Monday, December 30, 2013

One more post for 2013

Hey there, blog friends!
Did ya' miss me?
As usual, I have been a very busy girl. I hadn't really intended to take a break from blogging during the Christmas holiday, but it seems that it unfolded that way. Plus, I've been off work for the past week and a half and following no particular daily routine. Fact: a couple of times I looked at the date on my phone to figure out what day of the week it was! It's been so awesome to not be on a strict schedule and to have no obligations for a while.
 
And as usual with this time of year, my thoughts are on the hope and promise of a new year - a clean slate to look forward to filling, and the anticipation of happy times ahead. And as life would have it, our new year is already poised for change. We will be listing our home for sale in February, and the task of moving and, quite possibly, remodeling a new place seems very exciting and overwhelming all rolled into one.
 
So here is where we raise the imaginary glass, and drink a toast to the amazing possibilities that await us in 2014. May we not only embrace change, but may we thrive in it!
 
Wishing each and every one of you all kinds of awesome in the new year!
~ Deb

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Just a Quote for Christmas



“I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!”
 
~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Monday, December 23, 2013

This Weekend's Christmas Spirit

Good morning, blog friends.
I can't imagine a better way to begin a Monday morning than a writing a weekend recap full of Christmas preparation, friends and family, cupcakes, and music. And two movies. Plus, usually when I click that "Publish" button I switch gears and start getting ready for work, but I have this week off so I won't be playing the role of Office Manager today. Instead, I'm going to spend my day making lasagna for tomorrow night's Christmas Eve gathering and tying up the loose ends of Christmas preparation. It's the best way to spend a Monday, I think.
 
I ended up embellishing 10 dish towels to use as gift wrapping this year, and I finished tying all those up this weekend. I'm really happy with how they turned out! I used some of the towels to wrap around loaves of bread, and the others to tie up some brownie mix. {recipe here}
 
Saturday night was spent enjoying the company of friends and family at an annual soup party. This year's festivities included a house concert by our friend, Rachel and my nephew, Ryne. It was so cool to hear these talented young people sharing their gifts. I loved every bit of this!



Same night/same party... We also celebrated our niece Kaycee and her recent graduation from Arizona State University. I volunteered for cupcakes, and Kaycee chose red velvet.





I don't go to the movies very often, so it's really unusual for me to see two in one weekend! We saw "Hunger Games - Catching Fire" on Friday night. Carrie and Doug loved it, I fell asleep. :o\  Then yesterday Carrie and I saw "Saving Mr. Banks" which was an utter disappointment in so many ways. I think we both were expecting the lightheartedness of our beloved Mary Poppins, but it was actually a rather depressing movie. Pity.
 
Our friends, Samantha and Adam came over yesterday and it was so nice to spend some time with them. Sam and I stamped a few dish towels, and our guys made sausage from venison and pork. I'll spare you the graphic photos, but let me tell you, it was an interesting process. Adam is a pro, and Doug thoroughly enjoyed himself. And even though I don't eat venison, I did try some of the finished sausage and it is the BEST I've ever eaten. Hands down. We are really excited to share some of the sausage with our family at tomorrow night's Christmas Eve gathering.
 
So that, in a nutshell, was our weekend. I need to click that publish button and get busy. There's lasagna to make, a few gifts to finish wrapping, and Christmas to celebrate.
 
I feel so grateful for this blog space and for those of you that visit regularly.
I'm sending heartfelt wishes to each of you for a very Merry Christmas.
God bless us, everyone.

Thursday, December 19, 2013

Simply a Cat and Dog Moment


Snuggled up on the couch with Doug’s throw quilt over my lap, the sound of the TV is drowned out by the loud squeaking sound of Lucky’s favorite blue toy. SQUEAK-SQUEAK-SQUEEEEEEEEAK it goes, over and over again as Lucky pounces and bites at it, thoroughly enjoying himself.
 
Our cat, Whiskers Jay, sits upright on the coffee table close by, his expression clearly revealing his utter annoyance with the noise which makes me giggle just a little.

SQUEAK-SQUEAK-SQUEAK goes the dog’s toy; HISSSSSSSS goes the cat.
 
Lucky’s bliss is suddenly interrupted as the cat jumps off of the table and stands face-to-face with him.
 
