Oh yeah I had to say something about the lack of snow didn’t I!  Couldn’t just leave it alone!  Now there is snow on top the ice in the driveway.  Such fun going down hill I don’t need!  It hit last night after dark.  I guess it didn’t want to see me standing in the driveway screaming, ” All right all ready enough—stop!”  Ai least all of my packages have been delivered so I don’t have to worry about a Fed-X or UPS person breaking a leg walking up to the dome. 

Remember yesterday I said I was going to stuff some knitted snowman—didn’t get done.  I also was starting the ‘to do’ and ‘shopping lists’—ain’t done either.  Procrastination seems to be my middle name.  I have six days before Christmas Eve dinner here and you would think I had months yet.  Now I know what I’m serving and what has to be shopped for yet.  I know what baking and cooking I need to do yet.  I know what cleaning has to be done.  (I got the rake and the coal shovel sitting by the kitchen door—kidding). I know what has to be wrapped yet.  Yes I know all this.  So why am I sitting on my butt pecking at a key board, or doing a FILL IT IN puzzle, or playing Free Cell!  My answer is the same as it was when my mom asked me why I ate the last of the cookies without sharing.
QUOTE:  I Don’t Know Mom!!!! 

I guess it is just more fun to increase the TO DO YET pressure.  I always did work better under pressure! 

The mail lady brought a package today.  It came all the way from California.  Upon opening I found two new critters to join the clowns, birds, home made things, and old ornaments from several years of my life.  I had not bought any thing new to hang on the tree to mark this year passing.  So these two additions will fill the bill completely.  I can hear the puppy howling carols if I listen real close!  My thanks to Maria and Bob for the thoughtful gifts.

A duty that has been delayed but it is time to complete it now. 

The Butterfly award from Paula at Momma’s Place At home.

The other award from Grammie Pammie.  Both were awards for my blog so now it is time to name my choices.

These blogs give me a kind of feeling of friendship and caring that brings happiness into an other limited circle of friends.

I give both these awards to the following blogs.

  1. Silverfox Whispers

  2.Pammies Place

  3.Mrs Dof

  4. Momma’s Place At Home

  5.Junie’s Place

  6. I Live On A Farm

  7.SEB

  A big thank you to all of you for making my visits fun!

Last night was one of those!  We have all had them sometime.  It seemed like every two hours I was up.  My mind kept saying you have to pee ( excuse the description).  So out I would crawl and off to the john.  On trip number four it was around 5 am and I decided that I would empty the dishwasher, gather up the dirty clothes to go in the washer, and take advantage of my hubby handiwork.  He had set out dishes, ingredients, and the recipe for the Apple Gingerbread Cobbler the night before but I didn’t feel up to making it then.  Well 5:30 in the morning seemed like a great time to get it done.  After getting it into the oven I sat and work three Fill It In puzzles with a cup of coffee.  During that time the cobbler came out and the Tylenol I had taken earlier kicked in so my headache was almost gone.  I sure do miss my Excedrin with it’s “instant gone factor” but if you take Motrin you can’t take it.  Any way this is the results of my early morning baking.

It is divided into two pans because the original recipe make 8 servings and I wanted to freeze one.  How does it taste? Don’t know yet.  Somehow making it in the morning doesn’t dictate eating at the same time of day. 

A look outside confirmed that this is indeed Michigan.  The big thermometer on the wall outside read 22 degrees and a wind seemed to be gathering steam. 

It was snow up to the wazoo around Thanksgiving right up through a week ago then it started to melt.  It seems like every year Mother Nature tries to scare us with bare ground about a week before Christmas.  We wonder if any kids still get sleds and do they get to use them. 

I finally went back to bed around 7:30 am for another couple of hours of sleep because it is much warmer under those covers than sitting up in a shrug and slippers. 

Yesterday while I worked some more on my lap robe (do you believe I still don’t have even a quarter of it done). 

When I think that I have more of these to do in different patterns I wonder if they will ever be finished.  Maybe next Christmas I’ll have them ready.  Darn old pesky Xs. 

Brandy, on the other hand, gave up trying to get my attention and curled up on the couch to take a little snooze.

I’m always amazed how she can be so comfortable all twisted up like that.

This afternoon I’m going to stuff and sew a couple of knitted snowmen I made last year to use as gifts.  I still have several things to construct, create, or finish that will be keeping me busy all of 2009.  But hey I’m too old to walk the streets!

Stay warm, keep healthy, and for the sake of your lungs and your attitude Laugh!

