Photo by Angela Kirk

January leaves us with shorter days, grey sky’s and cold weather. It can easily affect your mood if you allow it and before you know it you have a case of the blahs.

By Sunday after a few dark days, our mood began to match the weather. We were laying around like two big lumps and were starting to get on each others nerves, when Doc said loudly  ” I’m sick of this!” She then abruptly arose like a phoenix from the bowels of the couch and before long I heard the familiar sound of baking sheets, bowls and spoons being banged around in the kitchen.  Knowing Doc would need my expert supervisory skills I got off my duff  and went to her aide.

When Doc is baking its almost like she zones off into another world. With the precision of a chemist she carefully measures the ingredients and puts everything in the mixer until it is the consistency needed. I know better than to disturb her during this process, so I lay quietly near by watching in case something drops on the floor and I need to lick it up with my tongue.

After everything was mixed she put 12 perfect round lumps of cookie dough on each baking sheet and placed them in the oven. The aroma was intoxicating and I drooled as I waited for the cookies to be done.

Doc ended up baking for most of the afternoon. We had with so many cookies you would have thought the Keebler Elves had broken into our house.  We had dozens of oatmeal raisin , peanut butter and chocolate chip cookies cooling on wire racks all over the kitchen.

When Doc finally stopped  and took a breath she looked around with a pleased look on her face. I gazed back up at her and said, “What do you plan on doing with all these cookies, we can’t eat all of these!” She looked back at me with a puzzled look. “Well, she said, I guess I will give them away.” So she immediately got on the phone and she started calling people to either come over and pick up cookies or arrange a time we could drop them off.  You want to be popular with people? Make them fresh baked goods.

Now we did keep about a dozen cookies for ourselves, but by Monday we had given away all the rest.  And guess what else we got rid of in the process, our winter blahs. Maybe you can bake your blues away.