The dog stands motionless, blue squeaky toy at his feet, and he looks confused. Surely he would utter “What?!?!” if he could speak English. The cat bears his teeth and lets out another loud HISSSSSSS and Lucky gets the message. “Oh…must be the blue toy…” he seems to acknowledge, and Whiskers turns and struts away.
For a brief moment Lucky doesn't move, until he makes eye contact with me and notices that I'm smiling. He smiles too and goes back to his business…
SQUEAK-SQUEAK-SQUEAK…
I’m linking up with the lovely Alexa at Trimming the Sails
today for her monthly “Simply a Moment” meme.
{You can read more moments here.}

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Our Favorite Christmas Cookies

This is a post about my favorite recipe for Christmas cookies.
And it's also a post about my blog friend, Robyn,
and her favorite Christmas cookie recipe.

I don't usually bake a lot of cookies at Christmastime, but this year I wanted to include some in my Grandma's Christmas package. I rounded up three recipes for cookies last weekend, baked them, wrapped them up and sent them to Grandma. And some to my step-dad (Rod) too.
 

I've been making these peanut butter cup cookies every year since I first found the recipe in 2009 so I think we can officially call this a tradition. Since I only make them at Christmastime, I was happy that I took a minute last year to jot down some notes on my printed copy. Do you do that too? On this one I noted to roll the cookie dough into 1" balls - keeping them on the smaller side - so that the cookie part wouldn't crown over the top of the muffin tin. I also made a note about the baking time that worked best for my current oven. They came out perfect this year!
 

And something I know about these cookies is that they keep and travel well. These cookies taste really yummy even when they are several days old, and they aren't crumbly so they do travel well, making them perfect for mailing in Christmas packages.
 
You can find the recipe for these peanut butter cup cookies here.

The second part of this cookie post is about my friend Robyn's favorite Christmas cookies. I've been following Robyn's blog for several years now, and when she posted a photo of her pretzel cookies last week it was like seeing an old friend. "I remember those cookies!" I thought, and it was so sweet to click on the link to her original post for the recipe and to see her sweet boy, four years younger than he is now! Made me all sentimental about her boys growing up too fast!
 

Anyway, Robyn raves about these cookies and I thought I'd give them a try this year. Oh my goodness - these cookies are fantastic! I used Robyn's recipe but since my grandma is crazy about lemon flavored sweets, I substituted lemon extract for the vanilla, and I added one tablespoon of lemon zest. They had a subtle lemon flavor, and the next time I make them I might use lemon juice in place of the milk - that might make them a bit more tangy.
 

There was a little learning curve on rolling and twisting these into pretzel shapes. I had to laugh at myself and my lack of coordination, and I wondered if Robyn does the rolling and twisting part while her boys do the sprinkles... Surely Andrew doesn't twist a better looking pretzel than I?

And the third cookie I made, packaged, and sent to Grandma and Rod was also a recipe I found on Robyn's blog for brownie cookies for grown-ups. {I'm really not a blog stalker, Robyn, you just have some stellar recipes, that's all, really...} I had tried these cookies a few months ago and they tasted just like some chocolate sugar cookies that my mom used to make when we were kids. I know they'll be a hit with Grandma. You can find the original recipe for the brownie cookies by clicking here.


I called my Grandma on Monday and told her to watch her mail for a package of goodies headed her way. I happily mentioned that I am officially done with baking between now and Christmas, but then I remembered the batch of red velvet cupcakes I'll be baking this weekend to celebrate our niece's graduation. And a pan of lasagna to be made for Christmas Eve...
 
But other than that, I'm done baking for Christmas!
Do you have a favorite cookie recipe that gets made every year?

Monday, December 16, 2013

The Weekend

Good Monday morning, blog friends!
And happy nine days till Christmas.
:o)
 
My weekend was full of baking, packing and nibbling on cookies. Sheesh - come to think of it, I didn't eat a single vegetable all weekend! {Note to self: salads this week.} This weekend was the push to get packages ready for mailing, and I am happy to report that everything is tied up and taped up and ready to go to the post office. I heard that this will be the busiest day yet at the post office, so here's hoping that I can navigate the online postage printing so that all I'll have to do is drop my packages at the counter and not have to wait in the super long line.
 

