Hello!

Well hello there!  Here it is, Presidents' Day weekend and Valentine's Day all in the same few days.  How quickly February passes.  And today is the birthday of one of our nieces.  Party on!

It's been a beautiful day.  Snow was forecast overnight, but it didn't begin until about daybreak.  It's cold, very cold as in the teens, and so even though it snowed almost all day, we got maybe three inches of very light, fluffy snow. We are supposed to get more over the weekend so we'll see how it goes.  

I don't have a lot of Valentine decorations, but I did make that runner last year with a kit from Shabby Fabrics so this is its first appearance.  I do love it!

I still use the four red hearts on sticks that Daniel gave me when he was five.  They warm my grammy heart each year when I get them out. Treasures, that's what they are.  

And of course, we must have the appropriately colored peanut M&M's in a bowl.  

I'm continuing to stitch away on my counted cross stitch.  I ordered a few more patterns for the Prairie Schooler Santas from more recent years and they came.  I saw a framed piece someone from the Instagram group for the Santas did and I'm hoping to do something similar.  It will probably take me a year or so though, so don't hold your breath!  :-)

And last, I ordered a new Instant Pot cookbook by the Six Sisters and it came.  I think it's going to be a good one!

Hope everyone is keeping warm!  This cold seems to be affecting a large part of our country.  But it is winter! ♥

As December Ends

Well, I don't think anyone will be sorry to see this year end.  It's been a strange one for certain.  But then I have to remind myself that almost every generation has strange years.  Black plague? World wars? And on and on.  So, we count our blessings, keep moving forward and remind ourselves of what's truly important. And I'm sure it's not "stuff", but people that count.

We've been inundated with snow today.  Lots and lots of snow, and wind, so it's hard to tell just how much snow has actually fallen.  Dan plowed this early evening and now we've settled in for the night beside the fire. We are supposed to get more snow overnight so we'll see what the morning brings.  I made a big ham and split pea soup for supper in the Instant Pot, just the thing for a wintery day and there's lots left over for the next few days.  

When I was downstairs earlier I realized I didn't take any pictures of the family room to share so here's one:

That's the sewing machine I learned to sew on.  I haven't tried it since bringing it up when we cleared out Mom and Dad's house, but one of these days I will.  I probably need to take it out of the cabinet and have it gone through first, though. 

Happy New Year to one and all!! ♥

Buche de Noel

Ann and I decided to try to make a Buche de Noel for our Christmas Eve dinner.  We found a recipe from the Pioneer Woman and tonight we began. We read and reread the recipe. Then we pulled out bowls (many), mixers (two), and measuring cups and spoons.  Oh, and a fine mesh strainer to sift with.  There are many parts to making a Buche de Noel.

Ann separated the eggs and worked with the yolks while I did the whites.

Then we sifted, mixed and poured.

And finally baked!  

And part of the resulting mess--just keeping it real!

We forgot to take any more pictures as we rolled and filled.  We were too busy trying not to make any mistakes!  Tomorrow we'll make the frosting and cut and assemble. Hopefully we'll have more pictures to share then! ♥

We're Almost There!

Tomorrow is the official start of our Christmas celebrations.  Our intown gang will arrive in time for dinner (Papa Murphy's pizza) and we'll all settle in.  The presents are wrapped but are downstairs because while the tree is in, somehow it hasn't been decorated yet! I have a little more baking to do (the carolers came Saturday night and I passed out the Puddin' Head Gingerbread so we're down to just a few, which will never do).  

Ann and I are going to attempt to make a Buche de Noel or Yule Log tomorrow night for our Christmas Eve dinner.  Here's hoping! 

Here are a couple more pictures of Christmas decorations.  First up is the downstairs guest bath, just a little holiday fun in the corner of the counter.

The little "candle light" flickers and is so cute! A gift from a family back in my teaching days.

And here is a corner of my laundry room.  A lovely green chest of drawers purchased before Matt was born and painted and antiqued by me (anybody remember those antiquing days?).  

