The Porch Swing @ Shady Creek Hollow

Counting My Blessings

I woke up singing "Put on Happy Face" this morning so I thought I'd just post a quick little paragraph or two on some of the my year's highlights here. Sometimes I drive my family crazy with my mindless singing...Anyhoo. This has been a wonderful year for me personally, thus the song, and also for my family. The biggest event of the year was my daughter's [Allie] wedding. She married a fine Christian man [Josh] whom we love as if he were our biological son. 

We had a wonderful time at their wedding, which took us 6 months to organize and execute. I did lots of the grunt work myself which made it frugal and which I loved doing. Some of the things I remember from that day are: Allie and Hutch's dance- I cried *sniff, sniff*, The whole crowd dancing, the dinner and its aftermath where we chatted with all our friends and relatives, & how absolutely beautiful and happy Allie was- the photos tell the tale. You can go over to the icon of Allie and Josh here and see them.

Speaking of my dear daughter Allie, she and I have really gotten so much closer over the course of this year. I didn't think it was possible to deepen out relationship- but we have. Thanks in the most part to her willingness to let me mentor her in her new role as wife. Allie is an amazing young woman who has a fierce and relentless desire to be a woman of God. Her willingness to hear the hard truths and tackle the tough tasks of obedience to His will are an inspiration to me.    

Another great thing that happened this year is that I got back into running. If you read here much you know that I have been plagued for several years with back and shoulder problems. Biting the bullet and getting back on track with my running not only solved that problem it has made me feel so much better in all areas. This year I'm looking at bumping up my running...but more on that tomorrow.

I got to spend an extended length of time with my mother this year. I've been asking God to show me ways to get closer to her and this was His answer. I learned so much about myself by having her come to live with us temporarily. It was a a very rich time for me, spiritually speaking.   

Jon [our son] became self sufficient financially this year. I can not tell you how great this turned out to be for him and for us to witness as parents. We'd always admired him as a man, but this last step towards becoming an adult really made Hutch and I realize just how blessed we are. Jon had his personal 'Divine Appointment' with God this year and it has made his walk all the deeper and more real to him. He's been our spark plug in home church.

That leads me to another huge blessing this year....God allowed us to begin meeting as a house church with our family. Oh my, I could write an entire post just on this topic alone. God has met us so wonderfully in this act of obedience. In terms of actually living in God's community and loving each other & the Lord this has been one of my richest spiritual experiences. BTW this week's topic is Praise and Worship- I can't wait to see what insights everyone brings to the meeting. Praise and Worship are so near to our collective musicians' heart. 

On the practical home-front this year we started out multi year plan to become better stewards of the home God has given us. This year's task was to get new carpet in the upstairs portions of our home. I have really enjoyed that new carpet! In the Spring we are having some professional yard work done [things we can't manage ourselves like 'close to the house' tree removal and laying new sod] & we are having some siding and deck work done.

Wow, this is getting long....so I'll close before you nod off . Anyhoo, it has been a wonderful year and I'm so so thankful for all that God has gifted us with and done in our lives. Hope you can look back on your year too and see good things.               

Goals and a Short Ramble on Sanctification

         

My husband, Hutch is great at setting goals every year. In fact if you go over to his blog [here at the 'Family' icon], you can read his musings on this topic. I, on the other hand, am not as disciplined. I do love to set goals, but I fall into that category of folks who set a too lofty goal, too speedy time-line, or try to tackle just too many goals all at once and then feel remorse when I fail to meet all my expectations.

And then there's always that basic question to consider-is our time our own or does it actually belong, like everything else about us, to God? I believe that our lives are a journey of sanctification- God making us more like Him. Therefore I believe my time, like all else about me does, in fact, ultimately belong to Him. With that in mind, I feel I need to be a competent and Godly overseer of this measure of time and life that God has appointed me.  

