Feast of the Epiphany

Today is the Feast of the Epiphany...the day we commemorate the journey of the Magi following the Star, to the place of the Christ child. I think it a beautiful close to Christmas. The day our Lord receives His gifts.

We leave our tree up until after the Epiphany, so tonight, we're enjoying our Christmas tree one last night. I boxed up several decorations yesterday and they're waiting to be put away for the year. But the tree...tonight we sit in its glow and appreciate the beauty of the lights and of the season.

And tomorrow, I'll finish clearing the table of our snowmen, puppies, penguins, candles, poinsettias the myriad of decorations that went up so fast but seem to take so long to put away!

Until next year,

Merry Christmas!

Sweet, Blessed Nativity

What Child is this, who laid to rest,
On Mary's lap is sleeping?
Whom angels greet with anthems sweet
While shepherds watch are keeping?
This, this is Christ the King
Whom shepherds guard and angels sing.
Haste, haste to bring Him laud,
The Babe, the Son of Mary.

Why lies He in such mean estate
Where ox and ass are feeding?
Good Christian, fear: for sinners here,
The silent Word is pleading.
This, this is Christ the King
Whom shepherds guard and angels sing.
Haste, haste to bring Him laud,
The Babe, the Son of Mary.

Nails, spear, shall pierce Him through,
The Cross be borne, for me, for you:
Hail, hail, the Word made flesh,
The Babe, the Son of Mary!
This, this is Christ the King
Whom shepherds guard and angels sing.
Haste, haste to bring Him laud,
The Babe, the Son of Mary.

So bring Him incense, gold and myrrh;
Come peasant, king to own Him.
The King of Kings salvation brings;
Let loving hearts enthrone Him.
This, this is Christ the King
Whom shepherds guard and angels sing.
Haste, haste to bring Him laud,
The Babe, the Son of Mary.

Raise, raise, the song on high,
The Virgin sings her lullaby:
Joy joy for Christ is born,
The Babe, the Son of Mary!
This, this is Christ the King
Whom shepherds guard and angels sing.
Haste, haste to bring Him laud,
The Babe, the Son of Mary

May You Have A Blessed

 and Merry Christmas!

 

Lesson In Life.

Christmas Story...narrated by sweet little children.

This is really very sweet. It reminds me to slow down and to feel the wonder of Jesus' birth.

handpainted Christmas.

Over the years, I've collected many Christmas decorations. Some are expensive, some, not so much. This little fishbowl is the one I treasure most...it was made for me with lots of love. Third-grade was the year I had taken Jonathan to see How the Grinch Stole Christmas, with Jim Carrey and Jonathan could recite almost every line spoken by the Grinch. He was very good at mimicking voices and perfected the voice of the Grinch. Needless to say, we all had a lot of laughs when he'd recite a scene with a dead-on impersonation. Jonathan was in Mrs. Fowler's third grade class and her students would decorate a glass fishbowl for their mothers' Christmas gifts. Now  when I look at the bowl,  I smile and remember the fun Jonathan and I shared when he was little. Some of Jonathan's little classmates drew little religious figures on their bowls, some drew snowmen and Santas...I have an original. My boy chose to draw something he and I had shared, laughing together. Memories on glass... I wouldn't trade this bowl for all the Who pudding or rare Who roast beast!

reindeer hair clips.

 And the camera is kinda broken, but not entirely so. It seems there's something amiss with the power cord. I don't know, Jason can get the cord just-so to download, but I have no luck at all. The reason I haven't posted in a few weeks...

Until I discovered the memory card and the little slot in the laptop. Mmmm-hmmmm, I figured it out. I can download my photos without the stinking cord. And I have overcome.

Meet my reindeer clip. I've been making these for a few years. I'm selling them at a local shop...they're also great to clip to your collar or lapel. Or purse, or hat. 

This is my hair, modeling the clip. I know, my hair is messy. No, not really. It's just curly and it always looks messy. Thank goodness I can't see the back of my head, or else all that messy-looking hair would really bug me. 

groovin' time!

I'm officially in the Christmas spirit. I waited until the first day of Advent to get my "holiday on." Out came the musical snowman and he is rather charming, don't you agree? In the spirit of getting back to blogging and ready for Christmas, I thought I'd post a little holiday cheer. You know, to get you in the Christmas spirit.

Play it again, Snowman!

Hey, I'm not a complete slouch! I have been able to sew a few things up this past month. The Christmas fabric this year is pretty darn cute and I couldn't resist making some little girls' skirts to sell at Avonlea for Christmas. Once I cut into the fabric and put it on the machine, I felt relaxed and content, ignoring the pile of clothes that were begging to be ironed. And the kitchen floor that screamed to be washed. With all the other little things that have been wanting my attention.

The day-after Thanksgiving...truly a relaxing and peaceful day. I chose to spend it doing a little laundry, ironing a few things, working on my blog banner all in the comfort of my black yoga pants and t-shirt. Though I'm working tomorrow (and though bitter at first, am now over it), I don't plan on doing too much tomorrow, either! I had thought about pulling a few Christmas decorations out today, to get me revved up for Christmas, but I think it more prudent to let the ol' engine idle for a day or two!

Here's wishing you a fine start to your Christmas season. May your days be merry and bright! This is my favorite time of year and I fully intend to enjoy every second of it!

Halloween Light Show...and I'm going to get me one!

How do people do this?! It's insanely wonderful! I wonder how long it took to design, install, test, coordinate, manipulate, gesticulate, pontificate, deliberate...this light show?

Jason, dear husband:  I expect something like this on our house for Christmas. Maybe some talking Santas, dancing Reindeer, some Snowmen back-up singers. Nothing too elaborate, just a little something to draw traffic and mayhem in our neighborhood...and an extreme electric bill.

