Greetings, Is anyone a member of NARGS and/or growing small rock garden-like plants in the ABQ, NM area? I am interested in any plants like that which can do good here especially tolerating the summer heat!!! Like buns etc (and not just succulent types). Thanks. John R.

Wow, nice! We go to a Jamaican restaurant that's just a short drive away. They were pleasantly surprised to receive an unexpected Michelin Guide "Recommended" for 2015, in fact. We're going on Thursday nite for the goat curry. Their salt cod fritters are divine.............! And of course, the housemade rum cake with its wallop of Jamaican rum!

Ricky, those look really good. How strong is the orange flavor with just that one orange in there? I know it's supposed to be subtle, but I still like to taste it. Let's see, drizzle that with some orange glaze, LOL, add some more sugar. (grin) OK, now I'm going to try to post the other two pictures and see how that goes. First the peanut butter cookies, with all the additions. Because that isn't quite enough sugar, between the cookies, the mini M&Ms, the Reese's Pieces and the Reese's peanut buttter cups, The Princess gave them a dusting of "snow" in the form of sugar. Yeah... And the cut out sugar cookies, 5 dozen of them. One dozen for each of the grandkids to decorate and take home and the other dozen for my house. Everyone from the mail delivery person to the UPS driver gets offered a cookie. Outside, of course. You know, I have a plastic tub full of cookie cutters, but the kids always want to make the same shapes every year. I can never convince them to add the camel because no one wants to frost anything brown, LOL. I even suggested chocolate, but no go. And I have one of those old copper Mirro cookie presses, Grandma used to make Spritz with colored sugar sprinkles every year, but no one likes those either. Pffft, they are NO fun. Now The Princess is coming today to make more cookies, so we'll have Christmas Cookies, Round Two! Plus cinnamon rolls today for those nice neighbors. Annie

When the family was growing up I used to do a lot of holiday cookie baking to make up boxes or trays for gifting to neighbors, the kids' friends' parents, coworkers, etc. Now on my own, kids long gone and me retired, I rarely do much holiday baking anymore. Too many diet restrictions/allergies with the family and they are too transient at this time of year as well for perishable food items. I still bake a couple of different cookies at this time of year. If family IS in town at all, I am required to make lemon bars :-) Although not particularly holiday-ish and I make them year round anyway, they are hands down the family favorite and I'd be in trouble if they were not included! Others I seem to make only at this time of year: chocolate crinkles peanut butter blossoms sweet dream (coconut) bars thumbprint cookies with apricot or raspberry mincemeat tarts chocolate truffles My mom always made spritz cookies at Christmas. And my sister always makes something called melting moments. If I am not making to give away, I would pick the mincemeat tarts, oatmeal cranberry or molasses for myself.