Housekeeping

Headed out of town soon, I've got housekeeping on the mind.  A stack of bills to pay, a leaking faucet, and more dust in the new place than the old one (at least more dust that I'm noticing).  Is it the carpet?

I brought a batch and a half of Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies to church yesterday, though, packed in freezer bags, as my contribution to the VBS that will be happening while we're gone.  With the leftover bars from Orpha's funeral, we may have enough cookies at church to see us through to the fall.

There's more of a story to tell about these than I have time for today, but for the sake of brevity I'll only say that this recipe is scribbled on the back of a torn envelope (a remant of another pile of bills from a housekeeping day years ago).  I had sudden need of them, and I called Mom to get the recipe I had lost or had never managed to bring along once I left home.

When I 'fessed up to her that I had been without the recipe--for years, at this point--she asked, "How are you managing to keep house without them?"

How, indeed, my husband also asked--since I had been without the recipe for as long as I had known him.

They're my staple now: my go-to cookie for all occasions.  And I've got the recipe memorized, but I keep the torn and scribbled envelope in the recipe box, just in case.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 C. butter
2/3 C. brown sugar
2/3 C. white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 Tb. water
1 1/2 C. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
3 C. oatmeal (I use old fashioned rolled; quick oats are too mushy for my taste)
1 12-oz. bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips

Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes