i'm dreaming of a...

 ....white Christmas...and tomorrow morning I'll show you just how beautiful it is here in central New York state.  The treetops truly DO glisten.  It's been so cold, the latest snow just stayed on the branches, the pine trees look like part of a movie set.  

This was my side of the windshield yesterday, no, I was not the driver.

Emily took this one...isn't it so pretty?

Margaret turned 28 yesterday...Wulf, Grant, Rhys, Jamie in the pic...we had eleven of the grandkids over yesterday.

Mariel with Jamison, Margaret with Blythe

Gingerbread cookies

More cookies.  Charlotte Claire and Camille helped me frost them.  I had put a small roast in the oven, with a gravy packet (what?!), a few potatoes, and carrots, in the Dutch oven.  The house smelled good, and we frosted those cookies.  It's nice knowing your dinner will be done when you're done:)

This fine morning, I headed to the pool in the frigid temps.  If I knew the showers weren't working, I wouldn't have gone, ha, so I'm glad I didn't know.  Getting out of the pool and going into the cool locker room and NOT taking a really warm shower is not so fun.  But I lived, didn't I?

Home...but not for too long.  Kathryn picked me up, we had some things to pick up, then a quick Aldi trip.  I got a gallon of milk in the store and opened it and filled Jamie's bottle.  He wanted milk.  He's so cute, at the age where he notices everything, and is learning to talk.  He can say "grandma" now, too.  

Little Miss Maeve, Sam and Grace's little one, is coming out of her shyness, and likes me now.  It's so sweet.  I can scoop her up and she doesn't try to wriggle right back down and run to her mama or papa.

I have four racks of ribs all slathered with a dry rub seasoning for tomorrow, ready to go in the smoker.  The smoker is out on the back patio, covered in snow, hopefully the cover isn't frozen on to it.  The meatballs will go in the crockpot, two different kind, homemade ones with red sauce, then frozen store bought ones with barbecue sauce, Stubbs.  There is fudge, and there is a big bowl of Reese's trees and bells, and Kit Kat Santas.  There is Coke and Coke Zero, and seltzer, and there are plates and napkins stacked up on the extra table.  There are presents wrapped everywhere, and there is excitement in the air...sorry, couldn't resist.

Anyway.  My feet hurt and I've done enough today...cleaned out the refrigerator, vacuumed, puttered around...don't know where the day went.  It's been super nice having Charlotte Claire home though, just so pleasant.

We had some adventures driving in the snow on Saturday.  Oh dear.  I almost slid into a truck, but I didn't.  It was so cold out, and we got so much snow, the roads were just bad.  

Can you tell how disjointed this post is?  I'm sorry.  I have stories to tell but it's busy in here still, and I cannot concentrate for anything.  I filled the stockings!  My brain is pinging around, ha.  I think I'll try again another time, maybe tomorrow?  Have a really good night!

chugging along....

 It just doesn't translate in the pictures, how beautiful it is in here.  There's a bare spot in the middle of the tree, the lights aren't on quite right, but Paul and Camille put them on when I wasn't here, and I didn't fix them.  The grandkids like to take ornaments off, too.  

Well, this isn't so beautiful, but it is fun...it's holiday multitasking.  We're having a Christmas celebration at church on Sunday, so I made mini vanilla cupcakes, which I'm planning to decorate with buttercream trees and sprinkles.  I also used my chocolate chip cookie dough for the bottom of mint brownies...just mixed up the brownie batter, the Aldi specialty mix, added a little sour cream, extra egg yolk (leftover from the white cupcakes, which took five egg whites), and some mint extract.  I poured it over the top of the cookie dough, pressed into a 9x13 pan, added crunched up oreos and candy canes that I crushed up in our old coffee grinder.  (Shh, I might have added some coffee beans to the mint dust after emptying it, and made a pour over, with just a touch of mint flavor...mmm!).  Anyway, the oreos on top with the candy cane dust, mushed into the brownie batter with the rubber spatula.  It's one of those As Seen On TV brownie pans, with the fancy cutter thing you put in so they all come out the same size.  I plan to put a squiggle of white butter cream on top of each one, a dusting of the candy cane powder, and an Andes mint.  

Then, I made a wee lil cake, because Sunday is Margaret's birthday.  Oh dang, I still have to wrap her present.  

