Well this is the last Featured Follower of 2016. I can’t believe that the year is close to being over, but it will be an exciting end because Lisa Cocca is a good storyteller. I’m so happy to have her here for the month of December.
Her book is Providence, and I’ve already read and reviewed it. If you want to find out more about Lisa, here’s her WEBSITE. If you want buy her most excellent book, it’s available on Amazon. With KindleUnlimited, you can read her story for free. Email Connect peeps, she’s offering a FREE signed paperback.
Connect with Lisa on Facebook and Twitter
#InkRipples is a monthly meme created by Kai Strand, Mary Waibel, and Katie L. Carroll. They post on the first Monday of every month with a new topic. They’re all authors, but you don’t have to be to participate.
For about two decades, neighborhood did a spectacular Cookie Bake. I know what you’re thinking. Everybody comes bearing a dozen or so special holiday cookies, and then swaps with everyone else–and a good time was had by all. Nope. Not even close.
Everyone came with three cookie recipes and all the ingredients. We started about 4 in the afternoon and wound up the last batches about midnight. In between, we drank wine, nibbled on a pot luck buffet and exchanged Cookie Bake stories. “Remember in ’90 when we forgot the sugar cookies in the oven next door and smoke poured out the windows?”
Flour and sugar was involved in every part of the evening. And at the end we produced over 2,000 cookies and at least 30 different kinds. With the graying of the cookie bakers, the kids took over for a while, but then it was time to retire the tireless Cookie Bake. Now we have the memories, and each one is perfect, even the burnt sugar cookie night.
Here I am ready to roll. It must be early in the evening because I’m not dusted with flour yet.
My neighbor and I are deep into the mixing here, and we’re still smiling, so it’s not midnight yet!
Quote of the Week:
That is such an awesome and delicious idea!!! How did you all eat all those cookies though? lol
Love that quote! That's definitely the only way to go. 😉
Alexa
thessalexa.blogspot.com
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Mostly we gave them away or took them as our contributions to parties. We got a lot of invitations.
wow, that was a LOT of cookies! Love the pics!!
I have never heard of doing cookies the way you did them back in the day. Sounds like a lot of fun- and tiring too! Loved seeing the pictures. 🙂
Congratulations to Lisa. What a pretty cover! 🙂
~Jess
You made me hungry. Congrats' Lisa.
Juneta @ Writer's Gambit
My mom brought me cookies last night (early birthday gift) and they are so good. I have to exercise real restraint not to eat them all!
Congrats to Lisa. I love the colors on her cover. So pretty!
No restraint during the holidays!
I have a friend who does that kind of baking spree all on her own. Last year, she literally stayed up all night and was late to church to deliver the cookies.
Ha! That's a good one.
Sounds like a fun tradition! Great memories!
Wish I could find the pictures of the table at the end of the evening. They were impressive.
The Cookie Bake sounds fun and exhausting in equal measure.
In answer to your question on my blog – yes I’ve read Cat’s Paw or at least part one and am now on the hunt for a copy of the January 1932 edition of The Ladies Journal. So far, there has been a murder and a kidnapping so it is all exciting stuff.
I'd love to hear more about it. Hope you find the issue with the next part of the story in it!
What a great tradition! How long ago did you stop doing it? It's always sad when longstanding traditions like that end.
Understandable, though.
We were at it over ten years. And interestingly enough, we all decided it was time to stop without consulting each other. When we met for our pre-cookie bake strategy meeting we just said, no more.
Sounds like the perfect way to do a Cookie Bake. Such fun memories to have.
Congratulations to Lisa.
Thanks. I enjoyed reminiscing.
Oh, I love the idea of the Cookie Bake. All those neighborhood type of get-togethers are fun to hear about, as my neighborhood has never been like that.
Ours has changed. We don't have the same kind of get-togethers anymore. People move. Our interests change. Too bad. I'm with you in enjoying a friendly drop in kind of neighborhood.
Wow, that's quite the endeavor. But many hands make the work light.
. . .and a big mess. Our ovens took a hit that night.
The cookie bake off looked like all sorts of fun. Good memories.
And what a perfect quote!
Love the cover of Providence.
