Well, I just had a cup of coffee so not sure I'll be ready for tea at 4pm., but since you brought up the baking thing I guess now is a good time to start mixing my Christmas cookie and mincemeat cookie dough and light the oven. For some reason I've been putting it off this year.

Maybe by the time the smell of warm cookies fills the house I'll have that cup of tea after all.

Well I decided to join you today since the snow keeps me inside and am enjoying my cinnamon spice tea but now you've gone and made me hungry. :)
CH

Schoolhouse- Baking is a great idea! I still haven't started yet (busy morning) but I hope to get something made by 4pm my time! LOL

CH- Cinnamon spice tea sounds perfect for a snowy afternoon :)

All I ended up doing was making the dough and putting it in the fridge for tomorrow, no actual baking today. Thought I'd do more, but watched an Andy Hardy movie on TLC.

My brother likes raisin filled cookies,so I might make a dozen or so of those to take to the family get together on Christmas Eve. He and his wife haul Amish for extra income, and at this time of year they are bombarded with all manner of homemade baked goodies from their many "riders".

Does anyone remember "Constant Comment" tea? It was really spicy, never acquired a taste for it, but it was very popular.

Schoolhouse- I think Bigelow still makes Constant Comment tea...doesn't it have orange and spices in it?

Andy Hardy, is that Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland? Did you see the Wizard of Oz is going to be on TV this weekend? I think on TNT or TBS.

Have fun making cookies tomorrow! I'm going to have to start my Christmas baking soon, too :)

Schoolhouse, what does "haul Amish" entail? I have lots of different visions filling my mind.

As a kid we watched the Wizard of Oz every year. Would go out early to milk the cows and come in then fill our plates and watch TV. (Sunday evenings and Wizard of Oz night were the only times we got to eat in front of the TV.) Also passed the Wizard of Oz tradition on to my son when he was young. I enjoyed watching it on TNT this year around Thanksgiving (on DVD recorder).

This afternoon was the last of the 2010 Farmers' Market Days. Had to go to support my local venders. Came home with wonderful artisan bread, fresh organic eggs, raspberry jam, fresh made marshmallows, a Merry Christmas doggie treat/gift for the kids' dog, wildflower honey, apples, cheese, frozen ruben strudel, and handmade soaps.

I pulled my cookie recipes to check for ingredients and stocked up at the local grocery. Cookie baking starts tomorrow. The fudge I made a few days ago is quickly disappearing.

I'm having hot chocolate and lefse w cinnamon sugar/vanilla sugar while reading the forums.

mnwsgal - "haul Amish", sorry people in Amish country know what that means.ha. It means my brother and his wife act like taxi drivers for the Amish, since the Amish don't drive or own their own cars. Against their religion, but of course that doesn't mean they can't ride in someone else's or the bus,ect. Many people make a living of it, it's very good money but you have to always been on call and sometimes my brother's answering machine is full of pleads for a ride somewhere. Sometimes it's the only way for an Amish family to get to the doctor or the hospital in a timely manner, the buggy would be too slow and the horse might not be able to go the distance (like to Cleveland Clinic for instance).

As for The Wizard of Oz, the movie plays often on cable channels; but I remember when I was a kid it was shown only once a year and our whole family would gather to watch. The Andy Hardy movies sometimes had Judy Garland but not always. I've seen all of them so many times, but still watch.

Yep, today's baking day. After coffee and the newspaper I'll get the oven lit. Shouldn't take me too long, as I'm only making a couple dozen cut-outs and some filled cookies. Besides, two of my neighbors provide me with plates of cookies and loaves of zuchinni and friendship cake every Christmas!