our christmas

our family christmas was delightful!

friday evening was spent in passing on our thrift/personal goodies to our children...

there was lots of laughter and reminiscing!
but i'll do another post on that.
**************
 we clean up the garage and eat out there.

 and yes...we use paper plates!

DIL M made these yummy-ish-ness!
 http://thekitchencookie.blogspot.com/2010/12/coming-soon.html

eager anticipation! 

the four stoogies!

 feminine flair for my grandgirlies.

these two youngins' picture posing.

christmas wasn't white
but we were on the fringe of the nor'easter that came the next day.

today is sunny and cold.

...blessedness

ox

Christmas!

Have a blessed and wonderful Christmas!

Behold

the Lamb of God,

which taketh away

the sins of the world!

John 1:29

I pray your Christmas will be filled with

good memories,

lots of laughter,

peace from the Prince of Peace!

My hope for you for 2011: 

  prosperous in...

spiritual

emotional

physical!

...blessedness!

ox

wreaths

i caught the coffee-filter-music-sheet wreath bug.

they really are simple to make!

AND...

look lovely!

i made the coffee filter wreath without know where i was placing it.

 it hung for a while on the elk antlers,

and a few other strange places.

eventually, out of sheer desperation,

 i hung it over the laundry-leading-to-the-garage door for the Christmas House Tour.

perfect!

it filled a blank i didn't know was there.

i like!

aren't her ruffles pretty?

 after stitching a ring on the end,

a screw on the other side of the door keeps the upholstery tape (a thrift find) in place,

 and...

- ta-da -

 there she hangs!

(LOVE those ruffles!)

now when i walk through the kitchen into the laundry,

this is what i see!

truely like!

(maybe, just maybe...i'll do a white one!)

*****************

after talking to this talented gal who follows blogs...
(but doesn't blog herself)

 i knew i was ready to try the sheet music wreath.

 

i glued a bull's eye mirror in the center.

both are very easy to make!
i found most of my sheet music at a local thrift shop,
and am eager to do more projects with it...
after the New Year!

...blessedness!

ox

linking up to Beyond the Picket Fence
Funky Junk

granola

i know - granola has been around fa-ev-a!

this summer, we brought guests along home from church for lunch.

Mrs. S makes granola by the gallons to sell.

she was kind enough to give me the recipe for her sugarless one.

it's very delicious,

either alone or on yogurt.

No Sugar Granola

10 c. rolled oats

2 c raw wheat germ

1 c. wheat bran

1 c. chopped nuts

2 c. unsweetened coconut

1 c, sesme seeds

1/2 c. flax seed

3/4 T. salt

warm oil, flavoring and juice

1 1/2 c. canola oil

1 c. frozen concentrate apple juice

2 T vanilla or maple syrup flavoring

add this to dry mixture

divide into two pans, bake at 250 for 1 1/2 hours, stirring every thirty minutes.

(i substituted apple cider for the apple juice.)

the ingredients are very flexible and you can put your own additions to it,

such as chocolate chips, raisins, etc. 

 this recipe makes a good four quarts

and makes a beautiful gift!

 Quilted Nest gifted the candle to me at my Christmas Open House...
'peace' on one side - a snowflake on the other.

love!

...blessedness!

ox

week end musings

today is my birthday!

i really don't mind being sixty-two...

i just find it hard to believe that i'm there!

one year ago,

it looked like this...

our first inches of many of the infamous snows of the winter of '09-'010!

***********************

- from the pulpit -

The Five Songs in Luke

Elizabeth's song - joy

Mary's song - praise

Zechariah's song - thanksgiving

The angel's song - celebration

Simeon's song - faith and worship.

 Jesus' presence always demands a response!

God displayed His heart through sending Jesus to...

- preach the gospel to the poor

- to heal the broken heart

- to preach deliverance to the captive

- to recover sight to the blind

 - to give liberty to those who are bruised

- to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

Luke 4:18,19

love this...

how I need this -

 all of these...

 at any given time!

...blessedness!

ox

someone got it!

this year, i bought christmas wrap before christmas!

now, i realize its been several years since i've bought gift wrap,

(hey...i'm a tight-wad - i buy for several years ahead!)

i bought this at wal-mart...

the inside of the paper is scored to cut...

whoohoo!

(under new management?)

now if my family gets candycane gift wrap for their gifts the next five years,

they'll know it's because of these scored lines...

sure made thishaterofgiftwrapping a pleasure to wrap gifts!