So Honey, if you're going to do this little something for me, you had better start yesterday, 'cause this is incredibly spooktacular!

Thank you, Sweetie!

4th of July weekend.

Our 4th of July weekend was lovely. It was a perfect weekend to go out on the boat, anchor in the river and gaze at the beautiful sky.

And spy on gorgeous homes with well-manicured lawns...

 ...complete with to-die-for docks and boat houses!

Ending with a ride past HOOTERS...

...then back home, to clean and unpack the boat. A refreshing dip in the pool, a little T.V. and off to bed!

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!

God bless America!

Memorial Day

God bless!

For unto us a child is born...

Wishing you a very Merry & Blessed Christmas!

paper trail.

I've chosen to use this photo, found on flickr, to illustrate a little story. I've never seen this young lady, but if I had, I certainly would have told her that she had toilet paper sticking out of the back of her pants...

Just like SOME LADY TOLD ME, AT THE CASH REGISTER IN PENNEY'S!

How embarrassing...

To think I walked through Wal-Mart and then the Avenues Mall with toilet paper flapping behind me!

I would like to thank that lovely lady who informed me of my predicament.

She whispered to me, "I would want someone to tell me if I looked like a complete
jack_ _ s."

She didn't use the equine description, but I'm sure she was thinking it.

Christmas shopping can be so stressful!

it's all Good!

Today we're visiting with Goodlife eats...

Who can argue with Katie's motto, "finding the good in the kitchen & in life...?"

Not me!

 These elegant cookies are Chocolate Gingerbread Men! Chocolate...!

Genius!

And these beautiful goodies are Cranberry Crumb Bars. Don't they look delicious?

There's also a gracious Recipe Index page.

Good golly, she has all kinds of great-looking recipes...

...quick breads, poultry, Mexican, scones, Asian, freezer-friendly...

The list goes on.

Visit Goodlife eats for some amazing recipes.

They're not just for Christmas...

All this Christmas-recipe research could be dangerous.

skirting baking, for today.

We're going to take a break from baking today and focus on tree skirts.

I've gone years without a proper skirt for our tree...I'd simply drape some pretty fabric around the base of the tree and surprisingly, it looked fine. No one ever knew the difference...

But I knew. I knew that the tree wasn't sufficiently dressed.

Randi inspired me over at i have to say...

She made a darling tree skirt and posted a tutorial on how to make them.

So quick and easy. It whips up in no time flat.

I made a few minor changes...I omitted the bias tape, 'cause bias tape and I don't care a whole lot for each other. We tolerate one another, but there's no love lost between us...

If you have a notion to make a tree skirt, use Randi's tutorial...

It'll make your skirt fly up.

While you're there, check out the super-cute gingerbread houses she and her cute family made.

The woman is a wonder. Wonder Woman.

tasty good gifts.

Who can argue with a name like "The Gift of Goodnes?"

Or with the fact that all the recipes use real butter.

 Just look at those Peppermint Whoopie Pies.

Gingerbread Crinkles...

The incomparable North Pole Cookie Dough...yum!

Included with the recipes are "Packaging" suggestions; great for gift-giving!

While you're there, check out Butter Is Best for more delicious recipes!

Now go, conquer the butter!

cookie destination.

Today's cookie destination...

.

Sweetopia. The name itself makes me want to book a vacation there!

That little girl is one cute cookie.

But these cookies...truly the ultimate in a beautifully decorated cookie.

Crikey, I can't hardly stand this...the ultimate in a vintage design.

Are you supposed to eat it or frame it?

Sweetopia has great recipes for not only cookies, but lots of other goodies as well.

And if PINK is your color, you'll adore her web site.

She has lots of sweet recipes and not only cookies. What a variety of recipes!

Go, paint your cookies and be a Christmas cookie diva!

Once again, there's a link to her site over there on my sidebar...look for the pink gingerbread house.

baking for Christmas!

Are you ready for some baking?!

I'm here to help you...

I'll be posting some great baking sites for the next few days, to help you with your Christmas baking. Some real, honest-to-goodness practical sites...not those flippin' fancy places that want you to use ingredients that come from the great land of "yeah, right!"

Take Bake at 350, for instance...she's a guru and has easy recipes and techniques to get you in the mood for holiday baking. I found her over at Pioneer Woman...amazing!

Cottages...too cute!

Ornaments. Not that I'll be able to duplicate the beauty of these cookies, but perhaps with a little practice, by next year I might come close!

I've placed 350's link over there to the right at the top of my sidebar. In case you need to come back and find her link, it's handy-dandy, right there for you to click.

I'm always thinking of you!

Go now, bake and conquer! Impress your Christmas guests with some cute cookies.

Christmas-time in the tropics!

So in my last post, I told you all about the Christmas lights (or lack thereof) and how I was going to finish the tree.

That effort was thwarted by evil Wal-Mart shelf stockers. They mixed the boxes of multi-colored and pink-colored lights together. I came home with 3 boxes of pink and one of the multi...and half of the lights on the multi strand didn't work. And now our tree is kind of nakey. This situation will be fixed tomorrow, complete with the crowning jewel at the top of our tree.

In the meantime, I'm loving the beautiful weather we're experiencing here in Florida. It's cold, dark and gloomy.

                                                                                             Buffalo, NY


Much like winter days in Buffalo, minus the snow and slush.

The cold rejuvenates and energizes me.

While Florida residents are "freezing," bundled up in their snow-jackets, I roam free of the constraints of evil outer-wear, relishing the dark, overcast sky and the refreshing chill in the air.

Sadly, this weather won't last long. Before I know it, the sun will be shining and we'll all be sweating our everlovin' arses off!

But for now, I'm praying that we'll have a grey and cold Christmas.

It's a New York frame of mind.