Welcome To The New Year!

I hope everyone had fabulous holidays,whatever you celebrated!

We had a very nice Christmas. We got Zach a Kindle Fire so he could get all the books he wants.His room is small,so it saves room. He has been reading and watching "The Walking Dead" on it. That was his big gift of the year.He also got a few video games,a movies,some clothes,and some flavored hot chocolate.

I was down and out for a few days during Christmas break,thankfully after Christmas. Mother Nature decided to visit,and it was horrible. I lived on extra strength Midol and Advil Migraine for two days. It's been years,if ever,since I had such a bad time. Terrible cramps,migraine headaches,and feeling exhausted. I was in bed for two days. I finally got better just in time for New Years,thankfully!

I made no resolutions this year,as I never keep them. I am just going to keep on working on everything I am already working on. I know I will face set backs,but I am human and I will not let it get me down. It's easy when you see a brand new year stretched out in front of you to make all kinds of promises to yourself,but I know my track record.I throw myself all in, am diligent for a couple of months,then it all falls to pieces. Since Thanksgiving,I haven't done too much,but now that things are back to normal,I am in the swing again. Rick has not had much motivation,and he has admitted as much,so we have planned a couple of jobs around the house to get his feet wet again. I have come to grips with the fact that it will take a long time to get some things around here done,and that is OK. We are not going anywhere,so if it takes another 6 months to finish the kitchen,so be it. We are not trying to impress anyone,and I know my family and friends understand.Rick and I discussed getting him back in to the swing of things,and I am going to to make a list of what needs to be done to finish the kitchen and other things around the house,but I am not going to display the whole list as in the past. He finds that too overwhelming and it makes him feel rushed. So I am going to post one job at a time in order of importance.We are going to start small. Some of these things I am capable of doing,but you have to understand that Rick sees me doing a project that he was suppose to do and it makes him react negatively. " I told you I was going to do that,don't do it," he will say. He gets annoyed and frustrated,and he feels like like failure. This is why some things are taking so very long.

Most of my Christmas decorations are down,with the exception of our tree and some garland in the house,plus my outdoor decorations. Today,the tree decorations are coming down,and the garland.I will leave the outdoor decorations up a few more days.I will make a list of anything I need to replace or get more of ( like my popcorn tree garland) so I remember to get it next year.

Rick and I are embarking on a project very soon.It's not a huge one,but it should make things a bit smoother for him and help make our bedroom a bit better. I will post about that later in a post that I will call " A Tale of Two Closets."

Here's to a wonderful 2013!

Have a fabulous day on this Fabulous Planet!

Merry Christmas!

Here's wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas...may it be filled with love,joy,and laughter!!!

                                           Love,Donna,Rick,and Zach

Christmas Of Old

The one story that sticks out in my mind when Christmas rolls around is the one that my Dad told me about his Christmases as a child.

My Dad was born in 1914 in Somersworth,NH. He was the third child of 10,from my  Pepere ( pronounced Pep-pay) Lessard's first marriage. My father's mother died in 1929 from pneumonia.We always call them the " first batch".

My Pepere Lessard worked,but didn't make a lot of money. He worked at the mill,then worked at the pumping station. My Memere ( pronounced Mem-may) Lessard didn't work,because she stayed home to take care of her children. They were very poor. They got clothes from the church. There were no extras.What they lacked in money,they more than made up for with family. My Memere Lessard  had her parents ( the Magnans) and brothers and sisters nearby,and they were always part of their lives. Some of my Dad's most favorite memories was going over to his Memere and Pepere Magnan's house on Saturdays for dinner and standing around the piano,singing.

Christmas was wonderful for my Dad. Though they didn't get much for gifts,they would wake up on Christmas morning and have a beautifully decorated tree. Memere and Pepere  would put it up while the children were asleep. There were pies,cakes,and all kinds of wonderful things to eat that they normally would not have. The relatives would come over and they would sing,eat,and make merry. My Dad never dwelled on what they didn't  have,it was what they DID have,and because it was not something that was everyday,it made it more special.

When this time of the year rolls around, I am always brought back to this story,and it gives me great pause. Today,we see people trampling each other in stores  to save a few bucks. Stores are now open on Thanksgiving,and to me,it's very sad and wrong. I think of my Dad as a little boy with a pair of mittens and a pretty tree as a gift with plenty of good things to eat being surrounded by a loving family. I also can hear the happiness in his voice when he would tell me about those days. It was enough for him.

