Merry Christmas

image ~ kriphotography.typepad.com

Merry Christmas to my dear friends!

I'm going to take some days off and enjoy the holidays! :)

I need to flop on the couch and look at the lights on the tree!

I need to give my men back rubs and kisses!

I need to eat more Christmas cookies!

I need to watch Alistair Sim in A Christmas Carol!

And I haven't wrapped a single gift yet!

Hope you all enjoy your holiday!

♥

Don't forget that Christ is the reason for celebrating Christmas!

Without his gift of eternal life, life really isn't worth living at all!

♥♥♥

"My dear children, I am very anxious that you should know

something about the history of Jesus Christ.

For everybody ought to know about him."

Charles Dickens

♥

I'll see you all in 2011 for a fresh new year!

Giving Goodies

I made granola to give away!

Click HERE for the recipe and additional pictures.

I made a double batch just to make sure there were leftovers to keep! :)

I'll give you one guess as to which triplet this is!

If you need a hint, click HERE and HERE. :)

Feathered Friends

Outside my office windows this morning.... Blue Jay

Song Sparrow House Sparrows and a White Crowned Sparrow Sitting in the snowy Golden Crabapple.

Cut Out Sugar Cookies

These melt in your mouth. Just sayin'.

Sugar Cookies

1 1/2 c butter, softened

2 c sugar

4 eggs

2 t vanilla

5 c flour

2 t baking powder

1 t salt

Cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla.

Mix well. Stir in flour, baking powder and salt.

Chill dough 1 hour or overnight.

Dough is very sticky...knead lightly with a little flour.

Roll out 1/2 inch thick on well-floured board.

Cut shapes and bake 350 degrees 10 minutes

or until barely golden at the edges.

(don't roll too thin and don't over bake!)

Frosting

1/2 c butter, soft

2-3 c powdered sugar

1 t vanilla

enough milk to thin to correct consistency

Whip until well mixed. Spread on cooled cookies.

Home Sweet Home

I bought a bag of clementines today! I got home and placed them

in my blue flowered bowl and the sight of it immediately took me

to an old poem that I love. The poem mentions marigolds in a

favorite blue bowl. Well, I'm fresh out of marigolds in December but

the color here is the same! I love this poem because it reminds me of

myself. One of my very favorite things to do is puttering around

my little home and making it a welcoming, comforting place for

all five of my guys. I love it when they come home and the place

looks nice, something in the oven smells terrific and they feel loved.

I imagine any of my five men and our little home when I read this....

The Blue Bowl

All day I did the little things,

The little things that do not show;

I brought the kindling for the fire

I set the candles in a row,

I filled a bowl with marigolds,

the shallow bowl you love the best.

And made the house a pleasant place

Where weariness might take its rest.

♥

The hours sped on, my eager feet

could not keep pace with my desire.

So much to do, so little time!

I could not let my body tire;

Yet, when the coming of the night

Blotted the garden from my sight,

And on the narrow, graveled walks

Between the guarding flower stalks

I heard you step: I was not through

With services I meant for you.

♥

You came into the quiet room

That glowed enchanted with the bloom

Of yellow flame. I saw your face,

Illumined by the firelit space,

Slowly grow still and comforted.

"It's good to be at home," you said.

Blanche Bane Kuder 1882-?

Simple Things

I didn't leave the house yesterday. All the blizzard conditions

of the weekend made me want to postpone my errands and

grocery shopping for one more day. As a result, I had a quiet

restful day at home. Several things made me smile and it

occured to me that it really is the simple things, isn't it?

Things like........

1. The tree in the picture...one of those lovely views from my desk.

2. The afternoon sun sparkling on the snow.

3. The triplets and their fresh haircuts which I had been procrasting

to do for far too long! Oh my, they do look so much more

alike with their hair cut short!

