Merry Christmas!

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Christmas Treats

Ray and I spent most of the morning and afternoon making pounds of Chex Mix and Muddie Buddies for our family Christmas Party on Christmas Day. Everyone will have treats to take home to munch on after the big day is over. Hopefully that will keep the spirit alive for awhile longer.

A Larger Cookie Recipe

Chocolate Cookies

Yield: 2-3 dozen cookies
1½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup unsweetened cocoa
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
½ cup granulated sugar (plus more for dipping)
½ cup packed brown sugar
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg

Preheat oven to 375˚F.

Stir together the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt.  Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the sugar and butter until light and smooth. 
Add in the vanilla and egg, beating one at a time to combine. 
Gradually stir in the flour mixture. 
Roll the cookie in between hands to smooth into a ball. 
Roll into a bowl of sugar and place on the cookie sheet.
Use the bottom of a glass to slightly flatten the cookies.  Bake for 7 to 9 minutes.  Do not over bake.  Let cool on wire rack.

I hope that helps Michelle. We have lots of cats. Neighbors refuse to spay their cats so they bring their babies and move in with us. We've found homes for three litters and have spayed and neutered several but without help from the neighbors, we're spinning our wheels. We live in country where our animal control consists of one man and the closest shelter is full and isn't taking anymore animals in so we have plenty of love and work around here. We love our cats though.

Awesome and Easy Chocolate Cookies

Just finished trying out this new recipe.
These are also going to be added to the Christmas party cookie jar.

More Goodies!

I've been busy in the kitchen again trying out new recipes. The rain has made moving painful and difficult but I'm fighting through it to make the holiday special for Ray. He's a wonderful husband.

Here's a couple of things I've made over the past few days.

The Latest Creation

Peanut Butter Blossoms straight from the oven. Yummy!

Peanut Butter Blossoms


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix together:
1 cup sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter 
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract


Roll into small balls, (a teaspoon full works well), and press the center down with your thumb.
Sprinkle with sugar and bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes.
Place a milk chocolate star in the center and let them cool a few minutes before placing them on a wire rack.


Makes 24 small cookies or 12 large ones.

Making Treats

I've made a few treats already for Ray and I. 
Monday night I made some fudge to eat for when Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer came on TV Tuesday night. My mom used to make that fudge for us when we were little and I remember watching Rudolph as we ate it. I feel close to her when I get lost in those memories. 

Last night it was peanut butter cookie night. Those are Ray's favorite cookies. 

Tonight I made us some Chex Party Mix. That stuff is so addicting!

I'm going to make more of that, some peanut butter blossom cookies, buckeyes candy, Muddie Buddies and some caramel corn with peanuts for our family party on Christmas Day. 

Other family members are bringing sausage balls, cheese balls, pumpkin rolls and that's just the things I've been told. I'm sure there will be more things to enjoy. 


The shopping is done and all the cards and gifts have been mailed that will be. We have a few more gifts to wrap but it's still early and we do have a few prying paws around here. With the heat vent not far from the tree, any breeze that happens to move a bow will become a fast game for our gang of felines.


Peety is snoozing in the bed by the tree at the moment.

That bed has become popular with all of them. 

 

The decorations outside are complete too.

That Miracle Happened!

Yes indeed. We now have lights up on the porch outside! Ray put them up today and now the neighbors are out on their ladders too. I think we've started something. lol 


We've draped garland from the porch railing with bows tied to each post and a large red and gold ornaments hang from the center of each swag of the green garland. Now the weather man is predicting snow on the ground next week! Now what could possibly get a person into the Christmas spirit than snow!

 

Here's a close up of our little tree. I think the red and gold looks pretty against the white tree.

We've decided not to take the picture window away from the cats this Christmas. They love it so much they seemed stressed without it in past years, so we opted for the landing at the bottom of the stairs.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving. Ray and I had a quiet dinner and enjoyed a visit with his sister Cindy. I packed some goodies for her to take home and share with her hubby for snacks later. The cats all had turkey ans now we're getting wide eyes of hope for more each time the door is opened. Wish I could afford to share turkey more but they're well fed on things that are better for them. We considered a treat now and then would be OK.

