New Year's Eve

First off let me say...

 'Happy Birthday Dad!'  I love you!

I want to wish all of you a Happy New year. 

I for one will be glad to say good bye to 2013. 

While it wasn't all bad and

we have much to be thankful for,

it was not a good year. 

 

Let's hope that 2014 is a good one!

 

 

 

Some Random Updates

First, my brother-in-law is home!!!!!!  That is a miracle.  He has a lot of changes and adjustments to make, several doctors appointments and check-ups to go to, and a long road to full recovery.  However, they are thrilled to be home!

Second, it is snowing again and
I am loving it!

Third, I am sick with whatever is going around and
I am NOT loving it!

Fourth, our Christmas plans have changed.  Things will be different this year.  Ray and I will actually be having a quiet Christmas here just the two of us for the most part.  Then later in the day we will be visiting his parents.

So, how's your week been. 

Have you been racing to get everything ready for Christmas?

 

Next week, I will share some childhood memories with you. 

Enjoy your weekend.

Winter Snow and Christmas Decorations

First off, let me give you an update on my brother-in-law.  The last time I posted he was in critical condition.  There for a few days we did not know if he was going to make it or not.  He has undergone several surgeries and monitored constantly.  However, he has finally been moved from the ICU and is now in a regular room, which we are very thankful for.  It is a miracle that he is alive and has come as far as he has.  He still has a long road to recovery before him but we are very thankful that he is still with us. 

Now on with my regular post...WINTER SNOW!!!!!!

I don't know about you but I love the snow and we got some yesterday.  Take a look...

I read that we got a little over 4" of snow then we had ice on top of that.  I was really worried about Ray going into work this morning.  I did convince him to go in a little later than he had planned on.  They are calling for more tomorrow so we shall see.

I finally got around to some decorating.  I have a snowman wreath on the front door that I have used for several years.  I noticed some of the color is fading so I didn't take a picture of it.  This will probably be it's last year. 

 

I have a small desk in my entryway. 

The snowman was given to me by

my Mother-in-law a few years ago. 

The decorated light box is from Ray's Aunt.

 The name sign is also from my Mother-in-law.

The snowball lights belonged to my Mom. 

 

Below the mantel, I have a couple lighted "packages."

On top of my Grandmother's piano,

I have a winter theme with family photos.

Moving on to my kitchen. 

I have always liked the gingerbread/candy theme.

The cabinets were my Mom's

which have been passed down through the generations.

The flower arrangement was given to me

by my in-laws when my Mom passed away. 

The gingerbread man was made by Ray when he was a little boy.

On top of my refrigerator, I have some ornaments and bells in one of Mom's dishes and another snowman from my Mother-in-law.

Ray bought this gingerbread house for me on our first Christmas.

I have a little gingerbread village.

Ray also bought me a Winnie the Pooh village

the first year that we were married.

Well, I think that about covers it for now. 

I have a large nativity including the town of Bethlehem as well as my Mom's Dept. 56 Snow village. 

I'm running out of room!!!!!  haha

 

Growing up, Christmas was always a special time of year and

there are many fond memories. 

They will have to wait for another time though. 

So check back for more. 

 

 

 

This week...

I want to go ahead and say Happy Thanksgiving. 

I trust you have a good one.

 

This week has been very difficult for my family.  My oldest brother-in-law is in ICU and in very critical condition.  Due to my husbands work schedule we will not be able to go be with them until Friday night.  (they live several hours away)  My heart is with them.

In the mean time, I have to prepare for the Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow.  Even though we are going through difficult times, there's still plenty to be thankful for.

On another note, here are a couple Thanksgiving things from my childhood...

 

Do any of you recognize this book?

Something runs in my mind that it might have been

from my Granddad, but I'm not sure. 

I came across it the other day.

 

It is about a little girl named Maggie

who lives with her Grandmother.

Her Grandmother has a very special and secret

recipe for Cranberry Bread.

The cranberry bread is famous all over the countryside and

people from all over have tried to get their hands on it. 