I made the gingerbread boy on the wall probably forty years ago and he's still so cute.  The little wooden doll in the corner was painted and dressed by me, but the doll itself was made by my friend Cyndie's husband, John.  The round box held Starbucks goodies, again from a family back in my teaching days.  The goodies are long gone, but the box was too cute to throw away.  It makes a perfect decoration.

And last, here's the dresser in the downstairs guest room, just waiting for its occupants' arrival tomorrow.

I love that old rocker in the corner.  It was a wedding present to Dan's grandparents back in 1911.  I think the original seat cover was leather, but we had it redone when it came to us in 1985. ♥ 

Cookies

It was the Christmas of l963 that Mom and I baked and baked and baked. Some out-of-town friends of Mom and Dad's dropped by one day and the wife brought a plate of Christmas treats. Hmmm, perhaps we could make some of our own was a thought that came to my mind.  Meanwhile, Mom picked up the latest issues of Woman's Day and Family Circle, inexpensive but good magazines available at the grocery store.  The Woman's Day always had a tear-out section of recipes and this month's was, of course, Christmas cookies.  Right into the palms of my hands! I was a freshman in high school and old enough to handle recipes on my own.

As far back as I could remember there had been a Dormeyer stand mixer just like the one pictured below in the cupboard over the stove.  

I don't remember it ever being used.  When I asked Mom about it she said it didn't work.  Then why did we have it? No answer.  However, we were about to embark on some heavy duty baking, so Mom borrowed a hand mixer from our neighbor, Goldie, and we went to work.  (Dad gave Mom a hand mixer for Christmas that year so we didn't have to borrow ever again.)

Mom and I continued this tradition for the next few years.  I don't remember if I baked when I came home from college on Christmas break, but I know Mom pretty much gave it up.  She did, however, turn into a manic fudge maker.  As I've mentioned, she was never much of a baker, and she loved chocolate, so fudge was a natural for her.  Pans and pans of it, which she shared with the neighbors.  

I made some white candy-coated pretzels last night and today I made another batch of cookies--frosted soft vanilla sugar cookies. The recipe comes from the Six Sisters and can be found here. I discovered the recipe last year and loved the ease of it.  Dan loves frosted sugar cookies but I confess to being too lazy to make them if I have to roll and cut. 

A cookie decorator I'm not, but the Christmas sprinkles make them look festive. They're yummy, trust me.  ♥

Just a Week Until Christmas!

A week from today we will have opened all the presents and by now will be laying around, sated from leftovers and cookies.  Some will be napping, others playing with new toys (and no matter the age, some presents will definitely be "toys"), and others still trying to get the puzzle completed. 

I feel like I have most things done and am pondering any last minute fun things to make or give.   So far no brilliant ideas have emerged.  I have yet to wander any stores, so I might do that.  We'll see. I am out of coffee creamer so that will necessitate a trip to Safeway in a short while or, as I told Dan, tomorrow morning will not be pretty. Sometimes they have interesting things stuck in out of the way places that are gifty.  

I pondered whether to put the recipe for the Puddin' Head gingerbread on here, but a request for it lets me know some are interested.  I got the recipe from a student's mom the spring of 1985 when I took over a classroom in Clarkston for half a year. The student brought me cookies now and then. I really liked this one so her mom was happy to share.  It's called Puddin' Head gingerbread because (gasp) it uses a box of Jello brand cooked butterscotch pudding mix.  Yes, a mix is part of the recipe.  Gives great flavor, more of a spice cookie rather than a true deep gingerbread.  

Puddin' Head Gingerbread

1/2 c butter, softened
1/2 c brown sugar
1 (3 1/2 oz) regular (not instant) butterscotch pudding mix
1 egg
1 2/3 c flour
1/2 tsp soda
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Cream butter, brown sugar, and pudding mix.  Add egg; beat well.  Add dry ingredients and chill 10-15 minutes.  Roll out on floured surface to 1/4" thick; cut. Place on ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake at 350° for 6-8 minutes. If using large cutters, increase time to 10 minutes.  

