Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Christmas Eve

The last shopping is done.  I got up at 6 this morning to stand in line at the bakery to get our traditional Christmas morning goodies.  Next year I have to call and order early.   Cherry cheese danish, walnut melt-a-ways and pineapple cheese.  Also distributed and back home by 8:00.  Yeah!

Kids are still sick and I feel just miserable, like I'm fighting something off, with aching joints and back.  I'll be drinking lots of orange juice and tea today and taking Tylenol to help ward off the miseries,.

I love the bags I found for the hand knit Christmas gifts this year.


Off to stuff shells and make a cake for son-in-law's birthday trifle.  Why are there December 24th birthdays?

Monday, December 22, 2014

And Closer Still!

All the kids are or have been sick this week.  It's just not right to be sick at Christmas.
We made the obligatory Gingerbread People

And the Christmas Village

Both are Martha Stewart recipes.

Makes quite the mess, but is fun.  We included an igloo made of tiny marshmallows that I think may reappear in years to come.
I also made Jam Thumbprints, Mexican Wedding Cakes and Pizzelles.  Just going to make some Peppermint Bark tomorrow and cookies will be over for another year.
 Everything is bought, arrived and wrapped.

Today we went out for our presents to ourselves, a new TV and DVD player for the bedroom and an IPod and Bose speaker for our tunes.  Can't wait for Christmas to try them out.
 Tomorrow I will make the Christmas sauce with Brasciole and clean the house.

Christmas Eve the only thing I will have to do is put together the stuffed shells, Triffle and artichokes and get the Christmas morning Danishes and distribute them.  Whew!

Christmas is Getting Closer

And yet I haven't started to panic.  All the gifts are purchased or made and ready to be wrapped, sauce will be made next week, cookies this week.  Cards are going out today.

The weekend was great.  Fig cookies were made and turned out delicious. We made a full batch of dough, so we probably got about 30 dozen or so (not sure how many).  Daughter #2 took a big container and I gave my aunt another big container and I still have 12 dozen or so left.

Here is the roaster pan full.  I will frost as I serve them or give them away.  I prefer them plain.

The snow we had last week is melting away and the amount we had covering the solar panels, slowly slipped off.  It was fun to watch.  We might actually make some electricity now although the short, grey days of December aren't too conducive to it.


I finished another pair of socks, my Christmas yarn that I actually got last year.


Thursday, December 11, 2014

December Days

Had a new batch of snow yesterday and today that left about a foot of snow on everything, making the backyard look like it should two weeks before Christmas. Lots of strange shapes in the yard



along with some really beautiful sights.  Nothing like pine trees covered with snow! Those white streaks are snowflakes falling.


While I thought that Christmas was going to kick my butt this year, I feel as if I have everything under control.  Presents are all made or bought, just waiting for delivery, most going in gift bags so not  lot of wrapping to do, all the decorations are up and the house looks great.  This is a big job since the grandkids want everything out, while I would like to cut back a bit.  They helped and it is worth the effort.

We have our tree up and decorated which has to be a record for us.  Some years we have waited until the only thing left were Charlie Brown trees or incredibly expensive ones, but this year we went out on the afternoon of  December 8th.  It was a warmish day, no snow, just before the current weather system was due to come and dump on us. We were able get two lovely smallish trees (just the right size) very inexpensively.


One of my favorite ornaments, a sheep I got probably thirty years ago when I worked at a knit shop is next to the only ornament left from our original tree; 46 years of decorating our trees.  I think we lost most of the originals due to kitties.  It would be such an adventure for them to try and knock down the tree, climbing and chasing each other through the branches.  Every year there was a good deal of breakage or with the dogs, grabbing and gnawing some up.  I wonder how many we would have had without all the loss?

Now on the dark mornings I get to turn on the Christmas lights and enjoy the beautiful glow!

Making:

Christmas cookies are on the agenda starting this weekend.  We actually started by grinding the fig filling last weekend.  It is mellowing in the frig.  Cucidati cookie blitz this Saturday.
Then next week I'll make the gingerbread dough and pizzelles, Mexican Wedding Cakes and Jam Thumbprints.  Peppermint Bark is another easy recipe that everyone loves.

A few years ago I brought home some Perler Beads (or Hama Beads) hoping that the grands would have some fun with them on rainy days or days too cold to swim.  They were a resounding success.  So much so, that I have boxes of beads and lots of sites bookmarked with great designs to make.  That sucking sound is me being pulled in as I found snowflake and Christmas ornaments galore on Pinterest.  It is a fun and soothing little craft that I am really enjoying.  Great for small motor exercise.

Not sure where I'm going to put them, but I'll find a place.



Santa likes them, too!

Knitting gifts are all done and ready to go.  Bath Mitts for the whole gang!



An easy pattern that I think everyone will like.

The rest of December is making things for me!