Just like Seinfeld...a post about nothing

I know it has been a month since my last post, I just don't know where the month has gone! I keep thinking that I should post something, but haven't really had anything to post about. We had the kids here for Christmas, which was great. I must admit that the only Christmas gifts I made this year were a hat and scarf out of Green Bay Packer fleece that I found on clearance at my local Hancock Fabrics. I still haven't figured our why they even had Green Bay Packer fleece! I haven't been very productive as of late. I have 3 unmade blocks of the month, still working on blind stitching the binding on my last quilt and have started another quilt as wedding gift for my nephew, who is getting married in March.

We cooked a delicious free range turkey for Christmas dinner, but I failed to take pictures...I was just enjoying having everyone here! My daughter, Kate, did take some pictures in my kitchen. I do have some pictures in my camera that I need upload. I know that a blog post without any pictures is even more boring than a blog post about nothing, so here is a shot of Mike and me at the Amber Fort in Jaipur.

A little bit of Christmas...

We got our second meat delivery last Sunday. I decided that it would be a good idea to date the packages, since some are duplicates from last month that we haven't used yet. I think there may be a meatloaf in our foreseeable future, what with ground beef and pork and all. We also have a package of veal liver. I don't remember the last time I cooked liver, but I think it involves bacon and onions. This is what we received:
NY strip 8 oz.
Pork shoulder roast 2#
Whole chicken 2#
Ground beef 2#
Pork cutlet 8 oz.
Bratwurst 1½ #
Pork sausage 1#
Ground pork 1#
Boneless pork chop 8 oz.
Hot dogs 8 oz.
Veal liver 1#

Mike and I opened our presents on Christmas Eve, because we left Christmas morning to drive up to Mansfield to spend the holiday with my family. My stepsons came as well, which was great, but I was really sad not to be with Kate and Kyle. I'm so glad I had last week with them, even if being gone the week before Christmas put me way behind schedule.

Purrkins wanted to help with the opening of gifts.


Although I should have known that he had an ulterior motive...

After Mike went to bed, I finished binding this quilt, which obviously did make it back from the quilter's. I gave it to my sister for Christmas. Mike had drawn her name, but we all know how that works! (I recommend clicking on the picture for a close-up :-)

Happy Christmas to all...

...and to all a good night!

I <3 the internet!

Well, of course, we all do, but I just wanted to share with you the most recent reason for my love affair with cyberspace. For the last 18 years we have sent out Christmas cards with a family photo taken during the previous year. It is fun to look back at them and see how the kids have changed over the years (Mike and I still look the same, of course :-). Last year we used this one from Kate and Kyle's wedding. This year, unfortunately, there was no picture to use. The only time during the year that we were all together was for my dad's memorial service, and somehow it never occurred to me to get a photo then. And yes, they are all grown and have lives of their own, so I guess I could have just used a photo of Mike and me and maybe the cats, but that just seems kind of weird. This was my solution. I uploaded some photos taken throughout the year to Flickr. Then when I got to Minneapolis earlier this week, we took a picture of Kate and Kyle and me (and their cats). Kate, a semi-professional photographer, Photoshopped them into a collage for me, which I then uploaded to Walgreen's. I am picking up prints tonight from my local Walgreen's in Bellaire, after I fly back to Houston this afternooon. The internet is truly a wonderous thing!

Vintage Christmas

Just wanted to share some vintage Christmas items we have. This Santa planter belonged to Mike's mother.

As did this kind of scary looking wind-up Santa.

This nativity scene is from my childhood, purchased at the "dime store" (remember those?) We were so poor we could only afford one wise man. I seem to recall a shepherd, but don't know what became of him.


This is a wreath I made of old glass ornaments, Shiny Brites and others. The rubber reindeer is from my first Christmas in 1951. The "elf on the shelf" figure was given to me by my friend Patti...it belonged to her mother-in-law.



This crewel embroidery was done by Mike's mother...a lot of work for something that is just displayed for one month out of the year, but I do treasure it.



I love all these old things from Christmases past. The memories are what make this time of year so special.

More photos

My daughter, the photographer, is clamoring for more photos from my new camera, so here a few random shots. Probably not the artistic stuff she had in mind , but all that I have taken so far.

I don't know what kind of bush this is in our front flower bed, but thought the red berries were pretty.
Here are some of my Mary Engelbreit Christmas figurines, adhered to the shelf with museum gel to protect them from Graycie the cat. She is quite the climber and has broken a few things in the past.
And my "feather" tree with Waterford ornaments, also secured but with a wire coat hanger and clear duct tape (I never knew there was such a thing.)
One of my favorites...You'd Better Not Pout nutcracker.
And here is our fireplace. Yes that is a picture of the Buena Vista over the mantle. Mike is a native of San Francisco and we always go there for an Irish coffee when we visit.
Well, Kate, I know these aren't what you had in mind...maybe I'll take some pictures of the cats today :-)

Cookies

I'm hosting a cookie exchange tomorrow, so today I baked 12 dozen (is that a gross?) of these cookies. The recipe is from my grandma, the cookie queen, who got it from her Aunt Ida, so it goes waaaaay back. It was published in many of the Milwaukee Gas Company's Festive Foods cookbooks after my grandma worked in their home service department in the very early 50s.

MEXICAN CHRISTMAS COOKIES

375º for about 10 minutes

3 C. flour
1 t. salt
1 t. ginger
1 t. cinnamon
1 t. ground cloves
6 oz. chopped, pitted dates
1 C. chopped pecans
1 C. butter
2 C. sugar
3 eggs
3 T. milk
1 t. baking soda


Mix and sift flour, salt and spices; add dates and pecans and mix well. Cream butter well, add sugar gradually and continue creaming until light and fluffy. Add well-beaten eggs and mix well. Add milk in which soda has been dissolved and mix well. Add flour mixture gradually and mix. Form dough into 3 rolls about 2 inches in diameter, wrap in waxed paper and chill thoroughly. Slice thin and bake on baking sheet in preheated oven. Approximate yield: 6 dozen. Store in covered container.

I'm on a roll here...

After posting an entry three days in a row, I'm kind of challenging myself to see how long I can keep it up. I know that November was the official blog every day month, or whatever, but hey, I have always marched to the beat of a different drummer. And even though I'm dog tired after a late-ish evening out last night at the KUHF holiday party and a 12 1/2 hour day at work today, I thought I would share this picture of my ornament wreath. I made it several years ago, but it always seems to need some sprucing up. After an hour or so with some replacement Shiny Brites and the glue gun it's back in pretty good shape. The vintage rubber reindeer toy was a gift to me from Santa Claus on my first Christmas in 1951...it's in pretty good shape for being 56 years old!