Cookies! Cookies!

It's cookie baking day!  Over the river and through the snow to the Grand loves house we go ...  and our sleigh will be loaded down with lots of gifts and baked goods.  So today is cookie baking day at our house.  And gift wrapping time this evening.  We are heading out a week early to spend extra time with our little loves so they can get some 'baking with Grandma' done.  I feel like Mrs. Claus with all my little elves as helpers.  It's so cute, they all grab their little aprons and take their spots on the kitchen stools as they wait for their kitchen assignments.  They love baking and I love teaching them. They take close note of the little secrets of cooking and every year I see the advances in their techniques.  They look like a little assembly line when it comes to decorating the cookies etc. Today I'm baking cut out sugar cookies in several shapes and gingerbread boys and girls.  It's a time saver having them pre-baked and ready for decorating. That enables us time for baking other cookies and candies. I foresee a lot of smiles and sticky fingers in my near future!

Pictures are of some of the sweets I baked last Christmas. 

   

Our Special Guest

We have an overnight guest with us.  His name is Dave Wickerham, world renown organist.  We had the honor of meeting Dave about 5 years ago when he performed on the pipe organ in our small town in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.  He is a good friend of our former neighbor and when we heard he would be stopping on his way through town we offered our guest room for the night.  Much to our surprise and great pleasure, he accepted.  We've had a wonderful time visiting with Dave.  He had just done a couple of performances in the Chicago area and he said it was nice to just relax.  I wish he were staying longer as the time flew by too fast.  It was our pleasure welcoming him into our home.

                  Yup, that's Dave beside me in our dining room!

  If you ever have the opportunity to hear this man play, do it!  You will not believe your ears!                           

Snowman

 ... now tell me, isn't this the cutest snowman?  I think this is the neatest idea. I hope we have some 'packy' snow while we are visiting our Grand loves over Christmas.  I think they would get a kick out of watching Grandma making a snowman ~ let alone an upside down one!  And snow angels, can't wait!  Pictures to follow, weather permitting!

A to Z's of Christmas

Mel over at Up North with Mel did an A to Z Christmas list on her blog and ended with "So what's your A to Z;s of Christmas?" Well now, being that she is my sister - that sounds like a challenge - so here goes:

A to Z's of Christmas 

a - adoration 

b - birth

c - Christ

d - decorations

e - eggnog

f - family

g - gingerbread

h - holly

i - icicles

j - Jesus

k - Kris Kringle

l - love

m - mistletoe

n - noel

o - ornaments 

p - poinsettia 

q - quilt 

r - reindeer

s - Santa 

t - tinsel 

u - unwrapping 

v - visitors

w - wreaths

x - xmas 

y - yule log

z - zzzz - a long winter's nap

footnote: x is a Greek symbol for Christ - but please note that I personally prefer to use the word CHRIST in Christmas

Nov 11, 2011 – Explanation of the origin and use of the abbreviation xmas. ... an unknown (since the Greek letter chi, [C,c] which looks like the English letter x, is the symbol ... 1) Using an "X" to replace Christ's name in Christmas - i.e. Xmas

So tell me, what is does your A to Z Christmas list look like? 

~ It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas ~

To Tickle your Funny-bone!

I found this while surfing the net and got a chuckle and thought others might find it humorous as well.

I'm assuming by the title of this story the assignment was to put a 'sticker' on the page and then to write a story about it.

UPDATE on Bling! Bling!

I've had a few inquiries as to the 

meaning of 'bling bling' 

I hope this helps:

World English Dictionary

bling-bling or bling
— adj
1.	slang  flashy; ostentatious; glitzy
— n
2.	ostentatious jewellery

Shh...

 I've been at it again 

 making up some 

whimsical pictures 

for my grand-loves 

for Christmas. 

'Hush' is the word.

Christmas is nearly here so once again I decided to find a seasonal background! ~ Then I came across this perfect picture while surfing the net ~ and well, you know me -I just had to share.  ~  Once I get over this latest lazy spell I've been stuck in  ~ I will start to pull out some holiday decorations ~ piece by piece until the next snowflakes fall ~ that means baking ~ I don't know why but I love to bake Christmas cookies when it's snowing! ~ And I'm finally into stage one of shopping ~ I'm beginning to 'think' about it. ~ Shopping is not one of my favorite things to do. ~ Personally, I think gifts should come from the heart and be given when ever one feels like gifting. ~ But we do love seeing those happy faces on the Grand-loves as they open their gifts from Grandpa and Grandma! ~ And the hugs  ~ well, they're just 'priceless!' ~  How are you all doing on your Christmas to-do lists? ~ 

Christmas is Coming

All of a sudden

Christmas is coming! 