Now it's time to start decorating for Christmas! I've just about convinced Ray to put up lights this year! 
I'm excited at the prospect of that. I'll take pics when that miracle happens. lol

New Beginnings

I ran an ad for the kittens and two were gone on the first call. Both black kittens are gone now and their mother Nelly hasn't stopped calling for them all day. She did calm down when she saw Gilbert. He's the gray tabby male and the only one left now. 

I told Ray if no one asks for him, I guess we'll keep him too. I said it just may be God's will. He said he'd put up a pic of him at the vet just so more of God's people can know he's available. lol 
That Ray is a funny guy.

The turkey is thawing in the fridge and all the groceries are in for thursday's big feast. I asked a few to dinner but no takers. Some just aren't into Thanksgiving. As for me...well...it's always been a tradition for me to make mom and granny's dressing. They made the best sage dressing in the world and each year when I take those bites, memories of them just fill my mind and it's almost as though they're still with me. The leftovers are awesome too!

After the feast is over, the Christmas tree will go up. We bought a small white tree this year and it's already decorated with red and gold ornaments, white lights and red velvet bows. It even has a small angel with a red velvet gown for the topper. It's safely tucked away upstairs away from prying and batting paws. This will be Peety's first Christmas tree experience. We just know he would be the one to climb the big tree and decided that the drama was more than I wanted to deal with, so the small tree should do fine. I'll take pics and post them sometime during the holidays.


I've invited the family here this year and hope the weather cooperates. It's going to be fun.

Tonight's Visitor

This little opossum was munching away on Kitten Chow when I opened the door to the deck earlier. It even let me take a few pics of it before leaving when I asked it to. Although the kittens didn't seem to mind it being there, I just didn't want them mixing. 


It's a cute little thing I think and I've since learned they're not that bad as their reputation. They're quite docile. This one was friendly enough.

The Latest Creation

This is the rag quilt I finished today. It's the largest one I've made yet. 
I believe it's around 60" x 70".

Completed Projects for the Craft Fair

 

                Around the World Rag Quilt

                               Santa Pins

                            Primitive Signs

 

                            Gingerbread Gnomes

I've had fun making these things and almost have another rag quilt finished. It's larger than the one above. I'll post it when it's finished.

The weather changes have been extremely painful and I've been sleeping a lot this past week but this too shall pass.

Working on Some Wee People

That was quite a title wasn't it! lol 

Ray's sister Cindy lent me some craft books the other day and in them I found some cute little gnomes I plan to make and sell at the Christmas craft fair. Here's a sample from the book.

I'll post some pics of mine when I get some finished. There are several steps in making them so it will take a few days before I can post any of the finished products. If they go well, I may sell some in baskets as ornies. We'll see how it goes. 

Yesterday was my 54th birthday. Ray fixed lunch for us and baked a delicious chocolate cake too. We spent a relaxing day watching movies and spending time with one another. It was a good day. 

It's hard to believe I'm this old. Not exactly sure when it happened but I have learned it happens a lot faster than you think it does when you're young. When I looked at my grandmother I used to imagine how I'd look at her age, but life is full of surprises and our imagination has no idea what lies in store for us in those "golden years". I can vouch for one thing, it's nothing like those silver-haired actors on TV pretend it is. All they want to do is sell you things you don't need and things that certainly don't make you smile like they do on TV. 

Your body hurts in places that constantly change and other times remain in the same spots. You can't do things you used to do. You get sad and then mad about it. You sometimes put your clothes one wrong side out and you may wear them for several hours before you realize it. That happened to me the other day and it was certainly an eye opener when Ray didn't even notice it either. (sigh) He said that's what I get for cutting off the neck tags. That's the only way he could tell. Oh well...the coming years are sure to be hilarious. ;)

Pics of the Day

Another dew covered web hanging in the smoke tree this morning.

Bella still getting her bath from her mom Sarah.

Sunflowers and Spiders

 

We've had luck with both this year as well as a bumper crop of tomatoes too.

