December 4. The tree.

So we went looking for a tree in 65 degree weather which was a little weird. It was a beautiful day though for most of the day-This morning I walked in a TANK TOP! On Dec 4th!  (I'll clarify that I walked for an hour so I was only in the tank top after I worked up a sweat.) but I figured it was the last time my arms would see sunlight until probably February so I'd better take advantage of it.

By the time we got to the tree place though, it was raining. And no one could agree on a tree. I got voted down on the Douglas Fir for a long needle tree. We got a concolor which smells a little like oranges. I didn't go on the the tree excursion last year and the tree last year was a little, hmmm....on the short side. So this year though I didn't get a Douglas Fir I did get one that ends about an inch below the ceiling!

Score!

Still looking!

Found it!

December 24, 2011

Everyone is asleep and Santa has already visited! Now it's time for me to blog and go to bed! There is a warm cosy fire and I really want to read right now, but I have a feeling morning is going to come early here!

Christmas Eve at our house.

This is such a typical scene. My grandma and Danielle. my SIL working the electric frying pans. They are always in this spot.  My grandma has the fish and Danielle is working the perioges. Look at my brother trying to sneak something like he's 8 years old. There is my mom in the edge of the picture. My guess is that these ladies are discussing the "doneness" of the perioges. See how my grandma is leaning. She's leaning like she has an opinion about something... 

 There are two perioge factions here. One likes them crispy on the outside and one likes them golden. They did half and half this year.  

I didn't even have one.... Shhhh.... Don't tell anyone.

Someday when that picture is different I'll be glad I took this tonight. As my grandma was coming in to fry the fish she said "Well this is probably the last time I'll be doing this...."

Though that is not the first time she's said that! She's said it for like 5 years.

She'll be 88 in April.

And everyone enjoyed their meal.

16 full bellies! We had people eating in the living room too.  Both sides. Siblings, parents, cousins, grandma and Bob. Everyone had a nice time

Why yes, those ARE fresh greens on the table....

My neighbors visited after dinner tonight and right this very minute my other neighbors next door are out on their deck SINGING CHRISTMAS SONGS..... Their deck is close to my porch and I have a door to that porch in my living room. They are loud, but boy are they having a good time!

Christmas is in the air!

December Photo Project-December 16-18th!

My weekend in photos....

I had a lovely weekend.

I'm very glad it is over.

Saturday morning visit to The Susan B Anthony House with the girl scouts. This was an awesome trip!

We had a fabulous guide who was great with the girls and presented the information at a level the girls could understand and yet still drove home the importance of Susan B Anthony and her accomplishments. Here are the girls with Susan's famous alligator purse that she  carried all of her sufferage speeches in... Seriously!!!!

This children's rhyme mentions Susan!

Miss Lulu had a baby, she called him tiny Tim.

She put him in the bathtub, so see if he could swim.
He drank up all the water! He ate up all the soap!
He tried to swallow the bathtub, but it wouldn’t go down his throat!!
Call for the doctor!
Call for the nurse!
Call for the lady with the alligator purse!
“Mumps!” said the doctor. “Measles!” said the nurse.
“Vote!!” said the lady with the alligator purse!!

Sundayafternoon party at the YMCA for my girl's Birthday! HUGE GIANT BOUNCE HOUSE was enjoyed by all....

This is the first time we've had her party somewhere, usually we have it at home.

WORTH. EVERY. PENNY.

We love the Y, The people we so nice and helpful.  We had a great time and so did the kids, I was pretty unstressed about the entire thing.  They decorated, got balloons, cake, pizza, drinks. We brought goodie bags and the birthday girl!

It was still Yuletide at the museum this weekend and I worked Friday, Sat and Sunday evenings.

And we pretty much killed it!!!

I know that's kind of obnoxious to say. Who wants to read stuff like this? But by the end of tonight I just kept telling eveyone "I'm so proud of us all." Everyone worked very very hard to make this thing happen. And it happened to happen very well. Everyone is very tired....

Tomorrow starts 2 weeks off for many people, including myself.

I. CANNOT. WAIT.

I have not of course, escaped the holiday season without a cold and car repair, experiencing both of those late last week. The difference this year? I'm not so stressed about money and I blew my nose a lot and moved on, though at one point yesterday between the Susan B house and the museum I laid down and didn't think I could get back up. 