Today was a productive day though.  I got back from the pool, and went straight down to vacuum Charlotte's room.  I used Camille's personal vacuum cleaner, which she keeps in her room for spiders.  I don't even like to type that word, but I'm not as scared as Cam...I was all ready to step into the shower the other night, and she called me from her room...emergency, a big spider.  I just get all brave and kill them, don't like it, but life is full of things you just have to do anyway.  Anyway.  I moved Char's little bedside table to vacuum under it, and apparently it only has three legs?  Was it sitting on the lidded mason jar and I pulled it from there, or did I break the leg off and just happen to grab that jar and it worked to prop it up again?  I don't know.  I DO know there was a mostly dead plant that fell all over the rug, and a whole gaggle of markers that I had already gathered up and placed on the table.  It was Lean Over City today, and my poor back.  But, I got it done and it's all ready, just in time, she's flying in tonight.

Then it was time to make the meatballs.  They turned out really good, don't ask me how I know.  :). They're in the freezer, all ready to go into the crockpot on Christmas Eve.

Then, the cupcakes and cake and brownie things.  Somewhere in the middle of all that, I pulled the couch out and cleaned under it.  Can't you just tell when you walk into a room and the couch is clean under?  It's such a nice feeling.  I put away some toys and put some colored lights up at the toy end of the living room.

A perfect day for baking, the snow gives the whole house that special wintery glow.

She's not perfect, but she's a nice tree.

Now the oven is beeping again, those brownies weren't quite done yet.  I have the gingerbread cookie dough and the sugar cookie cookie dough out, all ready to roll out a hundred something cut out cookies.  Then I want to make the buttercream, so I can frost the cake and cupcakes tomorrow, as I'm going out the church to help set up and do things while they have a music practice.  

Monday will be cookie frosting day, unless something else comes up, like a trip to Target, ha.  

Well....I put this down, and went into the kitchen, and that was hours ago.  I have rolled out all the sugar cookie dough, six big cookie sheets worth.  Now, I'm baking, so the timer will go off in five minutes, I'll switch the pans around so they each get a turn on the bottom rack.

I have the gingerbread to do too, and I really really want to get it done tonight, already decided to make the buttercream frosting in the morning...

Ah well.  It's all good.  Rolling out cookie dough is fun, but it's kind of sad to be doing it all alone.   Paul made dinner again, burgers, which we had with salads.  Asian salad mix with lots of crunchy cabbage.  I'm eating between the oven timer going off.  He was watching a documentary about Auschwitz, which puts things in perspective.   Oh poor me, making all these cookies all by myself.  

I do love this season, just with there was magically like one more week between now and Christmas, but I suppose I'd just busy it up anyways.  

Have a really good evening!

it's not getting done!

 Well, I can only blame myself, I set out to stay home and get things done, then Kathryn texts that she's going out and about, and off I go.  The kids were hilarious today.  They went to Lights On The Lake last evening, and there were lights depicting a scene from The Wizard of Oz.  Achilles had questions about flying monkeys, which led to me explaining the entire movie plot.  Questions beget more questions, he wants to watch that movie now.  He just turned five last week.  

Who on earth would buy a giant Mickey Mouse?  The kids liked it.

Jamie really liked it.  Kathryn found what she was looking for, I found a few last minute gifts.  She brought our bags out to the car, and Achilles with her, I carried Jamison over to Target while holding Rhys' hand.  I had to ask her to hold on to my coat, as Jamie is NOT a one-arm carry.  

Target was fun too, the kids were happy and it wasn't very crowded.  I didn't get too much, but I did notice I had this coupon:  

Hmmmm...I already had some chocolates, heavy cream, a few gifts in my cart, may as well make it eighty, right?   Kathryn went in line behind me and added an item, so it was well over $80.  The coupon didn't come off at the register, so I went over to the service desk.  The lady there said you have to read the terms and conditions, you must have something not included.  Seriously, I have to read the small print?  It just says $15 off $80, no where on there does it say certain items are not included.   Of course I was nice about it.  She took her merry sweet time going over the fine print, then, Ah ha, you cannot buy "dairy milk", and you have heavy cream, that's it!  She pushed the receipt towards me, and smiled bigly.  I smiled back and asked if the manager was in.  

He didn't give me any trouble, just a gift card for $15.  

I am not out to make trouble.  I am not out to cheat anyone.  But if the store has a promotion, for goodness sake, don't act like I'm trying to steal something.  

