Want To See?

I think if you live in New England or snow country you won't even want to peek at my post today. 

Yes, my bird feeders are at snow height. That's not just the angle of the shot.

Right now there are more snow drifts and pine needles all over the snow. Which you can't see in these snapshots.

The snow looks  hairy or like a porcupine.

Yeeks- winter.

This winter in particular. What a February. So far I am having a hard time finding one redeeming thing about it.

So this past weekend one thing I did was sit next to the wood stove and read this graphic novel I picked up at Barnes and Nobel on Friday after work.

OK, sitting next to the wood stove and reading is a good thing.

I've read a couple of other graphic novels by Lucy Knisley before and I enjoy them.

I enjoy anything about travel right now.

(Tough being at school and hearing all the kids talk about where they are going next week on vacation when we have our winter break. Vale, Costa Rica, a Caribbean cruise. A friend is going to Mexico. I can handle it though. I am tough. And my husband needs me right now and I couldn't go any place and have a good time anyhow. Not if he was home and still sick.)

I am just hoping to get 1 wall painted and 3 bookshelves assembled and the books moved in next week. That's my vacation project. It will be very exciting to actually do some work around the house and accomplish something I really want done.

I got back to my baking project this past weekend which was fun. OK, winter is a good time to cook when you feel inspired to, not when you have to.

Made a little Valentine's Day heart cake which was a springy strawberry and cream cake-Norwegian style.

I got the recipe from this cookbook which I have owned forever. I believe my mother gave it to me for Christmas long before I even got married.

When I was a kid growing up in Worcester, Massachusetts, there was a Swedish bakery that made this cream and fruit cake which was just beyond delicious.

This cake really reminded me of that cake.

The only problem is that I should have assembled it and then chilled it before we ate it. I assembled it and then we ate it so the vanilla pudding inside kind of leaked out when I cut it.  Even the the pudding was cold.

We had leftovers out of the fridge the next night and it was perfect!

The hubby really liked it.

And that was the point, He needed something he could eat (no salt at all in this cake) to celebrate  being home.  Never mind Valentine's Day. 

I did substitute Cool Whip for the real whipped cream for him. I love real whipped cream. But he is suppose to watch his dairy and with the pudding filling I thought that would be enough.

I will say this cake really made me happy.

Made us all happy actually.

Did you do anything special to make yourself happy lately?