This photo is dated around 1919. From left to right: Luminda Magnan ( my great grandmother),my Memere Magnan Lessard,my great Aunt Eva Magnan, my great Aunt Bella Magnan,and my Dad.

Have a fabulous day on this Fabulous Planet!

The Countdown Begins

So begins the countdown to Christmas. All my decorations are up,gifts made/bought,and I have started making my pork pies. You can find the recipe at this link:.www.littlecottageinthecountry.blogspot.com/2009/12/h1n1-and-pork-pies.html

I have three more to make,one for our neighbor and two for us for Christmas Eve. The one for our neighbor I will make tomorrow,the ones for us I will make on Sunday. We have had pork pie on Christmas Eve as long as I can remember,and I will not let that tradition fade into the sunset.

What kind of Christmas Eve/Day traditions do you observe?

There Is Still Good Out There

Friday morning I was doing some errands in Rochester when my car decided to act up. It made a terrible grinding noise,the tachometer would go up,but the car was acting sluggish. I pulled over in a CVS parking lot and called Rick. He and Brother B came down,and Brother B drove my car to the dealership,which,happily,was less than 1/4 mile away. It seems like it might be the transmission,and according to them,it's still under warranty,which is good. They won't really be able to look at it until today or tomorrow. 

Early Friday afternoon, I was in the middle of filling my window boxes with greens and berries when the horrible news came over the TV about the shooting in CT. I finished the boxes and stopped decorating. I had planned to finish all my decorating that day,but I completely lost interest. I felt sick to my stomach,and I still feel like someone has kicked me in the gut.

Saturday I did have some good diversion. My sister Linda and I went to my Mom's house to celebrate her 87th birthday. We had lunch,then went to downtown Somersworth to check out some of the nice little shops. We then went to buy our poinsettias at a local greenhouse.That night,our friend Eric had a housewarming party,and we enjoyed ourselves. We aren't that social anymore,so it was good to get out and mingle at something that wasn't a Scouting event (though most of the folks there are involved in Scouting).Rick enjoyed himself quite a bit. It felt good to laugh.

Yesterday,I finished decorating and made some fudge. I also worked on crocheting one of the Christmas gifts. Last night it started to snow,and this AM we have a two hour delay,though I think it should have been a cancellation. The roads are terrible and it's still snowing.

One of my window boxes with greenery and berries:

Our tree. I didn't use orange slices this year,but I did use some dried hydrangeas:

 
My little village. I string some lights along the sill and put them inside the houses:

Rick took this photo this morning. You can't tell,but it's snowing:

A close up of the window boxes:

The plant hangers down by the road.Everything looks so pretty in the snow!

The mantle. I just noticed you can see my reflection in the mirror:

A bit of berries and greens in my pouring bowl above the stove:

 Our bedroom door:

The canning cabinet:

 Last,but not least,the chimney shelf:

In spite of what has happened in CT,I still believe in my fellow man. It can be very difficult when people do terrible things,or live their lives hating,but I take comfort in knowing that there are far more good people out there than bad. I think we as a society need to start putting BS behind us and remember,we are all here together. The hate,fear,and paranoia in this country need to stop. We are all brothers and sisters. Who cares what color we are? What politics we believe in?  What religion we are? How about working together to make this a better place?? We need to stop demonizing people who don't agree with us,and start acting like rational,caring humans again. When we band together for the common good,there is nothing that we can't accomplish.

This is still a Fabulous Planet. Enjoy your day on it!

O Christmas Tree....

Yesterday was a gorgeous day for picking out our Christmas tree. I think it was the warmest it has ever been since we started going to the Torr Tree Farm (U Pick,We Cut) for our tree. The Torr family has a National Bicentennial Farm,which means their farm has been under the ownership of one family for 200 years. They own several acres of land,and they are a member of the NH/VT Christmas Tree Association.

We showed up just after a rush hit. There was only two other people there,and they were lucky enough to get into my camera shot. This is just a very small section of the tree farm. I would say it's at least two acres.

Our ceilings are only 8 ft high,so our trees have to be more on the small side. Zach liked this one,and he said he was willing to cut a hole in the ceiling to get it to fit. I,however,was less than enthusiastic about that idea! I told him I would take his picture in front of it instead for posterity.