Out into the cold snowy day, and into the car.  I buckled Jamie, Kathryn buckled Achilles and Rhys...then I remembered that Paul wanted me to get a can of tomato paste.  Kathryn so nicely dropped me off right in front of the store to go get it.  Do you know how far it seems to go back and get that when you are in a hurry?  I can't buy just one thing, so I grabbed two, and a package of pepperoni too, that was right beside it.   :)

Home...ahh, home.  I got right to work, after putting my stuff away.  Wrapping presents.  I think I am all done, except for Margaret's birthday present.  

I did not get the meatballs made, nor did I get Miss Charlotte Claire's room vacuumed, but all of her bedding is washed and her bed mostly made.  Okay, some of the bedding is here in the living room on a chair.  I'll get to it.  I did make a five pound pan of fudge though!  I almost forgot about that.  

Tomorrow, pool....then all those other things...then Miss Char comes home, yay!!!!

I was telling Camille how complicated it used to be to wrap presents.  I would wrap for the older kids when they were in school, the younger kids after they were in bed, ect.  

Everything was harder back then, (except for leaning over, standing too long, walking long distances, but we won't talk about THAT, ha).  But, everything was a bit more fun, too.  I mean, I still point out the pretty Christmas lights to Camille, and shh, she's not jumping up and down like little kids do...that's why the grandkids are so much fun.  

Next year, I want to do a huge Secret Santa, with everyone except the grandkids in it.  I can just buy things for all of them, then one SS gift, plus for the kids who are home, and Paul.  That sounds super simple, because phew, I seriously wrapped a lot of stuff.  

The drink cups with straws for the grandkids, except for the three one-year-olds, Denzel, Blythe, and Maeve.  Jamie gets one because he's almost two, in March.  I wrote their names on them in Sharpie, they can drink out of them on Christmas Eve.

Anyway, I am sitting here with one purring Old Kitty on the arm of my chair, feet up and covered in a soft Christmas tree blanket, tree lights on, football on with the volume muted, just relaxing and enjoying it all.  Paul made beef stew in the crockpot today, so I didn't have to stop wrapping to made dinner.  (It was really good!) 

Have a nice night!  

you would think....

 ....that life would slow down when the kids grew up and started moving out.  I guess it really has, I mean, I was at a gathering at my niece's place today, and I just relaxed, had a delicious cup of coffee, and shh, a peanut butter cookie (Jonathan made them last night, mmm!).  I had gone to the pool, then home to make a batch of sugar cookie dough, then a batch of ginger bread cookie dough.  That alone took over an hour.  I vacuumed, did some laundry, and puttered a bit, then sat down for a few minutes before getting up to make up a cookie plate to bring to Becky's, one for the man who works at the dump, and one for our old friend Joe.  

When I got home, I decided to go out before the snow rolls in to get what we need for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  Cam asked if we could get orange juice for Christmas morning.  Ha, we used to drink it all the time, but then realized it isn't actually that good for you, so now it's a treat.  Cinnamon rolls too, for Christmas morning.  For Christmas Eve, we might have smoked brisket (Darius), I'll smoke some ribs, and a big pot of homemade meatballs.  Also, some of this little hot dogs in the crescent rolls, and chips and dip, and cut out cookies, and fudge.  

For Christmas Day, I have a brown sugar cured spiral ham, some potatoes to either roast or bake or make mashies with, depending on who is here and who feels like doing what, ha.  There is unsweetened applesauce and a bag of apples to make some yummy baked applesauce, and some green beans, and rolls. 

Home again...I wrapped a few presents after switching laundry over, then we headed back out the door to visit our friend Joe.  He gave us a bottle of wine for Christmas, we gave him a plate of cookies.  Then to Becky's to get my coat that I left there today, then home...again.

Dinner time...I had bought some cubed steak, and a marked down sirloin, and had to cook them, no problem, yum.  I also had a big bowl of salad.  

Now the day has gone by, and the house is amazingly cozy.  All the soft white string lights, the tree too, and the little fake fireplace with it's hum and warmth and fake flames flickering, I do love this season.  

Tomorrow, I plan to stay home.  I can't bake those cookies yet as our freezer space has been taken over, venison, but I have presents to wrap.  And Miss Char's room to vacuum.  Maybe I'll bag up the stocking stuff so I can see what I have for whom.  (I am only doing three stockings this year, Jon, Char, and Cam)

So no, life isn't as busy as it used to be way back when there were babies and toddlers and small children, and big children, and teenagers too.  But I keep busy, alternating that with being super lazy, ha.  I know how to put my feet up.  :). 

This weekend is looking very busy too, but you know what?  I'm not going to think about that right now.  

