Before the New Year comes….

 ….I want to review a few things that were special during the Christmas season.

One of three Angel Trees at our church.  Church members provided Christmas gifts for 120 families this season.

The festive table setting at my Circle Christmas luncheon.

There was plenty of good food available.

This jolly soul held his place at a visible corner.

Decoration at our church.

The Nativity set out at the beginning of the Christmas season.  

It would appear that Santa found our house this year!

Lovely and delicious gluten-free cake with cranberry compote brought by Muncho Mom for dessert after Christmas dinner.

Wishing you and yours a New Year with many joyous moments!  Take care! 

Before Christmas….

 ….we celebrate birthdays!

That’s right!  It was 49 years ago that we welcomed TWO babies instead of the expected ONE on December 23, one day before our due date of the 24th.  Muncho Mom and Country Girl joined their 20-month old big sister, City Girl.  

There are a few dietary concerns to be considered these days, and Muncho Mom came up with this specially-baked cake….

It was perfect with peppermint stick ice cream! 

Now….it’s on to the next celebration!

Merry, merry wishes to all!

A new Advent activity….

 On a visit to Williamsburg, VA in October, we ventured into the Bruton Parish Church gift shop.  Always looking for a souvenir from our travels, my attention was drawn to this Advent puzzle….

This is the scene that will show in the finished puzzle.

The puzzle box is filled with these 24 small boxes.

Each box is filled with puzzle pieces that will fit in a section specifically numbered for the correct day.  Here, I had just begun the puzzle, and all the pieces have the number 1 on them.

This is the progress after three days.  

This shows the progress on the seventh day.  It will require assembly on Christmas Eve to have the puzzle fully complete. 

It has been quite awhile ago, but I featured some of the jigsaw puzzles that I have assembled on this blog.  A number of them have been framed and are hanging in different areas of the house.  I think I’ll be interested in framing this one, and it is likely that I’ll be looking for another Advent puzzle next year!  

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed working on this one!

Remember to slow down and enjoy the beauty around you each and every day!  

Stay well! 

The baking continues….

 How about you?  Have you been baking for the holidays?  This was the view here on Saturday….

Tried a new recipe for Red Velvet cake, and this one made three layers!  Here they are cooling before being assembled….

Here is the finished cake.  Its destination was my Circle lunch on Sunday following our church service.  Guests were invited, and The Husband was able to go along with me.

I think it’s safe to say that it was well-received.  This is what came home with us, and I was happy to be able to share it with a neighbor!  

Be sure you are taking time to enjoy the beauty of the season!

This is happening….

 Let the cookie baking begin!

Now that Thanksgiving is behind us, it’s time for cookies at our house! 

The Husband was ready for one before they were even out of the oven!  I convinced him to wait until they had cooled just a bit on the baking pan!

Have you begun any holiday baking?   Were you among the shoppers on this “Black Friday?”  

Wishes for a happy time ahead! 

Autumn’s arrival….

 Images from the first day of Autumn….

The morning sun was good to emphasize the glorious blue sky!

Some necessary work has been done to eliminate a spruce tree that had grown so much it blocked the sidewalk!  Now, we’ll need to pressure wash the sidewalk!  Maintenance keeps us busy!

This is my favorite season of the year!  I love the fall colors and flavors, the celebration of Thanksgiving, and it is the forerunner of Christmas, that much-loved holiday!  

We held to a tradition of enjoying Cream of Rice with dried cranberries and walnuts for breakfast.  I confess that I added a taste of butter.  The Husband even drizzled honey over his!  It’s time to enjoy Susan Branch’s Autumn mug!

Have the colors of fall arrived where you are?

Take me out to the ball game….

 It has been a few years since we’ve attended a baseball game.  

As you can see, it was a beautiful day to watch the Tennessee Smokies! 

There were many fans in the stands!

No popcorn, peanuts, or cracker jacks this visit!

It was a delicious cheeseburger along with those good summertime favorites….baked beans and potato salad.

We enjoyed this special gathering of area alumni from Emory and Henry College!

