I feel nutty, oh so nutty, I feel nutty and cocoy and chewy!

Listed on the "good things on the net" section of this blog's sidebar is the blog Mennonite Girls Can Cook. Occasionally I check in with them to see what scrumptious recipe they've (it's a small group of women) posted for the day. Today was a day to check in. Glad I did!

This morning I had the hankering to have cookies in the cookie jar before My Darling Husband arrived home from an overnight campout with some men from church. Today's featured recipe, Coconut Crisps, appeared to fit the bill.In my version, I used unsweetened coconut, so I could've reduced the salt just a tiny bit, but the end result was still quite acceptable. I also used an ice cream scoop to produce uniform-sized cookies; mine were big and therefore yielded fewer cookies than stated in the recipe. These cookies are good. They are a mouthful of sweet, salty, coconut and chewy oatmeal all at once...a medley of sensations. They make an excellent companion to coffee.

we'll keep the light on for you

They'll keep a bed for you too, if needed. This is the sign at the police department of an even smaller town near our Small Town. I tried to get a better photograph of the neon sign, but haven't taken the time to figure out the camera. Hopefully you can distinguish the letters. If not: it simply states "Police Dept" in neon lighting. It's very quaint for a police department to still be using their neon sign from the mid 1900s. I like it. The town is saying "we're not too proud to use a working vintage item. We don't need to spend money we don't have on a new sign."

The neon light blasting a hole in the night darkness reminds me of paintings by the American artist Edward Hopper. He juxtaposed light and dark. Ripple Effect has an excellent review of his works.

Calgon, take me away!

That's what I might be saying soon.

My sub-heading for this blog is "Take the girl out of the big city--can't take the big city out of the girl". I lived in The Big City for many years until last September, when I married a man whose only drawback (how I saw it back then) was that he lives in The Small Town. I thought, "Aaahhh! No popping into the local yarn shops or Hobby Lobby to check out the clearance crafts or the mall on any ol' day. Too much quiet. And less visiting with my family. What'll I do?????"

What I've done is what everybody should do when they move to a new place, whether it's a sprawling metropolis or a self-contained little town. I have become involved. There's new friends added to the old friends, church and church functions, work, knitting group at the local library each week, and various local small-town events. I've learned to live with fewer shops and that's been good because I am actually finishing projects instead of just salivating over yarn and pretty home goods at the shops. I can visit the shops when we travel. And...My Darling Husband has become my family.

Last week My Darling Husband came home from his work with the news that he's been laid off.

Whuh?!

Mental thud.

Where did that come from?

I practically just moved here!

...and I like it here now!!!

I've pleasantly discovered that you can take the big city out of this gal. We might have to move because My Darling Husband's line of work is specialized and there's only the one company around here that could hire him. There's no market here for him to start a company doing his line of work. If we do move to a large city, I'll miss the quiet, the three-car traffic jams, the general politeness, the easily formed friendships, the quick drive to the countryside. I'll need lots of bubble baths. At least for a time.

The blog sub-heading has got to be revised.

here, sample this

Did you see Alicia's? Here's my sampler. I'm going to cross-stitch it. I mean, I'll add it to the list of crafty things I want to do. But I will stitch it...perhaps embroider it. Living in a small town means I'm close to the country so I can drive quickly to the rural areas for country inspiration, or walk through town for city inspiration for the sampler. Samplers are so easy to personalize. You can add your initials and date you completed the project, the names of the recipients or images from the life you know.

roses are red, roses on blue

Look what I found in the mailbox today:

A Cath Kidston shopping bag from our blogging friend at Vintage Pleasure. I like her blog because we share a penchant for pretty and practical vintage items, she upholds family life in the traditional sense when posting about family, her blog is pleasing to the eye, and well, I have always been an Anglophile.

The bag was made for a good cause. Coincidentally it just happens to be one of my favorite color schemes which is red and light blue together. It's meant to be a shopping bag, but it's my new knitting bag. No more plastic bags from the stores for my knitting.Just in time for knitting group at the library tonight.