Santa's Workshop

Hmm . . .

Looking around this mess and thinkin'
it looks seriously like Santa's workshop . . .

Must be quite the untidy place at this time of year :)

Thank you dear husband for the newappliance you brought home from work with you last night!
It was awfully hard to make Christmas goodies withoutan oven or stove top!  


















Then what to our wondering eyes did appear!
It's plenty of snow!  Just minus the reindeer . . .





















Now I'm off in a Christmas blizzard -
And after this - I'm hybernating for the next week :)
No more stores for me ;)


Merry Christmas - to all - I'll see ya on the flip side

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Simply Having a Wonderful Christmas Time . . .

One of these days I'm going to create
a
worthy
blog post again . . .


But,
I'm pretty sure . . .

Not until after the holidays.

I'm simply having a WONDERFUL Christmas time . . .
sewing, baking, wrapping
(and I have simplified by the way - just haven't figured how NOT to bake and wrap . . .)

Meanwhile . . .
This
will make you laugh OUT loud!

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. . . this Christmas . . .

 

 

“This Christmas, mend a quarrel.   

Seek out a forgotten friend.  

 Dismiss suspicion and replace it with trust.   

 Write a letter.  

 

 

 

 

 

  

Give a soft answer.   

Encourage youth.   

Manifest your loyalty in word and deed.   

Keep a promise.   

Forgo a grudge.   

Forgive an enemy.   

Apologize. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Try to understand.  

 Examine your demands on others.   

Think first of someone else. 

Be kind.   

Be gentle. 

 

 

 

 

Laugh a little more. 

Express your gratitude.   

Welcome a stranger.   

Gladden the heart of a child.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Take pleasure in the beauty and wonder of the earth.   

Speak your love and then speak it again. "

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

- Howard W. Hunter

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What Shall we Give?

Learn from President Monson 

and the Tabernacle Choir 

about the true gifts of Christmas.

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Whatcha ma call it! ~~ Benign Deprivation ~~

Sooooo . . .
That's what you call it!

My husband and I have always had this deep and abiding principle
down deep in our hearts
that we've tried to adhere to throughout our years
of child raising

We never could quite put  words to it,
and sometimes we were VERY tempted
to stray . . .

Like when my daughter was graduating from high school
and all the OTHER friends were getting new cars
full rides to college . . .

Like when the boys wanted the lastest and greatest
new gaming systems . . .

Yesterday I learned a NEW principle
the principle of
Benign Deprivation(try saying that 3 times fast:)for the complete principlesee my Wool Gathering sidebar

and I can honestly say that over the years
it's a principle
"that has made all the difference"

there is much to be learned through
hard work and obedience
through
"doing it on their own"

overcoming difficulty at school,
with peers,
financial problems . . .

It's a good thought
to remember . . .

at Christmas time . . .

(I just had to throw some chocolate in there somewhere!)

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My Challenge . . .

To simplify Christmas this year . . .

I'm really going to do it.

I am.

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Slow Down ya Move too Fast . . . Festive Holiday Cookies

"Slow down 
and everything you are chasing 
will come around and catch you"

 -- John de Paola

Winter's here and Christmas

is coming.

I just want to stop for a minute and wait for life to catch up a little bit . . .

(Emmy out on a walk . . .

I thought the photo was so perfect with the accidental capture of the speed limit sign ;)

. . .and remember

the colors just outside my window
last week . . .

 

. . . and the grateful feeling of

Thanksgiving . . .

 (Klein family Thanksgiving - we missed ALL of you who were unable to join us!

This is after the turkey trypophan has kicked in and were all playing a game of Sixes and 

lounging about)

(even Cleo, the dog, is worn out from the events of the day!)

 . . . and the festive holiday cookies I made!

Sooooo yummy!

Pumpkin Pecan Chocolate Chunk Cookies with Maple Brown Sugar Frosting

(that's REALLY what they're called!)

Pumpkin Pecan Chocolate Chunk Cookies

2 1/4 cup self-rising flour
3 tsp pumpkin pie spice
3/4 cup butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup chopped pecans
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chunks

• Whisk together flour and pumpkin pie spice. Set aside.
• In a large mixing bowl, cream butter.
• Add both sugars and beat until light and fluffy.
• Add vanilla.
• Add eggs one at a time and beat until combined.
• Add flour/spice mixture to sugar mixture in three additions. Alternate with pumpkin in two additions, ending with flour mixture.
• Stir in chopped pecans and chocolate chunks.
• Drop on cookie tray lined with parchment paper.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Makes about four dozen cookies.
• Let cool.

Maple Brown Butter Frosting
3 cups sifted confectioners sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup milk
2 tsp maple flavoring

• Sift sugar and set aside.
• Melt butter over medium heat until golden brown. Watch closely so it does not burn.
• Add butter to sugar, scraping all the butter into the bowl.
• Add milk and maple flavoring. Stir until smooth.

Spread on top of cookies with an knife or offset spatula.

Okay - I'm ready to start unpacking the Christmas stuff! 

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