Happy New Year!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

It appears I'm a little slow on the uptake, but as they always say... "Better late than never!".... err, or was that "Better never late!!"?? No matter...I've decided I am WAY past due in updating my neglected little blog.

Now that we have returned from our holiday travels north to visit Ashley & Casey (youngest daughter & SIL) & my brother and his family, I am slowly returning to post-holiday living. Do I even admit that we STILL have Christmas decorations gathered, waiting to be boxed and hidden away for another year? I have high hopes of completing my project to organize and store holiday decor in a more accessible manner than in the past. Wish me luck!! I suppose the success of that project depends somewhat on my ability to tear myself away from another interest we've recently rekindled...working on our family history / genealogy. (more on that later)

I guess I'm one of those personality types that struggle with an "all or nothing" challenge in my time management balancing act. I tend to pour myself into the project at hand, sometimes to the neglect of the daily grind of life. Because my projects are usually more fun and creative than cooking and cleaning...I tend to sometimes... well...uuuhhh..."overlook"..."put off"..."neglect"... some of the more mundane tasks facing me. So, that being said, I have been admonishing myself to keep up with my daily disciplines and have enjoyed some success this past week. I began using my computerized calendar program to help me with my task list and schedules (Microsoft Outlook), I've begun my exercising again, and working on consistently completing my daily Bible study for the Ladies Day study of John that resumed last week. Baby steps....

So...I won't rattle on any more as I thought I'd catch you up to date by sharing some pictures of what we've been up to over the past 5 weeks.

It was a treat to spend time with Ashley, Casey (and Lacey) over Christmas.

We just don't get to see them enough!!

I had some time to kill one afternoon while Ashley & Casey were at work...so I abused their dog, Lacey, by making her endure a doggy "photo session". :-) I'm sure she'll be happy when the grandkids come along so I will have new subjects to hold hostage.

I have to give her credit...she was a pretty good sport and I had fun practicing with her.

Lacey has that killer instinct...see...she captured a goose... oh, it's a stuffed toy you say?? Shh, don't tell Lacey, she thinks she's the GREAT WHITE HUNTER!

It's always great to have the opportunity to spend time together...

Brad & I enjoyed the chance to spend an afternoon with my brother. He taught me how to make a writing pen...from wood...on his lathe. Really neat!! My pen is made from pink wood brought from Africa!

We took Ashley's dog for a walk one afternoon and I had fun capturing some neighborhood sights...Christmas time in PA! The snow and cold weather reminded us of growing up in Ohio.

Nothing like freshly fallen snow...especially when the weather is mild enough for a walk.

This old barn down the street has so much character...couldn't resist.

Snow...and more snow...

I don't miss THIS part of living where there is snow...the shoveling, the dirt and slush...the driving in it! Notice the hill in the background...certainly NOT a sight you'll see around where we live in Texas. Nope... flat as a pancake here! So I always enjoy being in countryside with some movement to the land. However... Texas does have some great advantages...

You don't have to shovel sunshine!! These perky flowers greeted us upon our arrival home ...Awwwww...Christmas time in Texas!!

Can you believe we still have flowers blooming!? Although the last picture was flowers from our front porch...this picture was taken out in front of a local mall... (I was bored sitting close-by at a stop light a few days ago and "just happened" to have my small camera in my purse. ;-)
Brad and I got to spend a lot of time together during December as he had several weeks of vacation to use up. This is a pic of me showing off one of the "stocking stuffer" gifts he gave me...this REALLY cool spatula.

New Year's Eve gathering with Erin, Micah and some dear friends / neighbors!

January 6th, Brad and I celebrated our 29th Wedding Anniversary! Brad brought me a dozen of these beautiful roses!!

One of the highlights of our year is to start out with the annual "Mulberrian" Dinner. A group of dear friends originally all from the same church and a home Bible Study we hosted for over 15 years. (from 1982-1997) Although many of us have moved and attend different churches now...we still keep in touch and share in each other's lives. A few years back we began inviting our older "kids" / couples to join us. Even though we were missing one couple and several of the second generation "kids" this year... we had 20 (plus 3 unborn) in attendance. I hope some day to have us all together...the group would be pushing 50!! One of the sons is in Iraq, so it brings the war a little closer to home for us. It's one of those rare groups that have gone from baby showers to bridal showers....and now back to baby showers again!!