Sooo...that means I can't afford to just drift like a jellyfish on the surface of my life. Nor can I try to make life conform to some artificial set of easy ruIes I'd like to impose upon it. I can't let the waves of the world, my own laziness, or my bent towards useless legalism make me waste this precious and priceless gift. Nor can I just let my life fritter away while I scramble hopelessly in reaction to it's invariable circumstances both good and bad. God says in the Bible that the rain falls on both the righteous and the unrighteous [Matt. 5:45]- that's the story and the nature of life in a nutshell, isn't it? But how I react to it [life and its infinite challenges]...with the help of God's strength, grace, and correction... well I believe that's my journey of sanctification.          

So this year, on my personal pilgrimage of sanctification, I'm setting a goal to be [with God's help] a better steward of my life and set more practical and more achievable goals.  And no, before you ask, I haven't finished the manuscript I had planned to be done with by Thursday. I made progress, which is a good thing, I just haven't been able to see its completion. Sigh...Another instance in my life of overestimating my ability and underestimating my time constraints. So I'll need to step back and re-evaluate my time line on that particular project. 

But I begin to ramble so....Today I'll be looking at four areas: personal, financial, spiritual, & homemaking [career] goals. I'm not quite sure what new goals I'll set in each of these areas. Hutch and I will sit down tomorrow evening and discuss our goals and get each others' imput/wisdom. Hopefully then we'll each have a clearer idea of what we hope to accomplish individually and as a family in the upcoming year.

I always get excited about doing this each year. And even though I invariably fall short on achieving all my goals, I do see overall progress in most areas. As a person with a perfectionist personality, I constantly have to remind myself that not making a goal in one small area does not eliminate the positive progress I've made in all other areas. On a practical note, it sure helps me to take the long term view not the immediate one while making my yearly evaluations.

Hope where ever you are, you too can see the good from the past year and look forward to expanding it in the upcoming one.     

Debbie O's Best Christmas Cookies

                   

This is our neighbor's 'secret family' recipe LOL, that I wrote about soooo long ago in December. It is from one of my master gardener neighbors. She and her husband are lovely folks & always have a beautiful yard!!! Anyhoo, thanks to Debbie O for this wonderful, easy, & unique recipe. The neat thing is that right now is a good time to buy the ingredients for these little gems because they are all on sale after the holidays. 

Debbie's O's Top Secret Batter-less Fruitcake Cookies

1/2 lb candied cherries -cut into small pieces. (spray your knife with Pam)
1/2 lb chopped pineapple
1/2 lb sugared dates cut into small bits (you can buy these already cut and sugared)
1 1/2 cup nuts -I use pecans
1 can coconut-3.5 ounces
1 can Eagle Brand Milk
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
Mix salt and flour together in a separate bowl
Dredge fruit in flour
Mix in condensed milk with ingredients
Drop by spoonful onto well greased cookie sheet.
Bake for 20 minutes at 300 degrees. Remove from cookie sheet immediately.
The cookies will be soft but will harden as they cool.
These cookies freeze well and do heat up fine with a popover in the microwave.

The Beauty and Power of God's Grace

Wow, it seems like forever since I was able to get down to the office and write on my blog. The week before Christmas just sort of snowballed for me. We had folks from out of town coming home and many parties to attend. Its always great to catch up and have family and friends over during the holidays, but it sure is nice to see things calm down after all the holiday hubbub.

As always when we get together and stand in our big circle to pray at Thanksgiving, each person gets the chance to say a one word prayer of thankfulness. Since Hutch led me to understand it more fully, my word has always been 'grace'. Sometimes several of us in the family share that same word....but that's OK. We strive to be authentic in our faith, not original LOL.  

A big part of my holiday was the fact that Mom spent almost 6 weeks with us and it was wonderful. We loved being together, but we both decided she is still happiest in her own home with my Aunt and Uncle and her friends and familiar surroundings. We know a time will come when she'll need us more, but that time is not here yet. She's a very healthy 78 and she's got loads of adventures to have on her own before coming to live nearer us. 