Have a good evening!  

my favorite store...

 ...this fine morning, I rallied Miss Cam to accompany me on some adventures.  We first went to my favorite store, the Amazon warehouse place.  On Tuesdays, their bins feature four dollar items.  Most of the things are just brown Amazon boxes with no description, and you're not allowed to open the boxes unless you bring them to the main table, where a guy will tape them back up after you look in them.  Well, all the guys seem really busy, so we didn't do that, and being rule abiding girls, we didn't peek in any at the bins, but we found some bargains anyway.  (if the boxes are already open of course we peek!)  I got a new duvet cover, French linen, with a top sheet that snaps onto it.  It sells for:  $399.  Seriously.  I didn't know this when I threw it in the cart, just thought it seemed soft, ha.  Camille got a nice new hamper, I got a GI Joe, a coffee mug with a plug in heated base, and a set of two Malacasa baking dishes (the big one was missing, supposed to be three), but regulary $54, for four bucks, not bad, and I think they are adorable. 

We also found an adorable pink floral sleeping bag, and I gave it to Ruth.  

A quick stop at the grocery store, I just ran in and got some donuts (three in one box for Wulf, Ten, Blythe, four in the other box for Camille, Grant, Ruth, Maeve...to share with Grace:)), and a few other things.  Then to Little Casear's for a pepperoni pizza...this is the sad tree they had...

Then, to Margaret's house for a bit.  She works full time, from home, so she was a bit busy, but the kids loved seeing us.  I dropped off some cute things I had gotten from the thrift store, and the donuts, and after bit, we left and went to Sam and Grace's house to play with Grant and Ruth and Maeve.  We brought them the pizza, which disappeared quickly.  We played snakes and ladders, and they got out all the pillows and blankets and made a big pile to jump in. 

Grant and Ruth, Maeve was still napping.

Then, it was time to get going, we stopped for coffee, then drove to pick up a prescription, then home....ahh, home.  Miss Kathryn came over for a visit with Achilles, Rhys, and Jamie! 

Our tree has been played with by grandchildren, ha.

Kathryn and her little ones.

We had a nice dinner, steak fried in the iron skillet, rice for the kids, and some Asian salad.  Jonathan made peanut butter cookies for his friend Sebastian's birthday, and left some here, but I didn't have any.  Oh ho the house smelled so good...I decided to bake some more chocolate chip from the dough I have in the refrigerator.   

After Kathryn left with three tired children, me sending Rhys with a Fancy Nancy Christmas book that Sonja loved when she was little, and a little stuffed snowman with Achilles, I decided to frost some cookies.  There are only a few left of the ones I baked last week and froze.  So...I need to make more, again!  

One more big batch of regular sugar cut outs, and one more batch of gingerbread cut outs.  And the fudge, if I get to it.  I still have so many things to wrap...I'd like to say I'll do it tomorrow, but tomorrow is looking a bit full...pool, then to a friend's house for a lunch gathering...maybe when I get home, I'll get some things done.  Miss Charlotte Claire is coming home from Germany on Friday, her room isn't quite ready for her yet.  

Anyway, it has been a busy, grandchildren filled day, I saw nine of them today!  phew!  I need to go pack up the cookies I frosted, so Suri doesn't have a feast tonight, and get myself to bed.  Our pool time is an hour earlier because the elementary school kids are using the pool at our usual time, and we don't really want to share the locker room.  

Ah well.  I'm glad I had some downtime this evening, I WAS going to go ahead and make those cookie doughs, but nah, just couldn't.  I told Camille that ten years ago, I would have.   

Life is good though, I am a very thankful girl.  Have a good night.

dark december mornings...

 ...the days will be getting longer soon, and shh, I rather like the darkness.  The sun is just rising now, and I've been up for a few hours.  (The cat.  He likes to go outside during the night.  When it's 3:30, I can usually go back to sleep, sometimes there is tossing and turning involved.  But this fine morning it was 5:30, and why even bother?). 

My water aerobics class is an hour earlier for the next month, because the elementary kids are using the pool, we like to get out of the locker room by the time they get in.  So I have to get moving earlier anyway.

This dog knows she isn't allowed on the couch.  She jumped up there and looked at me.  Paul thought it was funny.   

