Keeping Christmas

"Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love."
~ Hamilton Wright Mabie

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I am cooking the last of our leftover turkey into a soup for dinner. I have been busy playing elf and decorating to my heart's content. I seem to be spending a lot of time reminiscing about past Christmases. I do get teary eyed when thinking of my Mom and Nana (who both loved Christmas so much) but also happy memories that can't help bring a smile to my face.
None of them revolve around presents that I received, at least not the kind that can be bought. The joy of the Season is in my heart ~ I will try to spread that joy to those I love and even strangers I meet. It is amazing what a smile can do to brighten some one's day.

Just thought I would share a few photos of Christmas at Rose Cottage. This is the first year we have had a white tree. My hubby bought in on clearance last year for $10.00 after Christmas. He said he always wanted a white tree. I am so glad he did ~ I think it makes the pink decorations really pop! My angel atop the tree I bought at a yard sale this past spring for 25ȼ.


























I'll share some more photos tomorrow.
Last night I made a batch of gingerbread cookie dough and maybe later today I will bake some cookies. It is quite warm out now so I may wait until another cooler day.
I have so much cottage~keeping to catch up on today, it's time to get things back to being neat and tidy.

Cottage Life

Good Morning! We have had a busy few days here at the cottage. Yesterday we made several batches of soap. We used shea butter this time, and although it seemed a bit crumbly,I'm sure it will be fine. Soap making does take some time but I think its worth the effort. I added a bit of lavender and geranium essential oil ~ made the whole house smell good. I was actually surprised my hubby enjoys making it as well ~ he does the lye mixing and the cutting.








I also baked a loaf of whole wheat bread with sunflower seeds,fennel, poppy seed and sesame seed. This turned out very well. The recipe is from my bread machine book (I no longer have a bread machine) so I just modify the recipes a bit. I added milk instead of water and used more yeast, plus I let it rise longer. Made for quite a tasty loaf.




Today I am going to wrap a few Christmas presents, we are done except for a few stocking stuffers. This will be a much simpler holiday, one I am really looking forward to...

Many Blessings

The joy of enjoying
and the fullness of living
are found in the heart
that is filled with thanksgiving.

In just two weeks it will be Thanksgiving! I am glad we are just having our family and keeping things simple. I love a big family get~together, but I don't think I feel up to cooking for a big crowd!
I don't serve a lot of fancy food (no one would eat it!). We have turkey, mashed potatoes with gravy, green bean casserole (yuk ~ but my kids like it) and corn.Dessert is my creamy pumpkin pie. That's it, but for our gang that's enough.
I haven't decided if I will make myself a baked sweet potato (I'm the only one who likes them) as well as cranberry sauce. Every year I buy cranberry sauce and end up throwing most of it away ~ which of course is wasteful, but I know I will miss it on the table! I'll set the table with my Old Country Roses China on a snowy white lace tablecloth, and sip pink champagne while the turkey is cooking.

Now look what I was gathering on my walk this morning...pecans! Pecan trees grow every where down here and this year is a bumper crop! I plan on picking up a few more bags full for baking and just plain eating.




I have so much to be thankful for, I have been blessed with a wonderful family and home with good health and plenty of food on the table. I really have too many blessings to count...