We did find the perfect little tree,about 6 ft tall,nice and full. Zach and Rick trimmed the bottom branches off it so it would fit in the tree base,and they set aside what they took off so I could use them for decorating. We are going to let it sit for a couple of days to acclimate to the house. Looking at this weeks schedule,however,it looks like it won't be decorated until Friday,because Zach helps me decorate it,and he will barely be home after school all week.Tonight is Boy Scouts,and we are meeting early to fill 25 boxes with goodies that are going to Afghanistan,plus he has media club until 5:00 PM. Tomorrow he is going Christmas shopping with Uncle B,then Wednesday night he has Patrol Leader Conference,then Thursday night he has his Order of the Arrow meeting,plus he won't get out of school until 5:00 because he has his Youth To Youth (anti drug and tobacco organization) meeting. I will probably get the lights on it,at least. That is really a one person job.

While Zach and Rick set up the tree, I got the wreaths down from the attic and and put them out. Rick had to put the one on the house up,because I am too short. I did by garland this year to wrap around my plant hangers by the street and I hung red bows on them. That is new this year. You can't see the wreath on the white door to the right,because the shadows made it  too dark.

The other wreaths I hung on the French doors.

We still need to hang the lights outside. That makes it pop!

Have a fabulous day on this Fabulous Planet!

Apparently I Needed Sleep

Good morning everyone!!

We have getting ready for Christmas. Rick put all the timothy hay bales,corn stalks,and pumpkins into the compost pile. I need to bring my decorations (which,thankfully,I actually organized last year!) down from the attic,and go out to woods to gather my greens. I started stocking up on ground pork for my pork pies. I will be making 6 this year-two for us for Christmas Eve,one for Dad Shaw,one for Brother Dale,one for Nephew Brody,and one for Ron and Jean,our neighbors.

The boys have been spending a lot of time out in the woods hunting. Rick needs to get out and enjoy himself in the woods,especially since it took him so long to be able to go back into the woods. They have heard deer,and seen them,but the brush was always too much to get a shot off. Shotgun season ends in just a few days,but archery season lasts a bit longer,and Rick does archery,so who knows? We did get two deer that was hit by cars. The first one turned out to be no good-it was hit in such a manner that the internal organs were pushed up under the skin (gross,I know,sorry). It was not noticeable until they started to skin it. The second one was a cleaner hit,and our first meal from it was venison filet mignon wrapped in bacon. It was tender and delicious!

Yesterday was a busy day. Zach's laptop is not working,so I went onto the Toshiba website and followed the steps they suggested,but it didn't work. I ordered recovery disks from them and if that doesn't work,we will have to get it fixed. I also ordered some Christmas presents,watched an episode of "Victorian Christmas" ( thank you Amy for the proper site to access it!),made crockpot baked beans and gluten free cornbread. I then went to the store and purchased some Christmas gifts,replacement Christmas lights for the house,and a new day planner. I came back home and did some crocheting (more Christmas gifts!).

After supper, I was reading " Bloody Mary" about Queen Mary,and my eyes started to get heavy. I wound up falling asleep in the chair at 6:00 PM. After a brief cat nap,I woke up and still felt tired,so I decided to go lay down. I was asleep by 7:30 PM.

I vaguely woke up early this morning ( it was still dark) and heard the rain falling outside,so I snuggled deeper in to the covers and feel back asleep.There is nothing more soothing than the sound of falling rain when one is nice and cozy in bed! When I woke up next,I looked at the clock,and it was around 8:30 AM! I stayed in bed for another half hour,though. I was so comfy that I just couldn't bring myself to get up,but I eventually pulled it off :)

Guess I needed that sleep!

Have a fabulous day on this Fabulous Planet!!

A Touch Of White

We are in the midst of a nor'easter,but this one is not too bad on our end. Right now we are getting some freezing rain,and we did get about 2" of snow last night,with some pretty gusty wind.Thankfully,we didn't lose power. I was a bit surprised that school was not delayed this morning,because quite a few communities around us have a two hour delay. The poor folks down in the NJ area,yet again,got the brunt of it (at least,the last I saw on the news). I am keeping the folks who had to deal with Sandy and are struggling in my thoughts and I hope that this storm doesn't create more misery on top of everything else.