4. Getting the last of the Christmas cookies in the freezer today.

5. Looking into the empty refrigerator at dinner time and putting together

the most amazing impromptu chicken alfredo with some leftover

chicken, garlic, cream cheese, half and half, parmesan and pasta.

6. Nugget untieing my slipper and then running away, hopping

completely airborne and then coming back to tease me some more!

7. Taylor and some college guys in the living room this evening.

Watching Monday Night Football, eating pizza and talking about

sports, final exams, girls, paychecks and the new IPhone.

♥

A Little Village Tour

Our little Midwestern village got snow today!

And we're supposed to get a lot more over night!

I happened to have my camera this morning and snapped

some pictures as we drove home from church.

Here's our church. This is the original wing built in 1802.

I've posted about the Tiffany window HERE.

That's the post office across the street. Tiny! :)

And don't you love those vintage street decorations!?

I wonder how old they are!

Our little village boasts a total of two traffic lights

and well, no traffic at all! See...here is Main Street! Here's the school. We passed a tax levy for a new 21st century building. Ground breaking is this coming year. I love the vintage look of this building though. I think William Henry Harrison attended in this building, it's so old! haha...I'm kidding...kidding! Our family is leaving their mark on this K-12 school, though. We gave them their only set of triplets! And Taylor holds the record for the highest number of points scored in a single basketball game....36. And here is University Drive again! Not quite so colorful as it was in the fall but at night the lamp posts and trees are pretty wrapped with Christmas lights. Let's turn here into my neighborhood. I love it when the pine trees are frosty with snow! And my street! Looks like we're going to need to do some shoveling! And here we are! A whole 2 minute drive! Won't you come in for coffee?

♥

I've Decked The Halls!

Come on in and I'll show you around!

There's always a candy dish just inside the front

door. It's become a tradition that people look for! The gold beaded topiary is extra festive wearing my collection of vintage snowflake pins! A silver bread basket holds some tiny packages and vintage ornaments. I've had the Silent Night wrapped one since I was 12 years old. I played a Christmas piano duet with a pianist and she gave me a little piano pin in that box as a thank you. Mr. Fern was nice enough to move across the room and give up his space for the tree. :) It's a nice spot since we can also enjoy it from the foyer and dining room, too! We used to get a live tree. I miss the fresh smell! I don't miss stringing the lights, the prickly needles or forgetting to water it! This one looks pretty real, I think. This little skiing snowman was on the family tree for my first Christmas 49 years ago! There's always so much to look at! I love the variety of ornaments and the stories behind each one! And of course, nothing is more magical than the tree at nighttime! My huge frosty penguin is keeping watch over the Charlie Brown tree in the family room! I couldn't resist buying him several years ago. He was just too cute and quirky! The kitchen sink needed a little something! The top of the china cabinet did, too!

And of course I had to have a little holiday spirit

at my desk so I can feel the Christmas cheer

while I visit all of you!

♥

My 2011 Calendar

I always enjoy picking out my new calendar around this time of year!

And this year I'm extra excited because I know the photographer

of these beautiful bird pictures! And maybe you know him, too,

if you blog with Roy Hilbinger! If you're interested to see what he has for sale, click HERE.

Thanks, Roy! Still wishing you were close enough

to put your autograph on it! :)

The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly #11

Because some days you need more than others!

And in the spirit of keeping it real, here's what's been going on with

my five men! And who knew I'd post one of these in the series again so

soon, but this has been a crazy week...and it's only Tuesday night!

1. Remember my lovely herbs I brought in when the weather turned

cold? They've been thriving on the window seat in the living

room. We have Christmas decorations stored inside that seat

and I put the pots down on the floor to get to the decorations.

Well, Nugget our house roaming rabbit, helped himself to

a delicious dinner! LOL! Now there's just dirt.

2. I did a load of wash and didn't realize that Taylor didn't empty

his jeans pockets. A whole pack of gum, among other things, went

through the washer and dryer! Miraculously, the wrappers didn't

come off and nothing but a folded up piece of paper

shredded in the dryer!

