Warm and pleasant greetings to all. Happy New Year! We hope you are enjoying the beginning of 2025.
May the beginning of this year bring you joy, peace and hope. We pray families will be ever mindful of their love for, and need of, each other, lest we forget those who are less fortunate than we as we count our blessings daily. The new year always begins with a blast, but it’s more.
It is our hope, too, that Godly families love one another, business people will work with integrity and frugality, and believers will serve their neighbors, thus showing patience and peace instead of frustration.
So many people have shared with me their encouraging words and kind wishes regarding my writing this column. Your feedback means so much to me and I am grateful to be able to share my stories, experiences and some personal journals with you. Thank you so much. I am looking forward to the adventures we will face together in this new year. Part of what makes a community so powerful is how we connect with each other. I’m glad to experience 2025 with you.
This is the second time I have made a purchase and brought home an unopened package that was empty! Nothing was in an 8- count scouring pads package. Recently, I opened a twin pack of liquid Clorox cleanser and one of the sealed bottles was completely empty. I don’t know where or when it was purchased, so nothing can be done about it now. I will remember to check, particularly multi-packaging, before purchasing to ensure the container is filled.
Have you eaten pound cake or fruit cake lately? Many people never tire of pound cake because it is so easy, versatile, attractive and good to serve.
Fruit cake is not as popular now as it was back in the 1950s or centuries before. I know many people simply don’t like the dense, heavy candied fruit (optionally soaked in spirits). Or maybe it is the cost or health reasons, as the ingredients are expensive and rare, and it’s too sweet.
Maybe you have never eaten a good fruit cake. Maybe you cannot acquire a taste. Enjoy fruit cake topped with sharp cheese or dazzle with a bit more honey, brandy or whipped topping with a strong cup of coffee or tea. A slice of fruit cake is also good with sliced fresh pears or apples — pretty to serve!
Historically, fruit cake was served for a special treat only for special occasions.
I like fruit cake for special occasions and will modestly and moderately eat it. Perhaps you do, too!
Let me tempt you with a taste of my homemade delicious apple dumpling!
Enjoy life today. Be blessed.
