one of the last crochet projects for 2010

This is one of those great pics you really only get if your there, but I asked my husband to try the slouch cap I was making for my daughters boyfriend and he jokingly said he was already feeling the Rastafarian coming out. The boyfriend has a giant fro, so this will be fuller with hair, than my hubs.  I think the beer and college sweatshirt just add to the look. 

Boxing Day and the 12 days of Christmas

Sitting with my daughter and her boyfriend the other night we were discussing the 12 days of Christmas.
The fact that the 12 days of Christmas occurs after Christmas day, and that it ends on Epiphany, which is usually the 6th of Jan, but some calendars celebrate it on the 7th.  This Website offers a good theological discussion of the 12 days of Christmas,http://www.crivoice.org/cy12days.html.  There is some controversy over the song being a mnemonic for the teachings of Catholicism.

Over the last 20 years or so , I've seen Christmas even more commercialized than I remember as a child, with the large departments stores like Macy's playing Christmas music in the beginning of November, and the all the presales that started in November well before Black Friday.  When I was a child, it was and event to go to Black Friday with the female relatives in the family, looking for the best deals and seeing the decorations up, There was something magical. Now Its how much can you buy, the lowest price and by Black Friday, the sounds and magic of Christmas seem old hat. 

We only did a tiny tree  (table top 15 ") this year.  It still holds magic, because it represents the birth and celebration of Christ.  Epiphany will come and we will celebrate Three Kings day, but it will be odd, as my daughter will have returned to San Francisco already. 
We exchanged our presents with extended family Christmas day, and so currently we don't celebrate on boxing day, other than recovery from the excitement of having all the family around.  I hope that you and yours had a wonderful family event this year.

going on a jet plane

This weekend is going to be whirlwind.  I'm off alone ( hubs is staying at home for important meeting) to San Francisco to catch a performance of my daughters.  So close to Christmas I wish we could have made it a family holiday.  But work gets in the way of life.
I had to include this photo as she actually has a view (eye of a needle view )of the golden gate bridge from her new digs.  Which makes her quite happy.
So my lovelies, I hope your weekend is good, and I will touch base with you early next week.

DIY Christmas rush

I just realized I have a little less than 2 weeks to finish several gifts and get them mailed out. Not including the gifts I am not sending, but want to be able to have boxed and wrapped so it doesn't seem like a last minute thought.

One gift that I'm making is a holiday CD holder.  I made about 5 Cd's from my Itunes account of Holiday music I've collected over the years.  These I'm putting into a  small case made from card stock and scrap booking papers.  The person that is getting this I think will truly enjoy it, and its something that they can open when they get it, and use every Christmas afterwards. 

Trying to finish up a scarf which I think I will make into a cowl to go with a hat I made last month, is also on my list. It shouldn't take too much longer.

And some major sewing projects.  This wouldn't be so bad, but I'm going to San Francisco to visit my daughter for a few days this week, and would like to have achieved most of this before going.

Just saw, a great recipe for homemade vanilla, using 3 vanilla beans, 1 TBS of Rum, and fill the rest of the bottle with Vodka, takes 7 months to cure.  Wow, I might have to do this for a couple bakers in my life.

Gingerbread for the little one's

I love the smell of gingerbread baking.  Its one of the most tempting smells during the holidays.  Gingerbread cake, gingerbread cookies, even gingerbread lattes have a certain appeal.

When my daughter was in preschool the teacher shared this very simple recipe for :

Gingerbread Cookies

1 package of instant butterscotch pudding

1 egg

1/2 cup brown sugar

                                                    1/2 cup butter

                                                 1 1/2 cups flour

                                                 1 tsp Cinnamon

                                                         1/2 tsp soda

                                                     1/2 tsp ginger

Mix all ingredients to form a dough.  chill dough for about and hour or longer.  Roll out, cut and bake cookies at 350 degrees for 10 -12 minutes.  Yields 12 cookies.

Make the dough up in the morning, then its ready to use later when the kids come home from school. Or if you children like to do the mixing, we made it a 2 day project. One to make dough, and one to cook and ice the finish cookies. I like that it only makes a dozen instead of a larger amount.



a little martha stewart sample



making cookie gifts

Do you find that you have more people you want to remember at the holidays than your pocket book could possibly handle?  I know I do, and I'm always looking for things that are meaningful in some way to my friends.   I want something that will offer a bit of myself.  Since I love to bake, my favorite idea is to pick a cookie or two that's special and make those. Put into a cute container, you can give someone a little taste of the holidays without overwhelming them with too much. 

In my family my mother made these cookies called Kolatchkies.  She recieved the recipe from a neighbor when I was bout 7 or 8 and always made them after that.  Ours were made with a nut filling but I've seen others do them with a fruit filling.  .
I still make kolatchkies, it wouldn't be Christmas without them.

 Since everyone is looking for ideas, I thought I would share this link its got a few ideas too, brought to you by Real Simple http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/recipe-collections-favorites/easy-recipes-handsome-holiday-gifts-00000000023442/index.html

 
So todays little gift is my family recipe for Kalotchkies

ingredients: 1 & 1/3 cups of sifted flour

             1 cube of butter (1/4 lb)

                                             4 Tablespoons light cream (half & half works)

Mix all ingredients into a dough, and roll thin on a surface sprinkled with powder sugar.  cut into 2 inch squares and place a  1/2 tsp of nut filling in the center of each cookie. have the square look like a diamond,  then fold up 2 opposite corners to look like a swaddled baby.  Bake at 375 degreees for 12- 15 minutes til lightly golden and filling is puffy.

When cookies have cooled, sprinkle powder sugar lightly over them to look like snow.

Nut filling:  1 cup of ground walnuts

        1 beaten egg white

                     1/2 cup of granulated sugar

                  1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla

Blend ingredients together and use 1/2 tsp per square.

we have some new friends who are from Russia originally and they make a similar cookie.  They cut their squares a little bigger and use a bit more filling.



how quickly Christmas comes.

Only last week it was Thursday and  Thanksgiving.  Suddenly on Friday its Christmas.  We have always put up Christmas decorations the weekend of Thanksgiving, more because of time and they are so involved, you want to enjoy them as much as possible.  This year, we were so busy enjoying having our daughter home that we did not.  Our time was spent with her, attending movies, shopping for her birthday, and enjoying good meals together.

So this week I'm looking trying to figure what decorations to put up.  Since the house is still on the market, I feel like I should not put up all the usual doo dads. So I'm trying to find things maybe a little more elegant and less clutter like.  Is there such a thing?  After being at the craft store, I wanted to just borrow their tree and bring it home.  Life would be easier. However I did decide to change my floral arrangement in the foyer, and this is what I was able to create.  You know when you see something in the store, and you think I want to change that up, and make it my own? After I made this, it would have been less expensive to purchase theirs, but then mine has my own touch on it.  I love the little red bird as he is the little surprise in all the green, white and gold. 

I thought I had a great idea for the large wreath to put over my fireplace, i bought a stand for wreaths, and the wreath would have covered it all up, and I wouldn't have to put a hole in the wall, something I'm very conscious of these days.  But alas, the wreath ways so much it won't stand up.  So I believe all that's left is a nail.  Bummer.

After that I'll probably drape the garlands on the stairwell (which is made for garland and begs for it) and call it good for a couple weeks. 

Hope your decorating is going well.