I usually double the recipe because they are one of my son-in-law Eric's favorite cookies.  Oh, who am I kidding? We all love them! I don't even decorate them, they are good as is.  ♥

Busy Day!

Apparently I recovered my mind after a night's sleep and I've amazed myself at what I've gotten done today.  I cleaned the inside of the frig, removing everything from the door bins and washing them out followed by the shelves and drawers.  It looks so tidy in there now. Orderly even.  At least for a day or so! 

Next up was deep cleaning the main bath upstairs, scouring the sink and the toidy so they sparkle.  So that leads me to my next set of decorating photos.  Christmas, even in the bathrooms.

The little lamp stays on twenty-four hours a day and gives a warm glow to a bath that has no outside window. The door to the bathroom is just to the right of this photo. Below is a view of the other side of the sink area, taken from the doorway. 

Next up is a closeup of the quilted wall hanging I made using my embroidery machine.  I'm still amazed I can do such large designs!

And last, this cute little snowman soap dispenser. Can't remember where I found him, but I love him!

And last, but not least, I made more cookies! A double batch of Puddin' Head gingerbread cutouts.  

I've been making these for thirty-six Christmases! Tradition!!  ♥

Christmas in the Kitchen

I seem to spend a lot of time in my kitchen.  Dan has never eaten cold cereal so a hot breakfast it is each day.  From the start of the day until evening, I am probably in the kitchen more than another other room in the house, unless I'm on a sewing mission.  Decorating my kitchen happens with each season, but never so much as for Christmas.  These are new photos, but may be very similar to ones I've posted in past years.

The cookbook cupboard Dan made me some years ago is my favorite spot of all.  The Jim Shore trees and Santa just make the top and were gifts from Ann at past Christmases.  

The broom is many years old, probably dated, but I still love it.  I made it probably forty years ago. The calendar is a Susan Winget one, the same artist who did the illustrations for the book in my Bear Corner pictured a few days ago.  The snowman platter was a gift from Bruder Bear and Karen, and under it, if you click on the photo to enlarge it, is a garland of little angels, a gift from Susan Boehne, a teacher friend of mine.  The wooden mitten on the door knob was made by Cyndie McCabe, another long-time friend and former neighbor.  I get the best gifts! 

These little snowmen, perched by my sink, were also a gift, made by a former assistant principal at the school where I taught.  So cute!

And on the wall in the breakfast nook is a quilt I made from a Country Threads pattern, called Uncle Santa, also many years old.  

Even my stove gets a little decorating.  I put my lovely dark green Staub dutch oven on the back burner, put an appliqued towel on the oven handle, and park an adorable snowman timer next to it.  Those red spatulas in the utensil crock fit right in, too!

And last, here is the breakfast nook table.  

You can see Uncle Santa on the wall, and on the table is a runner I made for Mom and Dad and brought home after we cleared out their house. The sleigh centerpiece was made by a friend the first year we moved back to town, so it's been on that table since Christmas of 1985.  Tradition!!  ♥

December 3 and I Almost Forgot!

I just finished emptying the dishwasher and thought I'd make a last check of email and Facebook when I remembered I said I'd try to write each day until Christmas.  Arrgh! Such a short memory!  

So, what happened today?  It was a gloriously beautiful day with sunshine streaming in the windows.  It did seem a little strange to be setting out Christmas decorations on such an unwintery day, but pretty much the whole upstairs is decorated now. Yes, including the bathrooms. (And even the laundry room downstairs gets its little additions.  More on those rooms on another day.) 

I was a little shocked a few minutes ago when I realized this is our twenty-second Christmas in this house.  By far the most Christmases in any house I've lived in.  Which actually makes it easy to decorate as I don't change from year to year. Tradition!!  (As Tevye would sing, although he didn't celebrate Christmas . . .) 