We got to spend lots of time with our kids this season. That was such a gift. Jon has been home about a week, he goes back to Alabama today. He is moving into a new house with his buddies. They are very excited because this place is over 100 years old and was originally a church! He and I have been scouring the thrift shops for rugs, drapes, etc to make that drafty old place warmer inside. He'll have three great area rugs we found, plus an oriental rug he's borrowing from us. And we were able to find the thermal /black out/ home theater type drapes for his windows at Big Lots for a very reasonable price. 

Allie and Josh spent their first married Christmas with us all. Josh surprised Allie with a very cute little puppy, which she promptly named Charlotte. She [the pooch] is a very sweet and mild mannered baby who promises to be a great addition to their new family. Today they are hosting out of town guests of their own. This week they are traveling to Virginia to spend the New Year's with Josh's old church family. 

Hutch and I have big plans of our own for the New Year's. They include a roaring fire in the fireplace, plenty of rented movies, & a bottle of cold champagne. We love our empty nest and New Year's Eve we will celebrate its return. 

Some time in the next few days I will try to write about all that God has taught me about myself and His lordship in my life during this very busy season. For many months now my prayer has been that God's lordship in my life would not be something I just proclaimed, but something He lets me actually see in action as I make my Christian pilgrimage. A sort of deeper but conscious surrender on my part. It's been a very exciting and productive time for me!

Anyhoo, sure hope your holiday was wonderful and hope the remaining Winter looks promising too!          

Easiest Crocheted Baby Hat

            

I found this web site the other day and have made a couple of these cute little hats recently for our local Crisis Pregnancy Center. They work up really fast and I have found that by using a little sturdier yard they keep their shape nicely. Go here: Ruffled Baby Hat 

I have made my hats with leftover white yarn and they have turned out nicely. The thing I love about this pattern is the fact that you only need to know 2 stitches to make it. I would recommend this pattern as a good beginners crochet project. Hope you go by and check it out.

Delicious Rum Cake!!!

I made my rum cake last night and it is by far the very best cake of this type I've ever had!!! Delicious, moist, and oh so easy. The flavor is out of this world. Of course you need to make the brandied fruit starting in the Summer....but it is so worth it to try this. Once you get it started you can keep adding to the fruit bucket so it never gets old. Just let it sit at least 6 weeks after the last add before you use the fruit in cakes.

Martha Washington's Best Rum Cake 

1 box golden cake mix

1 box instant vanilla pudding

4 eggs

2/3 cup oil

1 cup drained brandied fruit [save the liquid for the glaze]

1 cup each pecans, walnuts, raisins, & coconut

Stir it all together with a big spoon. Put it in a greased and floured bundt or tube pan. Bake at 300 degrees for an hour. Let sit in pan 10 minutes then turn out. Mix enough powdered sugar to reserved liquid to make a very stiff drip. Drizzle thickly over top. Yum!!!

Screen Door Weather

You won't believe this but, I have the kitchen door open. The screen door is closed of course, but that's how warm it is here in the Atlanta area today. I've had such a nice day!

I got out earlier and took all my brandied fruit to the neighbors. It was nice to chat with them and see how they had their homes decorated for Christmas. I did Mom's hair for her & I got the Christmas sugar cookie dough put together and stored in the frig. 

We're having spaghetti & salads for supper so I've got that on the stove. I did a basic clean of the house and washed some clothes. All in all its been a very productive day. Hutch is on a plane right now coming home from the DC area. If you'd like to see some of the photos he took this week just go to the 'Family' icon here. I'm thinking that he has posted them by now but I'll need to get over there and take a peek. He took a long run through the mall area and got lots of nice shots.

Our son Jon is moving into his new digs this week and next. He and his roommates have rented a big old house and they are in the process of setting up housekeeping. I'm going to make him a raft of Ossenberg drapes, if I can find the material at a cost effective price. I believe this house was built in the 1880s so it is nice and big but insulation might be a problem. Heavy drapes will surely help!