Our three "Mothers-in-waiting": Lisa (due any minute), Mimi (delivered their son two weeks ago) and Erin (due May 4th)

It was also a treat over Christmas to see Salem, Erin's best friend. We are ALL delighted that, like so many major events in life, they get to experience pregnancy together. They have been friends since they were 7 years old, shared an apartment together during college, married within months of each other...and now are expecting their first baby within weeks of each other...both sons!! Congratulations!!

It has been so nice to have Megan back in town a few times over the past month!! We have been able to spend some fun times together talking, doing lunch, shopping...doing lunch again... ;-)

Meg was pleased with this cute pair of shoes she found when I took her shopping for some Christmas gifts. Too bad we didn't catch a picture of the skirt we got to go with the shoes!!

Well, that about wraps up my photo blog for life over the past month. I hope to have a chance to drop by and visit with my friends in blogville soon!!

An Unexpected Blessing...

The house is quiet as everyone is resting so I have a moment to share with you. I have received an unexpected gift. Not a gift I would have chosen or maybe even welcomed, but it has been, none-the-less, a gift to me this busy Christmas season. The Lord has answered my prayers of helping me to keep my priorities straight, of keeping my focus on what is truly of importance and on what really matters. I once again have recognized the hand of a Loving God and I am praising Him for His faithfulness. Last Friday afternoon my parents called to let me know my 96 year old grandfather had been admitted to the hospital and was in serious condition. I struggled over if and when to book a flight up to Ohio to see him. Saturday morning it became apparent that Grandpa would not be rallying and was instead not expected to live much longer. With Brad's blessing, I immediately booked the first flight out (7pm) hoping to make it in time to have an opportunity to hold his hand one more time and say my good-byes. My sister called around lunch time to let me know that Grandpa had passed from life to ETERNAL LIFE. I was heart broken to have missed saying good-bye. I began to focus on being thankful for our recent visit 2 months ago when I did have a chance to sit, one last time with grandpa...talk, laugh, hold his hand and tell him I loved him. Our visit is a good memory. I had a few hours to straighten up our home, gather some photos of grandpa, pack and make it to the airport in good time, headed for Ohio. The last four days have been filled with family time that has refreshed my soul as we have talked, laughed, cried, hugged and enjoyed the preciousness of the life the Lord has given us together. For those of you that know me, you understand what a testament to God's faithfulness it is that our family enjoys such a close and loving relationship. At times it overwhelms me when we are together. Coming from a "blended family", we have had our share of challenges and growing to do in order to reach this point of bonding and connectedness. So my gift this Christmas did not include being able to cross things of my "to do" list, having every gift purchased and wrapped, Christmas baking done, or to have our house put back together and beautifully decorated. It has been the gift of being surrounded by my extended family, sharing in our love for each other as we mourn our loss and celebrate life. My brother officiated at grandpa's funeral today and his words were a blessing to all. Forty-one family members enjoyed lunch together...what a treat to re-connect with extended family, many of whom I have not seen for years. Family gathered at the cemetery this afternoon as we paid our final respects to my Father's Father. It was emotional for me at a deeper level as my memories flooded back over the years when we have stood in this same place and said our good-byes to three other family members. The most difficult for me, of course, was the memory of being a 14 year old girl and laying to rest the body of my mother. I began to learn then that some things in life just have to be accepted by faith. Today I was looking at the grave sites of three generations, four special people...and each loved in a special way. Tomorrow I return home to Texas, again surrounded by family who love each other. Ashley and Casey will arrive into town two hours after I do, so I am thankful all seven of us will be together this Christmas to celebrate Christ's birth and our love for each other. I pray that you will have a Blessed Christmas this year as you celebrate "God With Us". In Loving Memory of my Grandfather.

Christmas Tour of Homes...A little Holiday Humor

During a break from my attempt at decorating this afternoon, amidst the ongoing construction here, I dropped by BooMama's blog. Ahhhh, I see that she is sponsoring a "Christmas Tour Of Homes" today. What a fun and inspiring idea to visit a few of your homes looking so nice, clean and dressed in Christmas finery. Well....ok.... in the spirit of good holiday humor I will join in. For those of you that are lamenting that you haven't begun decorating...maybe this will make you feel better! Ha! I guess a picture is worth 1,000 words...this will give a comic visual for my last two posts (here and here). Here it goes:

This view is looking out over our kitchen breakfast area while standing at our kitchen sink. This work table is holding many of our supplies as Dear Hubby goes from room to room putting up trim, painting and working so hard on his "days off" from his real job. This area is part of our recent addition. I am SO proud of my smart hubby and the excellent skills he has attained over the past 27+ years of home ownership!! I wonder if Joseph was using his carpentry skills the week before that first Christmas so many years ago!!