The window pane wall hanging made its way upstairs last Christmas to replace the red and green log cabin star. It was a success, so it is back again this year.  Hmmm, that makes me realize that some traditions do  change over the years.  

And here's true tradition, Bear Corner.

A happy little group backed by a beautiful copy of The Night Before Christmas, illustrated by one of my favorite artists, Susan Winget. 

It was a good day, with much accomplished, including getting my hair cut!  Always an upper.  ♥

Just Checking In

After yesterday's post, I decided I would see if I could do a post each day until Christmas.  I imagined lively words, some photos, and generally an update as to our preparations for the Big Day.

Today I began in earnest, getting out quilts, wall hangings, and table runners.  These things are all stored upstairs on shelves in the boys' room on shelves in one of the closets.  I have quite a number of all three items to spread throughout the house and it takes some time to take down the Americana and put up the Christmas.  (And why does it seem like I just took them down?)

Yesterday I swapped out my regular dishes for the Christmas set, trotting up and down the hall to the cupboards where they are stashed the rest of the year.  When I was little, I dreamed of having Christmas dishes and I love that my dream came true.  We use them all month and well into January.  They make me smile.

However, I believe I may have mentioned in the past that I'm a very linear person, not a good multi-tasker.  And yesterday proved to be a case in point.  While swapping dishes, I was watching a movie on my kitchen TV (The Intern with Robert DeNiro which I hadn't seen before), while also making a pumpkin pie with some leftover pumpkin.  That's three things at one time.  The pie paid the price.  I reset the timer for forty-five minutes when the first fifteen minutes were up at 425°, but forgot to turn the oven down to 350°. When the final timer rang, I was shocked to see that the crust was a very, very, very dark brown at the edges and then I noticed the black spots on the pumpkin filling.  Then I realized what I had done.  I assumed the pie was a loss, but we tried it (minus the edge crust!) and it wasn't bad.  Not great, but not bad. 

Apparently pumpkin pie is very resilient.   ♥

November's End

I really meant to do four posts this month, but the busy end seemed to be my undoing.  And here we are, on the last day of November. Oh well! 

Thanksgiving was wonderful.  We ended up celebrating on Friday with Ann, Eric and the boys. (Daniel asked what we ate on the actual Thanksgiving day and I told him, "Frozen ravioli and salad!"  He seemed astounded.)  But on Friday, we had the whole Thanksgiving dinner! We enjoyed all our visiting the most, I think.  (The pumpkin pie Dan and I had for Saturday morning's breakfast was pretty good, too.)

Now it's time to think about decorating for Christmas and I decided to wait until tomorrow to start.  I've been cleaning bathrooms today and as I set things out tomorrow, I'll dust and vacuum. Some days I really miss having the cleaning lady of my teaching days.  But then some days I really enjoy cleaning, so there's that.  

I finally finished the Peace on Earth wall hanging and I am very happy with it.  My plan is to hang it in the downstairs guest room where I have a large, empty wall just waiting for it.

I have also been continuing to do a lot of reading. Ann loaned me an interesting book and I really enjoyed it.  

The Traitor's Wife is a fictionalized story about Peggy Shippen Arnold, Benedict Arnold's wife, but it is based on fact.  As it turns out, history has shown that she was the major force behind his defection during the Revolutionary War.  If you're looking for a good read and love history, this will surely appeal to you. 

And that's it for the end of November, in the strange year of 2020.  ♥

And Now It's December

Thanksgiving has come and gone and it was wonderful! Ann, Eric, Cameron, Keaton and Daniel came to stay Wednesday night and thus began a fun-filled (and food-filled!) holiday.  We relaxed and, as we say, fell in a heap that night and then popped up Thursday morning to get things ready for the big dinner.  Fortunately we are creatures of habit, or maybe I should say traditionalists, so the menu is never an issue.  Turkey, stuffing, gravy and all the other standbys.  Mmmm...

