Winter and Ponderings of Christmas

Brrrrrrr! We had such a cold snap recently, quite out of the ordinary for our neck of the woods. We had several nights where the temps got down to 8 to 10 degrees!
One good thing, our pond froze over with a few inches of ice. My dh and our grandkids enjoyed making some memories playing on it. The pond has only froze over one other time, a little less than 20 years ago. It was fun watching our ducks try to walk on the ice. They had no traction at all and did some slipping and sliding.

A simple Christmas this year. I've always strived (always failing) for simplicity in celebrating. We are now forced into it. It is December 16 and I have not shopped for the children yet (the only ones getting gifts this time). I have made two batches of candy cane cookies. I am knitting scarves. We have no tree and the decorations are still in the attic. The one thing shining "Christmas" around here, is the huge star on the roof. It seems rather strange that I have not 'decked the halls' yet. I'm sure by the weekend, I will bring down my Christmas cups and drinking glasses, tablecloths, ornaments and such. I'm sure we will get a tree, even if it's of the Charlie Brown style.

I wonder every year about Christmas. Without making my readers feel bewildered, I have to say, I wonder. Every year there is something which prevents me from the "ideal" makings of the holiday. I always plan to get started early....cookies in the freezer, handmade ornaments and stockings for everyone, gifts purchased or made and all wrapped up way in advance, house cleaned, meals planned...maybe sneak in a little time to have company over for a relaxing evening of good cheer...and the last few days before that magical day: listening to Christmas music and puttering around in the kitchen with my grandchildren. It has never happened. What does happen is life. We have experienced serious illnesses, tragic losses and financial despair, thus preventing what the world views as a bright and merry holiday season.

I guess if I'm learning anything about the direction our Christmas celebrations usually go...it's that there was nothing at all glamorous about that first Christmas.
A young girl in the beginning stages of labor, traveling on a donkey's back, trying to find shelter so she could give birth to her first child. Her mother was not there to hold her hand, comfort her, and see her through. Her young husband must have been scared to death for his bride and himself. They needed a room and were turned away, only to be sent to the barn. We always see the lovely paintings of the stable scene, but let's face it, it was a barn. Animals lived in it. We know the rest of the story....our Savior was born in this lowly place. A king was brought into the world under stressful conditions and surroundings.

These realizations will hopefully help me keep my focus on what it's all about once and for all. In my personal struggles, always wishing for the 'perfect' Christmas, I now believe the perfection is Jesus. The Simple Truth.

One thing I know for sure....Christmas will come whether we have prepared or not! It is a magical time. It is a time of peace and goodwill. It is a time of celebration that should last us the whole year through and for every year that remains!

God bless us, everyone!
Janice

Little Joys

Wishing each of you warm and wonderful Thanksgiving.

While we are all living our lives out in different circumstances, it is so important to let the little daily joys enter into our hearts. For myself, I have decided to start a small journal entitled "Little Joys". I want to capture on paper, the little and big gifts that God brings into my life. On days I may be feeling blue and finding it a challenge to have a light heart, I can open my book and read about joys I have encountered.

Yesterday a little wren come to visit. We don't ever see wrens around our place (sometimes I think I've seen them down in the thicket by the end of our long driveway, but never near the house). I was so thrilled! Little tail straight up like a flag pole and a bright white stripe above his eye, helped me identify him as a Bewick's Wren (named by John Audubon after his British friend Thomas Bewick). He was flitting around the rocks in the ornamental grass garden, then suddenly he was near the front porch in a little tree growing there, checking out the house and porch with much curiosity. I grabbed my camera just in time for a quick snap, then he was gone. I have not seen him since.

That was a big little joy for this bird lover! I thought about him all day long and was very much reminded that God cares about the things that make us smile, the things that make our hearts flutter, the things that we love. Thank you, God, for this first entry in my little book.

So with these thoughts, I hope you all have a wonderful season of Thanksgiving and encourage you to start your own 'little joys' writing book to help you reflect on God's many blessings.

It's been a busy continuation of September!

We celebrated our other granddaughter's birthday recently. Our Collette turned 14 (how did that happen so fast?). She is sister to our other birthday girl, Holly, mentioned in my previous post. Collette celebrated all weekend long and started her official day off with a "come in your pajamas pancake breakfast" at our house with some of her friends. It was fun for us as well as for all of the girls. Her evening dinner was fettuccine with garlic bread and chocolate pies loaded with whipped cream...yum! Our grandgirls are growing up so fast!