If you like a feel good story, you'll like Providence. The best part is there are no zombies or werewolves even mentioned. 🙂
What a great idea and it looks like you had a great time doing this.
That was the most important part of the event–the fun.
Wow! Sounds like a super fun cookie day. Yes, I could use a cookie every day.
Isn't there a saying about a cookie a day keeping the doctor away? If not, there should be.
Sounds like fun, and very yummy.
The yummy part was the best. Then we didn't touch cookies for months.
That looks like great fun!!!
Thanks for introducing Lisa!
And Merry Christmas – early!
Thanks, so much, Tryean. Hope you'll take a look at Lisa's book.
Hi, Cheryl!
Thanks for introducing author Lisa Colozza Cocca and her book Providence. Becky seems like a well drawn character and I always appreciate good storytelling.
I enjoyed seeing those pictures of you, Cheryl. Looks like you guys had loads of fun at your Cookie Bake-a-thons over the years. Seems there are not as many members of the younger generation embracing the homemaking skills learned by their parents and especially their grandparents. Thanks for sharing, dear friend, Cheryl-Lee, and enjoy the rest of your week!
I do think the kids quit earlier than the adults in this cookie all-nighter, but some went on to be really good bakers. Maybe something rubbed off on them.
I have that Cookie Monster quote up in my classroom! 🙂
That sounds like fun – everyone loves cookies!
I love Cookie Monster!
what a lovely tradition that must have been!
I do miss it. I really miss the beautiful cookies.
What a brilliant idea – and a wonderful way to celebrate a community.
Congratulations to Lisa. And all authors. You enrich my world.
What a sweet comment! Thank you for it.
Now that is a crap ton of cookies haha congrats to the featured follower too
You said it!
What a wonderful time. I know some families who do that kind of thing. In our family, it's mostly all boys. Everyone had sons and only a few of them are married yet. My daughter and her friends get together every year and build gingerbread houses even though they're in their twenties now. I hope they continue for years to come.
Some holiday traditions just shouldn't be stopped, no matter how old we get.
That's a lot of cookie baking! Sounds (and looks) like fun.
It's nice to meet Lisa. And hard to believe the year is almost over! Guess we'll be saying that this time next year too. 🙂 Time does march on. Have a good week!
I find myself typing out my expression of surprise each season. Here's to another great week ahead.
So nice to meet your follower of the month. And yeah! Love that idea for a cookie bake. We're going to try to organize a holiday party for friends, and I think this is an awesome thing to do. Or at the very least, decorating cookies. 🙂
I think it worked because at that time we were a very close set of friends. Let us know what your cookie bake/decorating event turns out like.
First of all, I love this feature! And secondly, your smile in those photos shows who you really are. I love that! You are full of life. 🙂
Thanks, Sheri. That's very sweet. I don't have any pictures of after the cookie bake when smiling wasn't possible, but you can imagine what we all looked like after 8 hours of cookie making.
Sounds like fun, thats what life is all about having fun. Thanks for a very up lifting read.
Yvonne.
If you can't have fun now, I can't imagine any other opportunity! 🙂
Wow, what an epic tradition! Thanks for sharing it with us.
It was something we all looked forward to, and yet we were all glad when it was over.
That's a heck of a lot of cookies! Did they all get eaten before they went stale? (I guess that might depend on how many teenagers were in the neighborhood.)
From my experience cookies never had a chance to go stale in our neighborhood. They barely had time to cool before they vanished. 🙂
Best of luck to Lisa on her book!
What a great cookie tradition. Sounds like you have many wonderful memories from it.
I love the memories. I just don't think any of us have another all-nighter in us to hang out around the ovens.
The cookie bake sounds like a lot of fun. I used to make Christmas cookies when the boys were home. Now, the cats won't eat them, so I don't cook them. Great pictures too.
Congratulations to Lisa her book and on being Featured Follower.
The teens did look forward to our marathon cookie bake. My husband did, too. I think he misses that tradition more than any other at Christmas.
What a fun idea. What did you guys do with two thousand cookies though?
We shared them with our other friends and everyone knew if there was a potluck party coming up, they could depend on the Cookie Baker gang to provide a great dessert.