I did get my run in today, I'm trying really hard to be disciplined in that area. I think after supper tonight I'll make one of the Rum cakes with the brandied fruit myself. It would be a nice thing to have over the weekend.

I bought the frozen shrimp for the Christmas Eve dinner this week. I never used to buy them frozen until the lady at the grocery store fish market told me that 99% of the shrimp most stores have in their showcases comes to them frozen. So now I just buy a couple of pounds of the really big shrimp and boil them myself. We'll also be having raw oysters that night. My mom and I don't like seafood, so we'll probably have a nice rich potato soup. 

My jury is still out on whether to have turkey on Christmas Day. Honestly, I'm sort of tired of turkey. A great standing rib roast with horseradish sauce sounds good. But I don't know if I'll be able to convince the rest of the crowd LOL. Even grilled steaks sounds better than turkey.....sigh.

Hope where ever you are its Christmasy and that you are done shopping!           

  

   

Physical & Spiritual Exercise

             

I just got off the treadmill, I have rededicated myself to running three miles three times a week. That's about all my creaky joints can take these days. While Mom has been here, I've found it harder to make running a priority...but I've just got to set my will to run more. 

For me running accomplishes so many goals. It is a great mellower of my emotions. It burns up the calories that my slowing down metabolism doesn't anymore, and it is great for my heart. So I must run.

I sure wish I could say I'm one of those folks who love to run....but actually I really don't like it at all. I normally get documentaries from the library to watch while I slog, otherwise I would not be able to make myself 'waste' the time it takes to run. 

Anyhoo....I've gotten a lot done already today so that feels great. Mom and I had a ton of errands we needed to run - got those done. I got my Bible reading done very early which felt nice. We've got a Cajun spiced pork butt in the crock pot for supper. And I need to work on another few things on the list before I'm finished.

Josh facilitated yesterday at church. We studied forgiveness. It was a really good topic for all of us. Josh [my SIL] encouraged us to take a 'forgiveness' inventory to see if there were any folks we needed to forgive or who needed to forgive us. I did that last night before I went to bed and anticipate doing it each night this week. It is a very cleansing and unburdening exercise and I encourage anybody who is feeling a spiritual stirring in that direction to give it a try. 

There's nothing like keeping short accounts with the Lord. Hope your day is going well and that you are warm wherever you are.  

Reviving Your Christimas Spirit

          

If you're like me you hate the traffic and commercialization that all of us can feel at this time of the year. I ran across a neat ehow article that I think will help me and anybody else who wants to rekindle that good Christmas feeling that you can lose all too easily if you have to get out in the hustle and bustle. Go here to read: Getting Back Your Christmas Spirit  

On the other hand....if you're like my grandma you can't wait to get out there and mingle...have my portion of that kind of fun LOL,

Slowing Down Today...Finally

I'm finally slowing down some today! The family get together over at Hutch's Uncle's house was fun yesterday. Lots of good soups to try, my personal favorite was the really rich potato soup Hutch's cousin Sue made. And lots of good desserts as well. Lorraine, Forrest's [my FIL] new bride makes a killer rum cake. It's always a treat!

Anyway, we got back home and went to bed by 8:30....it's the truth 8:30!!! I got up this morning really rested [LOL] and ready for church tonight and the fellowship meal. Hutch is kindly going to get us all deli fried chicken and the 'fixins' so I don't have to cook this meal. He's such a Sweetie to me.

As you know if you read his romantic 'hack' of my blog this week, we celebrated out 32nd anniversary on Thursday. He was flying in from out of town & I was at Allie's elementary chorus program that evening so we decided to actually go out on Friday night. We had our anniversary 'date' [dinner at our favorite little Mexican place]and then went shopping at Sam's for some last minute items we needed for Christmas. As I told him, I hope and pray we have at least 32 more wonderful years together.

On a different topic, I found a really easy and yummy recipe that uses the brandied fruit I'm giving as hospitality gifts this year. So I'll be giving the fruit along with that recipe. I put some of the fruit up in jars and decorated them last night after dinner. It made the whole kitchen smell so good! And I can't wait to make a bunch of the 'Rumpot' cakes myself for the holidays.

