Blogmas Day #14

Remember when I said I might have to order some trim to finish my cross stitch pieces?  Well, evidently I don't.  My archaeological digging around my house has yielded me some great finds!  One of which was this stuffed in an old jar............woohoo! 

I got the ornaments all done today and they are so cute!  The best I've ever made IMHO.  I'll be showing them tomorrow on YOP Sunday.
Another favorite healthy snack are these...........sweet mini peppers filled with guacamole.........easy quick and so satisfying!

one thing that makes them so easy to whip up is this...............guacamole ready to squeeze out of this stand-up package that prevents it from turning dark!  Brilliant I say...Brilliant!

For Advent gift number 2.....Amy received the 10 or 12 cotton facial pads that I crocheted for her.  I received a hint of "Just keep rubbing it in"!  I guessed hand cream and I was correct!  BTW in case, I forgot to tell you....her first advent gift was the Christmas monogrammed mug.
I never have enough hand cream in the wintertime and I love Burt's Bees products.  Yummy flavors!

Here are your Christmas Tidbits for today...........

I make this every year to give to the mail people, garbage people and others who help me out during the year but mine were always with dark chocolate and not very festive like these are!  I'll be making this version this year!

The recipe is here

I adore this hat and what a perfect Christmas gift/hat...........Becki, this looks like something you would make and I would see it and then I would want to make it too......are you sure you haven't made this? LOL!

here's the instructions

That's all for this Saturday night.....I hope you all had a great day and got all your shopping and decorating done!
Happy Trails!!!

Blogmas Day #13

Friday the 13th too............so far so good!  My daughter's Advent gifts arrived at her house just in time!  We were able to open our first gift last night over the phone.  Her hint on her package was "----- as a tack!"  I guessed "sharp" as a tack and thought it was tacks but I was wrong!  Sharpie pens that don't bleed through the paper and a pin that I can put on my project bag!  Love!

 I also received the limited edition collectible Christmas card for 2019 from Farside and Far Guy!  She makes beautiful handpainted cards and Far Guy addresses them all.....they are truly frame-worthy!  This isn't the best picture but the card is lovely....thank you!

I had a strange "herd of birds" land in my back yard yesterday and they stayed for quite a while.  There was Mr. and Mrs. Robin.........usually they don't stay here they just pass through on their way farther south or north depending on the time of year but there have been a lot of them sticking around this year........

The majority of birds were starlings?  

  

They were tossing leaves up in the air looking for acorns?  It's too cold for worms!  It was like a feeding frenzy and my neighbor has all kinds of bird feeders full of food so why they were in my yard is beyond me but I sure enjoyed it!

I'm working on "finishing" the ornaments today and another present arrived today to mail out with the ornaments.
My healthy snacks are working out great!  I really like the apple and peanut butter and those mini sweet orange and red peppers are delicious!  I got some guacamole in a tube that you can squirt inside the mini peppers!  Yum!
Here are your Christmas Tidbits for today..............

These are made using 1/2 of a clear plastic ornament........directions are here

Here is a classic and taken from the beautiful illustrations by Susan Branch...........click on it to make it big enough to read....lol!

Take care and have a happy Friday the 13th!
Happy Trails!!!

Blogmas Day #12

Today is a wonderful day!  My SIL came through his surgery with flying colors and is doing very well!  Thank you for all your kind thoughts and prayers.  Another wonderful thing happened.  I got all the Christmas presents wrapped and packaged up and to the post office before they closed.  There are a couple more presents to arrive and I haven't finished the ornaments but their main presents are on their way only I was in such a rush I didn't take any pictures!  Oh well, they were so pretty too!
I'm running late and I'm tired from all the excitement and great news today so here are your Christmas Tidbits...........
This one isn't necessarily Christmas humor but he is wearing a red outfit..............

How about some old fashioned wassail.................I told you I was into everything vintage this Christmas....................

I love all the different colors of these bottle brush trees!  Where can I find them?

I hope you had as wonderful a day as I had or better!
Happy Trails!!!

Blogmas Day #11

Well, I went to Walmart and I am getting a real kick out of scanning the groceries myself....it's like playing store when I was a kid! LOL!  Today I learned how to scan and weigh vegetables and also how to get a price for something that doesn't have a bar code.....I'm thinking I could put this experience on my resume!   I have been researching healthy snacks online as I tend to snack during the day and not have a sit-down lunch.  I got some good ideas from this site 29 Healthy Snacks That Can Help You Lose Weight
and here is a bunch of groceries to support it..................wish me luck!

 I also stopped by the Dollar Tree for more wrapping supplies...........the saga continues............

More presents arrived today.........I just love my little tree....it is covered in ornaments from my family and the annual collectible ornaments from years past......

Now for your Christmas Tidbits for today!

 Here's a recipe for reindeer bait 
 You've got to have that on hand for the holidays!  Disclaimer......this is NOT a healthy snack........but it's okay for the reindeer as they get plenty of exercise!

These are paper window displays which I thought were really pretty............no directions but I think if you wanted to do it you could just by looking at it................

 I love this one..............

That's all for today folks!  It's a "wrap".....get it.....wrap?  LOL!  Speaking of, I have lots of that ahead of me!
Happy Trails!!!