On Saturday I made three different types of cookie dough {I'll share on Wednesday} and wrapped it up to chill. Then yesterday I spent my day baking said cookie dough and sampling warm cookies along the way. Tough job; somebody's got to do it...


This is such a fun and busy and happy and sentimental time of year, and I tried my best to just go with the flow. We're coming in to the final stretch - lots going on this week, a really busy weekend to look forward to, and then some time off work to regroup and enjoy Christmas with our family.


Over the next couple of weeks my blogging may be a bit sporadic so if you don't see me in this space just know that I'm happy and busy and hanging in there. I hope you'll be doing the same.

Happy Christmas time, sweet friends!
How's your holiday shaping up?

Friday, December 13, 2013

Just a Quote for Friday

Carrie with two of her childhood besties

“When we recall Christmas past, we usually find
that the simplest things - not the great occasions -
give off the greatest glow of happiness.”
 
~ Bob Hope

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Trading Craft Lessons with a Friend

When Carrie was a little girl I made sure to keep photos of my family around where she could see them on a regular basis. The majority of my family lived in another state, and I wanted her to be able to recognize Grandma Marti and Aunt Valerie when we'd have the chance to visit them once or twice a year. One of her favorite things to do as a very little girl was to look through photo albums. She would point to the photos, smile and say, "Uncle Ron!" or "Britny!" and it would make me so happy that she knew they were our people - people who loved her and who she loved back.

My friend Judy wanted to make a small scrapbook for her sweet little granddaughter, Harper. She wasn't sure where to start, so we got together last month and I offered a helping hand. Judy brought paper, and photos of Harper's cousins and aunts and uncles, and we sat in my craft space for a Saturday evening and played with paper. Bliss! And red wine.


It had been a long time since I helped someone put a scrapbook together, and it was such a sweet surprise to be in that space again. It was so fun to see Judy enjoy the process so much, to teach her how to use a paper punch turned upside down to get the most out of a piece of paper, and to show her how to use a tape runner. Yes, it works "just like white out." :o)


But the super cool part of helping Judy was hearing later how much Harper loved her scrapbook - how she stopped and looked at each picture and then looked up and smiled. Her grandma had given her a very special little book with photos of her people. People who love her and who she loves back.


Part two of this post is that Judy came over on a recent weekend and taught me how to knit. We've been talking about this for a while now, because I have become attached to washing dishes with a knitted dish cloth. All of the dish cloths in our stash have been knitted by Judy and while they have all worn very well, it's time for a new round. So we sat out at our patio table, and Judy taught me how to knit and I loved every stitch of it!

 
While I was in the middle of dish-cloth-number-two later that afternoon, I received a text and photo from Judy. She was making another book, this time with the help of her daughter and daughter-in-law, and it made me feel so happy knowing that they were enjoying that craft together, making another book for a grandson this time.


I'm so happy that Judy and I were able to trade crafting lessons.
And gosh, I am so glad that Judy is one of my people.

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

When Blog Friends Swap Ornaments

I recently participated in a Christmas ornament swap organized by my blog friend Miriam, and last week I received the sweetest package in the mail from Abi. So much about this piece of mail had me smiling all afternoon...

 
Our mailman left a slip of paper noting that we had a package to be picked up, and for the return address of the sender he simply wrote "Royal Mail." Love that!

I picked up my package last week and brought it back to the office where I shared the opening ceremony with a co-worker. It was so much fun to see what Abi had included in the box - all so thoughtful and generous of her. Not only did she send English chocolate, but she also included an ornament made just for Doug - just SO sweet of her! Doug loved it too!

 
And my ornament? Well, our sweet Abi really tugged at my heartstrings by creating an ornament that honors my mom. The letter "M" floating inside this clear glass ball, surrounded by teal colored sequins... Can you even imagine a more perfect ornament for me? I love it so much!
 
And under the lights on our Christmas tree, this ornament looks simply magical...
 
 
Thanks so much for your kind and thoughtful gifts, Abi. They have touched my heart and soul, and your ornaments will be treasured keepsakes for years to come. I imagine that many years from now we will pull these out of the box to hang on our tree and we'll think of you fondly.
 
A great big thanks to Miriam for organizing the ornament swap! I'm linking to her post today, and if you'd like to see more lovely ornaments you can check them out by clicking here.

