i wish i had a river i could skate away on

Joni Mitchell really said it best. But before I skate away for a few days, I wanted to share a few things.


#1: Christmas Morning Coffee Cake. I have eaten this cake every Christmas morning since I could chew. I can almost promise that once you make it, you'll never stop.

Preheat oven to 325
spray cooking spray in Bundt pan

Mix and beat for 6-8 minutes:

1 box yellow cake mix

1 package instant vanilla pudding

3/4 cups water

3/4 cups oil

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. butter flavoring

4 eggs

Then prepare filling:

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 heaping tsp. cinnamon

1/4 cup chopped pecans

Pour 1 /3 of batter in the bottom of Bundt pan. Sprinkle 1/2 of filling, pour another 1/3 of batter, sprinkle remaining filling, then pour remaining batter. Bake at 325 for 55-60 minutes.

Remove cake from oven and cool in pan for 15 minutes.

Mix together:

1 cup powdered sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. butter flavoring

1 1/2 tbsp. milk

Remove cake from pan and spoon glaze over hot cake.

#2: New scarf pictures. The sun came out yesterday and Steve helped me with some pictures, so the scarf should be showing up in the shop very soon.

#3 Wrapped gifts under the tree. Just look at how cheerful they are! I can't wait until next week when I can share pictures of what's inside!

I think that the next couple of days will include very little contact with the outside world and lots of naps. And, if I'm lucky, our neighbor in a Santa suit.

Hope your Christmas is just as merry.