If you’ve been following for a while, you know how excited I get about Pantone’s Color of the Year. With the excption of 2019’s Living Coral, the past five years have been a bit of a disappointment… but, at least they were colors. This year’s Color is called Cloud Dancer, a pretty spectacular name for white, if you ask me.

Maybe it’s a response to all of the cottage-core color-drenching that’s going on in Pinterest and Reels.
Maybe it’s acknowledging that this year could use a coat of white primer and a do-over. Perhaps a kinder, gentler start.

In its description Pantone called it a “billowy, balanced white, chosen as a calming antidote to a noisy world.” They got that part right. They even state that white “symbolizes new beginnings.”
In that vein, numerologically speaking, our upcoming year (2+0+2+6,) adds up to 10, which equals a 1. Also symbolizing a new beginning. I’ve got my fingers crossed.

I’ve been feeling well enough to bake lately. Sadly, my oven (my new oven) chose now to have a meltdown. I made a batch of gluten-free orange and pistachio biscotti, a twice-baked cookie of sorts, perfect for dunking in your coffee or tea. It’s a new recipe to me that was surprisingly easy to mix and shape. I popped it into the oven and set a timer for 20 minutes.
Walking back into the kitchen 16 minutes later, smoke was curling out of the oven vent. The thermostat had gone on the fritz and the oven was registering above 500 degrees!

I’m glad we were smart enough to buy an extended warranty. Oh, how I long for a gas oven.

I am waiting for the Whirlpool repairman to come again this afternoon with another part. And, in the meantime, I learned a new Italian word: bruciato. It means burned.

I posted my biscotti pic on Facebook (I know, it’s where the old people hang-out, but I am old) and a friend said it looked like a crocodile.
It kinda does, doesn’t it?
And a sister said it looked like Mom’s meatloaf! Poor Mom.
I’m guessing that because she didn’t like meat, but felt obliged to cook it, it was always overcooked. Her heart definitely wasn’t in it.

I hurried to defend her, saying she cooked well. But, maybe not, because I always joke that I learned to cook in self-defense. I can say with certainty that she was a great baker. Cream-puffs extraordinaire! Gooey pineapple upside-down cake! Feather-weight angel-food cake! I guess she’s where I get my love of baking. I’ll give that biscotti another try and take photos when I do.

This is one of the Papa Noël statues my sweetie has collected over the years. He and his daughter were trying to figure out how old it is, but didn’t know exactly, at least thirty years or more. I’ve always loved this one – it is so abundant with his lush beard and all of his Teddy bears.

To all of my Jewish friends – I hope your Hanukkah was festive.

To all of you who celebrate it, I wish you a very Merry Christmas.

And to everyone, an abundant and Happy New Year! I’m grateful for you all.

XO Donna