Simplifying

My mother is a wonderful cook. When I was growing up she made everything from scratch. We grew a large garden and she preserved lots of fruits and vegetables. We had our own cows, chickens, and occasionally pigs. The Ranch provided us with beef. The only packaged thing I remember having in our food storage was jell-o; and we were not big jell-o fans, so we didn't eat that very often.

As a result, I have embedded in my mind that if I take food somewhere, it should be homemade. I love to bake (more than cook). It is relaxing. I love window shopping at stores like Williams-Sonoma. I love discovering really good cookbooks. But of late my life is just a bit too busy to do much cooking or baking. The eggs in my fridge expired a month ago, so that tells you how long it has been since I've been very domestic-- though I did made chicken noodle soup over the weekend.

Anyway, today I made major progress in simplifying my life. I offered to take treats to book group tonight. I thought about coming home and whipping up a batch of cookies (after I stopped at the store to buy fresh eggs). But instead I stopped at Costco, and paid $6.50 for two dozen cookies. It was the best investment I've made in a long time. I did pull some homemade grape juice off the shelf and served that, so I consider my contribution as "semi-homemade." And the best part is that I don't feel the least bit guilty about not baking cookies.

Life is Good. Very stressful until at least February 2nd, but good.