New Year's Eve at Home

I guess another of my New Year's Resolutions should be finding a new internet provider.  Once again, I sat down to do my blog last night and had no internet connection.  So I apologize, again, for the lack of a blog last evening!

Usually, on New Year's Eve, we are at our friends' house in Monticello, MN.  This year, they had too busy a schedule to have a house full of guests tonight so we did our own celebration at home.  It was fun to prepare a New Year's Eve dinner like we used to have each year when our children were younger.

I tried to make fun things but I also wanted to incorporate some things that were a little more healthy too.  For the healthy part......I took 8 tortillas and cut them into 6 wedges a piece, making 48 tortilla chips.  I placed them as a single layer on a cookie sheet.

I brushed them butter then sprinkled them with sugar and cinnamon.

I placed them in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes until they turned lightly brown and crisp.

I served them with a fruit salsa that I made by mixing raspberries, Golden Delicious apples and mandarin oranges with 3 Tablespoons of strawberry preserves, 1 Tablespoon of white sugar and 1 Tablespoon of brown sugar.

It was delicious!

I also made homemade meatballs and BBQ sauce in the crockpot, papaya salsa with chips, crab legs and a meat fondue.

I love doing a fondue and crab legs because it seems to really make us slow down to eat.  We have to work a little to get our food!  Even my 17 year old ate with us instead of going out to eat with his friends.  And the best part......my husband did ALL of the dishes afterwards!

Happy New Year to all of you!  May the New Year bring you lots of joy!

"Tomorrow is the first blank page of a 365 page book.  Write a good one."  -Brad Paisley

A Good Thing

Speaks for itself.......

"Joy is what happens to us when we allow ourselves to recognize how good things really are."  -Marianne Williamson

Great Tasty Blog

Today, like every Saturday, I listened to one of my favorite local Saturday radio shows, The Weekly Dish.  It was was a re-broadcast but it was every bit as interesting today as it was the first time I heard it.  This time though, I took the next step and researched the blog of their guest.  It is a FABULOUS blog for anyone who likes to eat, is conscientious about what they eat and wants to eat locally grown foods.

The blog is called Simple, Good and Tasty.  Here is a link  simplegoodandtasty.com  I spent the afternoon looking over the blog's 2013 Gift Guide.  I really want to check out the cookbook they suggested - Minnesota Bounty:  The Farmer's Market Cookbook.  I love to cook and I love the Minneapolis Farmers' Market.  I'm also hoping to have a garden next summer full of Minnesota hearty produce.  This cookbook sounds perfect for helping me turn my Farmers' Market and home produce into something my family will eat......and enjoy.

I also read about grouse hunting, making really yummy non-alcoholic drinks for special occasions,  how to make rhubarb ketchup that I know my middle son would love, CSAs, foraging for morels.....and many, many more interesting blogs.  I'm hooked!  I can't wait until they start blogging again in the New Year!

"The food you eat can be either the safest and most powerful form of medicine or the slowest form of poison."  -Ann Wigmore

Three New Year's Resolutions

It's that time of year when people start talking of New Years' Resolutions.  There are the old standards......eat less, exercise more, get more sleep, balance your budget and so on.  While all of those are worthwhile resolutions, I like something a little more creative.

I'm going to make three resolutions:

#1 - I am 47 years old so I am going to try to read 47 books next year.  Because I take the train to work most days I have plenty of time to read.  I've also been reading during my lunch hour so I have been going through books about every other day.  I know this is a huge undertaking but I'm going to give it a try!

#2 - Also going along with the age theme, I am going to try to watch 47 movies next year.  This one might be a little easier to do since we try to have family movie night every Friday night.

Both of these ideas I got from my neighbor Keri.  She is making great progress in reading through the number of books her age and in watching the number of movies her age.