For those purist among us...yes, we do indeed have holiday decorations out in our home. Here is the lovely poinsettia plant that my DH brought home the other evening...nicely displayed on the chop saw in our kitchen. I thought I did a nice job of color co-ordinating it with the saw. What do you think? Actually...don't tell me...unless of course you can be kind.

This is a partial shot of the new family room we added on and have slowly been bringing to completion. The goal is to finish up, clean up and move in here before Christmas morning. Do you think we'll make it?? HoHoHo...We would love to put our tree up and enjoy our traditional Christmas morning in this new room!! Wish us the best! Hopefully, I will be able to post a few pics after Christmas to show that we achieved our goal. Well, that's about it for now. I need to get back to work! I hope you enjoyed a glimpse of life at our home during this special season of remembering God's greatest gift to us!! I pray daily to keep things in perspective! Leave a me a kind comment...especially you lurkers. It would be a nice gift to meet some new friends! Have a Merry Christmas!!

Everything is under construction...I mean under control

Don't you love this time of year; the Christmas decorations, beautifully lit Christmas tree filled with ornaments-each a reminder of the giver or special purpose for purchase, Christmas carols fill the home and the scent of freshly baked goods fill each nook and cranny of your humble abode? So do I. Ok, so this year I'm (once again) learning to be patient. I wish I could show you this picture of our beautiful Christmas tree and wax poetic about the wonderful time we had decorating our tree last week to herald the Christmas season. In reality, this beautiful Christmas tree graced our home...last year. It is a fond reminder of the evening Casey proposed marriage to our daughter, Ashley. What special memories! However, this year, with not even two weeks until the day we celebrate our Lord's birth...our tree along with every decoration we own is still carefully packed away, awaiting liberation from the dark hiding place we call "the holiday closet". I guess maybe posting a picture of last year's tree is my attempt to remind myself that patience IS a virtue and maybe this will be the week we can transform our home into the "Christmas wonderland" that we have grown to expect and enjoy during the month of December. Since purchasing our first home back in 1979, Brad and I have always had some kind of "house project" going on in the background, weaving it's way in and around life on a fairly regular basis. To be honest, I grew up this way so it is not a new concept for me. In fact, in my family, it is a joke to see who is painting the week before any major holiday. Nothing like a holiday or "event" to motivate us to complete any unfinished project lurking around. And trust me...there's ALWAYS at least one...it's in our blood! Whereas I used to find great humor in this "joke", I am thinking this year the amusement aspect may be wearing a little thin. I'm afraid my current view is that it's a good hobby...gone bad. ;-) It may be time to find another way to invest our time and money, a less stressful hobby! Among other things, we added a family room on to the back of our home over a year ago. We hired a builder to do the work up to the point of finishing the sheetrock and Brad and I took over from there last December. The next four months were a flurry of planning a wedding (bride was out of town), painting, laying a tile floor, planning a wedding, painting, laying a wood floor, painting, even shipping my parents in to help...and did I mention planning a wedding??? Did I also mention hosting a Wedding Rehearsal Dinner for 50+ people in our (still under construction) home the night before the wedding? The wedding, April 29th was a simply wonderful occasion of celebration and we are thrilled to have Casey as the newest member of our family! The next five months neither Brad nor I could even bear to look at a paint brush or think about finishing up the wood trim and other odd jobs abandoned in lieu of wedding festivities. We avoided working on the house like the plague. Brad, however, pulled together his grit before I did and resumed doing odd jobs a few months back. He has even been able to use some left over vacation days to advance the cause in hopes of moving in to our new family room in time for our Christmas morning celebration. He has been working hard! Although we are still living in a construction zone...we ARE making progress towards the goal!! I am trying to keep emotions under "control" and just "do the next thing". I am hoping that in the next few days I will be able to start pulling out a few Christmas decorations here and there and prepare for a special time of celebrating Christ and family togetherness. All of our "kids" will be home for Christmas this year and we're REALLY looking forward to it! Ok...so we have hammers, sanders, saws, nail guns and paint cans where snowmen, angels and nativity sets should be....but we'll get there..if not sooner-then later! I keep telling myself that one year I'm going to have gifts purchased and wrapped, decorations out, freezer and pantry stocked and nothing left to do except to focus on friends and family...all by December 1st. :-) Until then...pass me the paint brush...please.

More Christmas Recipes...

Here are a few more sweet treats we typically make around the holidays. These recipes are all taken from our family cookbook.

