Starting 2021 Differently

 

My Mom. I miss her terribly. She passed away December 20th at the age of 90, and its been devastating. So this year I have to learn a new normal. Yes, I know that's an overused expression with the corona virus. The "new normal." Well, for me its about adjusting to not seeing or speaking to her every day. She was a huge part of my life and lived with us these last two years. Her condition necessitated constant care and my whole family helped. And it was worth it for the best Mom I could have asked for.

To start 2021, I am reading, sewing, crocheting, cooking. I have six new books to read, new yarn and a small cross stitch project. Plus hockey is back and I love hockey so much! Thinking of my garden this Spring and hoping for a few good snowstorms this Winter. We have to look ahead! We have to look forward.Thats what Mom would want.

A New Year!

 

Good Morning Friends, January! This January is very different for me ona personal level. I am hoping for good things for everyone in 2021 and new things and experiences.

How were yiour holidays? Did you keep your tree up till Little Christmas Jan 6Th? My Christmas is packed up till next year. I love my Christmas decor,  but I also love the cleaning and refreshing of my home after it is put away. Its a clean slate for a new year! 

I'm showing you my new plate! I love it so and I love the sentiment on it. 

Sunflowers are the most country of flowers to me! Bittersweet and sunflowers! My favorites!

We had some snow! The chicken coop was covered with snow but the chickens inside are warm and cozy.

I love the snow. I like the cold! I could easily live in Vermont or New Hampshire. I love those cold weather communities make the most of it with winter festivals and other outdoor activities.They don't huddle inside for warmth. They embrace their climate! More snow photos.

I just got an air fryer. Do you have one? I'm looking for a source of some good recipes. post any sources!

Have a great day!

Christmas Time!

Good Morning Friends! I hope everyone is healthy and getting ready for Christmas! This month is flying by!

I have finally made my menus for both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and the list making begins! We'll be spending a quiet Christmas at home as we are just too afraid to take any chances with relatives and friends, That's just fine. Home is where I prefer to be anyway!

Now we are preparing for a very big Winter storm coming Wednesday night into Thursday. Chances are you are going to be the recipient of the storm at some point as well. I am thinking of cooking very early in the day just in case we lose power.

I will be spending the snowstorm upstairs in my bedroom wrapping all the gifts!  My goodness I didn't realize how much I bought for everyone! I have a lot of wrapping to do. I've been loving playing my old Christmas albums and listening to the YULE LOG  which I DVR from tv every year. If you remember on Christmas morning, DVR it! The songs are traditional Christmas and you will love hearing Percy Faith and the Ray Coniff Singers...all the good ones! Johnny Matthis, Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme and of course Perry Como and Bing! Brings back so many happy memories of Christmas growing up!

Our tree is a Noble Fir again. We special order it from a nursery that brings them in from Oregon. They are beautiful trees that last! It allows us to put the tree up earlier without it dying and drying out!

 Well, I think I will start organizing my shopping list!I hope you have a wonderful day and thanks for stopping by!

Holiday Planning

Good Afternoon! Well here we are one week away from Thanksgiving! Time goes by so fast and I am trying to keep up! I've been enjoying my Thanksgiving decor which I have bought mostly from thrift shops and my collection has really gotten big. I really love Thanksgiving and I feel like it gets lost in the list of holidays. Not that people don't love Thanksgiving; its just that after Halloween everyone gets excited for Christmas because the Christmas stuff is out in all the stores, the Hallmark Christmas movies start and many of us start shopping. I know I do!

 We will begin our Christmas decorating Thanksgiving weekend, and we ordered our tree which is a Noble Fir so that may be in by Thanksgiving weekend too! Its really the only "real" tree that can be put up as early. It comes from Oregon and costs more but is worth it! I love real trees and my family only wants a real one but waiting to put it up is so hard! Thats why we get the Noble Fir. They aren't a traditional tree here on Long Island; usually our choice is limited to Balsam Fir or Frasier Fir. 

My turkey is 23 pounds. A big turkey for only 8 people but I love leftovers and I like to send my guests home with alot of leftovers too cause who doesn't love a big dinner the next day of all the leftover food? Plus I make several turkey pot pies for the freezer. My turkey pot pies are awesome (if I say so myself!) because under the top crust is a layer of stuffing which sits upon the turkey and mixed vegetables and turkey gravy with the chopped up turkey! Yum! The stuffing tastes so good baked into the pie. 

Made some pumpkin muffins and some banana bread. 

Here are a few more turkeys! I love them so much! I hope to find a few more before the big day comes!

 

Boo!

Good afternoon! Before I start some of my preparation of goodies for Halloween, I thought I would get a post in. I love my Halloween decorations so much and I will be sad to see them come down on Sunday but the Pilgrims and turkeys will go up and I love that so much! Over the years I have really tried to expand my Thanksgiving collecting and my collection has gotten larger. But for now, lets stay with Halloween and love it! Here's a few photos of my decorating. I forget what I already posted!

