Writing and Drinking

a cup of Christmas tea :)

Mistletoe from Georgia

My sister and her husband brought everyone some mistletoe from a tree in their yard in Georgia. The packaging was very festive ... I couldn't tell what it was until I took it out of the package.

Isn't it pretty? I see some kisses in my future ... because I'm going to be holding it above my head the next time my boyfriend comes over!!

Another Coleman Family Christmas!

This year's gathering was so much fun! I don't know what made this Christmas so much fun, but it was! For the most part, we were either eating or laughing. We were missing quite a few Coleman's, but I come from a big family, so there was still a crowd. I have a very kooky family, but I love them all dearly. Everyone is married to really great people ... who, fortunately ... are as kooky as we are and fit right in with us weirdo's!

My sister-in-law made her super delicious ham, which is always a big hit! Everyone brought an appetizer, side dish, and dessert, and everything was very, very good. I didn't get a picture of all the food, but I did get a few pictures of the foods my daughter and I made. (Click on picture to enlarge.)

My oldest daughter made Santa Hat Cupcakes ... they were so cute!!

I made my Christmas Tea ...

and Christmas Buttons ...

My daughter also made deviled eggs (which didn't last long),

and I made a cheeseball ... yummy!!

My Little Girl Is Getting Married!!!

A couple of nights ago my daughter's boyfriend stopped by to ask for my daughter's hand in marriage. He's a good guy. He treats my daughter like a princess, and she loves him completely ... so of course I gave him my blessing! She announced her engagement at the Coleman Family Christmas gathering. Isn't her ring gorgeous?!!  I got teary-eyed when Sam asked me for her hand, when I told a few close friends, and when they announced it at Christmas. If you think I cried a lot at her high school graduation, wait until her wedding!

She also made a lovely Christmas sweater vest to wear ... complete with flashing lights!

I Love My House During Christmas!

Here are some of the "highlights" of my house all decorated for Christmas. I don't know why, but I don't have any photo's of the entryway ... I guess I got tired of taking pictures! I'd bore everyone silly if I included all the pictures of all the rooms, but here are some of my favorites. (Click on pictures to enlarge them.)

The Living Room ...

The Dining Room ...

The Family Room ...

 

The "Library" ...

The Downstairs Bath ...

The Kitchen ...

The Stairway/Landing ...

The Upstairs Hall Bath ...

Snow from Cleon

We got around 8" of snow last Thursday and Friday. Of course, school was out Friday through Tuesday, and there was a 2-hour delay today (Wednesday). They don't even notice when it snows 8" up north, but down here, well, good luck finding bread or milk in the stores! This snow was from Cleon ... Dion whispered by without really affecting us ... or school would probably still be called off!

Here a short video clip taken from my upstairs bathroom during Cleon.

Decorating for Christmas

I started decorating for Christmas today, but I've still got a lot to do. This old house was built in 1909. Like most houses built 104 years ago, the rooms are large and the ceilings are tall. It takes a lot of decorating to have any kind of impact in a house so big. I had to buy quite a few decorations during the first several years after I bought this home. I could still add more, but I don't need a house this big anymore. The plan is to downsize in the near future ... and I don't plan on having a house big enough to use all of the decorations I already have ... so I don't let myself buy anything new.

Over the years I've gotten more efficient in getting the decorations put up. The biggest help was a pre-lit tree. Not having to string lights on a 9' tree saves a couple of evenings of decorating! The first couple of years I couldn't really afford an artificial tree big enough for the tall ceilings and size of the room, so I had to buy a real trees. I hate real trees. I hate having to add water, I hate vacuuming up the needles, and I hate the sap that gets all over my hands when decorating ... and then again when I'm undecorating. Yuk!

It used to take well over a week to decorate, but I can usually get it done in three or four days now ... less if the kids help ... which they rarely do (much to my chagrin). When they were little (and no help at all), they always wanted to help. I let them, but it really just made more work for me, but I never told them that ... I let them think their assistance was saving me work (instead of the fact that their "help" made more work for me!). I was so excited when they were big enough and old enough to actually be helpful rather than a hindrance. Sadly, once they hit that magical age, they no longer felt the need to help. So, I usually do 90% (or more) of the decorating. I've gotten good at nagging them until they can't stand to listen to me anymore, but the task is predominantly mine.

I spent about seven hours decorating today, and I've probably got at least that much more yet to do. It's so cold out, though, that I don't know if I will be able to force myself to go outside to hang wreathes on all the windows and drape the garland around the picture window at the front of the house ... but I might brave the elements and hang them.