Chex Muddy Buddies
9 c. Chex cereal (any variety)
1 c. semisweet chocolate chips
½ c. peanut butter
¼ c. butter
1 t. vanilla
1 ½ c. powdered sugar
Measure cereal into large bowl; set aside. Microwave chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter in 1 qt. microwavable bowl uncovered on High 1 minute; stir. Microwave 30 seconds longer or until mixture can be stirred smooth. (adjust times to your own microwave) Stir in vanilla. Pour chocolate mixture over cereal in bowl, stirring until evenly coated. Pour into 2 gallon zip lock bag; add powdered sugar. Seal bag; shake until well coated. Spread on waxed paper to cool. Store in airtight container in refrigerator. Yield: 9 cups snack. December 2003
Range top Directions: Measure cereal into large bowl; set aside. Heat chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter in 1 quart saucepan over low heat, stirring frequently, until melted. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla. Continue as directed above.
Reduced-Fat Recipe: Decrease chocolate chips to ¾ c.; omit butter and vanilla

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Christmas “Manger Hay” or Easter – “Robins Egg Nests”
Melt: 12 oz. Butterscotch chips
Add: 2 T. peanut butter.
Blend and Melt…Pour over one large & one small can shoe string potatoes. Drop on wax paper and let cool / harden. Easter: Shape into “nests” and place robin egg malted milk balls, jelly beans or egg Reese’s into nest.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Buckeye Candy

(being the loyal Ohioian...GO BUCKS!)
1 lb box of confectioners sugar, sifted about 4 cups
1 ½ c. creamy peanut butter
½ c. + 3 T. butter

2-3 t. vanilla
Blend butter and peanut butter. Add in vanilla. Add sugar gradually until mixture is of dough-like consistency. Form into balls the size of a small buckeye and chill.
COATING:
1-12oz. Package chocolate chips
1-1oz. Square baking chocolate
¼ bar paraffin
Melt over hot water. Dip the candy balls into chocolate, using a toothpick in top. Cover only sides leaving top uncovered to resemble a buckeye. Enjoy! From my Home Ec. class in 1972. These may be frozen.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Toffee Bars
2 sticks butter
1 c. brown sugar
1 egg yolk
1 t. vanilla
1 3/4 – 2 c. flour
1/4 t. salt
Topping:
6 oz Chocolate chips or 8 oz German sweet chocolate
1/2 c. sliced almonds (optional)
Combine all ingredients. Press into 9x13 greased pan. Bake @ 350 degrees for 15-20 min. Sprinkle with 6 oz. Choc chips. Put in oven 5 minutes (turned off). Spread chocolate. Let cool. (Optional: top with sliced almonds onto warm chocolate) Yield: 4 1/2 dozen

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pecan Tassies

Crust:
1 c. flour
1 (3oz) pkg. Cream cheese
1/2 c. Butter
Mix and divide into 24 or less balls, and place in small greased muffin tins. Shape into a pie shell. Break 3 pecan halves into shell. Pour filling over pecans and bake for 20-25 min.
Filling:1 egg slightly beaten
3/4 c. brown sugar
pinch salt
1 T. melted butter
1/2 t. vanilla
Pour over pecans and bake @ 350 degrees. (From: 1972)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Peanut Brittle
Cook until 200 degrees:
2 c. sugar
1 c. white corn syrup
1/2 c. water
Then add and cook until 300 degrees:
2 cups raw peanuts
1 t. butter
dash of salt
Take off stove and add 1 1/2 heaping teaspoon baking soda and 1/2 t. vanilla. Stir well and spread in greased pan. Cool. *Don’t put on waxed paper. From my mother-in-law who received it from her Mom...who won a Blue Ribbon for this at the Twin Falls County Fair!

Recipes: Christmas Cookies

Here are a couple of our favorite cookie recipes we like to make at Christmas time.

