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Wednesday, March 5, 2025

Biscotti and Not Much Else

55°f, about 13°C this morning, quite a change from 21°f yesterday. Rain overnight but skies are clearing now.

I have been cleaning for the past two days. Dusting, mopping, sorting, changing wall art from winter to more Spring-like pieces, etc. It feels good to feeshen the place up. In my workroom, I cut down boxes, lots of boxes, and stacked them out of the way. I keep almost all boxes we get from our online buying; they will be used later for shipping ebay sales. I will continue cleaning today, as there is much more to be done. 

My biscotti came out pretty well. This recipe if for chocolate orange hazelnut biscotti. You make the dough, divide it and add melted chocolate to one half and orange zest to the other, then twist them together. Now, I have made this for the past 10 years, I think, and that twisting together thing does not work for me-- the biscotti just falls apart after baking into the chocolate half and the orange half. So I don't bother twisting them, I just bake each rope separately and end up with some chocolate and some orange and that suits me just fine.

Recipe:


The cookbook: as you can see, it's a favorite.


Other than that, not much to talk about! Larry changed the oil in the truck, yay. Of course it meant an extra trip to town because as usual the filter we bought was the wrong one. So he took it back and got the right one, dropping off a large bag of stuff to Goodwill while he was out. He has been repairing a stake-side child's wagon and has it ready to wax. He had to replace the wood bottom of the wagon, which was rotted out, and do some general tightening up. It looks pretty good now.

I spent a few hours pricing for the booths,  an ongoing job but a necessary one. I am finding stuff in the house that needs to go, like a couple lamps, and some small framed mirrors and art prints--things I thought I would use, or that I exchanged for other decor while cleaning. So far I have 4 full totes, and probably enough to fill another, ready to go. That should be enough for a couple weeks.

I did not watch the speech last night. Larry and I had agreed not to mention that man all day, a good break. I knew the speech would be full of lies, which apparently it was. I did have to laugh about his comment on the 2019 trade deal with Canada and Mexico, in which he excoriated the fool who signed it....himself. Seriously.

Reading: I started two books last week. One by Rita Mae Brown, which I thought I would try even though I have never liked her books. Two chapters in on The Hounds and the Fury and I just can't.  It's her animals having conversations that I can't tolerate. This book has so many characters and so much foxhunting jargon that I felt my mind go numb. I don't like foxhunting anyway, think it's a cruel "sport", so this book will go to my booth bookshelf.

I am having better luck with Jodi Picoult's The Book of Two Ways. It too, delves deep and immediately into subjects I know little about, archeology and Egyptology.  This, however, is interesting to me, so I will continue reading, I think. This author certainly has done her research.
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Well, after starting this post I went on a tear and decided we need to finally paint the bedroom. We have been talking about it for, ummm, 2 years, and it desperately needs to be done. So, after all my cleaning, I am making one big mess taking everything off the walls, etc. But it will be nice to have clean, new paint.

I better get back to it. See you soon, friends.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

30 comments:

  1. Too may blog ladies tempt me with their cooking and baking.

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    1. Other bloggers inspire me to cook and bake!

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  2. ...so you are the box and biscotti lady?

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  3. Much like you, I talked about painting my bedroom for a couple of years and then just took a wild hair and did it. My closet is in dire need of a clean out with a large bag going to Good Will.

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    1. We have a right mess now, but it will soon be better. That's why I put off painting, just dreading the upheaval.

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  4. It sounds like you've been so productive lately! I love how you've been cleaning, organizing, and even getting your workroom ready for the future. The story about your biscotti made me smile—sometimes, it's just easier to embrace the imperfect way of doing things, and it sounds like that worked out wonderfully for you!

    I also enjoy reading about your ongoing projects, from the booth pricing to painting the bedroom. It’s always nice to freshen things up, and I’m sure the new paint will make your room feel even more inviting. It’s also so great that you’re parting with things to donate. It’s such a satisfying feeling when you clear out what no longer serves you.

