Christmas Week

We are still enjoying our tree and the lights. I love lights so much! I have so many little lamps, lanterns, string lights, battery lights, votives, candles....I love the effect so much. I keep things lit all year long with my country decorating but I'm thinking of leaving up my red and white ones over the kitchen sink for the Winter :)  They looks so nice. Should I?????Yeah, they are staying!

I always enjoyed the week between Christmas and New Year's. As a child I enjoyed that my grandparents were with us from Connecticut. They would come the week before Christmas and go home after New Year's. The wonderful hustle and bustle and cooking! Walking to the Italian specialty store with Grandma and Grandpa to get certain cheeses, bread and sausages for our holiday. On the way to the Italian store we would detour to a little variety store where Grandma always bought me a little something. One year I remember it was a Dawn doll. Remember Dawn? That must be around 1971. And below is me in 1971. I was 6. Wish I still had that little Dawn doll.

The week between Christmas and New Year's was filled with visits from neighbors and friends. Visits from relatives we wouldn't see on New Year's Day. It was such a fun week.

New Year's Eve we usually stayed home and played games. We would have Chinese food and watch Guy Lombardo! On New Year's Day it was a great big dinner with Aunts and Uncles and cousins. Wonderful memories.

These days, we just keep it on the down low :)   We usually get a bite to eat late afternoon and then go home.I don't like to be out on the road on New Year's Eve.  I make up some appetizers to nibble on for the evening and we play games. Crazy eights and "Frozen" Trouble are on the agenda for this year. My son has plans with some neighborhood friends so he is close by. He also has his first "special" gal he's seeing. Oh my.

We have a more quiet week than the old days too. A couple days of visits and the rest just quiet. that's okay--I can play with the things I got for Christmas!

A Joyous Christmas!

Happy after-Christmas! I bet you are still thinking about the joy you had these last two days and wish it could last just a little longer! I know I do. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were filled with the people I love the most in the world. I wish the days would go in slow motion

The living room was a sea of gift wrap as the kids opened their presents. It was worth being good all year!

My husband spent some time, as he does every year, putting things together. It just would n't feel like Chistmas if Bill wasn't using a screw driver for at least part of the day!

Lots of good food from both nights of family and lots of yummy leftovers! Christmas cookies--it's what's for breakfast!

I received as one of my gifts this beautiful handmade house from my sister-in-law. It lights up. It's so pretty. She knows me well and what I like.

I received this as well. She also knows I'm a bird lover and buys me something with birds EVERY year.It's kind of her tradition with me.

Merry, our elf on the shelf, returned to the North Pole with Santa on Christmas Eve but before he left he sat in Caitlin's Christmas gingerbread village . See you next year Merry!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to you all! I just wanted to post before the festivities to wish you all Christmas greetings. Today, it's a day of food preparation, more baking and gingerbread houses. Tomorrow in the morning it's all about cleaning! Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, the fun begins!

Caitlin and I did our Christmas cookies over the weekend.

This girl takes her cookie work very seriously! Here she is scoring the peanut butter cookies with a fork. Those are my favorites!

We made several kinds and made up some plates for friends and neighbors. I've always been partial to cooking meals over baking. I love cooking comfort foods but I have discovered a love for cookie baking! We made several kinds this year --peanut butter, chocolate chip, chocolate chunk, iced sugar with sprinkles, plain sugar with sprinkles, and butter crispies. Butter crispies are shown below and they are a family favorite. This is a cookie my Mom created by accident when she messed up another cookie recipe and tried to save it! She created a cookie that is so loved by our family and friends. My Mom's recent health issues have prevented her from a lot of things she enjoyed doing for the holidays but we are still having fun and doing as much as we can together. 

I've had some great luck on ebay recently in adding to my mouse collection. I love mice, rabbits, all little woodland creatures as you can probably tell from many of my blog headers. I like to think that the little animals live just like that :)  with furniture, and cozy homes and families....They are in their own way I guess. So when I purchased this little mouse typewriter in the early 90's from Enesco it started my collection.

This year I purchased on ebay for such a reasonable price these little items. 

I displayed some of them on this shelf. I think I might keep them up all year long cause they are just that sweet. Look at the little mousie above sleeping in Santa's hat.

I still have a couple more items I'm waiting for. 

Christmas decorating has been so much fun. It's been such a joy yet again to see everyone's ideas for the season.

I wish we would have a white Christmas this year but it looks like rain for Christmas Eve and early Christmas Day.

May your days be merry and bright! And may all your Christmas' be white!

Christmas hugs to you all!