Wilton’s Spritz Cookies
If you have a cookie press, this recipe from Wilton works nicely.
1 1/2 c. butter, softened
1 c. sugar
1 egg
2 T. milk
1 t. vanilla
1/2 t. almond extract
3 1/2 c. flour
1 t. baking powder
Cream butter and sugar. Add egg, milk and extracts. Add dry ingredients. Do not chill dough. Place in cookie press. Bake 10-12 minutes @ 375 degrees.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The BEST Sugar Cookies
2 sticks butter
2 eggs, well beaten
2 t. vanilla**
Pinch of salt
2 c. sugar
4 c. flour
1 t. baking soda
Cream butter and sugar. Sift dry ingredients:
Add to sugar and butter alternating with eggs. Roll out thin and cut with desired cookie cutter. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Decorate with sugar sprinkles or icing. ** Option: Replace 2 t. vanilla with 1 t. vanilla, 1 t. lemon extract, 1/2 t. almond extract, 2 T. grated lemon rind.
Sugar Cookies Icing
1 c. sifted confectioners sugar
4 t. milk
1/2 t. vanilla
Mix well. Tint with food coloring if desired.
Dries to “hard” shine.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gingerbread Boys / Girls :-)
Mix: ¼ c. soft shortening
½ c. sugar
Add: ½ c. dark molasses
¼ c. water
Stir in another bowl:
2 ½ c. Flour
¾ t. salt
½ t. soda
¾ t. ginger
¼ t. nutmeg
1/8 t. allspice
Mix dry ingredients into molasses mixture. Chill dough 2-3 hours. Heat oven to 375°. Lightly grease a baking sheet. Divide dough into 3 portions. (Place 2 portions back in frig. Until ready to use.) On lightly floured board, roll out dough with floured rolling pin. Roll to ¼” thickness. (For easiest rolling, use a lightly floured cloth-covered board and rolling pin.) Cut with a gingerbread-boy cutter dipped in flour. Place gingerbread boys on baking sheet. Add eyes and buttons of raisins or bits of gumdrops. You may add red hot cinnamon candies after done cooking. Dough arms, turned up at an angle, make boys that wave “hello” as they come out of the oven. Bake 10-12 minutes. Cool slightly, then carefully remove from baking sheet. Cool on wire rack. Make outlines for collar, cuffs, belt, and shoes with Creamy Frosting. From: Betty Crocker’s Boys & Girls Cookbook.
Creamy Frosting
Mix 1 cup sifted confectioners’ sugar, 4 t. milk, and ¼ t. vanilla in small bowl. Tint with food coloring, if you like.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Peanut Blossoms (“Kiss cookies”) OR Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
1 ¾ c. flour
1 t. baking soda
½ t. salt
½ c. butter @ room temp.
½ c. creamy peanut butter
½ c. brown sugar (packed)
½ c. sugar
1 large egg Peanut Blossom Peanut Butter Cup
1 t. vanilla extract
Hershey Kiss candies (large)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift flour w/ baking soda & salt. In med. bowl, cream together butter, peanut butter, brown sugar, and white sugar. When light and fluffy, beat in eggs & vanilla. Add flour mixture half @ a time, beating well after each addition. Shape dough into 1” balls, using a heaping teaspoon or small cookie scoop. Place 1” apart on ungreased baking sheet…or if making peanut butter cup cookies, place each ball into an ungreased mini muffin pan. Bake about 10 minutes. Remove from oven & immediately press a chocolate kiss lightly into the top of each cookie. (or a mini peanut butter cup into each mini muffin pan) Return to oven & bake 2-4 min. longer until cookies are lightly browned. Remove cookies from oven and place on wire rack to cool. From Christmas 1969

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Snowballs (Mexican Wedding Cookies or Russian Tea Cakes)
1 cup butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

6 tablespoons confectioners' sugar

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

1/3 cup confectioners' sugar for decoration

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, cream butter and vanilla until smooth. Combine the 6 tablespoons confectioners' sugar and flour; stir into the butter mixture until just blended. Mix in the chopped walnuts. Roll dough into 1 inch balls, and place them 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 12 minutes in the preheated oven. When cool, roll in remaining confectioners' sugar. From 8th grade home ec class.

Recipe: Cranberry Tea & Christmas Wassil

Well, it's been awhile since I've posted and I have become inspired by all of the posts I've seen recently on holiday recipes! I thought I'd share a few of our family's favorites that we enjoy making around this time of year. If you are posting special recipes on your blog...please leave a link under comments so we can try out your favorites as well!!

I received this recipe back in 1984 from our Ladies Group at church when we lived in Houston. It's a standard around here at Christmas time!

Hot Cranberry Tea
Boil Together:
3/4-1 c. sugar or to taste
1 1/2 c. water
1 sticks cinnamon
Add:
4 c. Water
3 c. pineapple juice
2 c. Cranberry Juice coctail
1 c. orange juice
1 T. lemon juice
Simmer 1/2 hour and serve warm. Enjoy!! Yield: 11-12 cups

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Or, for another recipe without as much sugar try:

Christmas Wassil

Mix equal parts: Cranberry juice (or orange juice), Apple Juice and Pineapple juice

2 t. whole cloves

6 whole cinnamon sticks

Place in crock pot and heat. This recipe came from the Houston Chronicle.