Working on the Christmas Craft Fair

I've been busy working on a quilt for the Christmas craft fair this year. I'm hoping to make several little items to sell as well as some homemade candy and candied pecans. I'll take pictures of our booth when we get it set up but it won't be here until later in the fall. Ray's also getting excited and is planning some woodworking projects to sell in our booth too. We're going to call it "Scott's Country Store". My mind hasn't stopped working since we've decided to do it. And of course the cats have to be in the middle of everything I'm trying to do. 

"Peety" makes a game out of everything and is practically driving me crazy! He likes going outside but because he's an inside cat, I have to keep him in a cage for his safety. Thankfully, he doesn't mind that except that there was a backhoe working on the new addition to the church next door and the sound was too much for him. I saw him crouching and pacing in the cage and quickly went after him. He couldn't wait until the cage door was opened and practically leaped into my arms. Once inside, he relaxed with some cuddles and a few of his favorite treats.

I best get back to the sewing machine. Have a great day! 

The Visit

Ray and I went to visit his dad yesterday and I thought it would be fun to take the camera along. You just never know what you'll find through that lens.
Here are a few good ones...

Here's "Boots" she chatters all the time. Caught her in midsentence here. :)

They have loads of hummingbirds that come to their front porch to feed. One baby got caught between the stand and the feeder and was helped out by my mother in law. After that it allowed not only her to pet it, but also Ray's dad too. What a special moment that must have been.

Oops!

Seems as though I had clicked on the wrong buttons awhile back on the blog and locked everyone out from commenting. Thanks to Ray, I think it's fixed now.

Latest Painting

This is an acrylic painting I finished a few days ago for Ray's birthday present.

There and Back Again

I decided to try Facebook but found it to be too addicting and the possibility of getting your feelings hurt by hateful people became more of a probability instead of a possibility, so I'm back to blogging where the people are more civilized.

I've also been painting again too and have two more "masterpieces" to share with you today.

This one is a baby bluebird.


This one is of my cat "Peety".

Been Busy Again

I painted this painting a few days ago.




And made these cookies this morning. These are Ray's favorite.


I was up until 1:30am working on another painting and got up at 6:00am to feed the cats. Needless to say, it's time for a nap!

Hope all of you are doing well.

Fireworks

Here are some views of fireworks I took last night. I'm hoping to get a few more shots tonight.

Freebie from Gooseberry Patch

Click below for your choice of screen sizes.
http://gooseberrypatch.typepad.com/blog

A Cloudy Day

It's cloudy outside which makes for a relaxing day. I tend to get as sleepy as the cats on days like these.

Sammy is recovering nicely from his neuter surgery. He's been wanting to go out but he's now a house cat. He just doesn't know it yet.

Molly's five kittens are weaned now. Two have ventured outside from under the closed porch.

The other three can't seem to climb their way out yet. Can't believe that Molly, the smallest cat had the largest litter ever. We've been keeping them in food and water these past couple of weeks while Molly weaned them. They have quite the playground under the large front porch. It's safe there too.

The tomatoes have layers of blooms on them and the zuchinni is beginning to form from their blooms. We should have ripe zuchinni in a couple of weeks. I love it breaded and fried.

The daylillies are blooming now

and the blackberries are beginning to ripen too.


The Gloriosa daisies are also in full bloom along with the black-eyed susans.


I just love this time of year.

Relaxing Days

The rain has cooled things down quite a bit.
The humidity is nothing like it was thankfully.

I'm pleased with the progress of the perennials.
This is the second year for the black-eyed susans. They're in full bloom right now and have gotten tall too!



The zucchini is blooming and the tomatoes are blooming too. Looking forward to tasting some of those. We're going to have a get together of family and friends sometime this summer. Fresh tomatoes, corn on the cob, fried zucchini, green beans with red potatoes and fried chicken sounds like a perfect picnic menu for that event.

We thought we'd lost Sammy this week.