Hutch's Aunt Ann [the party was at her house] does the smartest thing for Christmas for everybody. There are just too many folks to give gifts to individually....so she gets free trimmings at a Christmas tree lot and makes door swags/ mailbox swags for every family. Of course she gives the folks at the Christmas tree lot a door swag too. Ann is really into decorating Williamsburg style so about 20 years ago she learned how to make door swags and pineapple centerpieces in that colonial era manner. Now every year the whole family looks forward to having her swags on our front doors or mail boxes. She gets everything for them from her yard except the Christmas tree trimmings and the ribbon so they are a very frugal present.

This year she also got some special key ring flashlights for under a dollar a piece to give to the 20 something single folks in the family. I'm sure Jon will love his when I pass it along to him this evening.

Anyhoo, that's what's happening around here today. Sure hope your Sunday is as restful and spiritual as mine is shaping up to be.

Real Quick Post...Running Out the Door!

Folks I'm so sorry I haven't blogged in a few days. We've all had a nasty virus....Mom is still struggling with it. Then too, life has just gotten really fast with commitments this past week, & my poor computer has been as sick as have we all. I'm furiously typing because Hutch just fixed my computer and we're on the way out the door to a family thing. 

We are having a soup and cornbread luncheon for the big extended family over at Hutch's Uncle's home. We're all bringing different types of soups etc. so nobody has the whole burden of providing for our BIG crowd. I will try to get back on here before the weekend is over to write more....I hope to be able to personally respond to all your nice comments in the next day or two! Hope your holiday season is going great!     

Your Blog Has Been Hacked!!!

 You blog has been hacked by the man who will love you forever!

Thank you for the most amazing 32 years of my life!

Thank you for loving me in a way that most men are only able to dream of!

Thank you for the unselfish way you seek to discover the things I like in life and the creative ways you go about doing or providing those things.

Thank you for the countless special moments we've had together - just you and me! It's you that has made those moments special.

Thank you for keeping yourself looking so good. You are an amazing smorgasbord for my eyes only.

Thank you for the hundreds of thousands of things you've done for me that I don't even know about.

Thank you for being my best friend!

Thank you for being the most interesting person to talk to that I have ever met and for the countless special memories I have where we've enjoyed wonderful conversation out in one of the porch swings.

Thank you for the sacrificial way you have sought to fit into my life and for being willing to give your entire life to me. I can't believe anyone would love me that much.

Thank you for making my journey one of love, fun, romance, adventure, excitement, and for taking that journey with me.

Thank you for being totally vulnerable. You're a tender rose and I hope that I will always be wise enough to treat you in the same way.

I can't wait to see what the next 32 years bring with the woman of my dreams.

I Love You with everything that is in me...

Who Won the Manicure????

I just realized I left everybody hanging about who won the manicure last week. As you may recall, my Mom and I had a week long gin rummy competition to see who could accrue the most points. The winner would have her manicure paid for by the los...err..., I mean the other player, you know the one with fewer points.

Anyhoo at the end of the week I came out ahead which is pretty amazing if you consider that playing all types of card games has been my mother's principal hobby for her whole life. I can't remember a time as a child when there was not a ladies' bridge club meeting at our home one evening or more a week. 

Then after my father died and Mom remarried, she and my step dad had a close knit group of Air Force veterans who played cards EVERY Friday and Saturday nights at our house for almost twenty years. These folks, although many have passed on, are considered family... sort of like honorary Aunts and Uncles.

Now Mom plays cards and board games twice a week with a group of lady friends. Some of these gals have been Mom's pals for over sixty years, one is her best friend from High School. I guess that happens with some frequency in small towns.         

Anyhoo, I'm still not convinced Mom didn't throw the games in my direction. It would be like her to do that in order to pay for my manicure....but she swears she didn't, so I'm going to bask in my fleeting moment of victory.....that's my story and I'm sticking with it LOL.   

