Wrapping up the First Day of the New Year

Twice today, I have been glad that I don't seriously believe that what happens on January first is a harbinger of the coming year.

• This morning, when I was closing the dishwasher door and managed to bash my knee on it, hard enough to bruise. Honestly, how many times have I closed the door unscathed, hundreds? And yet somehow...
• This afternoon, when I was reaching toward the washing machine to get laundry out, and bashed my hand into the coin slot (I suspect hard enough to bruise, but time will tell; it almost broke the skin, but not quite).

Of course, these events could signal that I will continue to be a klutz this year, but that's hardly news. It would take a miracle to change, in fact.

For that matter, I could have added "clean up cat puke" to that list, but that too is unlikely to change in the new year. And Carlos, bless him, was nice enough to urp on a blanket that needed to go in the wash anyway, making for the easiest cleanup ever.

On the other hand, in addition to all the laundry, my day has included cats and chocolate and yarn and reading and hockey*, all of which are part of my ideal day, or year by extrapolation. And I heard part of the weather forecast on TV and he was talking about Saturday night** and for a minute I thought that was tonight, but no: I have to work tomorrow, but then I get a whole weekend! Ahh, so nice.
*The Bruins lost in the skills competition last night, but today was the Winter Classic, the outdoor game, so I watched that, or had it on, anyway.
**When apparently it may snow before changing to rain on Sunday; I hope he's wrong about the snow part.

And the weekend won't have to include laundry, or at least not much, which will free up some time for other things. Like friends and hanging out, as well as more cats and chocolate and yarn and reading and hockey, and maybe the Bruins will even win. They didn't play too well, or consistently, last night, so it's anyone's guess, really. Two matinees, what a weird weekend schedule.

Maybe I'll make those meringues again, too, as I've been craving. Typically, or stereotypically, one would not be indulging in January, and I have been eating some healthy things, but those damned things are so good, I can't stop thinking about them. I didn't link to the recipe here yet, did I? I read about it on Empty Nest Feathers, a blog I read, and she credited it to Gimme Some Oven, a blog I was not familiar with (but what a great name). They truly were simple, and so delicious. A few of my own notes:

• I tried the method to not crack them, the first time, but mine were cracked before the cooking time was even done, so I didn't bother after that. They still tasted fine.
• Use the parchment paper! Go get some if you don't have it already. I didn't have any the first time, and found it was hard to get them off the cookie sheet in one piece. They came off the parchment paper so, so much easier.
• Try to make them small. They kind of crumble when bitten into, so having them bite-size is better. The recipe makes quite a lot, over six dozen as I recall.
• I put about half the cup of mini chocolate chips in the mix, then used most of the rest on top. I didn't feel skimped by using less than a full cup: you want to have the cookie, and not just the chocolate, to taste.
• At the party, I went over the ingredient list with a friend who has to eat gluten-free, and she was delighted that she could eat them. She kept going back for more, too: she said she'd tried store-bought meringues before and been unimpressed, but oh, this is how they're supposed to taste!

So there you are: be anti-January! Make cookies!