I've been making gifts for my neighbors. I started this a few years ago as a way to stay in touch with folks on our street , even though I work long hours (mostly in another town).
It was hard to decide what to make. I've done toffee, cinnamon rolls, cookies. It seems that, by the time I get to someone's front door with an unexpected treat, they are already "sugared out," as my Mother would have said. Too many treats, too may days in a row...
So this year is a riff on what I did last year. I was snowed in for about a week last year and decided to make cardamom bread for everyone. In several cases, I was the first person to the front door in days - wading through the hip deep drifts with a hot loaf of fragrant bread held high over my head.
Last Sunday on the way home from church, I decided that the perfect accompaniment to cardamom bread would be spiced pear butter (which I've never made). I stopped by the local produce place and scored a huge box of sunburned pears for just a few bucks. I canned half the box and made pear butter with a quarter of it. My husband is VERY happy with the results of my canning.
We tested the first loaf of bread to make sure it was good enough to give. Check. Three loaves later, I was gingerly walking down our icy street to deliver our gifts and decided that the new neighbors would be among the first I visited.
They moved in a few weeks ago. I could have stopped to say hi when they were moving in, but I didn't. Why? I don't know - I just didn't stop. However, I did make my way over there this evening, only to meet a charming young family with the most beautiful baby (and another on the way).
Having kids on the street has been one of its greatest charms for me. Other than a brief stint as foster parents, we've never been able to have our own children. It's good to have a baby in the neighborhood again. God bless you, little Liam. And I'm glad to be baking bread for the neighbors again. Christmas is a gift.
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