I have managed to get more pear jam made and even dried some pears in the dehydrator. I want to do more.....and may have to burn the candle at both ends to get it all done.

The weather is amazing....nice & warm during the day...great for hanging clothes out on the line and enjoying the fresh early autumn air. Nights are chilly and require an extra blanket at times.

I'm trying to get back into letter writing again. I slacked off more than I wanted to during the summer. I do enjoy having a few pen friends and keeping up the lost art of hand written letters sent in the mail with a stamp! Email is such fun, but not quite as personal as receiving a note in the mail box.

Time to get busy! Happy Fall Y'all!

Busy in the kitchen and a birthday!

When the fruit is ready...it's ready!

I'm always amazed at the glimpses we get on TV of people working in super organized kitchens while cooking, baking or preserving food! Just who are those people anyway? (giggle). Mine never looks like that. When I add a canning project to my every day use of the kitchen, it can get pretty messy!

Anyway, in the last couple of days I have made a batch of apple butter, picked pears and made a batch of pear jam. More pears and apples are waiting on the sidelines, but the pears will have to be used up first, as they are more impatient.

It's been a few years since I've done this, and I'm finding it very time consuming, but worth every minute or hour it might take. It's a feeling of comfort seeing the jars stack up with different goodies inside them waiting to be consumed as the year rolls along.

Today is a HOLLYDAY in our household! Our granddaughter, Holly, who at the moment lives with us (as does the rest of her family), turned 12! We will have her special dinner this evening, along with cake, icecream, and of course presents! It's pretty cute what she wants for her dinner. Two of her favorite things: popovers and homemade macaroni & cheese! I asked her what we should do for the meat lovers in the family (thinking of my husband and son) and she sweetly added chicken drumsticks to the menu. So, though most of the family always chooses homemade pizza for their birthday dinners, Miss Holly, is sticking to a few of her favorite things! God bless her!

Hope you have a good day!

It's autumnish out there!

Hello to my blogging friends! I hope you are doing well!

I am keeping very busy with work, home & family. My dh has been picking up fruit here and there which has also been keeping my hands occupied in the kitchen. I've made applesauce for the freezer, am making apple juice, have frozen some blackberries (and made one skillet blackberry cobbler...yum). I hope to make apple butter today and soon can some apple pie filling. I have a friend who has offered me pears off her tree also, so need to try to pick those tomorrow. It will be a nice feeling getting some things put up for winter.

We have been building a nice dog shelter for our outside dogs. We hope to finish it today. I'm glad they will have a warm and cozy spot to get out of the cold weather.

I still do not have access to a printer with this old laptop I'm using. I think that is why I don't blog much is because I have a hard time blogging without photos! We have sold one of our trucks, and my dh has promised when the money comes in for that, I shall have a new little computer. Then I'll be back in photo blogging again! :o) Can't wait!

And of course, this autumn days are wonderful. The flowers are so much brighter and happier with the cooler temps and the air smells heavenly, especially after a good rain recently. The ground has that damp earthy fragrance and the leaves are starting to change colors on some trees. Love it!

A quote which has encouraged my heart so much the last few days:

"You don't know how strong you are, until being strong is the only choice you have."

God bless you all!
~Janice~

Good Grief!

I think Charlie Brown's phrase fits well right now..."Good Grief!". I thought our computer problems were over for a while, but now my moniter has quit and before that we were having printer problems. Did I already say "Good Grief!"? It's the way it goes sometimes. I am back to using the old laptop once in a while, which has a mind of it's own and freezes up when it gets tired. Still, I am so very grateful for it!

We had company twice within a month...our friends from Idaho. We had so much fun and enjoyed every minute. We feel very blessed to have been able to spend good quality time with them recently.

On the 4th of July, we grilled some burgers and had most of the family over. It was a really hot day...in the high 90's.

Robin, thank you for your sweet comment left, being concerned how things are with me. I do appreciate it so much. You have a sweet heart.

I will pop in when I can and do long to visit each of your blogs!

Missing you all.....

Strawberries!

Yesterday my daugher and I, along with two friends, went strawberry picking. The berries were smallish and we had to work a bit harder to fill our buckets, but I did get 7 lbs. picked in the short amount of time I was able to be there. Last evening I made 3 batches of freezer jam and still have some to eat fresh. The picking season is nearly at an end, but I hope to get there again one more time and get some more. Such a sweet treat!