Hmmm, the following is a post I’d started writing a few days ago. It began with this little poem…( it still lacks a title)
Figurehead
Her maiden voyage
Leaves the sea harbor behind
Above all she sails
Arcing high above
Tiptoes light on mountain tops
Skimming she swoops down
On cold, arid land
Bears witness to icy touch
Winter’s harsh command
Her breath.. soft whispers
Teasing lifts your hair and hands
Gentle cheek caress
Spinning, she is gone
Scented air fills vacant space
Awaits her return
…Wondering who she is?
Then scroll on down…
We have something called a Chinook here in Calgary… a heavenly respite of warm air that flows up over the Rocky Mountains and spills down onto our city.
Temperatures rise dramatically, snow melts to slush and the air is redolent with “spring”. Everyone rushes outside to stroll through parks and along our Bow River. This is the bridge to Edworthy Park.
There is usually a great arch of clouds spanning across our sky to the west, but gusting winds blew clouds in beautiful, sweeping formations.
And this:
The sun was setting and it was time to go home. I had the night to myself, so I poured out the rest of my husband’s 2005 W.H. Smith Maritime Vineyard Pinot Noir (Sonoma County) (shhhh!).
What better way to top off a most excellent day than to do just a little more Christmas baking…
Well… that was written last Wednesday… today my Chinook poem would have a completely different tone. Wind gusts have reached 120 km, roof tiles, fallen trees and debris are strewn around Calgary. I had to run around the yard to pick up planters and almost got blown away. Glass windows downtown have burst and shards litter the streets. Emergency response has closed our downtown core area.
My daughter is currently snowboarding high up on a mountain top in Sunshine Village… and I’m concerned about the possible road conditions when she drives home. Of course she just tells me to “Calm down”! I trust she’ll be fine… and shall distract my attention with a few of these…
Recipe courtesy of Whitewater Cooks (one of my favorites)
To print a copy, click here: Crackle Top Snowy Mountain Cookies
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by Barbara Bamber | justasmidgen
Crackle cookies, yay!! Sounds like you have some fun weather adventures at your place.
Hope your daughter gets home safe!
Looks like a wonderful recipe and I enjoy your photographs!
She just did, thanks!
Thanks, Ruth…
American weather just seems to get more extreme by the year…in the UK we are getting balmy 15 degrees at the end of November – never seen anything like it – I saw wasps today!
Great post thanks. I really enjoyed it very much. You have a great blog here. Thanks again for sharing.
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Your pics are great but make me feel chilly! I bet a warm cookie fresh out of the oven changes that! Those look delicious…I’d love to try them and maybe add a little mint extract…yum!
Wasps… wow, it really is getting a bit scary the weather we’ve been having! Finger’s crossed it can be reversed…
Love it.. mint with chocolate, the cookie is very soft and delicate so it would almost be like an After Eight mint…
i can just see you running around your yard chasing runaway loungers! c
You swept me right up in the Chinook. I felt like I was soaring in that wide arc embracing the sky, picked up from the icy river’s bank, rushed in the Chinook’s speed but neither cold nor harried, and might land smack in the middle of Spring at the other end of the bow.
The photos, also beautiful, took me back to Alberta, all right, but to Edmonton of course, since I’ve spent a lot more time wandering the river valley there and watching the ice break up under the bridges than I have in Calgary yet! However, having been in that neck of the woods, I also know very well about the high winds and how challenging *they* can be! Prefer the Chinooks myself!
Great post. I think I’ll have a cookie now . . .
What beautiful photos. We don’t get scenes like that here in Sydney, especially at this time of year! I do hope your daughter is okay. You just worry about them so much when they’re driving, especially in difficult conditions.
Oh my gosh! I’m adding Calgary to my list of places that I must visit someday. Your pictures are just gorgeous! And I love crackle cookies, especially with powdered sugar.
I love the beach picture
http://madmalin.wordpress.com/2011/11/28/waaoooww-sasis-m1-di-templokin-di-rc213v/
Haha, I did… had these metal globes rolling down the street as well..:)
I love Edmonton’s river valley best, I think (shhh) it’s so pretty with the hills of green trees on either side.. glad to share a cookie if you were near:)
She made it home:) I do worry, she should have taken the ski bus up, I think that’s what we’ll do next time.
You’d love it, I’m sure of that:)
Thanks… wish it was an ocean’s beach…
Beautiful! Just gorgeous. And not bad scenery either. Kidding, both the cookies and the scenery are great.
I do so love your photography! Absolutely exquisite! I see from other comments that you daughter has arrived safely.
Mandy
Beautiful biccies and a lovely poem in one post – aren’t we lucky?!
I love the cloud pictures..you take such stinning pictures of everything
Looking forward to trying those cookies
Our weather is wondrous, isn’t it? One day you’re out and about, strolling in a park, while the next, you’re chasing down garden gnomes as they tumble across a neighbor’s yard and risking neck & limb doing so. You sure did capture the beauty of the Chinook — and those cookies are pretty fab, too!
Yup, she did:) Thanks again..
And now I shall head over to read yours…
They are yummy… just had a few last night:)
Hahaha, love the image of gnome chasing… made my morning! Thanks!
“Calgary” where I know because of the television, we love to watch the winter sports… And now with your beautiful sharings and through your photographs I can make a journey at my desk. The winter is not easy in your country but I know also, everything works well. This is your great modern world. Mothers always being worried about their children
I am so glad she came back home. Your photographs and your poem fascinated me dear Barbara, you have a wonderful poetical spirit. And finally what a beautiful photograph of these cookies… I fall in love. With the birds… Thank you so much, Blessing and Happiness, with my love, nia
I’m so glad to read that you’ve seen our city on television! It is breathtaking here with all the snow… Yes, we do worry a lot… she’s home and safely tucked in bed:) I have to tell you that you always write such beautiful remarks, Nia, you are the one with the poetic soul! Sending blessings right back! xoxo
Once again, something I am connecting with you on: After Eights! In the last few years we’ve been able to get them in the USA, but not very many places…in other words, places near teh boarder, that’s all. My sister is my After Eight dealer!!!
Lovely poem and photos–they’re all gorgeous. I can’t pick a favorite! I tried, and gave up. I’m sure those crackle cookies were divine. x
Wonderfully striking photos. The cookies look absolutely melt-in-the-mouth! Sorry to hear about the turn for the worse in the weather. I hope things are settling down now. I loved the poem, it is so beautifully atmospheric.
The best part… you don’t have to pick a fav… at Christmas we make them all:)
They were a really melt-in-your mouth batch. Things are much calmer now, with a true chinook arch in our sky…
My, what a gorgeous and inspirational place you live in! I don’t envy that kind of cold wind, that came through later, though. The cookies look so beautiful with the little chick and so invitingly delicious, too!
This is your beautiful heart dear Barbara, you are so nice, Thank you. Blessing and Happiness, with my love, nia
I could feel a crispness in the air!! A nice hot coco with those cookies would be absolutely perfect! and those cookies could not displayed any cuter!!!
Oh, my… yes, my heart is displayed on all these pages, isn’t it? For all of you who are reading:)
I love these photos as well, they bring back such awesome memories of that day. It was not too cold, but had just snowed.. stunning and bright shining sunlit days… Perfect with hot chocolate!
Gorgeous opening shots!
Those cookies rocked, as well.
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