Christmas - It's a Wrap

 On the 23rd, all the girls were home and some cookie baking mixed with drama took place.

 We made spritz and gingerbread cookies.  Middle daughter also made fudge and rosettes. Yum!

 That evening we drove to look at some light displays that were mentioned in the newspaper.  We didn't take many pictures.  This penguin was a favorite of mine.

 The girls always get nice gifts from their aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents. These slippers were one of the hits.

 On Christmas Eve Day at around noon we have oyster stew with root beer and oyster crackers.  This is a tradition from when I was growing up and you can see how much it is appreciated!  It certainly is better than drinking something that is fake blue lol.

 For Christmas Eve dinner we had stroganoff, a potato dish, and raspberry jello with applesauce and melted red hots in it.

 I took several pictures in front of the church and this one with leaning girl was the best.

 I'm not sure why we do this kneeling. I guess so at least part of the tree is visible.

 This pillow pet was a very popular gift.  They are really soft.

 Emmy in addition to Milk Bones got a cute snowflake blanket.  The color is the darker blue in the picture.

 Some of us like sour : O

Yes, this was left out with the cookies for Santa and, as you can see, Santa dutifully signed it. It is official--Santa has NMI.

We've been enjoying this holiday week entertaining and hosting sleepovers.  Tonight we'll enjoy our tradition of Leeann Chin food followed by games and a movie.  More company tomorrow.  Have a Happy new Year!

A Flurry of December Pictures

 Ok, I can't stop thinking about snow since it is coming down so often! I don't know where it is all going to go. It didn't stop us from doing a few things this weekend. Here is the youngest playing a selection from The Nutcracker before the Childrens' Christmas program.

 She and one of her friends were a couple of the narrators for the program. All of the kids with lines did great. Middle daughter helped with the three year olds. They were fun to watch as they played with their clothes and waved at their families. The director of the program had coached the kids to emphasis "t's" at the end of words that they were singing. We heard an interesting version of Silent Night. They listened.

 After the program, we swung by Macy's to see "A Day in the Life of An Elf." The display used to be something different each year, but it has been this theme now for a few years. It is cute so we don't mind.

 The elf on the top bunk is tickling the foot of the elf below with a feather.

 A little tree decorating is being done by animals in the town square.

 The post office.

This was a small party favor that we made for our guests on Saturday night.

On top of the holiday hustle and bustle we had a music recital to attend. The girls did a good job.  The violin piece in particular was very fast and challenging.

If I don't post again before Saturday, have a Merry Christmas!

Christmas Reading

This is the latest light Christmas reading that I've finished.  I didn't notice when I requested this book that it actually had stories from not just one, but three of my favorite authors.  There are some recipes too.  I never seem to get around to trying them, but they sound good.  All three stories are mysteries solved by the main women characters that these authors have made famous. No complaints!

I started Skipping Christmas while waiting for the choir concert to start last night.  I'm not very far yet.  Since I saw Christmas with the Kranks, I'm getting visuals from the movie in my head as I read.

On a side note, I am current with wrapping after an intensive day of it yesterday.  Hooray!

Homemade Gifts

 I have one friend that I exchange homemade gifts with.  Other years when I was working it was actually one small homemade item and then I'd buy something.  This year I have more time than money.  I knit the two dishclothes and even blocked them.  I've never blocked before.  The one on the right held its shape better than the one on the left.  I think the basketweave pattern on the right is my favorite pattern at the moment.

The photo album contains family recipes that I typed on the computer.  I added a little clipart on most pages and included a personal note on the first page.  I copied this idea from my friend who gave me something similar last year.

Then, I made a couple of these aprons.  It is a towel.  I sewed a 3" casing on one long edge.  The tie is made from a piece of fabric that is 5" x the width of the fabric x 2.  In other words, cut two 5" pieces from salvage to salvage.  I made another one that is more festive, but that picture didn't turn out.

I hope these gifts will be appreciated.  My girlfriend is always so thoughtful and generous.

It has been snowing like crazy here and so it was a good day to finish these projects.  Middle daughter is baking peanut butter cookies.  They are soooo good!  She saw the movie "Voyage of the Dawn Treader" last night and liked it.  I'll wait and see it on DVD.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

Christmas Reading

I have several Christmas books at home from the local library.  This is the one I am currently reading.  It contains The Christmas Bus, The Gift of Christmas Present, and Angels in the Snow.  I've liked whatever I have read by this author. The stories are moving without being tearjerkers.  I would say some of the subject matter is for adults.  Melody Carlson is a Christian author.

Next up will either be Skipping Christmas by John Grisham or The Gingerbread Cookie Murder by Joanne Fluke.  I think they are both due in about a week so I'll keep reading!

Wally's Thanksgiving

This is Wally.  He came home from school with the youngest.  We were to take pictures of his adventures during the week that he was with us.  This first picture was when he went on a sleepover at a friend's.

Another day Wally enjoyed making a paper star to hang on a tree at church.  It was complicated at first, but soon he got the hang of it.

On Thanksgiving we got to meet Lucy who is owned by my brother-in-law's family.  Lucy had excellent behavior even though she is still a puppy.

My sister-in-law made the meal, but when it is time to carve the turkey we need my father-in-law.

Here is the gang minus middle daughter who took the picture.  We had a fabulous turkey dinner followed by three kinds of pie--pumpkin, apple and French silk.

Wally met the horses.  Brrr--it was cold!

Later we checked into our hotel room.

Hanging out with a friend.

The girls at the pool.

Wally is conscientious and so he wanted to make sure that he knew what the rules were.

He checked out the fluffy, white towels.

The youngest likes to do a parrot imitation.

All that pool time made Wally thirsty when we got to Bennigan's.

Mother and daughter.

Wally helped complete the puzzles on the childrens' menu.

Time for a movie!

In 3-D.

He shared the kid's pack.

Ready for the show to begin.  It was good.  We'll have to read Rapunzel to refresh our memories regarding what really happened.

Time to hang out at the nice hotel.

Hey Wally, what happened to the cookies?

The youngest has wanted to try Kentucky Fried Chicken for awhile so that is what we had for Friday night's dinner.

On Saturday there was another good breakfast followed by swimming.  On the way home we stopped at a huge craft store.  All of us found something.  It was another great Thanksgiving road trip and we enjoyed spending time with family and our new friend, Wally!