A Word in Favor of the Lowly Pinto Bean

          

Yes, as you know if you stop by here very often I really like beans. I like the healthy aspect of eating beans and I love the frugality and simplicity of making a meal off of a big crock pot full of these little nutritional powerhouses. 

Since Mom has been staying with us, we've had pinto beans a couple of times for dinner. I don't usually make pintos, but Mom is the master of the pinto bean. She puts an amount that she thinks will be sufficient in the crock pot in the morning after having rinsed and picked through the dry beans. She covers them with water and sets the crock pot to high. 

They merrily bubble all day filling the house with that indescribable fragrance of 'home'. Along about 2 o'clock in the afternoon she adds any meat scraps that are available. Right now we're finishing up the Thanksgiving ham. About 6 or 6:30 we'll have supper. Pinto beans in a big bowl topped with shredded cheddar cheese and minced onions. 

I'll make a frying pan of egg cornbread to go along with this delight and we'll eat heartily without a shred of guilt. Pinto beans and cornbread are the quintessential Southern Winter meal. Hope you try it!   

New Book in the Reading Room

I just read a really good and slim book last night that I thought I'd post about here. It is : 'Finding Noel' by Richard Paul Evans. I'm sure its not new. I get all my reading material from the library and our little public library is tight on funds right now. Unfortunately its sort of low down on the municipal totem pole these days. So most of the books I get are not exactly fresh to the market.

Anyhoo...this was a very good read and it would be suitable for kids over 12 as well. It does talk in a general and tasteful way about the heroine's very tough childhood. But it is not offensive and sadly, as a former teacher, I know the abuse is an all too real event in the lives of some displaced kids.

As you can probably tell, I'm reading a lot of short [one night reads] uplifting stories in the run up to Christmas. I saw my 'Little House' books sitting on the shelf in the basement this morning while I was running on the treadmill and that reminded me it was time to get the ones with Christmas chapters down and dusted off. I love to read those at least once over the holidays. And I have a little slim copy of Dickens' 'The Christmas Carol', I'll be reading it as well.      

The Rest of the Story About Brandied Fruit

If you've been reading here a while you'll remember that back in the Summer I started a big batch of brandied fruit. I found the original recipe in a colonial era cookbook and followed it as a sort of historical experiment. I can say the fruit is very well brandied at this point! It is very pungent...LOL. But all in all its turned out the way I hoped it would. It will be time soon to jar it up and make labels so that I can give it as hospitality gifts. I'm sure I have enough for at least 12 or more pints.   

I've done some more research on this topping recently and found out that not only is it good on ice cream, puddings, and pound cake. But its supposedly pretty tasty on Ham. I'm sure looking forward to trying that out. 

I would also like to find an easy recipe to use it in a dark fruitcake type loaf. I'll post a link if I find one that fits the bill. If you want to start your own rum-pot, the directions are here on the blog. 

We are in for a whole lot of rain in the next few days which is wonderful as we are in a historic drought. Hope wherever you are the weather is nice and you are enjoying the season.    

Kids Can Make These Oatmeal Cookies

Here is the recipe I promised to post a couple of days ago. it would make a great first recipe for kids to make under adult supervision as you don't have to use a mixer or any other small appliance. It is one of those stir it all together recipes.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup self rising flour

1 tsp soda

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 cup rolled oats

1 cup oil

1 egg beaten

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup chopped nuts [these can be substituted with any flavor chip or 1/2 cup coconut, or raisins]

Stir everything together in a big bowl. Add 1 or 2 tsp of water if dough is too stiff. drop by tsp onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 325 degrees for 10-15 minutes according to how hot your oven is.   

Christmas Coffee & Other Things

          

This morning I was thinking about the holiday season and letting my mind wander over the things we actually do during the season to celebrate. And to my surprise some of the things we do are really frugal and meaningful because we only indulge in them during this one month.