...blessedness!

ox

bench in our bedroom

my MIL was not by any means, the 'average' Amish woman.

she could build cabinets, fix a roof, reupholster like a pro, fix most anything,

and

milk cows, plant corn, bale hay, grow enough produce to use and to sell.

she loved auctions so much she had a mini store in her attic!

besides all this, she was cooking, cleaning and all the other everyday living stuff.

the bench that found its way into our bedroom is a typical project of hers.

it stands twenty inches tall,  

designed for small children to sit higher at a table.

hubs and his sister used it,
our children sat on and outgrew this bench as well.

after her death, i claimed it for the memories, even though it was, well, ugly.

the top was covered with gray formica with a split in it.

it languished in the basement for six years,

and i almost gave it away but couldn't quite get myself to do it.

then i redesigned our bedroom...

i had an epiphany! 

i took off the ugly formica,

instantly giving it the ambiance i was looking for.

love, love!

now it's used to stack the extra pillows 'for fancy'

with an extra blanket tucked in a basket underneath.

even the top looks great with the glue tracks left on it!

interesting how the inanimate reaches across generations -

love!

...blessedness!

ox

linking up with Time Travel Thursday

Furniture Feature Friday

spanakopita triangles

Rhoda at Southern hospitality is have a summer food party and I'm linking this wonderful dish!

Enjoy!

i joined a cooking class this fall -
'just for fun!'

Maile from Mai Time in the Kitchen was our instructer.
she, with her family, lived in England for several years,
taught us a few facts and recipes from there.
'twas fun and delicious!
spanakopita triangles is one of those recipes.

**************

Spanakopita Triangles

saute - 1/2 cup chopped onions

2 green chopped onions, including greens (i didn't) in 2 T olive oil

stir in - 2 minced garlic cloves

 1-10 oz. pkg thawed frozen spinach
cook -  three minutes, set aside
add - 1 c. feta cheese
1 c. grated mozzarella
1/2 c. grated parmesan
1 tsp each of s/p
dash nutmeg (i didn't)
2 eggs
mix well.

cut fillo roll in thirds
place 2 layers on work area and brush w/ melted butter
place 1 T. spinach filling at short end of strip.

 fold pastry over in a triangle...

 folding like a flag

 to the end of the strip.

 place on buttered sheet and brush top w/melted butter.

 bake @ 375 degrees until golden, approx 15 min.

**************
i've made these four times and learned a few tips in the process.
- the unused fillo must stayed covered...
it dries VERY quickly!
the recipe calls for 1/2 c. melted butter - it takes all of that and a bit more
- i did four strips at a time
- i used my fingers to brush the melted butter on...
less messy, easier and quicker!
- if the fillo seems to be dry or brittle, brush butter on that area
- by using fingers, it's easy to tuck in the 'stray and odd ' pieces of the fillo bundle.

 *****************
i'm thinking the spinach filling,
placed in a casserole and topped with the fillo,
would make a delicious dish...
maybe adding another package of spinach and an egg,
or a lesser amount of the cheeses...hmm - think i'll give that a try sometime!

pronunciation...spa-na-ko-pi-ta (?)

(correct me if i'm wrong!)

it's like the rose...

by any other name, is still a rose -

spanakopita by any other pronunciation is still delicious! :)

...blessedness!

ox

linking up to Funky Junk

Strut Your Stuff

week end musings

last thursday morning our small group ladies did a christmas tea at our house.

yummy food!

i made these...

truly, truly yummy!

a post is coming.

*******************************

- from the pulpit -

Amazing Peace!

1. The peace dilemma

2. World peace is a myth

3. The longing for peace

4. No peace for the unbeliever

5. The promise of peace

6. The source of peace

7. What is peace like?

- more thoughts -

Is peace the absence of trouble?

Is it a product of our surroundings?

Can peace come through war?

  8,000 peace treaties have been signed in an effort to have peace.

Jesus gave a legacy of peace
that transcends across every
nation, tongue and peoples!

...blessedness!

ox

christmas house tour

2010 christmas house tour

(a picture post)

my favorite display!

   living room

 (read about my bottle brush trees here)

  most talked about items...

 hydrangea tree

 sheet music items

 laundry room

 

 dinning room

 beautiful friends!

**********************
two evenings later, i had a private christmas open house in the evening.

night lights

 hydrangea tree

 aqua lights

 vanity lights

 our princess!

i determined not to buy anything for this occasion,
and using what i already had.
it was a good time to sort through the decorations,
scaling back even more...

this is Christmas at our House!

...blessedness!

ox

linking up to Nesting Place, The DIY Holiday Showoff