3. The Mister usually wakes up without an alarm just like clockwork

every morning. But Monday he had to be out the door two hours

earlier than usual, so he set his alarm. I guess he didn't check the

volume or radio station and in the wee hours of the morning

the most obnoxious, loud music started blasting through our

bedroom! LOL! He fumbled with the buttons but it just kept

going! I even heard him yank the plug from the outlet and it

still kept going! Finally he got it to stop!

Hmm...maybe that clock is possessed with that

same spirit that inhabited our old van's wipers!

4. Whenever I'm cooking something that Alex thinks looks appealing, he grabs

his trusty old (yes, way too old!) beloved blue plastic plate and lays it

on the counter beside me. That's his way of asking for a serving.

Well, this time he laid it on a hot burner! Sorry, Alex..it's time

to throw out that cruddy old plate now!

And clean off the burner...oh dear!

5. We put up the Christmas tree Sunday evening. We've had it probably 5

years or so...a nice, pre-lit one. Well, after about 2 minutes, all the lights

except those on the last section went out! We replaced fuses but to no

avail! Sigh. Finally, The Mister "jimmy rigged" the tree with some extension

cords. This is one time I didn't tease him with his crazy repairs! ha.

6. Our hot water heater is dieing a slow death. My hot, long, late night showers

have become increasingly shorter! Instead of waiting until the thing

completely dies, we're having the elements replaced on Wednesday.

Things break in threes around here. Uh oh! :)

7. And then the clincher really happened today! I had a terrible headache...

gee...I wonder why?? haha. I grabbed some Advil and a glass. But, instead

of sticking the glass under the running water, I stuck the open bottle

of Advil! LOL! It was only a second, but enough to soak all the pills.

And you know, they dissolve really fast! Who needs gel caps? ha.

8. But it's not ALL bad! In one day my sleeping garden went from this.... to this...beautiful snow!

Everything looks better with a fresh, white coat!

So, there you have it! Hopefully the rest of the week will be uneventful!

Please laugh with me as I certainly am laughing!

Oh my! haha!

Holiday

click to enlarge!

The Creative Tuesday theme is holiday!

If you want to see more or join in, click HERE!

After Tea

Well, Mr. Toast certainly knows how to pamper his guests!

Look at this glorious bedroom he put me up in! Oh my!

What a party! So many of you were there and we had

so much fun! I don't remember when I laughed so hard!

After a good night's sleep and breakfast, I'm on my way

back to Ohio via the Orient Express!

The little cabin bedroom will be a wee bit smaller, but still

glorious in it's own way. I shall rest up for real life events

soon to come upon my arrival back with my five men!

Thank you, Mr. Toast. It was truly lovely.

Mr. Toast's Tea 2010

After much anticipation and a week long ride on the Orient Express,

I'm finally arriving in Scotland! The trip has been such a fun and relaxing time.

And the views have been spectacular! Even the frozen ocean was beautiful as

we gliding along like the Polar Express. Although, I have to say that I was glad

to see land again! And how fun to finally be able to visit the land of my ancestors!

I was so glad to see snow as we pulled into the station!

I love snow. How beautiful!

Torosay Castle looks like something out of a dream! Mr. Toast put on quite an amazing tea last year. I know he will outdo himself again! Right now I'm looking forward to a cozy bed and a roaring fire in the fireplace! I need some sleep as Sunday we party! My date, Keith, had a scheduling conflict and had to cancel! Oh, how disappointing! He's off to France (for real!) for the weekend. He took me to the tea last year and we had such a good time. Rather than grab someone last minute on the Orient, I've decided to go it alone. Well, I won't really be alone, will I? Maybe this pretty purple and blue dress will catch someones attention? Now that I've shown it off, I must grab my mink wrap before I get too cold! See you there! Today at 12:00 PM, EST

I think we party til we drop. ha.