I'm gonna make chocolate chip cookies today with out the chips

my wise and wonderful Mr. Ketchup's 2nd favorite cookie

and I gotta do something to warm up this house... :scared:

I was just thinking about making macaroons with chocolate chips.

It's cold here too....but thank goodness we have some of your NM sun shining up here today in the grey and gloomy PNW. It's been a really wet winter so far and I've been really struggling with staying warm.

tomorrow night :scared:

when the sun comes out here in the winter, it warms the house up wonderfully but no sun and it's damned chilly in here

House Hunters International was in the tropics all day yesterday. Made me wonder about moving to the Caribbean. I don't think they have Trader Joes down there...or even a Costco! Not sure I could give both those up. :scared:

I've been scouring the on line Real Estate sites for houses in Albuquerque. Hopefully we'll get an opportunity this year to get down there to looksee. SO is inching closer to selling the business then we can down size. I'm so ready for it. I just want to sell everything and start fresh! (Except my precious kitchen stuff collection of course---I'll hire a u-haul for that!)

(Edit for spelling)

and that's first on my list, even with the Houston like humidity and the occasional 107 degree days in the summer.

I don't like Trader Joe's. This burg finally got one and I wasn't impressed. They had too much booze and absolutely nothing for bakers.

what are the chances of a meet up? we can probably come to you if driving is and issue?

milder winters by a lot

and there's a Costco in El paso less than an hour away

I think it's the cold and damp that get me the most though. I'm not a happy camper with heat either. Alas we need to be close to ski areas so SO can get his time in. His retirement goal is 60 ski days a year so we need to be within an hour or two drive to the lifts. ...We could break his leg though. :)

Close to ski areas and the winters are milder than anyone imagines. Housing is in a slump and should be for some time. You could do very well on value for the prices. We live in Lakewood, west of Denver. Being in between the mountains and the city make it ultra convenient.

Same deal in ABQ. Our snow has evaporated rather than melting. Yes, the cold gets a bit tedious, but days when it is both cold and cloudy are rare (compared to anywhere else I know in North America) and if the sun is out we don't need the furnace on past about 10:00 in the morning.

NOT damp, though. And (wonder of wonders!) Not lip-chappingly, skin-crackingly dry, either. (Though we do get that dryness when the spring and fall winds are blowing heavy.) An amazingly livable climate, my only complaint this year has been a few too many cold days in a row, producing mild cabin fever. Nothing like I used to get in MN, though.

ABQ is an excellent housing market for buyers right now, but there are serious water and land use issues. If you don't need to be near the big city, there are other small cities/towns with ski access that are really great. And there is no better place if you like the rural/small town life.

I've never had a serious problem with heat here, but we've only been here a couple of years. It gets up to 90 or so sometimes in the summer but you don't really feel it because the humidity is non-existent. A swamp cooler or even good solar shades and a ceiling fan is all you need for comfort in summer.

OTOH (disclosure): The economy sucks rocks, there is no way you can get any building/remodeling/landscaping or similar job done anywhere near on time and within 250% of budget, water is ALWAYS an issue, and a lot of the rural areas are very, very, VERY conservative/troglodyte.

But we'd love havin' ya for a neighbor!

encouragingly,
Bright

Last winter was the wild one and most unusual with all that snow. But mostly we get the cold and then it warms up nicely. And the dry climate is such a nice change from the New York climate of my youth. People associate us with our mountain climate. But down here it's definitely a different and much dryer, milder story. Can you tell I'm sold?! :D

So your temps took a plunge, huh? We had -1 this morning. But it's a blue skies day today and I'm happy to see the clouds all gone again.

I may be a delegate :shrug:

they are good, but about the thickness of a sheet of paper

I should have made them cookie bars instead... and that was from Joy of Cooking too!

I do that with carrot cake and its texture is so much better. Then I put a slew of lemon juice in the cream cheese frosting and scarcely any confectioner's sugar.

Form the cookies and then put them in the refrig for a few minutes to let them firm up. Especially if they have a lot of butter. If the cookies are cold, the butter doesn't melt as fast and the cookies don't spread as much.

:hi:

I also like Cherry Pie without the Cherries

man. I too love chocolate chip cookies without the chips!

Now I feel marginally less weird. :7

DE-LISH!

:bounce:

It's definitely a keeper!