The lesson in the story is to not judge people by their appearances,

they just might fool you.

In the end they have a very nice Thanksgiving.

 

Included in the book is the recipe for the famous Cranberry Bread.

I have never made it however if you would like to,

check under recipes.

 

This week marks 26 years since my Granddad past away.

I was young and didn't fully understand what was going on at the time.  My parents went ahead and gave me an early Christmas present.  It was 'Teddy Ruxpin.'

I still have mine in it's box.  I loved that thing.  You would put a tape, that's right I'm telling my age.  It was a cassette tape, went in the tape player in his back and his eyes and mouth moved as he told you stories

 

One tradition we had in our family included a little pumpkin basket that my mom had.

Before the meal, we would put little pieces of paper, with scriptures about being thankful, in it.  Once everyone was seated at the table and before we would eat, we would pass that basket around and everyone would take a piece of paper out.  Then we would go around and each read our scripture and say something that we were thankful for that year.  Then Dad would ask the blessing and we would eat.

 

What traditions or fond memories do you have of past Thanksgivings?

 

 

First Snow

We had our first official snow fall yesterday morning.

 

I was so excited to look out and see the white covering.

It didn't amount to much, however it was pouring. 

The roads were covered (at least where we live), and by the time we were leaving for church,

it was starting to accumulate in the yard as well. 

We live about 10-12 minutes from church.  When we got there, they hadn't gotten anything and it was barely flurrying. 

 

I love snow!!!!  Hope we get a lot of it this winter!!

 

It is extremely cold here even though the sun is shining.

I am busy getting ready for Thursday.  It will be here before we know it and I am not ready! 

There's much to do but I think we will make it.

 

Enjoy your busy Monday!

Prepping For Thanksgiving

 

Are you busy planning, cleaning, and shopping?

I have been do all of them and still have more to do.

 

Are you feeding 2, 15, or 30?

There will be 6 of us this year.

 

When hosting the Thanksgiving dinner, there's much preparation.
Thankfully everyone will fit at my dining room table and I have enough chairs,so I don't need any more.  Picking the linens, the platters, the entertainment (if you are wanting any), and of course cooking and baking all the delicious food.

Our Menu is the traditional menu for my family...

Turkey

Stuffing/Dressing

Mashed Potatoes and Gravy

Sweet Potato Casserole (My Aunt's recipe and the best!)

Macaroni and Cheese

Green beans

Cranberry Sauce

Deviled Eggs

Coleslaw

Rolls

Pumpkin Pie

(I love it but we only eat it for Thanksgiving)

Snickers Caramel Apple Salad

(not traditional however very, very good)

 

Sounds so yummy and we are really looking forward

to spending time with our company.

 

So, what are your plans? 

How are your preparations going?

 

 

Christmas Time's A Coming

Christmas time's a coming. 

It'll be here before we know it!

 

It is hard to believe that this time next week, we will have already had our Thanksgiving meal.  We will be stuffed, tired, and it will be over until next year.  (Ok, I realized later that I must have been thinking today was Thursday instead of Wednesday.  Anyways, you get the point.  Please excuse my poor scattered brain.)

Every year it seems retail companies start putting up Christmas stuff earlier and earlier.  Rocky Ridge Antiques and Collectibles, where I have my booth, has already had their open house two weeks ago. 

That brings back memories.  I remember every year, it was tradition for Mom and I to go around to the different shops for their Christmas open houses.  Some would have hot cider, others had hot chocolate, and they all had cookies or some snack. 
Wow, I miss her!  She always made the holidays extra special!

Well, Christmas time is coming and here are a few things that I made to sell at my booth.

Christmas Wall Hanging

(I don't decorate with Santa Clause, however I bought this kit at a yard sale last year.  Finally got it finished this year.  Hope it sells!  It was very time consuming.  Each piece had to be cut out and then you hand sew it together and stuff it.)

