you know...its all about temperature. for example the most obvious being the weather outside. ever since I moved to the southern hemisphere the months have been a blur to me. it is now december and in the past, I was always rugged up under layers and layers of woolen/cashmere/alpaca sweaters and down jackets. but now, down here, I would NEVER go near anything fuzzy, wooly or warm. in fact, I've been very busy peeling OFF the layers, trying to stay cool.

the other temperature that I'm thinking about refers to the temperature of something that you're cooking/baking/working with. in my case, this week, it has to do with chocolate. i've commited myself to making handmade chockies for the family this year. figured that the love and time that I'd put into the project would shine through and they would be overjoyed with the outcome. well, my first batch was a complete disaster. i melted the chocolate, put it into the molds and couldn't wait for it to set so I whacked it into the fridge to speed up the setting process.....not a good idea. once they had set and had reverted back to room temperature, they started to turn white. it was almost like there was a disgusting layer of herpes on it or something. ugh, being the perfectionist that I can be at times.....I knew that there was NO way that I could give those to the fam. so off I went, reinventing the wheel but carefully this time. lesson learned, never, ever chill chocolate and expect it to be the same when you take it out of the refridgerator, unless you live in the north pole. but if I lived there, I wouldn't be talking about the hot, hot temps in december now, would I?!