To make me smile...

Last week, my kids surprised me and cut out paper snowflakes and decorated the house. Being as they are older teens, I was totally touched by their thoughtfulness.

My daughter was mostly the snowflake maker while my son made homemade eggnog. It was a nice Christmas surprise since I had been in a sad mood earlier in the day.

Kids... :)

P.S. this posting is an experiment, since I am trying to be a little mobile and post.

Christmas Baking

Last week I enjoyed one of my favorite past times...baking in my kitchen!

The treats I made are: Christmas Tree Spritz Cookies, Snowball looking Almond Cookies, Buckeyes, English Toffee, Puppy Chow (not really baking) and Kolacky.

I love having many choices to offer my family after dinner this time of year.  Growing up, my grandmother on my mom's side would make several different cookies too.  I remember 6 or 7 huge Tupperware containers that she'd have in her cold, garage from Thanksgiving through Christmas.  Each container was a different type of cookie.  She would have one container filled with of each of her children's favorites and then another one or two cookies.  My mom had three brothers and a sister.

My own mom wasn't much of a cook, but she did make Buckeyes when I was little.  It's her recipe I use in my kitchen.  My siblings, and a few good friends, know to expect a container of these from me each year.

The Kolacky is a newer cookie to my baking.  It is a polish cookie made with poppy seed filling.  My grandmother on my dad's side made very traditional Polish/Slavonic food...which is part of my heritage.  I loved our Christmas Eve's with my dad's family.  If you enjoy reminiscing, click on this memory from my past: My Christmas History.  I loved my grandmother's poppy seed bread, but I don't know that my family would like it, so I have opted for a cookie version.  I like the results, but I still think my grandmother's bread was the best.  Maybe I'll try making a loaf this next week.

The English Toffee is a recipe I discovered about 20 years ago.  My daughter loves it so much that it was what she requested this summer for her birthday; no cake, just toffee.

Do you have any special treats you make this time of year?

PIF- Handmade...with a touch of Hootie

Last January, on Facebook, a friend put out a request for other crafting souls to take place in a Pay-it-Forward Handmade post.  I decided to play along.  The only requirements were that you re-posted the "rules" and sent out something you made to people (who commented on your posting)...and you had a year to do it.  Thank goodness for that time!  It only took me 10 months to make and then send my little treats!  

I decided to do something Hootie-ish.  I learned how to knit dish cloths back in the mid-eighties from my husband's Gma.  It's a pretty basic knitting pattern.  Sugar and Creme is the yarn and size 6 are my needles.  You are staring at one corner and increasing by one stitch each time after the initial 4 stitches.  Knitting only for this pattern!  Cast on 4, knit those 4, then K2 (knit 2), YO (one), knit to the end for every row until you have between 40 and 44 stitches on your needle.  To go back down you K1, K2T (knit 2 together), YO, K2T and then knit to the end...until you only have 4 stitches left.  K2T, K2T...then you should only have 2 stitches left.  Knit those 2 together and bind off.  Easy, peasy, lemon, squeezy!  

Well, to make my basic dish cloth a little more Hootie-ish...I found this FREE pattern: Owl dish cloth.  

But of course that wouldn't be enough for my friends!  In my household, we can easily run a knife in the kitchen sink over a dish cloth and make a hole.  Hence, our dish cloths don't last as long as they should/could.  I won't name names, but this seems to only happens when that DH of mine washes dishes...could it be his secret ploy for getting out of dish washing???  

*****

I wanted to send a little something else that would last longer too.  Inspired by a local artist, Lindsay Hine Schroeder's felt Owl ornament I had bought at a handmade store, I made a "flock" of owls!  

Part of the rules for the PIF were to send treats to five friends.  Since I have a hard time limiting myself...seven friends responded, seven packages were sent!  :)

Soldiers, Angels and Mice, Oh My!

I must start this post by saying, I lied.  I told my daughter I wouldn't post a picture of her in her costume on my blog this year...but while laying in bed this morning I had this idea and I just had to run with it.  

Nutcracker is tonight!!!!  

Once again IU is live streaming this production.  Tonight and tomorrow at 8pm and tomorrow and Sunday at 2pm, you can tune into your computer and watch the Nutcracker for free!  Here's the link:  The Nutcracker

It won't go live until just before the production.  

Officers lead their troops off the elevator.

Angels getting their wings, halos and blush!

Baby mice heads

I've been helping back stage this week with dress rehearsals.  Having an older child in the production, she hasn't had roles where parent help is requested or required.  The older girls are able to do what they need to do without being told.  I was asked to help this year with a younger group of kids.  I've been having a blast!

Hope you can tune in.

~Hootie