He had stepped out for almost a week doing what tom cats do. Ray and I both kept looking for him at the door but he never came. Finally, Thursday morning I saw him waiting by the front door both half starved and very affectionate. He now has a full tummy, lots of love and a date with Dr. Gibson this coming Monday. That roaming urge will be coming to an end because he's not leaving the house after that little trip. lol

Sometimes I like to sit on the front porch with the camera and take photos of life as it unfolds.
One afternoon this past week I was fortunate enough to get a pic of a mockingbird building a nest in the Smoke Tree.


Also caught this bluebird on the lawn looking for treats.


There's always something happening around here worthy of a pic.
Yesterday, Peety knocked Furby off his shelf and was amazed when he started talking to him. It was so cute I had to take a little video of it. I thought you'd enjoy it too.

All is Well

Since our Boo passed away so young, we decided not to take any chances with the other cats, so for the past two days we've taken them two by two to see Dr. Gibson, our local vet. He and his staff have been so kind to us. Today, we received a sympathy card signed by Dr. Gibson and all the staff for our loss of Boo.
Thankfully all the rest have been tested for feline leukemia and all came back negative for it. Everyone has their shots up to date and we're breathing a huge sigh of relief.

We've had a couple of nice days with lower temps and humidity. The tomatoes and zucchini are growing like weeds with blooms already appearing on the bottom of each tomato plant. I can almost taste them!

Dad's birthday is Sunday. We're going to have a party for him with his favorite food and cake of his choice. He's chosen the family favorite "hot fudge sundae cake".

In Loving Memory of Boo

We lost our beloved Boo to feline leukemia last night.

It took him so quickly, even the vet was surprised.

He was a loving and gentle soul. We'll miss him

Morning Visitors

When I started out onto the deck with my morning coffee, I was surprised to see these two bucks standing only a few feet away. Glad I had the camera with me. :)



What a neat way to start the day.
I hope you have a safe and enjoyable weekend.

Paintings

Here are two of a few paintings I'm considering entering in the art show this weekend.

Seaside Sunset


This one is called "Autumn's Church"

Been Busy

Summer is almost upon us and I've been busy cleaning, planning meals for the week, enjoying friends and family on Face Book, and working on a painting I hoped to enter in the art show this weekend. My eyes have gotten so bad I can't hardly see to put detail in the painting. It's not looking at all like I hope it would so I'm not sure if I'll enter it, but instead enter some I've already finished. We'll see.

As I was hosing off the deck and front porch, little did I know I was also bathing another litter of kittens. Yes, that's right, another litter has arrived but this time it's Molly. She's the litter mate to Boo and Sammy and is the one who has very slowly warmed up to us. She's getting braver so hopefully we can catch her and get her to the vet to be spayed before the next litter arrives.

Anyway, Ray gathered up the wet kittens and as we dried off each one with a towel, we placed them in a box with towels and put the box back under the porch where Molly could find them.


The strawberries are doing well.

We've already had several desserts from them and there's more on the way.

Growing Things

The long rainy season has made for a lush spring. Instead of a week, as some seed packets suggest, I've witnessed seed bursting open and leaves popping up within a few days. It was evident with the sunflowers...and also the zuchinni.


We're planning to till up a large garden spot at dad's house this year. He can't do it anymore, but watching it grow and harvesting things here and there will be something he'll enjoy. If the rain would hold off long enough to till it, we can get started on it.

The peonies are pretty this year.


The Sweet Williams have also done well.


Wild roses are climbing trees out back...


and the blackberry briars laden with blooms, promise a huge harvest in the coming weeks.


Peety and the other cats take turns chattering at birds from the bedroom window on lazy afternoons...


while Bennie peeks around the tomatoes.


It's going to be fun watching the plants grow and picking the goodies once they ripen. We've already picked enough strawberries for two desserts and there's plenty more ripening on the vines.

The peach tree will be bearing in a year or so.

I chose the Elberta variety as it was granny's favorite. I remember her canning a bushel of them she'd bought at a farmer's market one summer. I thought it would be neat being able to pick them off the tree in your own back yard. They're so sweet and fragrant too. Peach ice cream will certainly be on the menu once they do get here.