I am really losing track of the days,as I looked at the calendar yesterday and realized that Christmas is only a stone's throw away,and Thanksgiving is banging at my door. 

The Girls are all cozy in their coop,and we have started getting a few more eggs now that we have the light on. I only set it from 3:00 PM to 8:00 PM so they get more light later in the day. I was wondering if I should keep the light on from early morning to 8:00 PM,but I figured that the normal daylight would still suffice,even if the sunshine is not as strong. Any thoughts,chicken owners?  We are very happy that the "driveway" mix we put down in the coop did the trick. The coop yard was filled up at least four inches,and the proof was when Sandy hit. Unfixed,The Girls would've been walking in three inches of mud. There was no mud. There is no more smell. It did the trick. We also revamped our driveway with it and met with the same success. We fixed the road in front of our driveway and the holes at the entrance to Avon Lane. So far,so good.

Yesterday Rick made some kindling and drained the pool to the level it should be. I'm glad I got my garlic planted and my strawberries under cover in time! Talk about cutting it close! The temps are quite chilly,but on Saturday,it's going to be around 60 degrees,so at least this snow won't last.Of course,The Menfolk are very happy to see a bit snow...so they can see tracks. Rick almost got a turkey with this bow yesterday,but just missed (apparently there were some small branches that got lost in his sights). They are gearing up to get back out again this AM.

Have a fabulous day on this Fabulous Planet!!!

I

Organizing-Christmas Decorations

Like I mentioned in my previous post,I am terrible about small details and follow through. I don't  know why,it just is what it is. This year,I am determined to squash that habit. Now, our house is not horrible,but there are areas which could use some vast improvement,and I am not ashamed to admit it.Our mud room is horrendous,and it has become a catch all for garbage and assorted items. Not the best first impression one receives when they come to our house. Our attic is a mess,and our bedroom is where everything goes to die,apparently. You would think the bedroom would be one of the best rooms in the house,wouldn't you? Put it this way,My Dear Friend Michelle has never seen our bedroom,and it's right off the kitchen.The door is closed when company arrives. A bedroom should be some place nice,cozy,and romantic.Ours, not so much.One day I will bite the bullet and bare this room to the world,but today is not it! :) These are the big things that I am determined to change this upcoming year. I want my house to embrace not just visitors,but the family as well. I want it be a haven. I want the soul of my home to reflect my soul and how I feel about life. Unfortunately,what I feel on the inside is not being shown outwardly.

It's like having dirty little secrets..you put up an overly good front, and the public areas for the most part look great,but you know there's a pile of crap behind the closed door or stuffed under the bed.It's a good illusion,but I'm tired of trying to maintain an illusion. I want to maintain reality. One of these things behind the door is in the attic. And since it's time to put away Christmas decorations,that was area I decided to attack first-the decorations.It also cleans up a third of the attic.

Like many folks,when I first was on my own,I received old decorations from family. "I don't want this anymore,do you?" Even if it wasn't something I would purchase,I would accept it gratefully,since I didn't have a lot of money to go out and buy everything from scratch. At least I had things to make my home look festive. Over the years,as I bought things or made things,I used less and less of what I was given.There are things that I still treasure:ornaments made by Zach,"Baby's First Christmas type ornaments,old decorations that we used in my parents house growing up. But there are things I no longer use-garlands,glass decorations,etc.  I never stored these things with rhyme or reason. Throw it in the box and get it out of here! The next Christmas,I'd have to pull all the boxes down to see what I had and where I had it.

New Years Day,I decided to go through all the decorations.In order to get up to the attic,I had to clear a path:

Yep.That's what our stairs looked like behind the closed door. We have no storage closet,so things get "placed" in the stairwell. This why I'm so happy that we will have a closet that we can put some of this stuff in. You can see at the top of the stairs some of the boxes we have the Christmas decorations in. To the right there were probably at least six more boxes.

 I hauled all the boxes down from the attic and took down most of  the decorations around the house,the exceptions being the tree,the garland around my window,and the outdoor decorations.This is what I had:

Now I have everything right in front of me so I can go through it.( I know what is on the tree I am going to keep.) As I pick up each item,I ask myself:

 -Do I love it?
-Am I keeping this because someone gave it to me? Would I put it out otherwise?
-Does this reflect what I what?