 

 Silver Snowflake Wreath

 

 Country Candy Cane

This picture turned out dark.  It is simply one of the cheap plastic candy canes that people put in their yard, wrapped with green and tan checkered ribbon)

 

Country Wreath

Montana Pasties

Many years ago, as part of a graduation present from my parents, we took a trip out west.  We went to Montana, Wyoming, and up to the Canadian border.  My Aunt and Uncle, and another couple went with us.  We had a wonderful time and saw some absolutely amazing sights.  We visited the beautiful Glacier National Park, Yellowstone Park, and many other sights along the way. 

While we were in Montana, we had one of their specialties....the Pasty.  Pronounced...Passtee.  What is it?  Basically it is a meat pie.  (check under recipes)  It is an English (although some say Irish) recipe that was brought to Butte, Montana and eaten in the copper mines by miners and the residents of Butte.

Served with gravy.  They are very good and very filling. 

The recipe makes 4, so it makes 2 dinners for us.

We had them tonight for dinner and enjoyed them very much!  Plus I have enough left over to serve as another meal later on this week.

 

For a different side, I made Broccoli Slaw. 

I actually made it last night so it also provided for two dinners.

It is coleslaw only made with broccoli instead of cabbage. 

I bought the bag mix on sale for $1 and then just made my regular dressing that I would use for coleslaw.  It was very good and something different.  I would highly recommend you try it,

as I will be making it again.

 

For dessert, I made a pumpkin spice cake.

Now since the whole incident with Ray and chest pains I have been mindful of what we are eating and how I am cooking.  Ray loves his dessert and I know that we will not be living on salads for the rest of our lives.  So basically I have just started tweaking my cooking.

Back to the cake...to make it a little 'healthier' I simply replaced the eggs, butter, and oil with canned pumpkin.  Then made a simple powder sugar glaze. 

 

It is very good and Ray loves it.  The cake is super moist and not one that I could decorate because of that.  However it is wonderful.

Fall Recap and Chocolate!!

Where to begin...
It has been a while and there is so much to share.

Ok, so I started this post last week and didn't get around to posting it for two reasons.  One, my week went differently due to an emergency.  Two, I didn't have all of my pictures ready.  So the following is for last week.

Tuesday morning, we had our first "weather" of the season.  It was little ice snowballs and didn't last long. 

(not a very good picture.  I simply opened the front door and took a picture of the rug that we have on the front steps so that it would show up a little)

Early Thursday morning, we ended up in the ER because Ray was having chest pains.  Thankfully all of the tests have come back normal so far.  He has a follow-up appointment with the Doctor.  (update:  follow-up appointment went well, he has another big test next week, and is still having some twinges; continue to keep him in your prayers, please)

As promised, here are some of the fall decorations that I put around the house...

 

My family always takes a fall trip together to Pigeon Forge and Gatlinsburg, TN.  This year, it worked out for Ray and I to go with them.  Not everyone was able to make it but we still had a group of 22!  I will make a separate posting for that once Ray gets me some of the pictures he took.

I've been working on Christmas things

for my booth...more on that later.

Gearing up for the Thanksgiving feast...that will be another post.  However, I will tell you that I have the menu planned out, the guest invited and it looks like we will be having a feast and lots of fun.  I am really looking forward to it!

To finish on a great note...

Chocolate! 

I was craving some chocolate over the weekend.  So Monday, I made a chocolate cake.  I did not want my regular icing or buttercream on it but rather some type of glaze or sauce.  So I went online for some inspiration.  I ended up using a recipe from The Pioneer Woman.  It turned out so great!  It was like a layer of fudge on top of my cake.  I have put the recipe for the glaze sauce under "recipes" or you can visit her website.  Speaking of, if you have never checked it out, I strongly recommend it.  Her blog is one of my favorites!
It had my house smelling like wonderful, dreamy, chocolate and it tastes so good!

Another chocolate tidbit for you...here is a sign that I bought while we were on vacation with the family.

 

"Every time I hear the dirty word exercise, I wash my mouth out with chocolate"