It seemed like I was chained to the kitchen stove all day yesterday.  The results were some good looking candy and sad looking cookies.  The saving grace was that everything tastes good.  The truffles are the candy recipe on the Eagle Brand Milk container.  Easy to make and yummy to eat. 

As to the cookies I started on the Oatmeal cookies on Thursday.  It was Jay’s mom’s recipe.  Fairly simple to assemble but they have a tendency to crumble.  I also made the Date Filled Sugar Cookies, another of Reita’s recipes.  Not pretty but very tasty.  Yesterday I used the sugar cookie recipe to make the Almond Slivered, the apricot filled, and the cookie dipped in white sugar.  With all that and making a meatloaf for supper my oven was on for most of the day.  Today I have a headache and very angry feet and legs but I have enough sweet things to make a fairly decent gift when a jar of homemade jam or chutney is added.  At least for now my work here is done ! 

Today I’m taking a page from Molly’s book—laying low, feet up, and napping in the sun.

Holiday Cookies—-Bah Humbug!  I spent most of yesterday trying to make cookies to give, with jam. to my delivery ladies.  What a farce!  I started with the Magic Bars.  Taste great even with a few substitutions—I added butterscotch morsels to the chocolate to make 12 ozs.  The problem came when I tried to get them out of the pan.  I have what looks more like miniature popcorn balls rather than bars.  Well I guess they are for private consumption not gifts. 

Next I tried Date filled Oatmeal cookies.  The date filling is great but the cookie part is a disaster.  First I couldn’t get the dough to stick together.  Little bits of oatmeal kept falling out.  The recipe said add two to four tablespoons of water to the dough and then refrigerate for 15 minutes to make rolling it out easier.  I got news even a cup of water wouldn’t have helped it.  I finally managed to get it rolled out but getting it an eighth of an inch thick proved to be more of a task than I thought.  The recipe also said to cut in two inch circles, two for each cookie, fill one side, place other one on top and press edges firmly.  When I finished with that step I still had almost a cup of filling left and my sealing job was not very effective.  Results were cookie too thick, filling too little, and Momma too sad. Sweet hubby said, “too doughy throw them out”.  My reply was that If I had to eat each one myself I was going to salvage my work.  I always thought that old grandmas could naturally make great cookies but I guess I was wrong. 

So as you can see everything is still out on the counter waiting this morning and Jay has two of his Mom’s recipes ready to help me make.  Hopefully working together we can create something good enough to give away. 

On the plus side I got my last to decoration projects done.

The snowman, the little house, and mice on the shelf by the kitchen door.  Also the Nativity scene on the buffet where it usually sets during the holiday. 

More snow outside not a large amount but enough for Jay to get the tractor out and start plowing.  Yes it came back yesterday and it works like a charm. 

Hope all is going well for you and I get some cookies for giving not eating!!

Good Morning!  It is 20 freakin’ degrees out there and even Molly didn’t stay out long after meowing to go outside.  Brandy and Jay are still tucked warmly in bed.  I haven’t kicked the thermostat up yet so it is shrug wearing time at my computer. 

Well it stopped snowing yesterday and with Jay’s help I stumbled over the ruts hidden under the snow to set up good old Doe and Buck. 

I didn’t hear any comments from them about how long they sat on the porch.  Usually Doe has some snide remark to make.  I guess she is too pissed off to talk to me.  Anyhow I waited until dark to take their picture and they did me proud.

My other dilemma yesterday was where to put my lighted buildings.

All but three ended up on top of Jay’s computer desk.  Two more are in the bay window and the third one is on my desk.  Only the two in the window and the one on my desk are plugged in however because of the mare’s nest of wires from the computer equipment behind Jay’s desk.  I really don’t relish resetting a circuit breaker every time the computer is turned on. 

20 degrees or not we have a trip to the grocery store to make today.  The larder is running low bread and eggs.  Also the milk is threatening to turn now that it is down to the last 1/8th cup full.  Jay had baked a loaf of onion bread night before last but we have pretty well devoured that.  I also need to get some ingredients to make some cookies to go with jam to give to my mail and paper ladies.  I should have some left over for munching before our dinner on the Eve. 

My other project today is to place the Nativity scene that Jimmy Murphy painted for me roughly 26 years ago on the buffet.  You know a tree filled with ornaments older than my youngest child, the buildings that the middle child bought me, the church that the youngest so carefully painted and put glitter on,  and a string of small beads with a bell on the end that my oldest sent me when he lived in California a few years ago bring back so many memories.  But I’m sure you have Holiday reminders like that also. 

Take care, keep warm, develop those holiday plans and above all remember to laugh out loud (them lungs you know).

A date which will live in infamy!

