5/9/24 - Donuts and Cookies

[redsquirrel]

Good morning everyone. Cookies, cookies, and more cookies at our office today. A co-worker brought them from her niece's first holy communion celebration Sunday.

You folks from my "neck of the woods" know these are from the required cookie table.

If you aren't familiar with a cookie table, you've missed out! In our part of the country...western Pennsylvania, eastern Ohio, and northern West Virginia... cookie tables are at every celebration. Friends and relatives start baking weeks before, and people are embarrassed if there aren't thousands of cookies for their guests to enjoy and take home with them. (The rule of thumb is between a dozen and 2 dozen cookies per guest.) Pittsburgh, PA, along with Youngstown and Cleveland, Ohio, all claim to be the place where the cookie table originated during the Great Depression.

The ladies who are asked to be in charge of keeping the cookie tables filled are just as important as the wedding party, open house hosts, etc.

I've been asked to make some of my traditional Italian cookies for 2 high school graduation open houses this year. Both events are having two 8 foot tables just for the cookies. The last wedding that I was asked to make cookies for had four 8 foot tables of cookies, and last year's graduation party had 3 tables.

 

[rfsexton]

I love cookies

 

[robinsnest]

I have never heard of a cookie table....sounds like a fun if not stressful task to have that many cookies for your guests......

Last night was the final concert of the year..... I've realized late because sometimes I'm just slow that clapping really activates my dupuytren's so into the brace as soon as we got him. Alas it provided no relief as the hand is just as sore this morning, But the concert was great... so well worth the pain.

my cheap expanding hose broke....shocking I know so off to the hardware store to try to fix. The water bib is on the far side of the house, near the garage, meaning I need a 100 foo hose to reach the backyard.....it's too hard to hand water fill the watering can with water lug 2 gallons of water to the back yard water then repeat 3 more times. But that's what I'm back doing since the hose broke..... fingers crossed the hose can be fixed....

Good Thursday to all.....

 

[Wilde Woman]

Overcast and 70, but dipping down to the 50s tonight into tomorrow. Rain predicted, also. I think the sun has become shy.

redsquirrel: Thank you for sharing that cookie table story. I never heard it before. What a nice tradition! And they must be home baked, not store bought, which makes it even more special.

Robin: Glad the concert went well but sorry about your hand/finger condition. I think that Leo can assist with that "cheap, expanding hose," wink wink, with reference to what he told EJ the other day.

Thursday signals how fast the week has gone by, let's make it a good day.

 

[redsquirrel]

robinsnest - When you have 50 or more people baking cookies, it isn't a chore. Plus usually aunts or grandmas have a team of friends who do the set up. Hope your hand/wrist soreness lessens as the day goes on.

WW - Yes, all of the cookies are homemade. Most are quite elaborate, too.
Rain is definitely heading your way. Heavy rain is hitting us now with thunderstorms later.

rf - Yep, I love homemade cookies, too. Better yet when someone else makes them.

 

[Poirot]

Also never heard of a "cookie table", very interesting.
Dashed out to pick up some meds at the pharmacy......never used either before, one is a water pill.......was told would make me "go" more often. LOL, I told them I already do, was up twice during night as the bladder was insistent. LOL.

 

[katmouse]

It's partly cloudy today and close to 80.

My son coming sometime today so I washed part of the kitchen floor before going to the little library.
I just finished washing the floor. Next, I need to put flowers in a pot before they die.

When I came home from the library, there were several birds flying around the basket. The male was going
after the birds. I wondered if the babies leaving. Nope they are still inside basket. Maybe another couple is
looking for a nest or the male has girlfriend. This morning when I walked, I saw a family of purple finches on
the ground. I think the little ones just came out of a nest.

My town did a survey and put link on their home Facebook page. This morning, I posted a message at that
post. I mentioned even though survey over I wanted them to know the town needed tornado sirens. Hopefully,
other people will see post and contact town.

rs, I never heard of cookie table. It was nice your co worker brought some to share.

robin, I'm glad you enjoyed the concert. Sorry to hear you're still having pain in your hand.

Wilde Woman, hopefully, you won't have bad storms when you get the rain.

Poirot, I hope your new medicine helps you.

Wishing everyone a lovely rest of the day.

 

[Old Cowgirl]

Kat, I hope you're enjoying time with your son by now. Is your grandson grown yet? I don't think so but time gets away from me anymore. Glad you put in your suggestion to the town for siren. Hope they listen.

Poirot, new meds--ugh. I hope they do you good without negatives.

Wilde Woman, thanks for the pretty flowers. I'm glad the work week is nearly finished for you.

Robin, that hand conditions sounds so painful. Is it possible to correct it with surgery or have you already had surgery on it? I'm interested in knowing if your expanding hose can be fixed. I don't have a water connection in my front yard and I won't wrestle with the big heavy hoses to get them that far anymore. I bought one of the expanding ones a few years ago but it broke almost immediately. I wasn't surprised--ordered it online. But I had to try.

Sexton, are you getting a rest from work today? Hope you and Boomer are relaxing.

Squirrel, from all the comments, I'm thinking the cookie table may be known only in your "neck of the woods." No surprise that I've never heard of it but usually some others here know about things when I don't. Sounds like a fun tradition though. I can't even imagine that many cookies. Do they include any bars or regular cookies only?

It's been cloudy and cool here all day. I put on a jacket to go outside this morning. Then around noon it "came up a cloud" and rained for a little while. Only a couple of tenths but I guess we got the very edge of it. I had no idea there was even a chance of rain today, then all of a sudden the weather guys started yipping about some severe (hail) storms headed this way. I'm relieved to say no hail here.

Yesterday in town I got my oil changed, went through the car wash, shopped at Wal-Mart and United. The car wash took a while because the person in front of me drove off before the cycle had ended so the system got confused and didn't know what to do with me then. There's rarely an attendant at that place so I thought I was going to lose the payment I'd already put in but it eventually worked itself out and washed my car. Don't remember if I said last night how hot it was being out and around yesterday. When I got in my car after Wal-Mart, the car thermometer said 100*. It really was only in the upper 80s* but was sunny and the car does get that hot while sitting parked in the sun. Good thing I took an ice chest with me. Today I'm more or less relaxing. Washing up some bedding and other stuff.

 

[redsquirrel]

Folks, please don't rely on tornado sirens!! They can only be set off when one has been sighted and it is bearing down on your location.

We don't even have them up here any more. An alert is sent out to all cellphones, on tv stations, and on radio stations giving us minutes instead of seconds to get to a safe place.

Yes, as I said in my original post ...cookie tables are a tradition in western Pennsylvania, eastern Ohio, and northern West Virginia. I do know of people who moved to other parts of the country, and they took the tradition with them.