Christmas coffee is one of them that we all like, especially the kids. it's just regular coffee served in a footed mug. I top it with a big mound of Reddi Whip [you know that squirt whipped cream you get from the dairy section]. Then I add multicolored sprinkles and sometimes a miniature candy cane as a stirrer.

Another thing we do at this time of the year is have marathon card and board game sessions. We like to play 'Oh Heck' and Mexican Train dominoes. We all love to sit at the big kitchen table and play games and snack all day and into the night as the holiday approaches.

One of the things I really love is antique paper ephemera- things like old post cards and greeting cards. When my GGMa died nobody wanted the huge collection she had of old Christmas cards. I snapped them up and framed alot of them. At this time of the year the year they sure make me reflect on family and the passage of time. Most are from the 30's and 40's....I even have a Christmas party invitation sent to my mother when she was a teenager in 1944. 

One of things we do on Christmas morning is to open one present at a time. It takes forever because we go around the room and watch as each person opens their one present...then the next person opens a present. Then we each go through our stockings last. Each stocking has mostly candy with one or two small 'mystery' presents. 

Usually on Christmas Eve we have some type of homemade seafood meal. Maybe steamed shrimp or oyster stew. With this we have a bottle of special 'fish' wine. Each person gets one small glass of this wine. I don't know the name of the wine, but it comes in a blue glass fish shaped bottle. I'm not a seafood lover, but everyone else is and I enjoy watching savor their meal. 

Then on Christmas morning we have a HUGE breakfast after gift opening. Jon says it is his favorite meal of the year. it's nothing out of the ordinary....just tons of food LOL. 

And of course I have Christmas music playing the whole month on my Kitchen CD player. Hutch mounted it under a cabinet for me so it is unobtrusive. I have amassed quite a collection of seasonal music CD's over the years and I have them on all the time during December.

So....that's what we do. None of it really costs very much. I've found that nobody really remembers most of the gifts they give or receive, but they do remember the little traditions and time spent with loved ones. That's what makes Christmas.          

Baby its Cold Outside

                

It is Christmas weather in the South...that is to say it is cold and rainy. The perfect day to stay tucked up inside with a good book. That is what Mom is doing at the moment. She is upstairs in her bedroom reading a murder mystery.

Hutch is flying home from DC as I write this. Thus the picture of our nation's Capital at Christmas. 

We got out this morning and did a little Christmas shopping. We went by Goodwill and I was able to find several great new books for my Aunt and Uncle. They both are big readers and Mom helped me pick the books out so I'm fairly certain I got ones they haven't read. My Goodwill is a great source for nearly new hardbacks. There's just something so satisfying about getting a book that looks brand new and would sell at Sam's or Walmart for 18 to 24 dollars for $2.50. Finding those kinds of bargains makes me happy.

Mom loves old music from way back and she found several cassettes to play in her car for fifty cents each. I found a couple of 'how to' books for myself as well. I'm a sucker for the 'Dummies' books and they had a nice selection of those this morning at Goodwill.     

I'm going to make peanut butter cookies with Hershey Kiss tops later this afternoon. Those will be for the weekend. Jon is coming over Saturday to help Hutch cut down another sickly tree in the back yard. We need to get it down before it topples over on the house. I'm grilling steaks for the boys Saturday night. 

We've got a big pot of spaghetti on the stove right now and the house smells like an Italian restaurant. I think I'll also make a little batch of yeast rolls to go with our spaghetti tonight. Along with a tossed salad that should be enough.

I sent my holiday post cards out this week and Mom sent her cards as well. They really did turn out cute. Maybe I can scan one and post it here so folks can see. Oh....I'm ahead in the gin rummy competition {for once LOL}. Maybe Mom will end up buying the manicures....one can only hope.  

I'm making pretty good progress with the YA novel I'm trying to finish. It's always a challenge to get down here and sit in the chair and start typing ....but I'm doing it with God's help. This novel is so different from anything I've ever written that its kind of breaking new ground for me. I can't reveal too much but I will say it is a Christian novel of the supernatural/papranormal type that explores a concept I've never seen done in a fictional book before.     