 

Blogmas Day #10

 I put up the tree today! LOL!  Actually it's always up I just have to replace the batteries in the lights! LOL!  See all my presents?  My daughter's Advent gifts to me arrived today!  Also, see the big green package on the left?  That's from Grayson...he wrapped it up himself!  So sweet!  Amy told me that actually it is something he gave me this past summer that I forgot and left there so he wrapped it up and is "re-gifting" it to me for Christmas!  There is no one except maybe Amy that can make me laugh like that boy can!  He is  a hoot!

I had to go get prescriptions again today....you'd think I took a lot of meds....hmmm.....maybe I do?  Anyway, I got the names and dates embroidered on the ornaments and a few other Christmas tasks.  I still have wrapping to do after I post this blog.  Oh, my Sugar Cookie Murder book came today for my holiday reading and my first seed catalog that I forgot to show you came the day after Thanksgiving!  My favorite one too!

Now for your Christmas Tidbits for today.............

I have always wondered about the "visions of sugarplums" that "danced in their heads" and here is the recipe.....someday I am going to make them but it probably won't be this year.......have any of you ever made them?  To enlarge just click on the picture...........

Finally a use for all those buttons I have.................and you can now buy those Scrabble letters

Yesterday was 70 F here and this morning was 29 and snow was on the radar but I never saw any..........I hope you are warm and dry!

Happy Trails!!!

Blogmas Day #9

Whew!  I got all the Advent presents wrapped and packaged and in the mail this morning!  Ta Da!  I just hope they get there by the 12th.  Some more presents came in the mail today so things are 'ramping up'!  I can't show you pictures of the wrapped packages but I will next YOP Sunday.  I did take pictures of them.
Other than that, which took part of the day, I watched part of the impeachment and made Oatmeal Crisp cookies.  The soup turned out very good last night.

I also worked on Blaithin CAL squares.......the Hydrangea........

 Here are your Christmas Tidbits for today............

I've always wanted to make these and here are the directions

My Aunt used to make these....in fact, I think every woman in our little town made them for weddings, funerals, showers......I will have to try these as I loved them as a child
Here's the recipe and instructions

I hope your week got off to a good start!
Happy Trails!!!

YOP Week #23

 
Christmas is almost upon us!  Especially for those of us who have Advent gifts to mail!  But first I have a finish...in fact several........the 2019 Collectible Ornaments are done!  TaDa!!!

except for a button on the pompom on his hat and of course the final finishing into an ornament for the tree....
I didn't do much else craft wise except I am working on Santa Sunday............

 Oh!  I finished my Witchy Wednesday too,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

I also got my Christmas Eve yarn for casting on my Christmas Eve socks!  It's sparkly!!!

Now I'll show you the Advent gifts for my daughter....there's a few missing that haven't come in yet but these are going in the mail tomorrow!  We do the 12 days of Christmas starting on the 12th.  She's going to need a little pick me up as her husband is having his foot amputated that day.  Just last week their water softner went on the fritz and they had to get another one, plus she got in a car accident and totaled her car but they are all okay...PTL!  She also had a leak under the kitchen sink.  A friend of theirs bought the water softner and installed it and her minister came over and fixed the leak under the sink.  Please pray for her and her husband and their boys....it's going to be a rough Christmas for them and for many others who have loved ones in the hospital at this time of year.  She's a teacher and you know how busy they are at Christmas and all the programs plus she has to go see her boys in their programs too and they are active in their church.  She has many wonderful friends at the schools she teaches at and also at her church so that is a blessing. Add all this to the  loss of my son, her brother, and I think we will all be glad to see the end of 2019! 
These are not in any order yet but I usually order them so the presents get nicer and nicer as the days go by.  Her name is Amy so I thought this was cute for the holidays.............

      Some kitchen essentials I made............

cosmetic pads....I think I made her a dozen and they are washable and dryable.........

2 packages of holiday scented sachet................

 2 magnetic grocery list pads..........she loves Fall and Halloween............

 a set of Burt's Bees lip balms......

this fabulous foaming soap I get at Walmart that is lemon scented with essential oils...no chemicals and smells so good..............she and I both love citrus smells ..........

a shawl in her favorite Fall colors................

She loves this brand and it is Orange Blossom and Honey body butter.............again....pure stuff!

Would you believe I found this at Walmart?  We both adore bacon and I could not pass this up!  I think it was the only jar there too.....

I'm trying to remember what else but I'll show you another time.............   I'm pretty sure the bacon jam will be the last gift!  She will love it!
Now for your Christmas Tidbits for today..................

I think I will add this one to my Christmas cookie/candy list.............I used to make green colored wreathes with cinnamon candy berries but it was cornflakes made like rice krispy treats....they were really pretty..............I'm into vintage everything this year!  The recipe is here

and finally..............I think this is so cute!  If you used velcro you could change out your lampshade covers for every holiday!  Brilliant!  This site has all kinds of cute Christmas crafts....I mean REALLY cute! And guess what?  They're vintage inspired!  Right up my alley! Here's the link to it 

 I threw a "fat flushing" soup in the crock pot this morning............I really like it too....I've made it several times and if it helps me drop some ounces...I'm all for it especially before my doctors appointment next week! LOL!  Here's a link to the recipe and her website

Please stop by and visit the other fabulous makes by YOP'ers here
Happy Trails!!!