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

My Uncle Wes is My Guest Blogger Today ♥

When my mom's brother, Wes, spoke at her funeral services last year, he told the sweetest stories of her. I asked if he'd mind writing a blog post for me so that I could share those stories with my readers in a little different approach to Team Teal Tuesday. I know it wasn't easy for him to write, but I think he did a great job.

So, without further adieu, please welcome my awesome uncle, Wes.
♥ ♥ ♥
Marti {age 17}, Wes {15}, Kathy {8}, Grandpa, Sue {10} Grandma, Ken {12}
Christmas Day, 1959
I have a lot of images from my early years - not quite refined enough to be memories. A constant in those images is Marti; I sense her presence over me in a nurturing way. As the memories become more definite, so does the nurturing. As the third born to her second born, I guess her desire to care for her little brother was very strong.
 
I can remember her anguish when I stepped on a nail; I can remember walking to the store, hand in hand, down a sidewalk in Tolleson, Arizona. My strongest memory of her early nurturing comes from my first day of school.  I'm not sure why that event is so clear, but I know she took me to my first classroom and checked on me several times during the day. I think she stayed close that first week. I can recall her happiness when I had made my first friend - that probably relieved her of some responsibility.
 
Our early years were close with Marti being the boss-er and me the boss-ee.  I think these respective roles continued until the day we each realized she was no longer looking down at me nor me looking up at her. I shot up in height and she shot up in maturity and we started growing apart. Besides, I now had a younger brother in drastic need of being picked on. By the time Marti reached her teenage years, our relationship had resolved into one of her telling me to leave her alone and me not being able to do that.

And then overnight it seems Marti was interested in boys other than her brothers. I was still at the "kissing girls is yucky" stage and just couldn't grasp her fascination with guys that I thought were universally wimpy. But this relationship of ours which had deteriorated to "stay out of my face" status, was about to turn a corner that would present a windfall of sorts for me: Marti was ready to approach Mom and  Dad about going out on a date with a boy.

I can remember Marti's emotional high when she asked for and was granted permission to date.  I have fonder memories of the dive her spirits took when she was told I had to go along on the date.  Quite honestly, at first I wasn't thrilled.  But then I realized I would have more opportunities to go to town and see movies. An added bonus was Marti was suddenly very, very nice to me. I think she realized I could jam up the works by telling Mom and Dad I didn't want to go.  At any rate, when the first date finally arrived, I think I was excited about it. 

Los Banos, Calfornia only had one movie theater, The Crest, and it was about the only thing couples could do on dates. Or so I thought. After a very short while of dating, a routine was established:  Marti and her date would drop me at The Crest while they went to "find a place to park." Without fail she would tell me, "Meet you in the lobby after the show." As this went on I felt that I was walking in tall cotton; life was great. On our post-date drives home, Marti would talk about the movie. For years I didn't realize that she really didn't talk about the movie - she was just getting enough information from me to cover her absence if anyone asked.

Of course we all know how this phase of our lives ended: she found the guy she wanted to spend her life with and I discovered that kissing girls was definitely not yucky. 

In the following years I had opportunities to play big brother to her as the little sister in need.  But life eventually took us in different directions and we didn't have the closeness that was so important to both of us in our early years. The accident of our birth order resulted in a special relationship that, in spite of my love for my other siblings, could never be duplicated.

As her last days approached, I would like to think I was able to repay a very small part of that nurturing she provided me; nurturing that turned out to be so critical to me becoming the person I am today.

You often hear people say, when talking about the lives they've lived, that they have no regrets.  I am of the belief that a life without regrets is a life not lived. To my last day I will have in my stack of regrets the knowledge that I could have been, should have been closer to my sister; I think she had me in her stack.

Monday, December 9, 2013

A Weekend in December

Good morning, sweet friends.
Many times on Monday mornings I sit here, thinking about the best way to recap our weekend. We're coming off of a really busy one - a weekend filled with Christmas preparations and me fighting an annoying-bug-of-some-sorts. In terms of being sick it's the worst timing ever. But anyway! I did manage to get a few things done...or at least started...
 

Our house is a jumble of Christmas in progress and the phrase that comes to mind is, "You've got to break a few eggs to make an omelet." I'll get there...
 
Oooooh this is going to be a tasty omelet...

Friday, December 6, 2013

Thursday, December 5, 2013

The Dish Towels

I have a fun, easy, and inexpensive gift idea to share with you today.
 
