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| Christmas Basket of Goodies |
It poured with rain, Wednesday night, and it rained most of the day on Thursday, too! I had a blood test scheduled at 12:30 p.m. and drove through flooded roads and intersections to get to the clinic. But, the wait to be seen to was fairly short and the blood tests were done without any fuss by a very friendly and cheerful technician.
Afterwards, daughter and I went to drop off some gifts at a friend's house. Daughter crocheted this amigurumi Spiderman, with yarn in our stash, as a gift for her friend:
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| Crocheted Spiderman - Front |
We texted our friends before we left the house; I stayed in the car while daughter dropped off their gifts and picked up their gifts to us: a box of chocolates, some homemade zucchini bread, meringues (the friend who made them had been a pastry chef before the restaurant he worked in closed due to Covid) and a container of berry coulis to go with the meringues:
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| Meringue with Berry Coulis |
Daughter also put together a video of us making the semolina and cashew cake that is known as Love Cake in Sri Lanka, if anyone is interested:
https://youtu.be/Kbtc84tmNwA
I'm a YouTube star! LOL.
Today, I am grateful for:
- The rain we've received
- Being able to get the blood tests done
- A safe drive there and back
- Exchanging gifts with friends
- Daughter's help with so many things
Today's joyful activity was watching the video daughter did! Oh, and eating meringues! LOL.
Plans for tomorrow include picking up the groceries, tidying the house a bit, and getting ready to celebrate New Year's Eve at home with my daughter!
How was your Thursday? What are your plans for New Year's Eve?
Loved the video and feel very tempted to make a Love Cake but it probably has too much sugar in for me. Still, you only live once so never say never! The meringue with berry coulis is just as tempting. I so often seem to leave your blog feeling hungry 😂
ReplyDeleteI'm don't have any plans for New Year's Eve. To be honest, it's not my favourite holiday and I'm content to stay at home and watch a film or two. I hope you and daughter have a lovely time together.
Thank you, Eileen. All credits for the video goes to my daughter! Love Cake is a once a year cake! You can halve the recipe (or, even quarter it, I suppose, although I've never tried doing so) for a smaller cake. It is a very rich cake and yes, it is sweet. :)
DeleteThe meringue was very tasty! Equally sweet!
Like you, we are staying home on New Year's Eve. Neighbor S and her daughter just brought over a feast for our dinner, so we will not go hungry, for sure! :D
Your hands are a YouTube star, Bless! I enjoyed seeing how the love cake is made. 11 eggs! I wish I could have reached through the screen and tasted a piece. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you, June; they are mostly my daughter's hands! My hands appear when I am stirring the semolina and brushing the egg whites on the top of the batter! :D Well, the original recipe called for 10 whole eggs and 8 additional egg yolks! We reduced the number of eggs! I wish I could share a taste with everyone. :)
DeleteI immediately went over to youtube and watched the Love Cake video and really enjoyed it. Thanks to your daughter for putting it together.
ReplyDeleteMight we see a Bless & Daughter cooking show too? Maybe the curry puffs next? lol
Your basket of goodies for your friend is so nice. I'm sure they enjoyed receiving it.
And you got some yummy things in return that's for sure.
The crocheted Spiderman is adorable!
Glad you enjoyed the video, Debra. Yes, thanks to my daughter for putting it together! I wouldn't have the foggiest idea how to do it!
DeleteHa, ha, a Bless & Daughter cooking show - I'll keep that in mind! :D
Thank you; I enjoyed putting together the basket of goodies and my friend called and thanked me, saying she loved how the jars of jam had been decorated! I was told I should make them for sale! LOL! There's a lot of really yummy things being exchanged, Debra. Neighbor S just brought over New Year's Eve dinner for us!
The crocheted Spiderman is great, isn't it? Her friend loved it!
Your daughter has certainly inherited your crafting/crocheting abilities; cute spiderman. Bless now you can add uTube star to your list of 2021 accomplisments, along with being an influencer!