#3 - For this one, again working with the age theme, I am going to do 47 works of service.  I'm not talking volunteering at the soup kitchen every weekend, even though I will do that once in while.  I'm talking about helping someone load groceries in the car, giving a ride home to someone who might have otherwise had to walk in the cold, paying for some random person's coffee order at Starbucks......  This one I think will be the easiest to do.  I'm hoping to go over 47!

I will keep you updated on my progress.  I may need some encouragement as the weeks roll on!  I'm interested in hearing what other's resolutions are - we could encourage each other!

 "Let our New Year's resolution be this:  we will be there for one another as fellow members of humanity, in the finest sense of the word."  -Goran Persson

My New Piece of Art - A Bag

Back in October, at The Meander, I ordered a bag......a very special bag.  Becky Stattleman, at the Red Barn, makes great bags by using photographs printed on special fabric.  I sent her a picture that my son took of the Minneapolis skyline.  Here is my new bag that is more like a piece of art than something that will carry my book and lunch to and from work!

Becky added straps with a key dangle

and the inside is lined with multiple pockets.  She picked a fabric that she knew I'd love......all about Paris.  For $60 I got a conversation piece, a wearable pice of art and a durable bag to carry of all of my knitting, books, lunch, wallet......everything I need for a car ride or a day at work.

If you're interested in finding out more about these bags, here is Becky's email address:  brcstatt@fedteldirect.net.

A Gift of Family History

Merry Christmas Everyone!  Tonight I just wanted to share one of the best Christmas gifts I have ever gotten.

My parents gave my sister and I a bin.  In that bin were two binders - one for my mom's family information and one for my mom's.  Those binders contain the most wonderful pages you could ever imagine.  This project has taken my mom years to complete.  On the pages in those binders are a family history of pictures, confirmation certificates, report cards, newspaper articles, a family tree and did I mention pictures.

 My mom started these binders long before there was ever a thing called creative memories.  I plan on spending my Sunday afternoons pouring over every detail in each of these binders.  I plan on keeping them in our safe.......they mean as much to me as any legal document we have!

So it's not always how much you spend but how much love you put into your gift giving!

"It's not how much we give but how much love we put into giving."  -Mother Teresa

Good Snowy Day Movie

I like to ride in the car when I can read or knit.....not something you can do in the dark in the car.  So, I brought my laptop and a DVD to while away the time as we drove to my sister and brother-in-law's home about 2 hours from our home.  I watched one of all time favorite movies:  Julie and Julia.

This movie didn't win any awards and probably didn't get awesome reviews but I love it and have watched it over and over again.  It's a story about Julia Child's life intertwined with blogger Julie Powell's quest to cook through The Joy of Cooking by Julia Child, one recipe at a time within one year.  I love food/cooking/baking so maybe that's part of the allure of the movie.  Every time I watch it I want to head into the kitchen and start whipping up all kinds of culinary creations just like Julie and Julia did in the movie.

 So if you're looking for a light hearted movie for a cold and snowy day, I would highly recommend you check out this movie.  Maybe it will inspire you to try out some new recipes and cooking techniques - I know it had that affect on me!

"Your book is going to change the world."  -Paul Child to Julia Child

"Charlie Brown" Christmas Tree

I have a great idea for how you can recycle your real Christmas tree after the holidays are over.  We actually have a few of these recycled trees around our house and my husband made one for my parents that they have lit up and decorated in their bathroom.

Here is what our tree looks like this year.

After the holidays are over, we trim the branches off - shorter at the top and gradually get larger at the bottom - from about 3 inches to 10 inches.  Then we stick it in our garage attic until it completely dries.  Once it dries, we shake off the left-over needles.  Here is the one we did a few years ago.  It fits neatly in a narrow corner in our living room.

I've added a rag torn garland, a paper chain garland, a rusty star and some lights.  I love how it fits into the decor of our family room.

