SNOW DAY!

So just what do I do on a snow day 2 weeks before Christmas? I get up very early, my usual time in fact, and spend the better part of the day baking. Since my husband runs the bus company that provides the transportation for all of our students, he's up by 4 on mornings that are potential snow days. He turns on the outside lights to check the weather, turns on the TV to check the forecast, and then waits until the superintendent calls, usually about 5 am. Meanwhile, my alarm goes off at 4:45. I stay in bed, hoping that what the decision is, it's made early enough that I don't HAVE to get out of bed and start getting ready. Sometimes, depending on the storm's timing, the decision to call off school doesn't come until I'm up, showered, dressed, and making lunch. Today, the decision was made at 5:05, but I was awake, thinking about what I could be doing. And the phone calls start: all of the drivers have to be called, we get phone calls from people who for some reason, aren't on the automated call system the district has in place to notify teachers and parents of snow days, and then my husband and his assistant make numerous calls. So it's pretty hard to go back to sleep. Today, I got out of bed and decided that I would do this:

Don't look too closely at the oven floor - I need to run the self-cleaning cycle one of these days!

Those are my Ginger Crinkles, only one tray didn't crinkle! They taste great, however, probably my #2 favorite cookie.

And I also made these:

These are Cranberry Almond biscotti -- a relatively new Christmas favorite.

Then I made Younger Son's favorite cookies - his aunt's butter cookies. I really dislike making rolled cookies, but for him . . . .even though he won't be home, they will be sent to him.

I also made the dough for "Mrs. Greenhill's Shortbread" which is my favorite cookie. This recipe came from my brother's 2nd grade teacher, way back in the late 1960's, and they've graced the table every Christmas. I like them because they're not too sweet, and I can make the dough way ahead of time and keep it in the fridge or freezer until I have time to bake them.

And of course, now my kitchen looks like this:

From cookies

From cookies

I also put the lights on our Christmas tree!