Any glass ornaments I no longer wanted I put in a bag,which I will smash up and use for a frame project. Some things were past their prime,some things were broken,and some where just downright ugly. After two and a half garbage bags, I had this left:

Monday,I had to bring Zach clothes shopping and winter boot shopping.He has outgrown most of his jeans and his winter boots are too small.(Not that we have any snow,but it's still early in the winter).Before we left,I assessed what I had and what I needed to store them. I really wanted an ornament storage box,so all my ornaments could be in one place,and I wanted a wrapping paper storage box as well. After we took care of Zach,we hit Home Depot and I was able to find what I wanted. When I got home,I took down the tree,and put all the decorations in their new bins:

What a difference! From many many boxes to just 5 storage bins! They looked great up in the attic:

And we can't forget that hideous stairwell:

Now I have clear bins so I can see what is where,and so far I can still climb the stairs with no problems.

Today I am going to go through my magazines and cookbooks.

Christmas Abundance

While to me Christmas is about family,I do admit that I received some fabulous gifts. Much thought was put into all of them,and am very grateful for that,because it makes it mean more that way.

The first gift I received was from my Dear Friend Michelle:

Missing from the above photo is a can of Stonewall Kitchen gluten free pancake mix,and bottles of Butter Pecan Syrup and Maine Wild Blueberry Syrup (we used them Christmas morning!).The pouring bowl is gorgeous! There is nothing more annoying than trying to make pancakes and having the batter go all over the place when you pour it,or ladle it,or however you try and do it. I also love the color,it's a great compliment to the kitchen.The two towels are very special. They were made by Carl,an older gentleman in our Garden group.He and his wife Kay have a loom and they make all kinds of wonderful things. Fabulous!!!


Here is the group of the rest of the wonderful gifts I received:

Zach gave me the lovely photo album,the "Concert for George Harrison" DVD,and the hanging tea tin collection. Now I can have different teas for a while,and it looks great in the kitchen. Rick gave me The Tudors DVD set (not pictured) and the lab created ruby ring,earrings,and necklace. Brother B gave me the ear buds for my Kindle, the calculator(he bought a calculator for each of us,since we can never find the one calculator we own),and the dishcloth crocheting book. My Mom gave me money, and my sister Linda gave me the pretty blue green necklace with earrings to match. The necklace is made up of ribbon fabric.I love the color and the fact that it's different! (The I tunes gift card on the printer is Zach's-it was in his stocking).

As you can see, not only was I blessed with the nearness of loved ones,I was blessed by the generosity of family and friends!

Another Christmas Gone By......

I hope all of you had a lovely Christmas. We certainly did!

Christmas Eve started with the most beautiful sunrise that I had to go on the deck and take a photo of it:

When your day begins with such a lovely start, how can it go wrong?

As we prepped for Christmas Eve dinner,I had put some greenery aside that I was going to use as part of my table centerpiece.Since we didn't use the wood stove,I placed them on top of it. Smokey found this spot very comfy and curled up in the greens for most of the afternoon:

I used the greens underneath the poinsettia,and surrounded that with votive candles and pine cones:

My stuffed mushrooms were pronounced delicious! I will post the recipe tomorrow:

Sasha even looked rather festive!

My Mom proclaimed my pork pie "the best yet." Since I didn't take a photo of it on Christmas Eve, I took a photo of it last night,when I had leftovers for supper. The only things missing are the stuffed celery and Garden mix pickles:

As you can see, Christmas Eve went very well. My Mom,sister,and brother in law all seemed to have a good time.

Christmas Day was very laid back. We had gluten free pancakes,gluten free bacon,and eggs for breakfast,with Pecan Butter Syrup and Wild Maine Blueberry Syrup (thanks to My Dear Friend Michelle). By 11:00 AM I couldn't keep my eyes open,so I took a little nap.Christmas evening we went to my sister's where we had a delicious supper of Rocky Mountain Brisket, rice,creamy broccoli,and gluten free brownies with ice cream for dessert.It was lovely.

It was a fabulous Christmas. Now...onto New Years!

Merry Christmas!!!

I hope you all have a Merry Christmas!! May it be filled with joy,happiness,and the nearness of loved ones!!!

This is how our home looks all lit up at night......

Merry Christmas!!!!!!!!

