The Weekend

We experienced a January thaw this weekend.  I must admit I loved it.  Most of the snow pack is gone.  There is, however, ice on both the ponds.  My spike plant is still alive :)  Whodathunk?

 

I took Snoop and Violet for several walks.  I have to be careful with Snoop though.  He hurt his right knee right before Christmas and it still hurts him so he moves a little slower.  He will be getting an ibuprofen tonight.

 

Violet, on the other hand, is her rambunctious self - rolling in whatever smells nasty.  She will be getting a bath tonight.

 

Isn't nature beautiful?

 

In the kitchen I prepared some special meals...

 

for my Mom (who I had not seen since Thanksgiving).  She unfortunately came down with a terrible case of the flu at Christmas and it lasted into New Year's Day.  She feels better now though :)

 

and this punk right here who returned to college today.  It was great having him home :)

 

I tried a new recipe - chicken and wild rice casserole.  I wasn't totally sold on it though.  I think I would have liked it better without the five cups of chicken, four cups of cheese and one cup of sour cream.  It was just a little too far over the top for my taste.  Everyone else loved it though.

 

At DJ's request, I made my pumpkin bread.  He wanted to take a loaf back to college :)

 

I also made sure that I fed my feathered friends...

Because good old Mother Nature will be returning tomorrow...

with temperatures that are normal.
Almost 30 degrees below what we experienced today.
I hope you stay warm this week.
Have a great night :)

No After Christmas Blahs Here

While I love Christmas and all that it brings with it...
My grand doggies :)

Jenna

Miley May

 my children...

DJ making Swedish Pancakes

Nana and Jenna

twinkling lights...

Snoop

and an overall sense of serenity...

 

I am always glad to get back to normal...

Violet

Scavenger doggies looking for scraps and/or keeping warm by the fire...

Violet

home cooked meals...

Macaroni and Cheese

Mixed Vegetables

Saturday morning baking...

Peanut Butter Cookies

and longer days...

that mean more sunshine and walks up my road.

Happy New Year!!!

We received a foot and a half of snow here!!!  

It is so pretty.  

Especially with blue skies and sunshine :)

Today I will be snowshoeing.
Tonight I will be drinking hot cocoa beside my toasty wood stove and ringing in the New Year.

I hope your evening is wonderful and the New Year is all you hope it to be.
Enjoy :)

Christmas Bites

It's not really about the baking...

It's about being together...

and making memories...

that they will carry with them...

for the rest of their lives...

and hopefully share with their own children someday...

Create some memories of your own.
I hope your night is magical :)

Throughout The House

It is beginning to look a lot like Christmas...
My Christmas cactus is blooming...

A jingle bell wreath adorns my entertainment center...

Sugar cookies have been made (and eaten :)...

Santa's elf is visiting.
He's a happy elf...
He really is :)

DJ put my handmade aluminum foil star on the tree this year :)

and my Christmas tree is ready for presents to be placed under her.

It's just about time!!! 
My daughter will be home tonight.
Tomorrow there will be shopping, baking and most importantly visiting :)
It is snowing here on this first day of winter 2012.
All is good.
Enjoy your night.

This and That

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  I know that we did.  We could not have asked for a more gorgeous day.  In fact, I think we may have broken the record high temperature that was previously held in 1947!!!
My house was decorated festively...

I love these figurines...

They greeted my guests as they entered the side door :)
The day consisted of the usual...

Nana

early morning walks with the puppies...

Snoop and Violet

watching the Macy's Day Parade, of course...

preparation of the turkey...

Dave and DJ

hors d'oeuvres...

Pumpkin bread and my favorite - cream cheese topped with hot pepper jam.

Banana nut bread and pepperoni, cheese and crackers

good conversation :)

Yes, Nana and Violet are howling at each other :)

and a wonderful meal that left us feeling like this...

Snoop in a turkey coma :)

or, in my case...

The Pillsbury Dough Boy

this :)
Enjoy the rest of your weekend :)

A Before and After

My daughter will be arriving Tuesday evening and spending Thanksgiving with us.  I can't wait to see her!!!  I haven't seen her in FOUR months!!!  The only thing she requested for this visit was that I redo her bedroom.  Redo her bedroom?  Have you ever seen her bedroom?

Yep, that's it (in all its glory :)  Granted, I was in the midst of painting the closet.  However, it was ugly and messy - broken louvered closet doors, a dirty bed (because Violet thinks of it as the BIG doggy bed), dust pretty much everywhere, holes in the walls and dirty windows.  No more, however.  Gone are the louvered doors and dirty white walls of the closet...

The doors were taken down last month.  They made for a pretty amazing bonfire :)  I took out all the clothes and miscellaneous items (three bags worth) and gave to my friends, family and Volunteers of America.  I washed the walls and painted them Eddie Bauer Ochre in a satin finish, Dave stained the wood pine planks maple.

The bedroom is painted Eddie Bauer Pine Needle (again in a satin finish) and I love it.  The paint brand is Valspar  (it goes on like a dream).  I placed her dresser in the closet which made the room seem a lot bigger, centered her bed, put clean bedding on it and then I placed one of my favorite paintings above it...

I had DJ get the sewing machine stand that I purchased at a church sale years ago for $8.00 out of the barn, cleaned it up and placed a few of Alexandra's favorite photos on it.  I put a beautiful fall wreath that I bought at Dollar General several years ago above it :)

An old rotary telephone stand that held my daughter's papers in the closet was cleaned and is now a plant stand.  My spider plant and Christmas cactus are very happy, indeed...

as they will be exposed to the sun all day long...

I am very happy with my efforts.  I hope Alexandra is too :)  The only money spent on this project was for the paint.  Everything else I already had.  I just re purposed it :)   I am huge proponent of making do with what you have.  You'd be surprised what you can do with a little imagination.
Now if you will excuse me I still have many things to do.  Tuesday night is going to be game night at my house.  Probably at least half a dozen kids will be over.
You know what that means don't you?
Marcia's baking.  That's what that means.  Nothing makes me happier :)
I hope you have a great night and week :)