another peaceful day to myself and crappy cookies

So, I cut my hair myself yesterday morning. Got rid of like 2+ inches off the bottom. I googled how to do it, LOL.  Much better! I'd still like to get more off, but my only really sharp scissors are small ones and the higher up I tried to cut off, the thicker my hair got and then it wasn't so easy to cut evenly. It was getting so long and I was hating it. Now it's just below my collar bone and doesn't look so straggly. I think I might order some good scissors to have on hand for this!  The online video showed someone with longer hair, but mine was long enough to split wet hair into two sides and pull in front and put rubber bands in, then cut below the rubber band. Easy peasy.

DH was at the property all day again, but texted me a bunch of pictures and the side rock wall is all done. Looks great, I think. He said it's hard to get a good picture. If he stands way back and takes it you can't really see the depth that it's 2 levels.

He estimated needing 4 loads for this part of the wall, but said they only used 2 1/2 loads, so that will be less loads we have to get for the lower rock wall. (next Spring). That level dirt area between rock tiers will be landscaped. I think we got this rockery wall done for a steal. Rock and labor for a total of $2650. That might seem like a lot to some, but that is very cheap. From Home Advisor: Natural stones like boulders and rocks are heavy and difficult to work with. Expect to pay a minimum of $25 per square foot for labor and materials. The hourly cost for building with dry stacking stones is $65/hr.  What we got done would calculate (I'll verify total sqft w/dh when he gets up) to a $15,000 rock wall, and that is what DH said, too last night. Like the asphalt guy commented, most places those rocks are $200 each. We paid the guy $20/hour to operate the loader/stack it/decide what goes where. DH gave him an extra $40. Money well spent. Included in that money is also getting 2 trees pushed over and out of the way.

I got my presents all wrapped. About half way into it my butter was softened, so I made up my sugar cookie dough so it could get in the fridge to get chilled. Then I finished up the wrapping, while listening to Christmas music. Then I watched a Christmas movie on tv. Dough got chilled and I made the sugar cookies. aRGH#%. I just cannot get those right! It's a simple recipe. My mom (and me when I lived at home as a kid) have made them for years and years. Mine either do not hold the cookie cutter shape and poof out, but taste great, OR if I can get them to hold the shape (so you can actually tell it's a star or a tree) then they taste blah!. I have tried real butter and margarine.  This time I used margarine, thinking the butter was causing the shape mutations the past years. I want to give our neighbors across the field some cookies and wanted them to look like the shapes! So, today I got cookies that baked into shapes and taste blah! When  my mom makes these cookies they are melt in your mouth sweetness. Maybe the powdered sugar was too old? Too much flour? rolling the dough is such a pain for me. It sticks to no matter what I try, so I really tried to add more flour this time, so I could get them to roll out, not stick to the rolling pin and not stick to the cookie cutter and not stick to the surface I rolled them on.  I guess I will go buy some new powdered sugar and try again! I want my dang Christmas cookies!