My Favorite Holiday

Christmas is my favorite holiday. It always has been,even when the youthful excitement of getting gifts faded the older I became. It's the feeling that it invokes in me...contentment,happiness,a certain coziness and love of mankind that seems quite special. I love the decorations,the snow on the trees (which we have,thankfully,due a snowfall that is still falling as I type this),the carols,and being with my loved ones.

I remember each year of what my Dad used to tell me about his Christmases growing up. My Dad was was born in 1914.He was the third child born (my Uncle Albert died at birth,my Uncle Richard lived.My Dad then took the name of Albert,which was also my Pepere's name) to a large family.(My Memere and Pepere Lessard were  French Catholics who,apparently,did not use birth control)When my Aunt Rachel was born at the end of the 1920's,she was the 12th child born to my grandparents (besides Albert,a daughter,Elinore,and a set of twins had passed.When my Memere died of pneumonia in 1929,she was pregnant yet again). My Pepere worked in the mills,and then at the water pumping station.My Memere stayed home,and needless to say,they didn't have much money.

They did,however,have a large extended family on my Memere's side,the Magnans (pronounced Mahn-yah).Though Pepere Lessard's family was not small (about 10 kids),when they made the move from Bartlett NH to Somersworth NH,the older children had their own lives and had already moved on. Memere Lessard had around 9 children in her family,and they all still lived in Somersworth. Christmas was spent at the home of Memere and Pepere Magnan,singing Christmas songs around the family piano. There was lots of good food,too.

My Dad said since they didn't have a lot of money when he was young,they would get perhaps one gift a piece.The tree was a gift for everyone.When the children were asleep,Pepere and Memere Lessard would set up the tree,and when the children came down stairs in the morning,there it would be,in all it's beauty. Part of the excitement was just seeing the tree. My Dad told me,"We didn't have alot of money,so we didn't have much for presents,but we always had a tree and lots of food.And we always went to Memere and Pepere Magnan's where there was more food and singing." My Dad was never mentioned being disappointed about the lack of presents. It was being with the family and having simple treats as pies,cakes,cookies,and pork pies that he always mentioned with great fondness. Christmas was always his favorite holiday,one of the many things he passed down to me.

I remember growing up we always had plenty of gifts,and some of Dad's brothers and sisters would visit on Christmas Eve. Sometimes Mom's brother Dickie or sister Gert and their families would stop in for a visit.That was always fun. We would stay up late,sometimes unwrapping the gifts around 11:30,sometimes waiting until morning. And of course,we would always have our pork pies on Christmas Eve.

I find myself now at 44 being more nostalgic about my Christmases growing up. It helps bring on that wonderful feeling I get. I can see my Dad, now 21 years passed,and all of  my aunts and uncles,who have mostly passed on as well. They are wonderful memories,and I try to incorporated what I feel into the atmosphere in our home. I use lots of candles,pretty decorations,and oil lamps,and I happily admit that I love the vibe it all gives off. I do hope that when Zach is my age,he too will look back at his Christmases with the same type of love and fondness I do -the Christmases where he was completely spoiled,and the one where we had so little money that we could only afford two gifts for him-because,like my Dad told me,it's not about the gifts,it's about family and love.

Kitchen Redo-Walls Painted and Trim Work Begins

I know,it's been a while since I've posted. Our remodel has been chugging along,a bit at a time. Now that Christmas is on our doorstep,the work is grinding to a temporary halt.

The last photos I showed you was of the new insulation in the wall,I believe.Here are how things look now:

Drywall on the ceiling and the wall waiting to be painted:

Last Friday-Sunday,we painted the walls and the ceiling:

Once that was painted,we brought in the new cabinet,which went where the oven once was.You can see the white bead board under the cabinet. We didn't paint it,as the tin back splash is going there. We decided to just leave the bead board on this wall and around the door to the living room.We placed a couple of boards on the cabinet as a temporary counter top:

The fridge looks like it's sticking out into the walk way,but it's just the angle of the photo. Where the butcher block is will be a closet.It will store our coats,etc,until the mud room is weatherproofed,and then it will be used for storage-brooms,ironing board,etc:

Another view of the new cabinet.It makes such a difference. The room actually looks longer with a whole row of bottom cabinets,without the stove stopping the flow:

The finished ceiling.We will be getting new light,and this one will go into the mudroom:

