I can now enjoy looking at all the daffodils coming into bloom without grimacing at the piles of brown marring the whole picture.



The battle is not without causualties, though. My upper back and ankles took some direct hits, but nothing that my old friend NSAID can't cure. I just hobbled out of bed this morning and steamed my pathetic, middle aged self until I could reach down and actually touch my toes instead of wishing I could wash them.

My sore throat and stuffy nose is also a direct result from breathing in those nasty little beast's dying body bits. So, I decided to whine to my good friend and fellow co-worker LindaWithaY to play hooky from work. That is, of course, if SHE hadn't already called dibs; luckily for me, she had not (she'd rather have Easter off).



So, having only to hobble around my house instead of the greenhouse, I decided to ignore the desire to sit and watch TV all day and do some doggy baking.

I decided to make salmon treats, since I needed to use up the package I had in the freezer. Also in the freezer was a package of gluten-free baking mix-perfect for pups who may have wheat allergies.

As I didn't want DH to confuse salmon cookies with dog treats (he likes to sample the goods behind my back), I got out the cookie cutters. I chose two shapes; a bone and a fish.

Get it? Fish + bone = fishbones!
(I just crack myself up, sometimes)


I made three batches, so I should have some for a few weeks. These are the Very Good Gurl cookies, so they are just for pups on their best behavior. They are dairy, soy, and wheat free, so hopefully they will be good for Fi and her cousin, Brittany.

The garden is coming to life, once again. In the front garden, the Cornus mas tree is almost in full bloom. It has bright yellow flowers that one could mistaken for a forsythia, which also blooms near the same time. There are dark purple-black buds on the purple redbud tree, and most of the perennials are in various stages of poking through with some green leaves.

I have almost finished with the first round of clean-up in the back garden and then it is on to the front. I have taken a few stabs at it already. I did a bit of tidy-up on the sidewalk beds and put in some pansy and dianthus around the mailbox, but that's really just scratching the surface.

I am glad to report that I am holding fast to my Winter Solstice resolution of tackling one small job a day and one large job a week and giving myself credit for getting a task done-regardless of how big or small.


Some days, though, it's tough to look at the list as 1/2 full instead of overfilled.