Yesterday from daylight until after dark looking out the window all you could see was a fine snow blowing diagonally across the area like a desert sand storm.  The street out front was only four stripes.  No salt, no melting, just the signs that Mother Nature gives telling you if you don’t have to go out then don’t.  Believe me I didn’t.  But this morning I awoke to beautiful sunshine.  Not warm enough yet to melt anything but still a welcome sign that urges you to do something..

The last week has flown by but my feet have been dragging badly with the decorating.  I don’t know if it is age or my trying to heal.  A little of both I think.

Three of my seven buildings are sitting on the buffet.  I decided that putting them around the tree was not a good idea for safety sake and my knees that don’t like kneeling.  Placing three of them on the buffet soon became apparently the wrong decision due to the lack of room.  Besides I usually set the Nativity scene up there.  What to do with them is the question. With a little over two weeks do I want to put them any where?  I have decided against the lights in the upstairs windows because climbing the stairs to turn them off every night is difficult.  The lights on the eaves are out again this year because the ladder climbing is out.  Over half of my decorations are still in the boxes.  Even my Christmas cactus isn’t ready to bloom yet.

Lots of beautiful green branches but no buds to announce the coming blooms.  It kind of makes you sad when things don’t go the way you want them to.

In the bedroom closet are several projects I had planned to complete for Christmas but my mind or my body just didn’t cooperate.  I guess I’ll have plenty to do for the coming year and I won’t have to worry about buying them because they are paid for already.  At this moment I am ready to throw all plans up in the air and sit and read books.  (Yes actually read some eight or nine books that are waiting on the shelf for me).

Then yesterday evening in the blowing snow my neighbor, Phyllis, appeared at my door with this lovly plant to help decorate the house.  It is almost a salmon color and goes well with the room color.  You gotta love someone who makes an effort to cheer you up—even if they are unaware that you are down.

Well I do have one thing to accomplish.  The menu for Christmas eve dinner. I am going to enlist the aid of my hubby and kids and prepare most of it.  I am sitting here now, mouth watering and mind racing over what dessert will grace our table.  Boy that improves the attitude quickly don’t it!  How are you doing with your plans?

Just call me Goody Two Shoes my friend.  It is true after three and a half months I am actually in both shoes.  I don’t know how long it will last today but at least it is progress.  Am I pleased—you betcha. 

I got outside yesterday to fill the thistle so as promised…

..the feeding station that is up, thanks to David and Cindy, got it’s picture taken .  It is right outside the french doors so expect lots of pics of birds filling their tummies.  There are six finches on the thistle feeder right now and two chickadees on the main feeder. 

At 8:30 this morning a big red pickup with a plow on the front showed up to rescue us.  Both Jay and I have torn up the lower end of the front yard after backing off the driveway and getting stuck. Of course I did more damaged then him because a woman takes longer to get unstuck. The UPS and FedEx men have been walking the two hundred feet up my driveway to deliver packages.  A jar of jam just doesn’t seem enough reward for their efforts.  The snowplow was arranged yesterday when Keene Small Engine called to say they needed to order a part for the tractor.  That it may be Monday before it is delivered.  I told Jay that I was all done worrying and we called the Mobil station in town last night because the manager’s hubby plows.  Gotta love a small town where you can get help quickly.

Poor Buck and Doe have been sitting on the front porch since Sunday.  Doe just gave up, sat down, and shook her head in disgust so hard that she lost her ears.  I promised them I would get them set up tomorrow if it isn’t snowing too hard.  I’ll get picture of them and my giant Christmas bulbs on the front on the dome then.

But today I must turn my attention to what is on my dining room table. 

Yes it is the lap robe and Christmas cards.  Obviously the cards are top priority.  So please excuse me while I take pen in hand and get on the ball!!!

…me seem to end up thumb tacked to my wall in what is now Momma’s Corner.  This way I can sit, enjoy a glance, and smile every once in a while.  Examples are a saying about friends that Pammie sent me from Sally, my two signs on old age, and most recently a picture of Lu Anne and Lucky that Maria sent me. 

Then outside the French doors I can watch the birds again this year.  Yes I forgot to mention that David and Cindy set up the feeding station on the deck for me last Sunday.  They hauled the the blue bin, with the seed in it, from the porch to the deck and moved the thistle feeder from the tree to add to the large feeder.  I will get a picture of it when I refill it because walking is a little difficult right now.

Well, like most of you, our family has cut back on gifts this year so the village is taking the place of them under the tree.  I sure wish i could hit the lottery or that a rich uncle’s will would turn up about now.  Of course that isn’t likely because all my uncles have been dead for years and none of them were rich.  But we all have our dreams to think about!