Orange Guy was on my chair with me, Old Kitty jumped up and tried to get closer.  She is his mother, and he is very disrespectful.  He is the king of the back of the couch, in the background, the couch the dog IS allowed on, and if his mother is there, he just hisses and swats at her, growls a little, and she jumps down.  She is so sweet, Ms. Purrer.   (He is a hunter though, a keeper, he always has a mouse out in the driveway, I hope he's keeping them out of my camper)

The cake that Camille made for cousin Linnea's birthday party, three layers of chocolate with buttercream.

Our church Christmas party for the kids, Camille helped me at the cookie frosting table...she has Jamie, then Maeve with Grace, and Rhys.  

The kids loved it.

Ruth and Rhys with presents

Ophelia

Me with Maeve at Achilles' birthday party.

With Jamie and Maeve...Maeve was tired, I think I could have rocked her to sleep, but when Jamie heard me singing to her, he had a No Fair face on, and wanted UP.  

Achilles, such a sweet boy.

Auntie Evelyn holding Blythe, and Uncle Sam holding Jamie

It's always a little sad for the other kids when the birthday child opens gifts, but it's good for them, right?

A triple batch of chocolate chip cookies with M&Ms....it didn't quite fit in the new mixer, dang it.  

Ah well, it's going to be a busy week.  I have two different things to pick up from Marketplace today, then tomorrow I'm babysitting for Sam and Grace's kids.  There are presents to wrap, presents to buy, cookies to make and bake, and frost, and and and.  But.  I will not stress.  If I could do Christmas back when I had sixteen kids in the house, along with three December birthdays, I'll be fine.  I'm just a little older and creakier, ha.  (and let's not forget a bit more forgetful, but then I was always good at hiding a present and forgetting where I hid it, or forgetting something for my own Secret Santa after helping seven other people with theirs...)

There are stockings to stuff and a Christmas Eve buffet to plan, along with a Christmas dinner...I have to get cracking, don't I?   I actually have to hurry up and get out the door, pool time!  Have a good day!

another wonderful day...

 It started out cold, but I went to that pool anyway.  Walking down the ramp into the water, oh dear, it was warm!  I think it was just the contrast, from the outside air.  The locker room is always freezing afterward, then the showers nice and hot.  Then, back out into the cold.  By the time I get home, the car is toasty, and I have to go back through the cold into the house.  I love love love it though.

This fine morning, I vacuumed and puttered around, and wrapped a few presents.  Sonja came over because her car needed to be inspected by the garage down the road, and I was going to drive her home after.  It didn't take long at all, so we decided to go finish our Christmas shopping.  We went to Kohl's, where I was just overwhelmed.  I had one item to pick up, a Yankee Candle I got for $4.99 because I had $15 Kohl's cash.  Their prices are kind of high, and I didn't buy anything.  The people there were above and beyond nice though, as were the people I was in line with.  

Target, just for a few things.  I found myself two black skirts for $9 and $8.40, not sure if they fit yet, didn't try them on in the store.  I got one thing for one person, one thing for another, and a package of shaved steak marked half off, which I made for dinner: I put tons of coarse ground pepper, salt, and minced onions on the steak, chopped up an onion, sauteed it in avocado oil, added the meat, fried it up for a bit, and voila, dinner.  Sonja, Camille, and I had stopped at Chipotle.  I ate all the chicken and some of the rice and chopped tomatoes, cilantro, corn salsa, ect., but saved the rest.  I gave a huge portion of it to Paul to eat with his steak, I had a few bites of the steak and the rest of it.  

Oh, the details that make up our days.  I was going to finish wrapping presents, but only wrapped two, when Paul came home from hunting...I was talking to my sister on the phone, and Paul was holding his hands out for the dogs to smell...Did you get one?  Did you get a deer?!  Yes, he did!

I am nice, so I said goodbye to my sister, and went outside to see the deer.  On a scale of really wanting to see it, from one to ten, I would give it a one, but, I am nice.  He wanted to get it hung in the tree, so I stayed out there while he climbed the ladder.  He ended up tying it to a rope, then putting the rope over a tree branch, tying the other end to his truck hitch, and driving down the driveway.  It worked.  He then got up there on top of the ladder and secured it.

It's lovely, nothing like a deer in your front yard tree to scream we are rednecks!  Hey, I grew up in the suburbs, and we did not hang deer in our trees.

I hope he takes it to a place to have it butchered and wrapped.  I am not helping.  I'm nice, but not that nice.  

Ah well, tomorrow is Achilles' birthday party, and I am excited about it....have a really nice night, and I hope I didn't bore you to tears with the boring details...

(I'm nice so I'm not showing you the pictures of the deer:))