ReplyDeleteWishing you & your daughter a very Happy New Year.
Daughter got her crocheting genes from my mother and my mother's mother! :) Ha, ha, yes, uTuber and influencer! :D You are an influencer, too, Mary-Lou, with your garden sign, etc. :)
DeleteWish you and Mr. Man a very happy New Year, Mary-Lou. May the new year bless you with good health and happiness.
I will check out your YouTube video for sure. The Spiderman toy is lovely, your daughter is so talented. Wishing you both a very happy and healthy New Year.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Eileen. The Spiderman turned out nicely, didn't it? Wish you and yours a very happy and healthy New Year and may it be a good one for us all!
DeleteWell, your hamper looks very professional, and Spiderman is most impressive. I have watched the video and am pleased to confirm that my finished cake looks a lot like yours. (The very last shot of the cut slice was a bit quick to study well though.) I wonder how much difference the omission of pumpkin preserves makes to the final cake. I hadn't appreciated how huge a quantity went in, or how wet they were. I think if I had used them in my last attempt at the cake (when I used your recipe) I would have ended up with mush! (I wanted to hear you talking!!)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Lady Ella. I think your addition of cherries, etc., to the cake batter would have taken place of the pumpkin preserves. The pumpkin preserves that are available in jars have a wetter texture than the ones we used back in Sri Lanka - there, they were more like candied pumpkins and came in squares with soft centers and sugar encrusted outside (we cut them into small pieces or ground them in a mincer). Sorry, my daughter edited out all the talking! You'll get to hear me talking when you come to dinner, one of these days! :D
Delete... and I should have said thanks a lot for making the video ... and no I didn't see any mess in the background!!
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome. My daughter made the video mostly for you! :) Ha, ha, glad you didn't see any mess! :D
DeleteThe gift basket you put together is lovely. I'm sure whoever receives it will be delighted. I couldn't get the YouTube video to play, but I'm on my phone so I'll try the laptop when I next use it. I'd love to see how you make the love cake, it sounds so good. Have a safe and happy new year! Celie
ReplyDeleteThank you, Celie. The friend who received it called to thank me and she really liked the way I had packaged the jam! I was told I should make them for sale! LOL. I hope you will be able to watch the video on your laptop, later.
DeleteI hope you and your loved ones will have a very happy new year, Celie. May you be blessed with good health, peace, and happiness and may it be a very good year.
That is a very impressive gift box and the Spiderman is amazing! So glad you had a safe and fairly quick trip for your blood test. I will watch the video later as I enjoy cooking videos!
ReplyDeleteDS and family are coming on New Year's Day and staying overnight, so I'm shoving clutter in drawers and closets (not quite as bad as it sounds). I went out for more groceries this morning and the main store turned into a zoo so I felt sorry for the checkout staff, but they seemed cheerful.
Thank you, Bushlady. The Spiderman turned out well, didn't it? Not only did I have a quick trip for the blood test, my doctor forwarded the results to me, this afternoon! The results were mostly good; the doctor will to a couple of additional tests for the ones that were not quite as good.
DeleteI'm so glad your DS and family will be joining you for New Year's Day! That will be a very good start to the New Year! Have fun with your tidying up! Glad you were able to pick up your groceries and the checkout staff were cheerful.
Wish you and yours a very Happy New Year, Bushlady. :)
The Spiderman is wonderful, your daughter is very talented.
ReplyDeleteI'll have to check out your video.
Happy New Year, Bless. X
Thank you, Jules. A very Happy New Year to you, too, and your loved ones. :)
DeleteDelicious dessert. Your daughter is so talented! I love her creation. Happy New Year to you both. Thanks for all your support over the past year. I have really appreciated it.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Sharon. Happy New Year to you, too. Is your daughter spending it with you? May the New Year be a very good one for you and all your family. :)
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