The Christmas cards are ready to be mailed. Yes, I must admit there is one remaining on my desk, which needs a letter. I suspect we will receive a card or two from folks, who didn't make the final cut for my 2010 Christmas card list. I trust no one will know that, so no one will take offense. Even if they suspect that such is the case, I hope they don't take offense.

We received 4 or 5 inches of snow yesterday, which was far less than the 16 to 18 inches that were forecast. Checking the radar on-line during the day seemed to indicate that we were on the northern edge of the storm. Apparently the storm tracked a bit more southernly path across Wisconsin. With what we had already, yesterday's addition has made for a nice snow cover. Today was calm, clear, and sunny with temperatures in the low teens. It was a good day for cleaning up after the storm.

It was also a good day to try out a new recipe--oven baked oatmeal. Now that is a hardy breakfast that one can feel good about sitting down to after a hour and a half of serious snow shoveling and before heading out for another hour of shoveling for a friend and neighbor nursing a bad cold.

Recently, a friend asked if I had ever heard of oven baked oatmeal. This is a friend whom I meet regularly for breakfast at an area restaurant. Lately we have been choosing between the senior special and the oatmeal with raisins, brown sugar, and a side of whole wheat toast. It appears that in his recent travels, he found this item on a breakfast menu one morning, something he had previously never heard of, and yet found to be a breakfast well worth talking about. With a little surfing on the net, I found several recipes for oven baked oatmeal. It appears to be an Amish dish. The lady of the house is out of town for several days, so I took my new found freedom to experiment in the kitchen. If my efforts ended in a disaster, I could remove all evidence, unless, of course, I would have to complete some structural repairs. Aw! The sweet taste of success. When the kids are home for Christmas, they will be served oven bake oatmeal at least one morning for breakfast.

When I called my Mom and told her what I was up to, she chided me on not being economical in my use of the oven, that is, by baking only one thing at a time. I was suppose to mix up a second item to bake, since I had the oven going anyway. My rationale: The oven warmed the kitchen up nicely, so the furnace didn't have to run. I didn't try to explain my experimental stance, the potential for disaster, and the desire to exercise caution. You see, if there were two items in the oven and disaster struck, the resulting disaster would have been compounded. I might even be staying in a motel room, until the insurance adjuster was able to do his job, and the needed repairs had been completed. The joys of cooking are in direct proportion to the risks involved--a lot like stock car racing and downhill skiing.