It's been fun to see where the Holy Spirit leads with this one. Yesterday three new characters popped up to enrich the story line. They are Christians from Korea....with a very special set of talents. I fell in love with them immediately. Sure hope others do. 

Anyhoo, I sure hope that you are sitting in a warm cozy spot reading this with a cup of spicy tea next to your mouse pad. More tomorrow.   

   

I'm Losing....

I've had a busy productive last few days. Today I took Mom out to the Dollartree and Sam's. I've found that she is happier if she gets out every day. She still hasn't gotten ready to go to the Senior Center down the street to play cards, but I have high hopes maybe she will in a week or two. 

I got most of my stocking stuffer type things today at the Dollartree. And I looked around Sam's but just couldn't land on anything there that appealed to me. When we got home I helped Mom get her Christmas cards organized & made a batch of oatmeal cookies. I'll try to post the recipe for the cookies. It was the easiest oatmeal type cookie I've ever made. And the cookies came out just the way I like them...chewy not brittle.

In a little while I need to go back upstairs to play cards with Mom. She is currently beating me by about 100 points. So I need to try harder today...if I don't, it seems I'll be paying for the manicures on Friday -LOL. 

I stayed up late last night writing. I've got a time-line to finish a certain novel by the first of the year so I need to quit dilly dallying around and start typing more. I have a self imposed rule that I must write every day. Some days I don't write a lot and some days I write a whole bunch. Hopefully by keeping my own rule I'll finish this novel in time for the New Year. 

I still don't know if I'll shop it or sell it on-line as a serial. Something about making it into a serial really appeals to me as it harkens back to Dickens' days. And shopping a novel is never fun. So many letters to write, so much opportunity for rejection. God gave me a very wonderful illustration in my life once of how to handle the subjective type of feedback you get from editors. 

One day I had a truly awful session 'shopping' a screenplay with a couple of independent film makers. They really didn't like what I'd written...they even had something negative to say about the way the software program had formatted the screenplay!!!! I felt worse than bad as I drove home, I felt like a total failure. In fact I promised myself I'd never write another thing as long as I lived...then I got to the top of my driveway and reached into the mailbox. Inside was an envelope announcing that a TV special I'd written the screenplay for had won an International Telly for Excellence in Cable broadcasting. 

That day was certainly an emotional roller coaster ride for me. But I learned a very important lesson. It's not over till God says it's over. And as I like to say when somebody doesn't like the same things I do, 'Well...that's why they make chocolate & vanilla." I'm learning to never take professional rejection personally. Life is just waaay too short.      

Hutch has made a beautiful ' book cover' to work as an icon if I decide to go the on-line route. I pray each day before starting to write. My prayer is basically that the Holy Spirit will lead. That the story will glorify God, be enjoyable, & help whoever reads it. But back to that on-line question. I wonder if folks really like to read on-line or if they'd prefer an actual book in their hands.....hmmm....guess that's another thing to pray about.

Anyhoo....that's what happening around here today. Sure hope your day is going just the way you want it to go, chocolate or vanilla. 

Snow!!!

We are having just a little spit of snow every now and then. Mom and I ran out to do our errands this morning and enjoyed the Christmasy feel of seeing the snowflakes dance around the car. It is very cold here!! 

Today Mom and I are starting a week long gin rummy competition. We will be playing every day from 4 to 6. At the end of the week the one who has the highest score will treat the other to a ten dollar manicure at Walmart. Mom loves cards so this will be something we can both enjoy together.

We are having turkey pot pie this evening & ham and pinto beans tomorrow. Got to use up all that leftover Thanksgiving food. 

Church was great yesterday. We studied baptism and it's place in our faith and in other denominations. The fellowship dinner was Brunswick Stew, cornbread, & apple squares with low fat frozen yogurt. We're trying to take the desserts down a notch since we had so much of them last week.

Hope wherever you are you're tucked up warm!