Some Favorite Ornaments

 Snow Lady stuffed with walnut shells, by Valorie.

 Original illustration and embroidery by Grandma Norris.

 Lightbulb Santa by Jeff.

Hand print reindeer by Arianna.

Christmas Gifts

 I sent this wood block print to J.  I love this print, but it belongs with J.  I have been watching it for several months.  The price was more than I could afford, but the dealer came down $15.00 and I was able to fit it into my budget.

I sent Joel these bamboo cooking utensils that I burned a design into.  

Sweet Treasures

 I purchased these colorful peacock pillow cases at a resale shop for four dollars.  They will look nice with my rag ball wall hanging and rag rug on the floor.  I appreciate the effort put into these cases.  The crocheted edging is very sweet.  

 I made two mini "pocket" pillow cases from a single case for my knee pillows.  It's impossible to find cases for these little pillows, so I have to make something.  I'm very pleased with the results.  

While out thrifting with my sister at Thanksgiving she found this really cute teaspoon bag.  I haven't found the teaspoons, but I did find these charming spoons for a dollar each.

Winter inspires us to eat more soup; our latest discovery is Pizza Soup.  Amanda, an eighth grader I sometimes substitute teach for, told me that she does some cooking for her family (both parents are working); one of her favorite things to cook is pizza soup.  Not two days later I came across a recipe in one of my favorite cookbooks.  We will eat this again and again.  The recipe called for elbow macaroni, but we used cavatapi which has ridges and holds the sauce.

Holiday Meals

Christmas Eve Dinner for Ten

Fuji Apple Cocktails
Beer
Meritage

Polynesian Meatballs
Plum Spicy Chicken
Kasamati Rice

Korean Salad
Mandarin Orange Jello

Sweet Potato, Orange, Almond, Cranberry Cake
Coconut Rice Pudding with Mango



Christmas Day Dinner

Beer
Wine

Kielbasa, Lieberwurst, Ham
Fancy mustard selection
Red Cabbage
Mashed Potatoes and Chicken Gravy
Roasted carrots, parsnips, and beets

Yule Cake
Peach Kuchen

Both meals were really good.

Another Gift with Grandma

Randy and I made this lamp for Jacob and Brandy from and old meat grinder that was my grandma's.  I had the thing for nearly thirty years and finally figured turning it into a lamp was a good idea.  Jacob really likes it.  Ideally it was to go into his kitchen, but it is a little too big for his counters. 

I explained that the grinder is still in working condition so in the event that global destruction occurs they should flee with the meat grinder in case they find a squirrel or rat to eat. 

Valances by Grandma and Me

My grandma Beulah, made these wonderful potholders a long time ago.  I love them and had been pondering how to best display them.  I finally thought I would turn them into valances.  I found some all cotton vintage style dish towels that I cut in half.  I sewed the raw edges and then I tied the potholders on.  I am really happy with the results.

Mom got all misty eyed when she saw them and thought my grandma would have been pleased that I appreciate the potholders.

Another Cake

For my dear friend Maripat's birthday, I made a chocolate strawberry cake.  The cake was strawberry with strawberry filling, coated in chocolate ganache, and topped with strawberries dipped in ganache.  I added a cup of pureed strawberries in place of the water in the cake mix which gave it a nice mauve color.  I think next time I might not puree the strawberries so finely.  It was a lovely cake.  I hope it tasted good.  I know the strawberry filling was super!
Maripat said she never had "spring" on her birthday.  Birthday's are a season that last as long as they need to.  Strawberries and chocolate never go out of season.   

First Steps

I have been on the planning committee for an Advent Tea at our church.  Last year I attended one of these events in Saline, MI and I had a transformative experience.  I attended the event feeling some what empty and came out full and satisfied with the all the Holy Spirit's mysterious goodness.  I told members at my church about the gratitude I felt at hearing about the TRUE message and meaning of Christmas.  As it turns out, others had similar experiences at different churches and before long we were planning to have a tea at St. Stephen's. 

As it was our first year, and taking our first steps through an event of this kind, I has the added responsibility of cooking soup, setting and preparing desserts for three tables.  Anyway, I had been conceptualizing a cake all week long  a Cranberry Almond Orange Cake. 

There is fresh cranberries in the orange almond cake, orange buttercream frosting, and a decoration of dried cranberries and sliced almonds.  I baked the over sized cake in a springform pan.  I liked the size of it.  I also made an Orange cake with orange curd and chocolate ganache, and a gingerbread trifle.

The night was aglow with love; the Word there among us.   Every action was an act of prayer.

Sometimes prayers are awkward and and lack eloquence - yet they are still beautiful, like a baby's first steps.