A Little of This & A Little of That

The kitchen is going to be a busy place this weekend. Caitlin and I are baking today and tomorrow. We have several kinds of cookies on our list. Plus other goodies for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. They'll be plenty left for any visitors Christmas week too, I'm sure. Yummy!

I know from reading all your blogs that many of you are doing the same. It just wouldn't feel like Christmas without baking ...or smell like Christmas for that matter.

Did I show you the cloth lollipops I purchased a couple weeks back at the craft fair? Lollipops with the ribbon. Very cute and fit right in with my kitchen candy tree.

We also received this incredible box of card making supplies from my friend/neighbor. 

Isn't it wonderful? Caitlin has made cards for her Aunts and for our lovely friend next door who gave it to us. We love her. I even used a couple of items for my Santa workshop:

Check out these adorable lights/ornaments strung across the workshop window.  Just perfect.

I wanted to thank you for the comments you have left. I appreciate them so much. I hope you will also follow my little blog. I enjoy all of you so much and I can never thank my precious cousin Johanna enough for introducing me to the world of blogging back in 2009.

Have a wonderful weekend and I hope you get to eat some cookies :)

Operation Frosty

Busy days, busy weekends...busy , busy, busy but be careful not to let the time go so fast that you don't enjoy it. Cause you have to wait a whole year for this special time again! I'm trying to fit in everything I want to do though I still have a little shopping left, a lot of wrapping to do and bake! It'll all get done. I put on the Christmas music and get going!

I also make sure I never get so caught up that I forget the most important part of it all. Every day I am thankful and praise Him and give Him the glory.

We participated in a special event this past Saturday called Operation Frosty. Our town, Commack, has a volunteer ambulance corp and they have an event to collect toys for kids. My Girl Scout troop participated and it was hosted by my friend and co-leader Cheryl.

As you can see, the whole block was filled with a fleet of ambulances and police cars all with sirens blaring and Christmas music playing. There were close to a hundred volunteers to visit and collect the bags of toys we had collected for kids in need.

Santa, Mrs. Claus, Elsa & Anna from Frozen, Winnie the Pooh, a gingerbread man and Frosty all mingled with the girls handing out candy canes and they were so happy and grateful with all that we had collected.

Our community is not a needy one;  we are blessed to be in a very fortunate place and it's important to teach our kids that giving back is the greatest gift of all. 

Here's Rudolph with some of the volunteers. The ambulance corp takes youth trainees at age 16.

Caitlin and Ashley got a hug from Santa. We visited the ambulance corp last year for our first aid badge! They taught our troop all the basics and gave them a tour of an ambulance so they would never be afraid if they needed one.

 Here is Elsa with Caitlin. She was so thrilled with the donations we collected. The "giving" feeling is contagious too. The girls are already excited for other upcoming community service projects we have for 2015.

I loved how the ambulances were decorated. They looked like a gingerbread village on wheels!

Little Stuff

I'm so happy with the tree we chose this year; not too big, not too small. I prefer tall trees more than fat so I just love the one we chose. Poor Caitlin had the sun in her eyes when I took the picture  :)

Do you prefer fat or tall trees? Ours is 7.5 feet tall. Thank goodness the two cats have been very well behaved with it. Miss Molly Moo actually loves sleeping under it or napping on the chair next to it. Waiting for Santa, I guess! Have you been a good girl Molly Moo?

I wanted to show you the things I bought at the two craft fairs last Saturday. I saw so many things I loved and I was so happy to see some primitive country booths too. I saw a cool ideas of a craft made with chicken wire pointed out by my friend -  a barn star and the center of each point of the star was made of chicken wire and white lights were added. Loved it. I'd like to make my own. One for the house, one for the coop.....Here's what I did get:

I bought three Christmas block lights. I'm sure you have seen these. They are a glass blocks filled with lights and a picture on the front, ribbon, etc. This one is mine. I bought two others as gifts.

It lights up so nicely!

Random cute stuff! The Santa is made out of terra cotta pots. Loved his sweet face.

More adorable little items for "extras". I bought three of these glass snowmen. One for me, two for others!

Could not resist these next two items. Such simple materials making such a lovely craft that is beautiful. Just look at how simple yet so precious.

I bought three of these yard signs too--one for me and two for gifts. I added the white lights and I will not be putting it into the ground. I display it on the porch so it doesn't get ruined by the weather. It's a little hard for you to see but there are snowmen on a fence and it says Warm Winter Wishes. I love that it can be up all winter as it more a winter item than a Christmas item. A steal for $20 each.

Today it's a day home to do some work around here and straighten up the house! I have a busy weekend ahead with toy collection for Operation Frosty with my Girl Scout troop, shopping and some guests coming. I have to keep up on my wrapping too!

Hope you have a great weekend!