Lambs, Puzzle, Dressing and Veggie Tree

What a day!

The neighbours new born lambs

So sweet!

The "kids" head back to Alberta

So sad - we had such a nice time!

The puzzle got finished and all the pieces

were accounted for - whew, this was a hard one

and thank goodness we did it with team work!

Meanwhile our eyes and backs
are trying to get back to normal......

It's a gorgeous Peter Etril Snyder Print

puzzle called

"Sunny Morning".

We will frame this one for sure!

Thanks Becky, Patrick and Katie for your 

enthusiastic help and 'sticktoitness' on this one!

Peter Etril Snyder is a famous local artist, well known for his Mennonite paintings!

A Double batch of dressing was made

for yet another Christmas Dinner to be held tomorrow (Sunday)!

A "Veggie Tree" completed!

My sister-in-law, Glennis, first made such a tree

many years ago and I just loved it.

She even added shrimp and her tree was much larger.

This is my attempt at it....

I tried to make a nice yellow pepper star for the top

but it just didn't look right .... thus a

grape tomato tree topper!

This veggie tree will be the centre piece on

a large veggie platter for tomorrow.

Hope it holds together!

Alas, the Christmas hustle and bustle

will soon be over.

Till then ..... I shall enjoy the last days of Christmas and of 2012.

Boxing Day Puzzle

A 1,000 piece puzzle

"Sunny Morning"

by local artist Peter Etril Snyder!

On Christmas Day,

it started off on the Dining Room Table

Was then transferred to the office table,

only to be moved back into the dining/living room 

on a folding table!

As Boxing day (day two) grew dark

the desk lamps, bridge lamps,

and any available lights came out

and were plugged into an extension cord!

This puzzle had us all puzzling!

The teeny tiny pieces, so much alike

and so hard to piece together.

Totally addictive 

and lots of fun!

The snacks and drinks were brought over

to the puzzle table, breaks were taken

occasionally to eat and to try to figure out

how to get the hockey games on the internet etc.

But for most of the day we puzzled and puzzled!

Even the visitors got into the act ...

It's starting to come together.

Will we ever get it finished .... that is the question.

This has been a fun Christmas Break activity.

What have you been up to on these days of Christmas?

Brown Paper Packages......

"Brown Paper Packages

Wrapped up with String,

these are a few of my

favourite things!"

The Rumtopf

has been stirred and is

ready to be served over

Tapioca and/or ice-cream!

It's Christmas Eve and

my heart is full,

and thinking of all my dear

friends and families

in blogdom and on facebook!

From our house to your house,

Have a joyous Christmas Eve...

Shalom!

The Storm before the Calm!

My house looked like

a storm had hit!

The office desk was cluttered with

mail, bills, and various debris.

Before the calm!

After!

Oh and then there was the fridge - eek!
There is no "before" picture
It would just be too embarrassing.

Now there is finally room 
for the Christmas goodies that will be
made over the next days and weeks!!!

Do you ever feel calmer
after cleaning the house?



Now I feel ready to welcome friends and family!

Oops one more necessity - clean the bathrooms - off I go!

Are you feeling calm?

Trimming the Tree

The Tree is finally trimmed!

Most of the tiny lights

are working (discovered that

a whole section isn't - sigh)

Not sure it's worth the time

and frustration to undress that 

part of the tree.

Perhaps, I'll just leave it to

help remind me of the 

darkness and sadness

that we are all feeling

following the unspeakable

horror and tragedies

of recent days in our own community

and in Newtown, Connecticut!

My tree's ornaments are humble and eclectic

and probably almost antique!

The first set was purchased at 

Home Hardware in 1973 for our first tree.  

They cost $1.89!!!!

and I still love them.

This handmade ornament

was made by Bao Lee, our church's Hmong refugee

family mother - how I treasure

this one and remember that brave

family who arrived to our cold country from Laos in 1979!

This ornament reminds me of the 

fabulous little country store that

my friend and I owned for 7 years in the

late 1980's to the mid 1990's!

It was called "Noah's Ark Studio"

and was one of the most interesting experiences

in my life!

This Angel ornament was given to us

by the farmer's new boss as he

launched into a new "second" career

as a financial advisor.

Another remarkable chapter in our lives!

I even used one of the
wedding burlap table runners
for the skirt - I like this look!

All the while I decorated and cleaned,

my favourite little German Smoker,

an ornament sent to us by friends who 

were teaching in Germany at the time,

scented the room with 
"Tannen-Duft" pine

incense

There are many, many more that all

remind me of special events and people in

my life - too many to post!!

I feel so blessed and life has been

so very good to me,

reminding me to

slow down and make each

day worthwhile!

Till next time.... .have a week of joyful preparation for the celebration of our Saviour's birth!

Christmas Blooms

Look who decided to bloom after all!

I really thought my Christmas Cactus was not

going to make it this year.

I was so delighted to see it bloom

albeit only on one side, but no matter!

The biscotti is baked.

You can find the recipe that

I use here.



Now .....

Till next time ...... onward to doing my Saturday work and finishing the decorating!!!  What are you doing today?

12.12.12

What are you doing on this

Triple Dozen Day??

It's been a wee tradition of ours

to do something special on these

unique number days!

It all started on 7.7.77 

on a trip to Virginia

that we decided to make

these days memorable.

We haven't managed it every year

but in recent years we've done things like:

04.04.04 - were visiting dear friends in Kentucky,

went to the horse races, bet on every 4th placed horse, 

and didn't win a thing - but it sure was a lot of fun

and memorable!

06.06.06 did a little waltz in St. Mark's square

in Venice!  That sure was memorable!

07.07.07 - planned a trip to Newfoundland,

one of the best trips we've ever had!

