So, I love to bake. Yup. I am the one who always takes baked goods to work to share with everyone who is trying to watch their weight. It is a love-hate relationship:) This past summer I began a book club in my neighborhood (I will be writing about that later). I posted an entry on our Facebook group asking if anyone would be interested in baking with me today as I prepare for an event at work later this week. One person responded. I decided we would bake three kinds of cookies. For years my son-in-law and I baked Christmas cookies together. One year we were having so much fun that at the end of the day on Saturday we decided to continue baking on Sunday. We made 12 different kinds of cookies that year!
Anyway, my daughter helped me clean the house today and I set up the kitchen with a supply station, a mixing station, and a cookie sheet station. I also set up my three-tiered cooling racks…very handy if you have limited counter space. When the doorbell rang at a little past 2:00pm I opened the door with a big smile on my face.
I find baking to be relaxing. It makes the house smell wonderful. It is a scent I would love as a potpourri…fresh baked cookies. We started making Cowboy Cookies, a recipe my friend shared with me. As we mixed we chatted about our families, work (we are both nurses), and what brought us to TX. The conversation flowed easily and soon we were laughing as we baked. We then made Peanut Butter Blossoms (The peanut butter cookie with a Hershey’s kiss in the center). We finished up with a batch of Gingerbread Men, decorated with cinnamon hots for buttons.
Moving to TX was one of the most “out of the box” things I have ever done. I moved away from my established friends. One thing that I often feel is loneliness. It isn’t so much that I haven’t connected with people here but the fact that it takes time to make new friends. It takes time to build a history with other people. I already have a history with people back in New England. I maintain those friendships via text and the occasional phone call. Trips back home always include visits with those friends. Still, the loneliness I have felt continues. Now I find myself in the situation of having a few people who will be available to go to the movies, or lunch, or just take a walk in the neighborhood we share. This makes me feel a little less lonely.
Today I baked with a new friend.
