Easy and Delicious Oatmeal Cookies

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Oatmeal cookies are one of my favorites. I love cookies and I think of oatmeal cookies as being a healthier choice. I’m smiling at myself right now. It has been a very busy week, but I’m finally posting the recipe I promised several days ago. These cookies are delicious and the recipe is easy.

Ingredients

1 cup margarine or butter softened                                 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 cup granulated sugar                                                     1 tsp baking soda

1 cup brown sugar firmly packed                                      1 tsp salt

2 eggs                                                                                3 cups oats uncooked

1 tsp vanilla extract                                                            2 cups all-purpose flour

2/3 cup raisins or 1 cup chopped nuts

Directions

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Cream butter and sugars until smooth.

Beat in eggs and vanilla.

In a separate bowl combine and blend thoroughly flour,cinnamon, baking soda and salt. Beat these dry ingredients into the creamed butter mixture. Stir in oats, and raisins or walnuts, which ever you prefer.
Drop rounded teaspoons full onto greased baking sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes, or until edges start to brown.

Makes about 6 dozen cookies.
Cool on a wire rack. Eat and enjoy with a cup of tea, coffee or a glass of milk.  They are also great to give as a seasonal gift to friends, neighbors, and family. cookies

An Unplanned Dental Visit

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Sleeping dog

I had planned to give you my oatmeal cookie recipe tonight, but life often changes the best of plans! Today was our dog Annika’s scheduled appointment at the groomer. Fortunately the groomer also does a dental check as part of the visit. A rescue dog, Annika was a year old when we adopted her and will be seven in February. She has beautiful teeth and as part of her daily grooming routine I brush them with a tasty toothpaste specially formulated for dogs. She actually looks forward to her tooth brushing sessions and considers them  to be a treat. This morning her groomer discovered a broken upper back tooth in a hard-to-see place, so we’d been unaware of the problem. Annika has always loved chewing nylabones, and tends to get overly enthusiastic: She holds the bone between her front paws and turns her head sideways to chew. It’s a pretty good bet this is how she broke the tooth. So we picked Annika up from the groomer and drove her straight to our wonderful vet, Dr. Edgar Rodriquez, at Portola Plaza Veterinary Hospital. He saw Annika immediately and extracted the broken tooth. Later in the day we brought our little girl home, still a little sleepy from the anesthesia but doing well. Once home she snuggled on the couch to rest up from this unexpected experience, and after a nice nap she had a light supper and headed back to the couch.

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Here she is after her dinner, still looking sleepy eyed, but our little patient is recovering nicely and I’m sure by tomorrow she’ll be almost back to her old self. We have doctor’s orders to keep her quiet for a couple of days, but knowing Annika that may not be so easy.

Almost Ready for Christmas

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Christmas CardsWe are almost ready for Christmas. In my last post I said I would write my Christmas cards the next day and I did. I usually take several days but this year I finished them all in one day. Our house is decorated inside and out, thanks to my very creative husband. Once he’s started, he just keeps going. He really is amazing!

Husband laying track

While Martin set up the train track I baked oatmeal cookies and gift wrapped them to give to friends.

oatmeal cookies

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Yes, we’re definitely almost ready for Christmas. Tomorrow I’ll share my oatmeal cookie recipe with you. I know you’ll love it.

Blue Birds and Christmas

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I thought the blue birds were gone for the winter, but when I looked out the back patio door they were back. I grabbed my camera and got this photo of one taking his bath. It always makes me happy to see them.
Last Night we saw “Deck the Hall”, a wonderful concert presented by the California State University, Fullerton School of Music. I could have sat there all night listening to the three different choirs and the University Symphony Orchestra. I tend to get a bit stressed at Christmas time, as do many people, but listening to the music certainly put me in the holiday spirit.

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As we drove up our street we were greeted by our brightly lit house, a perfect end to a very special day. Tomorrow, Christmas cards!

Photography Field Trip to Los Angeles

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The weather was beautiful yesterday and perfect for our photography class field trip to Los Angeles. We caught the MetroLink commuter train at Irvine station and from there traveled to Union Station. There we caught the red line subway to City Hall. I learned that for a five dollar MetroLink ticket a person can travel to and all over Los Angeles by bus and subway. An amazing deal! Once inside city hall we were given a guided tour by one of the knowledgeable docents.P1010287City Hall’s interior is amazing. Built in the 1920s, it was designed in the Art Deco style. Here you can see the beautiful Christmas tree in the central lobby and some of the architecture. The marble floors and ceilings, and just about everywhere else you looked, there was something to photograph. Since the late ’50s I’ve seen the outside of this building, but never stepped inside until yesterday. Now that I know just how easy it is to get there by public transportation, I plan to go back soon and take my husband with me. P1010346

Our next stop was the historic Bradley Building in downtown Los Angeles, another gorgeous building from the 1920s. I was amazed at the amount of brass used in staircases and other fixtures. Above  is one of two ornately decorated elevators.

The next part of our trip took us to the Grammy Museum, which I strongly recommend if you are a music lover. If you go to their web site www.grammymuseum.org you will see some of the many outstanding exhibits.100_3731

Last but not least, we went to L.A. Live next to the Staples Center. There we were treated to live music and holiday lights. It was spectacular. There was also an ice rink for those who wanted to give skating a try.

We returned to Orange County by tour bus, and as we traveled home listening  to Christmas carols we also enjoyed seeing brightly decorated houses along the way. It was a wonderful day filled with new adventures. We’ve often seen the Los Angeles skyline from a distance as we’ve traveled north on the freeway, but yesterday I was in the very heart of this amazing city. My photography instructor encourages us to seek out new experiences, and that is certainly what we did!