Yesterday,Rick worked on putting the molding back up. He cleaned it all up first. There is a small space in between the ceiling and the molding,since the ceiling is now a tad higher than it was. We are considering using a half round stained the proper color to fill in the little space.I'm not sure why it shows blue in the photo:

After the cabinet molding was put back up,Rick and Brother B started putting up the rest of the old molding. We just decided to keep it,at least for now. You can see it to the left of the photo. The door frame either had to be completely taken down and redone so the new door molding would fit properly,or shaved down.Rick decided to shave it down:

I took this photo before the top was put on the door molding. The ceiling molding is going to ripped,making it smaller so it will fit,because the width of the door molding will not allow it to be put back up in it's current width:

The boys took the window molding down. All the moldings in the kitchen (throughout the house,actually)were just regular boards put up.Now the moldings that we put in the living room will be put throughout the whole house:

The new molding is just temporarily tacked up,for aesthetics.It will have to come back down for when the new counter top is put in.The molding makes the window look so much bigger than those old wide  boards:

The window next to the stove will also have molding "tacked" on so it can be easily removed. The new cabinet still needs to be attached to the other cabinet,and the trim will have to come down for the new counter top,anyway.

Yesterday,while Rick and Brother B were working in the kitchen,I did some little jobs that needed doing for Christmas Eve. I polished my oil lamp chimneys,got old useless wax out of votive candle holders,washed them and put fresh candles in them. I also planned my table centerpiece:my poinsettia on top of greenery,with candles here and there. Monday,I made two pork pies,one for our neighbor,and one for Brother Dale. Our neighbor,Jean,and her husband,Ron,are an older couple who are good folks.Their son and granddaughter live with them.Jean asked me one year to make her a pork pie and it's now our gift to them at Christmas time. It was still hot when I gave it to her son at the bus stop,and an hour later Jean called me and thanked me for the pie.She claimed it was the best I had made so far. It also was appreciated because her other son had knee replacement surgery that day,and she and Ron had spent most of the day at the hospital. Those of you who have been at the hospital for a day know how exhausting it is. This way,neither of them had to cook!!!

Today I am making a pecan pie for Dad (Rick's Dad),which is also an annual tradition.It's his favorite. I am also making Nephew Brody a pumpkin pie from my homemade pumpkin puree. Last year,I didn't have enough puree to make him one,and he has been reminding me ever since :) I made sure that I had enough puree this year.

Friday I am going to make our pork pies for Christmas Eve,so all I have to do is reheat them.I am going to make stuffed mushrooms for an appetizer on Christmas Eve afternoon,though. My Mom,sister Linda,and Linda's hubby Tom will be coming up to spend Christmas Eve with us. When Mom got to the point where Christmas Eve was too much work for her,I gladly took over the tradition of having pork pies at my house.

Happy Hanukkah to my Jewish friends! I hope it's fabulous!

Orange Slice Ornaments

Here is a repost from last year about how I made my orange slice ornaments:

One of the things that was new to me this year was making ornaments from orange slices. I will be doing this again next year.I love the way the look on the tree,they add a lovely primitive look. When a tree light is right behind a slice,it looks like stained glass. Unfortunately,I couldn't capture that on film.

If you would like to try this next year for your tree,here is how I did it. I used an oven.Never having used a food dehydrator before,I wasn't sure what temp or length of time I should use,so I didn't go that route.I didn't want to shrivel the slices,just dry them.However,it does take a good bit of time:5-6 hours,depending on how much juice you can get out of the slices before you put them in the oven. It's a good project for a day when you are doing other things in the house.

Preheat your oven to 170 degrees (this was the lowest temp my oven would allow).Cut oranges into 1/4" slices. Put the slices in between paper towels,and press down on each slice. I had to use several pieces of paper towel,and there was still a good bit of juice in the slices. Do what you can. I burned the paper towels in the wood stove,so there was no trash.

 When you feel the slices are as dry as they are going to get,place them on a baking sheet. As you can see in the photo below,I had two going at once. Leave the oven door ajar. Each hour,turn the slices over so they dry out evenly. When they are ready,you will be able to tell-they will be dry to the touch.

Once the oranges are dried,I cooled them down on a plate,then took ornament hooks and pushed the hooks through the slices,right below the white part of the rind.

Voila! Orange slice ornaments! They will have no scent,but once Christmas is over you can make a pretty potpourri with cinnamon sticks,whole cloves,and the orange slices.

Enjoy!