    Hi, wishing you a great Wednesday: I just shared a new post: https://www.melodyjacob.com/

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    1. Thank you for your sweet words, Melody. I need to get back over to your blog, and add you to my blogroll!

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  5. Good for Larry with the truck oil change, the wagon repair, and the goodwill drop-off. It’s the little things that can really make a difference!

    As for the books, I totally get your feelings about The Hounds and the Fury. Sometimes books just don't resonate, no matter how much we want them to. On the other hand, The Book of Two Ways sounds fascinating, especially with the deep dive into archeology and Egyptology. It’s always nice when you find a book that grabs your attention!

    Best of luck with the bedroom painting project! It might be a mess for now, but I’m sure the new look will be worth it in the end.

    Hi, wishing you a great Wednesday: I just shared a new post: https://www.melodyjacob.com/

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  6. Wow. You've got a lot of energy to tackle all that. We didn't watch the speech either. I can't stand to hear that man blather.

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    1. His voice grates on my nerves so badly! At least when I am busy I don't have to hear him or think about him.

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  7. Your biscotti look delicious, and having a choice of flavors instead of two flavors at once seems very reasonable.
    best… mae at maefood.blogspot.com

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    1. Thanks, Mae. I think I prefer the chocolate, as the orange doesn't seem as strongly flavored. Next time I will add more zest.

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  8. The biscotti looks really good.

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  9. I've never seen twisted biscotti. I'll have to check this out. The flavors sound so good.

    I've been writing letters. I still write quite a few friends around the world & their replies all seem to come at the same time so I've been catching up. And spending time with my 7 yr old grandson. He'll stay with me three nights this week...getting a child to bed then up for school the next day...it's been a long time since I've had to do that!

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    1. I love that you still write letters! I do so occasionally but not like I used to. It is such a pleasure to get a handwritten letter these days.
      I don't envy you the childcare, lol! I did my share with my grands, and am quite happy not to have to do it any more. Although of course I would, if needed.

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  10. I haven't baked any bisotti in a long while! The chocolate hazelnut one looks awesome.

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    1. I like it best, Angie. It has a really rich chocolate taste.

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  11. You sound very energetic! Getting lots done including very tasty looking Biscotti.

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    1. Some days I'm a ball of fire, other days, not so much. Getting a good night's sleep sure makes a difference.

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  12. You did well not watching. I sadly did. He´s doing so much damage and his followers applaud big. I wonder when consequences hit and what will happen then.

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    1. His followers, and the Republicans in Congress, sicken me. Bunch of sycophants. Every day is waiting for the next fiasco to strike.

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  13. You mentioned the biscotti the other day and I wondered how it turned out. I think I would really like the orange one. Good luck with painting the bedroom. We have a bedroom in the basement that needs to be painted before we move stuff back into it. We had to have new floor put in after a flood in there. In fact, we have a lot of stuff still out of place from that problem. But it's in the basement, so it's out of sight, out of mind.

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    1. Well, I have a big mess now, but thank goodness it will soon be done! I hate the uproar but I know I will be happy to see it all fresh and clean.

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  14. The biscotti looks delicious. I wish there was soneone in my family that liked to bake! Have a wonderful weekend.

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  15. You've been busy and I'll bet your house smelled super awesome! That biscotti looks delicious. I really admire your productivity today! My whole house could use painting and there is so much against the wall I can't unload I think it will probably look awful till I move!

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  16. There's nothing like a fresh coat of paint for making a room look brand-new. And I would also prefer the separate flavors to a two-tone cookie...how else would I get to eat two cookies every time instead of one? ;)

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  17. I had forgotten how much I like Picoult's books. Thanks for the recommendation. The amount of work you get through in a day shames me; I creep from task to task and sneak off here to read and comment far too regularly. I should be sorting and lugging to our 'free stuff' depots; only I need to get the arm working a bit better. However, I was able to hang up the socks to dry today = I have been hitting my poor husband with that task and it is not what he is used to. Tht last should be in Italic caps.

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