The one thing we've changed in the last few years is our potatoes.  We switched to the Pioneer Woman's decadent recipe for mashed potatoes and as Ann says, we've never looked back.  When it came time to make the potatoes, I had plenty of help!

Kitchen crew at work!

The dinner was a success and we were blessed to have our niece Kirsten, her husband Tim, and little Taylor joining us.  Our table was full and so were our chairs!  

We spent the rest of our days relaxing, reading, visiting, napping and putting a puzzle together.  And, of course, one night we all watched Home Alone 2 as a prelude to the Christmas season.  Even after all these years, the Home Alone movies still make us laugh.  

Saturday morning the guys all helped Dan change out our tires to snow tires, inspired by the light snowfall of the night before.  They worked together, with a team of two on each vehicle and the work went swiftly.

Dan and Keat on the pickup

Eric and Cam on the car

Even Daniel got in on the act when it came time to air up the tires.  

He had to borrow some gloves and tennis shoes from me, hence the pink hands and pink shoelaces.  Yes, this eight-year-old wears the same size shoes as his grammy.  (And why, you are asking did he have to borrow?  Simple.  He came in his shorts--note the bare legs--and his slides.)  ♥

A Little More Americana is Added

I think I mentioned a post or two ago that I was working on a new project for summer decorating.  A table runner using a "honeybun" (1 1/2" strips) of Primitive Gatherings patriotic fabrics for 2019. The design has three large blocks utilizing lots of tiny 1 1/2" squares and as I worked on it I hoped it would turn out square. Even when I finished the piecing I wasn't sure, but it quilted out beautifully and when folded in half, all parts lined up!!  

The colors are brighter than other Primitive Gatherings patriotic lines that I've used for our living room, so I decided this would probably be a good addition to the dining room table.  

The glass star dish of red, white and blue peanut M&Ms is a perfect accompaniment.  This year I actually found a pantry-sized bag of the seasonal M&Ms at Safeway and it's been so nice not have to use white ones saved from the Valentine's bag and blue and red ones from a regular bag.  ♥

Of Picnics. . .

My long-time pal, Kathy, recently did a post recalling her family's Fourth of July picnics when she was a child.  I don't remember my family having picnics on the Fourth, and actually only remember a few lunches which could possibly be called picnics because we ate them while taking drives for the day (people used to do that back in the day, take drives just to drive).  

In my pondering, I remembered a picture I have of my mother's family taken at a picnic with friends.  The year would be circa 1927.

First, notice how dressed up the men are--suits and hats!  Mom told me some years ago when I asked her about the photo that the car was her family's.  Grandpa Hansen is the tall man in the center.  The man standing next to him in the straw hat was his older brother, Lawrence, and he is holding my mom who looks to be about two.  Grandma Hansen is peeking around beside Mom, and that's Mom's brother, Richard standing in the front with his hand on the watermelon.  The other people were family friends.  

Apparently going on a picnic was a big deal, worthy of dressing up!  Was this the Fourth of July?  Grandpa and his brother had both emigrated to the United States from Norway in the early years of the 20th century and became citizens as soon as possible.  The U.S. was good to them and perhaps they were celebrating the birthday of their new country.  We'll never know; Mom is gone now and was too young to remember the details anyway.  Looks like watermelons have been an integral part picnics for a long time though!  ♥

Happy 4th of July!

It's a beautiful, warm but not hot day here at the resort and we are enjoying a relaxing afternoon after some work here and there earlier in the day.  I just took a lemon cheesecake out of my InstantPot and it will be a cool, tasty treat this evening.  

I've started a new Americana table runner and it's well on its way.  I may even get some stitching done on it today!  The pattern is based on a Moda "Honeybun" pack which means width of fabric strips that are 1 1/2" wide. There are a lot of 1 1/2" squares in the design!  Stay tuned for a post with pictures, hopefully in the next few days.  ♥ 

End of June?!?

Hmmm, how did June fly by so quickly?  Here it is the last day, and so in a valiant effort to improve my blogging I'm going to see if I can come up with a few coherent things to share.  