"He who has not Christmas in his heart will never find it under a tree."  -Roy L. Smith

Great Movie - FROZEN

I've been so busy at work the last two weeks.  I'm usually gone from home about 12 hours a day.  Between work and getting things ready for Christmas, I haven't had much downtime.  Last night my husband and I attended a Christmas party at our neighbors'.  On the way home I lamented to my husband how utterly exhausted I was.  He insisted that I come home and go directly to bed......no blogging.  He also said that I needed to sleep in and take today as one of pure leisure (my words, not his - his words were more like, you need to not do anything for a day).

So, those of you who wake up to blog every morning, I apologize.  As soon as we got home last evening, I went straight to bed.  This morning I slept in; got up and ate breakfast; and then went back to bed.  I got up just in time for lunch.  I felt so much better.  Still in keeping with the lazy day theme,  my daughter and I went to the movie "Frozen".

What a wonderful movie!  Even if you don't have children, I think this is a movie you would enjoy.  We laughed - the snowman named Olaf was hilarious!

I shed a few tears.  Just when you thought the love they were talking about would be the love between a prince and a princess......you learn about the loyalty and love of family.  It made me think of how much my sister means to me.

There are also other characters - a nasty prince, a handsome villager, and a very expressive reindeer.

This was actually the third time my daughter had seen this movie and she laughed just as hard this time as she did the first time.  There wasn't an empty seat in the theater and no one got up to go out for more popcorn or to use the restroom.  The movie kept us all entranced.  I'm thinking I may have to go see it again!

"Some people are worth melting for."  -Olaf 

Beaded Gift Adornment

Tonight, I got all of our gifts wrapped.  I only had a few left to do and one of them is for a party my husband and I are going to tomorrow night.  We are bringing a bottle of Rum Chata as a hostess gift but I didn't want to just put in a bag.  I thought I'd dress it up with some beads and ribbon.

I started with some stiff, memory wire and red beads.

 I cut a piece of wire about 8" long,

then started stringing on the red beads.

After bending the ends to hold on the beads, I shaped the wire/beads into a "J" (the first initial of the last name of the party hosts).

I strung some beads on another, shorter piece of wire and then slipped it through the hole of the bed in the first piece of wire.

Then I strung on more beads and bent the end to keep the beads on the wire.

And here is my "J".

I needed something to to use as a hanger.  I had some silver thread that I thought would be perfect.

I attached it to the top of the "J".

With a few pieces of ribbon, here is our hostess gift!

"The greatest gift of life is friendship, and I have received it."  -Hubert H. Humphrey

Christmas Ornament Tradition

My daughter is in the 6th grade and she sings in a group called Kids from Fridley.  Today they sang at six different locations.  Their last performance location was the Mall of America.

After she sang, she and her friends got to spend a few hours in Nickelodeon Universe in the center of the Mall.  While she was off having fun, I went shopping for Christmas ornaments.  We have a family tradition of giving our children a Christmas ornament each year that somehow represents their personality, something they like to do or a big event that happened the past year.  (My mom takes part in this tradition too and she usually gives my children their ornaments on Thanksgiving Day, before we go to bed.....kind of a "kick off" to the Christmas season now that Thanksgiving is over.)

The ornaments I chose for my children this year were:

a hunter for my oldest son who went pheasant and deer hunting for the first time this year

a snowboarder for my middle son who is at our local snowboard hill every day after school

an Eiffel Tower for my daughter as a remembrance of our trip to Paris

The ornaments my mom chose for my children this year were:

a s'more hunter for my oldest son who has a new passion for pheasant and deer hunting

a baseball snowman for middle son who loves to play centerfield on his baseball team

an owl for my daughter who has an love for anything owl related

While my boys choose to keep their ornaments either tucked away in their own keepsake boxes or on our family Christmas tree, my daughter likes to showcase some of her ornaments on her own dowel tree.  It's actually my dowel tree from when I was a girl and I used it to hang my special ornaments.

Eventually, when my children move away and have Christmas trees of their own, they will have plenty of ornaments to decorate that first home away from home Christmas tree.

"The perfect Christmas tree?  All Christmas trees are perfect!" - Charles N. Barnard