Once I get everything decorated, I'll post a few of my favorite pictures. This big. old house is a lot of work in upkeep, and it costs a small fortune to heat and cool ... but it sure looks pretty all decorated for Christmas :)

My Cranberry Granola Cookie Recipe

It's actually a Cranberry Granola Coconut Almond cookie.  Here is my recipe ... and my notes!

WARNING: 

Be careful who you give these to!
Every one who tastes them will come back begging for more. 

There will be no more small talk, like "How have you been?" or "That's a pretty blouse. Is it new?" No, after you give them these cookies, pleasantries fly out the window. They no longer care how you are or if your blouse is new ... all they will say is ... "Do you have any more of those cookies?"

1 Stick Butter (softened)
3/4 C. Brown Sugar
1 Egg
1 t. Vanilla
1 C. Flour
1 1/2 C. Granola
Cranberries (probably about 1/2 - 1 cup, but I don't measure ... I just throw them in.)
Almond Slivers (probably about 1/2 - 3/4 cup, but again ... I don't measure)
Coconut (same as almonds)

1. Cream butter and sugar together. When mixed thoroughly, add egg and vanilla.
2. Add flour.
3. Add granola, cranberries, almonds, and coconut. (At this point I mix it with my hands ... it's too thick for a mixer).
4. Form into PATTIES (not balls) and place on greased cookie sheet. (The cookies will be just moist enough to hold together, and they do NOT spread.)
5. Bake at 350º for 10 minutes. (The receipe I tweaked to come up with this one said to bake them 12-15 minutes, but I like soft cookies, so I take them out at 10 minutes.)

Snowbound and Nesting :)

I live in an area of the country that sees snow in the winter, but it typically melts in a day or two because the temperatures generally don't stay below freezing for very long. Sometimes when the schools close, the streets around my house will be completely snow free, so I can only assume there is snow in the county ... someplace! Even though we see snow in this area, we don't usually get but a few inches at a time, and since it doesn't last, people never get used to driving in it. Folks up north laugh at us when they see the mess we make of traffic when there's just a dusting a snow!

Winter storm Cleon has been racing through the area for almost 24 hours now.  We had sleet and freezing rain overnight, but sometime after I went to bed last night, it switched to snow. After a high of 70º the other day, the low of 7º tonight is particularly brutal. Sunday, winter storm Dion is coming with more of the same. Ice, freezing rain, sleet, snow, and more brutal cold.

Work was called off, so I got to stay home today. My vehicle is frozen solid in the driveway. Fortunately, I have plenty of groceries, and my Christmas shopping is done, so I have no reason to leave my toasty little nest! This morning when I got up I put a roast with carrots and new potatoes in the crock pot. Then I made a batch of my cranberry granola cookies ... and my gosh, they really are the best cookies in the world!!

My New Favorite Cookie!!!

My boyfriend routinely declutters, so how he manages to find more things in his house to throw away never ceases to amaze me. Last weekend he held up a shiney gold tin. It was round, and slightly larger than the average cookie.

"Can you think of anything I could use this for?" he asked.

I smiled and said, "Well, you could give it to me and I could fill it full of homemade cookies for you."

He liked that idea!

I planned on making chocolate chip cookies with walnuts, but then I remembered him raving about a cranberry granola cookie he discovered when he was at his cabin down south. He's only been able to find it in the bakery of a grocery store down in Georgia. They were out of them when he and I went there in October, so I didn't get to taste one. Without knowing what the cookie looks or tastes like, I decided to surprise him with my version of  those cookies.

I glanced over a recipe I found online and headed to the store. The recipe didn't have any nuts in it, but I bought some almond slivers to throw in (he loves nuts in his cookies!). I also grabbed a bag of coconut, which was also not in the recipe. This particular recipe called for applesauce in lieu of sugar for sweetening, but I used brown sugar anyway. Cookies are supposed to be indulgent ... not nutritious!!

The only resemblance to the recipe online and my cookies was the amount of granola, flour, and eggs. My daughter tasted one and said it was yummy, so I filled the tin with still-warm cookies and drove to his house to deliver them. I poured him a glass of milk as he ate his first cookie. He claimed to love it and quickly ate several more. I hadn't tasted them, so I didn't know if they were really good, just so-so, or barely edible! He seemed to like them ... or was doing a good job of pretending to! I kissed him good-bye and headed home.

I kept a dozen for myself and took some to work the next day. I sat at my desk sipping coffee and going through my email, and reached for a cookie ... and I fell in love before I finished chewing the first mouthful! These cookies were really, really good. I knew I'd found my new favorite cookie ... but please don't tell the Snickerdoodles I said that!!