New Year's Eve

It was a really warm day for this time of year here...mid 60's......We took advantage of the nice weather this afternoon and went out to check on the cabins...Molly fetched sticks in the river...... Enjoying the sunshine!

Pine trees behind the cabin....peaceful sound with the wind going through these trees.

Parting shot of the river as we were leaving.....

Catholic school.....I took this while R was filling up the truck....

Getting ready to cook the shrimp and crab legs....

Hot coals!

Getting ready for the beef!

Beef! It's what's for dinner! haha

Poor little Tyler wasn't feeling good....

Crab legs!

Lola's Make Ahead Potatoes.....

Steak and shrimp....I forgot to take a picture of this before some of the people had gotten their plates.....hmm nice presentation there on the shrimp with the seasoning bags mingled in with the shrimp! haha

And dessert...a peanut butter pie.....and...

a chocolate pie!

We had a nice evening, even though Tyler was sick and we were sure missing some people from last year....Hope everyone has a great 2012!

Christmas

Here is a picture of our Christmas tree...not long after I took this the entire tree went dark! While we went to church our son-in-law stayed there with Tyler and he fixed it..Thank Goodness! Something about a fuse in the extension cord. Would have been a real bummer if our tree wasn't lit for Christmas Eve! Thanks again, Matt! I didn't get a good picture of Tyler that evening,but here is part of his face, I think he was looking at that pile of presents!

Christmas night...Jack found himself a friend under the tree....a little stuffed version of the Puss-in-Boots character! haha

I didn't pose this picture either. Jack is glad most of the presents are gone so he can sleep under the tree again. These are a couple of the gifts we saved for Tyler to open later!

We had a nice time on Christmas! Was good to spend some time together with everyone!

Christmas Eve Day

Actually we took these first two pictures last night...the nativity set at our church.. a closer view....

Merry Christmas!

Snickerdoodles this morning ready for the oven......

And after!

Table is about ready.....vintage tablecloth from my Missouri Grandparents...yes, didn't do a very good job of ironing..will do better next year....

Plate given to us by Bill and Karen....will have cookies on it....and the Hallmark salt-n-pepper shakers....

Looking forward to this evening.....should be a good time!

Christmas Eve Eve

A three-tired serving deal I found in the dungeon...will use this somehow tomorrow night.....This has been in the dungeon for a very long time and is in pristine condition! We sold our foosball table today....was kind of sad to see it go, but it wasn't being used here....and a family we really like bought it, so that makes it ok!!

Strapping it down....

I thought the pecan balls did my mixer in and I was right......RIP $7 mixer....

I borrowed a mixer to make some sugar cookies this evening...used my Aunt Dixie's recipe....

Thursday

I made these Pecan Balls this morning...I think some people call them snowballs....anyway, it's similar at least to something R's Grandma used to make at the holidays.... Picture on loan from our daughter....she bought it from two of our favorite people and is letting us use it for a while...We hung this on the wall right as you walk in our front door....there has never been anything hung on that wall, so it's a nice change for us.

Menorah I got out of the dungeon this afternoon...I believe this belonged to my Missouri Grandparents...Not sure where I am going to display it yet......

I imagine everyone is busy getting ready for Christmas...

Happy Holidays

A tour of some of our decorations...... this hand painted yard sign was painted and given to me by a dear friend from my childhood....I never knew she was this talented! Or if I did know it, I had forgotten!
Two Rudolphs made by my uncle in Nebraska....one on the left was used by my parents..I haven't lit them up in a few years, but they are wired so the bulb will come on.

Sign I bought at a craft shop that used to be in the town North of here...

Gift from my parents that came from the same shop......Wish they were still open, I really liked her work! I am going to replace the scarf as it's really faded. and the trim on the bird house was knocked off that one side and then when they cleaned up their mess they must have thrown it away :(

Wreath on the door leading into our garage...I believe my Mom made this wreath...and the door came from their house on the hill before they remodeled. It was the door that was there when I was a teenager and some Christmases they would hang this large (and loud) set of jingle bells on it...made it kind of hard to come in quiet late at night! haha

Wreath I purchased at an after-Christmas clearance sale a couple years ago.....have this hanging above the front table.....

This Santa is vintage, I guess. Poor guy has spent several Christmases in the dungeon because our daughters said he was freaky looking..well, he's upstairs now!

This one is for you two girls! LOL

We are enjoying the days leading up the Christmas here!

Candy Factory

I made some peanut clusters today along with some cashew clusters...yum! The recipe I use is very simple....one pkg white almond bark, one pkg chocolate chips and 11oz Hershey bars..use a double boiler to melt and then add Spanish Peanuts or whatever.....good stuff. Although I would say to use good quality chocolate chips. I used a store brand, and they were "real" chocolate chips and they just didn't want to melt....I finally used a hand mixer to help the process along...don't imagine that's an approved practice, but it worked!By the way, this recipe came from a woman that was teaching at our school when I was first hired there.

Merry Christmas, Mr. Clippy!

Mr. Clippy returns! In church this morning our choir was performing a wonderful medley of Christmas songs.....and Mr. Clippy was celebrating by choosing that moment to "do his thing" haha When they would do a song that was a little peppier or louder, his rate of clipping would actually increase and get louder! Got to keep a sense of humor about such things! And we can all be relieved that come Christmas Eve/Day his nails will be neatly trimmed! haha

Cooking Creations

Made these yummy chicken enchiladas this morning....three to freeze and one to have for dinner tonight.....This recipe is from Karen! Someone commented to me that I didn't put enough cheese on the cavatini that I made to freeze. Pretty sure I am not going to hear that this time! haha! Blueberry Pie I put together this morning...I say put together because the filling was a can of pie filling our daughter gave us...and I cheated on the crust.....It's one of those pie crusts you buy at the store in a box, all you have to do it unroll it....

Happy Friday to you!

Goodwill Adventure

I did a little shopping at the town South of here on Monday and the last store I went to was the Goodwill store....I found a ziploc bag full of these trees.....my own forest! Of course I don't know what I am going to do with them!? I also bought these little singing mice....Didn't need them either, but thought they were kind of cute....and they will fit on my window ledge....

Pie!

I was lucky enough yesterday to have a visit from one of my dearest and best friends ever! We had a good time catching up and she even brought us this yummy pie! I should have taken a picture before we dug into it for dessert last night! It was sooo good! Peanut butter and chocolate pie....wow! Good thing that bakery isn't anywhere around here! Good stuff!

Just a Little Too Late!

During my cavatini adventure I located my Thanksgiving napkins that I had saved from last year...Well, alot of good they do me now! haha! Guess I will save them for next year and see if I can find them back!

Cavatini Factory

That's what our house was this afternoon...used my Aunt's recipe for this....Only change I made was that I added mushrooms to mine......this is just the sauce...so, before added the cooked pasta I had to get the big stock pot!


Made one for dinner tonight and six to freeze! I figured we can have one every two weeks or so for the rest of the Winter! Yum! I served it with a nice salad and a breadstick.

Cavatini

2 lb hamburger

1 lb sausage

1 pkg pepperoni

1 onion, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

2 32 oz jars of spaghetti sauce...I had 23 oz jars, so I used three of them, so I had a cup extra....

3 8 oz bags of medley pasta

Brown meat with pepper and onion. Drain. Add remaining ingredients and stir. Makes 2 9X13 pans......Top each pan with 2 cups of Mozzarella cheese. Bake at 350 until cheese melts. Freezes well.

Like I said, this makes a big amount, so use a big pan! Haha