I guess I should do a 

little shopping,

creating and baking! 

This is one of the tins of cookies 

I baked up last year. 

Organization

I've been surfing the web again.  There are so many cool sites out there and I just happened to pop across one that has a pic of a really neat craft center.  The kind that a woman can really dream about! 

Now tell me, wouldn't you just love to be that organized?  I sure would. 

Check out her blog:

http://inmyownstyle.com/2010/06/my-studioffice-part-2.html 

We may not be Shrek & Fiona but there are times when we feel like we live in a land far far away! Now is one of those times.  When we moved down from Alaska it was to be closer to family and friends.  Sometimes I think 2 hours away is still a land too far far away.
My sister hasn't been feeling well and I wish I were close enough to make her a kettle of homemade chicken soup.  When my Dad was in and out of the hospital I also felt too far removed.  When the Grand kids are sick, or my own children are under the weather, I wish I were a bit closer.
But on the flip side, because we are very content in keeping to ourselves for the most part, and we have very good hygiene habits; I think we stay healthier throughout the winter.  We always carry hand sanitizers in our car and use it immediately after leaving a store, clinic, restaurant etc. We wash our milk jugs and the tops of cans before opening.  Little steps that some may think extreme but we feel its a bonus in keeping ourselves healthy.  I understand that we can still get sick just by breathing in shared air and that some germs are inevitable however; we boost our bodies with supplements to help in that department as well. It never hurts to try and help yourself, so that's what we try to do.
As the snow is falling outside my window, I wish you all a warm and healthy winter from a land far far away.

Sweet Inspiration

I've been inspired by my sweet sister Mel over at UpNorthWithMel.  We both used to do digital scrap booking but as usual I fell behind.  She shared a few pages that she had done and once again was my inspiration.  She has a way of doing that to me ~ gotta love her!  Now please hush - ssshhh - as some of these may be used as part of a Christmas project. So here's just a sampling of what I've been working on.

Happy Dance!

I did it, I did it ~ and all by myself too!  Those who have been following me know my frustration with computer problems for the past several months.  Well - never let it be said that I'm not persistent!  I didn't give up and it finally paid off.  Well not really but enough to take care of my griping about it.  
You see all this time I was having issues with trying to go in and visit your blogs.  I would have to highlight the title of each one in blogger and then copy and paste them into a new search box.  Very frustrating to say the least because I love checking in on so many of you.  Anyways, every time I tried to update my Internet Explorer; for some reason it wouldn't finish.  No matter what I did, even after removing older versions.  SOOOO tonight I downloaded the Google Chrome and everything works like a charm.  
Don't ask ~ just know that I'm doing the happy dance!   Believe me it's been bugging me for months and months so this is a big deal. Thanks for hanging in there with me.

Squash Pecan Pie

~ all calories magically removed ~ 

I love that wand!

Crafting Cogs Engaged

Although it's long over due, my crafting cogs are engaging.  With the wonders of blog world and internet surfing as inspiration; the wheels are slowly slipping back into gear.  And just in time for the holidays too!


To ease them back into movement I started with an couple of old baby blankets that are no longer of use ~ I say this with sad heart as my Grand loves have outgrown them.  So Grandma decided to put them to use for herself.  I picked up some material at the Good Will store to use for covering them.  So for the total price of a buck a piece I have two little lap robes to take the chill off our upcoming winter nights.  They will be just big enough to lay across the lap for that tiny bit of extra warmth.

Update Snow Pictures

and there is no end in sight! 

It's snowing! It's SNOWING!

Green Gate Garden put to rest

or as Thom likes to call it -

 his cemetary for people that pissed him off!

Just kidding!!!

Hello

As I was out trying to find myself

I discovered a few things about me

Things about my likes and dislikes

I like old and I like new

I like rustic and I like lace

I like food and health

I like glass and bubbles

I like gowns and I like jeans

I like nature and I like fake

but not as much as natural

photo from the net

I like the usual and I like unique

I like soft and I like hard

I like comfort and I like challenge

I like what I discovered about me

How about you?

Patience and Persistance

Sometimes life tosses a few kinks our way.  Although I've been working on it, my patience is running low and as persistant as what I've been, I may have to 'hire' someone to get my laptop back in tip top form.  I hate the thought but my patience is being tested.  But I'd like to thank those of you who are sitting in the sidelines waiting for my dribble of wit and what little humor I may have left.