Oh!  The Tennessee Smokies won the game 3-1!

Installing….

 I’m posting this on what I have learned is National Kitten Day!  Isn’t that a neat honoring of our feline friends?  Everyone needs a little “fluff” in their lives!  Sadly, we have been without a cat for a number of years now.  

We’ve been at this location for 19 years.  It is a small development….only one street that ends in a cul-de-sac….and we have underground utilities.  Comcast has been the only Internet provider, installing their lines at the onset of the development, which is in a rural area, now becoming a quickly growing, developing area of the county.  

We have attempted to set up Internet service with a couple of other possibilities, neither one being as satisfactory as the Comcast connection.  That is….until recent progress.  

The pictures below will show the beginning of the installation of fiber optic cable by our electric company.

The first photo above is where the installers were this afternoon, at the edge of our front yard.  They have been in the neighborhood for a couple of weeks digging what is needed for the conduit.  The second photo shows where they were working last week.

Here they are, beginning their work at the edge of our yard this morning.

One of their many work trucks at the edge of our driveway.

They have had lots of practice with those trenches.  This is from last week across the street from the house next door to us.

What are your Internet options where you live?  Do you have several servers from which to choose?  Is broadband Internet something that your electrical provider makes available?  More options mean more competition!  That has to be a good thing, right?  Hopefully we will find an Internet connection possibility that gives us a better rate!  That would definitely be a good thing!

Expect a bit of a “photo dump” from the first week in this month.  I may get to that before this week is gone!

Retired?

 Has this week seemed odd to you?  Unusual to have a holiday on Tuesday.  It’s almost like having two Mondays.  Of course, if you are retired (and I think most people who read this blog are in that category), the days of the week may just blend into one another.  

Anyway, it was a good time to celebrate….Independence Day!  As usual, my thoughts turned to food, and this dessert hit the spot.  

Just in time, our blueberries have begun to ripen.  This is from our first picking.

I greased my baking dish first, then spread those blueberries around in it….

Then I opened a large can of crushed pineapple (with juice) and poured it on top of the blueberries.

Next, I opened a box of white cake mix and sprinkled it evenly over the fruit in the dish.

Added some melted butter….just a stick…and a few coarsely chopped pecans.  You could use walnuts, too.  

Ready to slide into the oven….set at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes or so.  Check to be sure it doesn’t become too brown for your liking.

Here is the finished product!  Someone sneaked a serving before I took the photo!

It was good with some whipped cream on top.  Someone else chose vanilla ice cream.  

The hot and humid days of summer call for staying cool and hydrated!  I hope you are staying safe!

China pattern:  Olde Chelsea by Myott.  I’ve had this china for 60 years!  Guess we’re both vintage! 😂

Reminiscing…

 Rabbit, rabbit….and welcome to May!  

It was just a year ago today that I embarked on a journey I hadn’t even dared dream would happen!

The pictures just won’t transfer to this post in the order I wish!  Anyway, this is what I saw on my arrival at the Brooklyn Terminal before going through the check-in process to board the Queen Mary 2.  

These are the bags that went with me…everything I would need for almost three weeks!

Once again, the pictures didn’t load in the order I wished.  This picture in the middle shows the walkway to the escalator after I finished the checking in process.  Once up the escalator, there was another long walk until I reached the entry to the ship, greeted on either side of the doorway by these welcoming crew members.

They were waiting to be of assistance in whatever way was needed.  

As the ship began to sail from the harbor, the Statue of Liberty was visible.  We are on our way to Southampton UK!

This was the welcoming floral arrangement on the main level of the ship.

This was my first view of my stateroom for the crossing.  It was a very comfortable space. 

This was my first time to travel to another country, and it was an amazing experience!  I’d love to do it again!  Have any of you sailed across the ocean?  

This happened…

 

                                                       A special lunchtime dessert….

                                                       Small Town Girl, aka City Girl celebrated with the loveliest cake!

                                                       This Susan Branch mug is perfect for today!

Our oldest shares my birthday!  Today we celebrated another year!  Now looking forward to another one coming in a year!