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!! ♥

Merry Christmas!!

We've had a lovely day! After stockings (after eight a.m. for all but Daniel), we had a leisurely present opening as we ate our breakfast casserole, sipped coffee and visited.  Such fun! 

The rest of the day was spent snacking and playing with our new toys and napping.  We watched Home Alone I tonight at Daniel's request as he'd only seen it once before, two Christmases ago.  Some mentioned they weren't going to watch it again, but were later found to be in the audience.  :-)

And now it's almost ten-thirty.  Daniel is sound asleep; Eric, Cam and Keat are playing a game Cam got, and Ann and Dan are reading.  Perfect!

Merry Christmas to one and all!  

Success!

We did it!! Our Buche de Noel is a success!  

The recipe called for rosemary leaves but we have the real thing thanks to Papa Dan and his trees! Even a pine cone! Ann and I are so excited and proud of ourselves because last night we almost decided not to try it.  We're so glad we did.  

The table is set and the tree is waiting.  

Have a blessed Christmas! ♥

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.  ♥

Christmas Thoughts, or More Pondering

Just got back from Sunday night Bible study with Pastor and realized my fingers smelled like smoked steelhead.  "Huh?" you say?  Yes, one of the men loves to fish and he brought a plate of very delicious smoked fish. The funny thing is, he doesn't like fish, but he loves to fish. And so he shares, and we all got an early Christmas gift.  

In all my talking about decorating and baking, I don't mean to leave out the reason our family celebrates Christmas.  It's because it's the time people in the early church chose to celebrate the birth of Jesus.  Yes, it's tied into old pagan celebrations, but that's not what we emphasize. No one knows for certain when Jesus was born, but born he was, so we celebrate the most important birth in the history of the world.  And we do it with joy. 

It's not just about the gift giving and the cookies and the decorations, though they add to the joy. It's about loving those around us as God chose to love us.  

I have a cousin in Norway, Kristen, who is a children's pastor at her local church.  Sometimes we think Christmas is an American holiday, but of course it's not; it's for believers everywhere. She put up pictures today of taking her little daughter, Mathea, to the woods to talk, lay in the snow and look up at the trees.

Here's one of her photos. Isn't it beautiful? 

Look up! For the Lord draws nigh!  ♥