I haven't made any new dresses for my dolls, but I did make an effort to take Ann Estelle's blue dress and make it suitable for Easter.  I was thinking I would add lace and ribbons, but when I searched among my findings, I found a wire-edged dusty blue organdy ribbon that just seemed to say use me.  So I did.  

I loved using it to tie around her head and then just cut a piece to tie around her waist.  It's not stitched on, so I can still make changes to the dress if I get inspired later on.  Meanwhile, AE felt quite stylish for Easter.  

Another thing I forgot to share was Ann's Mother's Day gift.  

A plethora of new cloth napkins, which she knows I love, and my new favorite mug filled with lemoncello almonds from Costco.  I had never tasted the almonds before and let me tell you, it was love at first bite!  Mmmm...

And that's it for now!!  ♥

Happy May Day!!

It's finally beginning to look like spring around here! The trees have been valiantly trying to leaf out and from a distance, we can actually see hints of green when we look at them.  This Mary Engelbreit drawing gives a glimpse of how I'm feeling about all this!!

And it's May Day.  I remember as kids we would make May baskets in school each year and then take them home to fill with flowers to leave on someone's doorknob.  I don't think anyone does it anymore, and it's kind of sad.  But then, if I even wanted to try it this year, nothing is blooming yet in our yard, and it sort of negates to whole thing if you have to buy the flowers. Just not the same as lilacs or tulips or daffodils picked at the last moment before delivery.  Ah well.  

Happy spring!  And happy May Day! ♥

Hey, I'm Back!

I've been a terrible blogger this month, but as I said in my last post, when not much is going on, there's not much to write about.  Still true!

We did have a lovely Easter, or as our pastor prefers to call it, Resurrection Day last week.  For only the second time, our church had a sunrise service and it was scheduled for 5:45.  For those of you who know me well, you know I don't think there's time before eight now that I'm retired, so this was truly an endurance test for me.  I passed!!

Ann and I decided that with such an early start, we needed to restructure our usual plans.  We decided on a brunch after the service followed by a call to Cam, then a long nap, then dinner.  I'm pleased to say that our plan was very successful.  

We thoroughly enjoyed hearing Cam's voice and by putting him on speaker on Eric's phone, we were all able to hear him and respond.  Amazing tools we have now! Such a blessing.

Here's a couple of photos after naps were had by all but Daniel.  Oh to have the energy of an eight-year-old!!  

Ann was headed to the deck to read to Daniel when I told her the furniture wasn't out yet.  She said her guys could fix that and before we knew it,  all was in place! Score for Papa!!

And above is a photo of our crazy movers soaking up a little warmth after they've expended all their energy on their work.  Yes, it was another laid-back holiday here at the resort, enjoyed by all.  ♥

At Year's End

I totally stole that title from another blog, but I love it and the thoughts it brings.  It leads one to ponder.  

Yes, it is the end of another year.  How quickly they seem to go these days, but I guess that's the way it goes as one ages.  Or so I've heard.  And now it's almost 2019.  Impossible! Almost twenty years of this new century lived by Dan and me, who as Dan likes to say, "were born in the first half of the last century."  Yikes! And yet mostly so good, filled with beautiful days, like this one this week:

I love our backyard and the views beyond.  I'm so happy we still have snow! It lights these short days and keeps me energized.  Inside the Christmas tree lights up the evenings and makes everything so cozy.  We also have those amazing faux candles and tea lights that bring even more coziness to the darkness.

I love this little wooden "basket" that hold a tea light that actually flickers like a real candle.  And I don't have to worry about burning the house down!  

It may be the end of the year, but our Christmas decorations will continue to light our days and nights for a few more weeks.  Christmas day is not the end, but just the beginning and as we go into a new year, we'll take the gift of grace that Christmas brought so long ago and carry it with us each day. ♥

Happy Thanksgiving!

The turkey is thawed, the big day is almost upon us, and we here at the Resort wish everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving.  We have so much to be thankful for!