The weekly exercise of photography, for me, contains bits and pieces of what I do, see, or reproduce for publication in any given week.  Therefore, at the risk of this reading like a "How I spent my Thanksgiving holiday" paper from school, one of today's main blog subjects is the rum ball.  I have been constructing these confections every year since the early 1980s, to distribute as holiday cheer, and have made it a tradition to start the process on the day following Thanksgiving.  Over time, ingredients have been altered, depending on their availability, but basically the ingredients are a crumb base, pecans, chocolate chips, powdered sugar, corn syrup, and rum.  Not much in the way of nutritional value, but a lovely, edible form of comfort. Because of the rum, they have the added bonus of a long shelf life.  I quadrupled the recipe and ended up with 129 balls, lined up like soldiers on paper towels, waiting to dry a bit.

Although I frequently feel like I am channeling the enthusiasm of Julia Child while making these, flinging ingredients around the kitchen, the results are worth the effort.

I let the balls "age" for a month or so before putting them in individual containers.  The fragrance is heady.  Naturally, one must taste the resulting product.

Another element of comfort happened this week.  For the first time in a month, it rained here.  A quarter of an inch fell and it was an unexpected gift.  Most of the rain fell throughout the night and in the morning until about 11 a.m., enabling moisture to soak into the ground.  Sheer comfort for everything in the natural world, including the roses, wearing the beads of water with joy.  It almost looks as if there was a wee bit of ice on this rose.

To have a bud at this time of year, as catchment device for moisture, is a wonderful thing.

I hope each of you were able to celebrate this week.  Thanks to Kay, Barbara F. R., Diane, Victoria, Geula, Marilyn, Pauli, TTT, Ann, Wayne, Steve, and Ingrid for leaving your thoughts about the blog - toast, al carbón or not!  

until next Monday,

DB

a passion for the image©