I used flour sack dish towels for this project, and I found these at Target - four for $3.99. I used ink, stamps, and fabric that I already had on hand and had so much fun putting these together. The possibilities are endless, and I am itching to make a few more in some other designs.

Here's a look at what I have so far...

 
Stamping with ink and foam stamps 
 
I used Staz-On ink pads and some foam stamps and stamped a design across one side of the towel. You could also use rubber stamps, or make your own from a potato. Be sure to use a permanent ink - I'm not an ink expert but I know that pigment inks take for.ever. to dry on paper, so I'd be reluctant to use them on fabric. The Staz-On worked great, dried fast, and didn't wash out.
 
The result: LOVED it! These ended up being my favorites. They were super quick to do, and I think this would be a fun project to do with kids. I let these dry overnight and then threw them in the laundry just to see how they'd hold up. Perfect.

Freezer Paper Stencil

I used a snowflake punch and freezer paper for this one. Did you know that when you iron freezer paper with the shiny side down it will stick to fabric? It makes a great masking stencil that stays put while you apply your paint. I made this one before I was privy to the fact that spray paint shouldn't be used on items that come in contact with food, so if you use this method please use acrylic paint or fabric paint to dab into the open stencils.

The result: I really loved the look of this method, but the paint I used wasn't as sparkly as I thought it would be. I would definitely use different paint next time, but working with the freezer paper as a stencil was really fun!
 
Appliqued fabric strip 
 
I used a 1" strip of Christmas fabric, adhered initially with a strip of iron-on hemming product to hold it in place, then I ran a large zig-zag stitch along each side to keep it from fraying.
 
The result: Loved this! It was easy to do and I liked the finished look. Be sure to pre-wash your fabric and towels before doing this so that any shrinkage is taken care of before joining the two.

Appliqued fabric shape

I used an iron-on heat and bond product on some red gingham, then ironed it on to the towel. I ran a simple stitch around the edge of the bird, then a random line stitched underneath the bird for a little extra pizzazz.
 
The result: I love the way this turned out, and I think my grandma will like it too!

 
So here's my gift idea: I plan to bake some loaves of bread and then I'll use these towels to wrap around each of them, tie with a pretty bow and tag = done! I'll also use some of these towels to wrap a bag of brownie mix, tied with a pretty bow and a wooden spoon on top. I'm super excited to give these as gifts this year! I'll have another blog post once I get a few of these gifts put together.
 
Hooray! December 5th and I'm making great progress!

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Follow the recipe - Grandma's Buns

 
For as long as I can remember, my mom always made homemade yeast rolls for every holiday. She would make two separate batches because she thought that doubling the recipe didn't work as well, and she would fuss and fret the entire time - hoping the dough would rise. It always did, and her rolls were perfect every time.
 
My mom made it look so easy, and in my mind I always knew that as long as she was alive I would never be responsible for bread on a holiday. Well, the baton has been passed and now I find myself fussing and fretting over bread dough.
 

I made Mom's bread dough recipe {also known by her grandkids as "Grandma's Buns"} for Thanksgiving and they didn't turn out so well. I didn't really fret about the dough rising - I'd learned long ago that it always does. But I did the unthinkable and changed the recipe just a little. It seems like a lot of the older recipes that my mom passed down call for shortening and I just don't care to use that. So, I substituted melted butter for the melted shortening and the result was less than desirable. Hm - I thought butter made everything better! :o\


The bread just didn't have the same soft texture that it did when made with my mom's hands, and I really hated to just throw all those rolls into the trash. So I used some last weekend to make some breakfast casseroles using the rolls as my base. They were delicious!


I crumbled one roll into the bottom of a greased ramekin and topped it with a well beaten egg plus a little milk/salt/pepper, a piece of crumbled bacon, and some grated cheddar cheese. Bake at 350° for 15-20 minutes until the egg is set and oh my yummy! These were really good.


I know my mom would have shaken her head and made that little tsk-tsk sound when I came up with the idea of using melted butter instead of shortening in this tried and true recipe. But, I also know that she would be impressed with my resourcefulness in using some of the rejected rolls in a breakfast dish. And! I froze the rest and have plans for a bread pudding so there will be no waste.
 
And when I make these rolls at Christmas time?
Melted shortening.
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