I'll be preparing some terriyaki chicken sliders, chilli with the fixings, 7 layer dip, little wieners wrapped in crescent rolls and more for Saturday. No big plans. Just my kids, my son's girlfriend and my daughter's boyfriend.  I enjoy making fun things to eat! And while I'm giving out candy tot he trick or treaters, I love to snack ! LOL I don't know how many kids trick or treaters will be coming because of the pandemic but I did make candy bags and I will be lining them up individually on a table on my front porch. This way no one is reaching into bowls for their candy. They can take a bag and go. I'm saving my favorite Fall dessert for Halloween evening~pumpkin pie! Other desserts will be my graveyard cookies 'n cream dessert, honeybun cake, rice krispy treats and chocolate chip bars.

We may have snow flurries on Halloween too! I think its going to be very cold and probably a little further north there will be snow but we may see a few flurries! Exciting. And the day after Halloween is when I start watching the Hallmark channel Christmas movies. 

Have you started your shopping? I do a little at a  time as I have many to buy for but I love it! And I'm so excited to add another to the list as I will be a great Aunt for the first time around the day of Christmas!! Of course you never know when the first baby will arrive but it could very well be Christmas Day! 

I got a great surprise the other day! When my cousin and his wife had visited recently, they told me about an old house that had been in his wife's family that was recently sold. The house was well over a hundred years old and in the garage was an old plow that had been used on the property as the property had once been a farm. They said they wanted me to have it! Well, I thought it was a nice gesture and thanked them not realizing they really meant it. When they came to visit the other day, they brought it! It's perfect! Not too big (which I was afraid of!) and not small! Just right. It will  be going in the garden bed in front of my chicken coop! I can't wait to plant around it next Spring!

Now all I need is the Amish buggy parked in my driveway and my bucket list of antiques is complete! HAHAHA

Have a wonderful day! Don't forget to "follow" this blog and comment!

 

Fall Fun

 

Good Afternoon! How is your decorating coming along? I'm happy to say I am finished and can now sit back and enjoy it all. Not that I ever sit back! There is always so much to do and I also like to make the most of my favorite season.  I made the above sign with a print, a small piece of wood, paint and mod podge. Actually I made several different ones. Some are seasonal and some are not. Very fun and easy to do.  

So I am making a day of food for Halloween so that my kids can have their friends/girlfriend/boyfriend around and know there will be fun for them. I'm not sure what anyone's plans are but they always know that there will be good things to eat. 

Some of the things I'm making are chicken/cheese sliders, chilli (you gotta have chilli!) with all the fixings, 7 layer dip, heros, graveyard cake, salsa/guac & chips and a few other things. It may sound like a lot but believe me it will all be gone!

Here are some more photos of decor around the house. Some of my mouse collection above. 

My favorite pumpkin lantern...still need to get the biggest version of it if I can ever find it. I bought it in Lancaster years ago and every time I go I go looking for it again. No luck yet. 

I'm wondering what the trick or treating will be like this year. I've gathered more stuff and more stuff and more stuff because I want to make my Halloween bags special for the kids. I feel like they have sacrificed alot of fun because of the pandemic and they deserve some extra special treats. 

I did my Halloween tree and I still have ornaments to work on so I'm try and get that done this weekend. I'm not cooking today because I have a refrigerator full of leftovers from my guests yesterday! I love to cook but I sure do enjoy a free day sometimes!

Have a great day! I'll be back soon! Encourage your friends to blog. Its fun and we can all follow each other!

My Favorite Time of Year!

 

Good Afternoon! Well, I am working overtime  trying to get everything I want to do DONE! Fall seems to leave so quickly so I am so happy I got a head start this year. I did some decorating outside and will still probably tweak it this weekend. I'm so happy the weather is  cool. I made banana bread this morning! I think I'll be doing a lot of cooking this weekend. I'm in full nesting mode so that means lots of comfort food.

My chicken coop has been readied for cooler weather. The chickens are moulting so the coop was full of feathers! ugh! Feathers are a hard thing to round up! My chickens are so loveable that as I am cleaning they follow me around because they want me to pick them up and snuggle them . Anyway, their bedding is thick and warm for the upcoming cooler nights. 

I plan to make an apple cake soon. I've gathered some recipes and will see which one I make.  I bought some Macintosh apples. Do you have a good Fall recipe you just love? Pumpkin Crunch cake is awesome. It's funny that I actually had to BUY eggs. My chickens are moulting and not laying very much. Over the Summer I was getting two dozen eggs per week. Now I'm only getting one egg a day! I told them they are my feathered freeloaders! 

See those little buns on the bottom plate? That's some of the primitive faux food I made. It was fun to do. I bought fake food from Hobby Lobby and with mod podge, cinnamon, coffee grinds and tea bags I worked on a few little projects.  I want to try making cupcakes out of foam insulation! I see so many talented people making them, and mug toppers, and cakes and they look incredible. 

I'm looking forward to the movie on Sunday night on the Hallmark Mystery channel. It's an Amish story. I hope its good! It's called Follow Your Heart. I also hope the way the Amish are portrayed is accurate. 

I hope you have an awesome weekend!