08.08.08 we met friends in Chicago,

enjoyed a memorable dinner together and

spent the whole weekend in this beautiful city!

09.09.09 - we were visiting our daughter

in Alberta and on that day were in the

breathtakingly beautiful Waterton Lakes Provincial Park.

That was most memorable!

10.10.10 - we stole away to Watkin's Glen in

upper New York State.  The finger lakes are

so gorgeous and especially on this 

our Thanksgiving Weekend!

11.11.11 - we just had to be in Ottawa

on this special Remembrance Day.

We won't forget that day!

12.12.12 - well, it seems all our plans for

a little get-away didn't pan out so.....

we played hookie for the afternoon,

had a wonderful Indian dinner,

went to our favourite furniture store

(plug = St. Jacobs Furniture House)

and ordered a new dining room table and chairs!!!

Yeah - I'm so excited about this one.

To be sure, I'll remember 12.12.12

This wonderful old table has served us well (almost 40 years).
Its finish is gone, some bolts drop out every time
we move it and the table leaves (boards) are
 warped beyond repair. 

This is the new table that we ordered today.
The chairs will be substituted with
6 "pleather" parson's chairs.

I'm excited about this new purchase.

Delivery will be early in the new year.

Perhaps we can arrange it to be delivered on

01.03.13????

Till next time .....  striving to make every day a memorable one!!!!!

Feeling Like Christmas!

It's starting to feel like Christmas!

The lights are going up

and soon

the kitchen table will be laden with

treats and eats.

The Hoosier cabinet will be decorated

with fresh greens and many candles,

to be lit

 on Christmas Eve.

It's starting to feel like Christmas

when the outside lights are shining!

With or without snow......

It's starting to feel like Christmas

once the china cabinet is decorated

and

the banister garland is placed.

It's still not quite done but this is a good start.

It's really starting to feel like

Christmas

when the German Christkindl Market in Kitchener

is on!

It's always a fun and interesting Market....

not to mention the delicious food like pulled pork,

marzipan, fudge, schnitzel, sausage and saurkraut, creative crafts,

and the organ grinder!

Till next time ............... counting the days and remembering that Jesus is the reason for the Season!!!!

Jack the Decorator

The Christmas Decorating has begun....

and I didn't have to do a thing!!

Jack came during the night and started it for me....

I couldn't even begin to make things this pretty.

All I had to do was get out of bed

grab the camera

and start shooting.

Here then is my little attempt at getting

started inside.....

Have a long way to go but it too shall get done.

Happy December Saturday to you!

Caramel Popcorn to Share!

I was thrilled to find O.R.'s original

Gourmet Popping Corn recently at Costco.

Usually they just have the Microwave Popping corn

and we definitely prefer the regular, 

pop on the stove, in the old Popcorn pot, popped corn!

This was a typical Costco gynormous size - 3.6 kg. 

I've never seen one that large!

No problem though - I know we'll use it up in no time.

Tomorrow we are having a staff decorating

party during coffee break so I decided 

to make a roast pan of Caramel Pop Corn to share.

This is the recipe my Mom always used

 to make

this Christmas time treat:

Caramel Popcorn

2 Cups Brown Sugar

1 Cup Butter      

½ Cup Corn Syrup

Boil the above ingredients for 5 minutes then remove from heat.

Add:  1 tsp. baking soda

          1 tsp. vanilla

Pour over large roasting pan of popped corn.  Bake at 250 for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.

There you have it - easy peasy!

I admit that it's not low-cal or lite or any of those things

but it sure is yummy and reminds me of 

Christmases of long ago!

Maybe this is the "medicine" I needed to get me into the Christmas mood?

Till next time ............ what snack food reminds you of Christmas as a child?

Old-time Beef Stew

Time for a nourishing pot of stew.

It's cold outside and this makes me

so hungry for comfort food!

I always go back to my old recipe.

It's from a 1971 edition of Better Homes and Gardens

book called "So-Good Meals"

and falls under the title of "Meals Men Like"!!!

Can you imagine using that language today?

It goes further to say "Fix any of these delicious meals

for your man and you'll be the Best Cook he knows"

Hmmmm.......that is so funny cheesey.

The Menu listed is:

Old-time Beef Stew

Crisp Cabbage Slaw

Bread and Butter

Apple Betty Pie

Coffee, Cream and Sugar

Well - I think I'll stick to the Old-Time Beef Stew

No matter what - it really is my favourite stew recipe.

I think it's because of the seasoning that makes it unique

and it always is good....and the farmer likes it too!

I might add a broccoli salad to this for

supper tonight.

Hmmm the Apple Betty Pie sounds good too.

Maybe this isn't so old fashioned after-all???

What are you making tonight?

Old-Time Beef Stew

2 Tbsp. fat - I used Grape Seed oil

2 lbs. beef stew cut into cubes

1 medium onion - sliced

1 clove garlic - I used three

2 Cups Boiling water

1 Tbsp. salt

1 tsp. sugar

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1/2 tsp. pepper

1/2 tsp. paprika

1 or 2 Bay leaves

Dash of all spice or cloves

Brown the meat chunks in a dutch oven.  It's the browning that gives the rich colour

and flavour!  Add the seasoning, onions and garlic.  Stir and in the boiling water and 

simmer for about 1 1/2 hours - stirring on occasion.

Prepare the vegetables in the meantime:

6 carrots - sliced

6 potatoes - diced

I like to add 1-2 cups of corn as well

1 lb. small white onions - I didn't add these

Once the meat is tender and has simmered for some time, add in the vegetables.  Simmer another 30 minutes till vegetables are tender.

If desired, thicken the liquid for gravy by pushing aside the meat and vegetables and stirring in 1/4 Cup cold water mixed with 2 Tbsp. flour.

Till next time ............ happy Monday to you.