 I even rallied Sat evening, came home from the museum early and made it out to the only Christmas party that I could get to this year. My friends Bridget and Rick have had a party since I was in college.  It wouldn't be Christmas if I didn't go!

I'm so glad I didn't miss it.

I can't move this picture. For some reason they are difficult to move when I upload them from my phone. Anyway, this is Susan B Antony's house and right in front of that rocker is where she was standing when she was arrested for voting!  What a visit we had!

December 15, 2011 Peppermint Frozen Dairy Dessert, Edy's Fail

So my daughter LOVES candy canes. And a few years ago for her birthday I made this awesome ice cream for her by crushing up candy canes and mixing them into vanilla ice cream. She loved it.

So when we saw candy cane ice cream, we got her some this year.

But look closely at that label. It ISN'T ICE CREAM AT ALL. (Lower Right)

IT'S FROZEN DAIRY DESSERT

I didn't even notice this until just now. Nowhere on the label does it call this product ice cream. I want ice cream dammit. Edy's people, you know that we all think we're buying ice cream when we pick up this package... You know THAT.

But in looking at the ingredients, rather than CREAM, the first ingredient is Whey (Dairy)-That's what it says.  I should have just made some. I have an ice cream maker, I'm just too darn busy to make ice cream. Maybe for her birthday I'll make some.

Maybe I'm just in a bad mood this evening that this has pissed me off so badly. But seriously, I hate fake food. I hate "created" food. Created and fake food is what is killing us in this country. 100 years from now I bet they figure out that we all got cancer from non-dairy creamer.

I hate crap food. (yes, I would admit that peppermint ice cream isn't up there on the list of health foods, even when it is real ice cream.)

But I want my ice cream to be cream, sugar and eggs.... I don't want frozen dairy dessert. I never ever ever want cool whip. I don't want non-dairy creamer....

GIVE ME REAL DAIRY ALREADY.

And a side of butter with that....

And what am I doing with the ice cream container at 10:12 pm anyway you ask?

Mind your business....

December 14, 2011-The Tree, Finally

Finally putting ornaments on the tree that we've had since Saturday!

In all my adult years I've never had a tree with colored lights. I think I'm a white light kind of gal. But we needed all new lights this year and my daughter begged us for colored lights.

I have to say, it looks cute and cozy.

See the topper on the tree? It's the baby hat she wore home from the hospital when she was born. She came home on Christmas day. It has a pom pom on it.

She's such a big girl now.

December 9, 2011-I'm Dreaming Of a White Yuletide. Yuletide in The Country at The Genesee Country Village & Museum

We're all set for the  second week of our Yuletide In The Country Event at The Genesee Country Village & Museum!  All we need now is a little snow!

December 5th- Home at Last

After working 32 hours in 3 days, it was nice to have a nice normal day with my girl when she got home from school.

She asked me this morning if I thought I had to work on Christmas Eve.... oh my...(I don't, of course.) but talk about mommy guilt....

She's rocking that hat, although she doesn't like being told she looks cute in it.

December Photo Project- December 4th

Christine 2.75

Yuletide Buffet .25

Victory Is Mine (This week anyway.)

We are only 33.33% done with the program!

I'm looking forward to not being at the museum tomorrow and taking pictures and seeing something besides the inside of the museum's meeting center.

This is the scene outside the meeting center.  That tree is like 13 or 14 feet tall!!!

December Photo Project-December 3rd

Christine: 1.75

Yuletide Buffet .25

Today's Yuletide Buffet was a little more difficult than yesterday, but not impossible. We learned more.

Watch out Yuletide Buffet because tomorrow, I OWN YOU.

This was a nice fire to come home to. Currently I have my feet up right next to it with a glass of  Ravine's Dry Reisling. My toes are warm, so is my brain.

December Photo Project- December 2

Christine: 1

Yuletide Buffet: 0

Tonight was the first night of our Yuletide Buffet that I have been planning for 2 months now. It's part of the Yuletide In The Country event at The Genesee Country Village & Museum. This thing has been giving me anxiety for weeks now. It went off without a hitch. (We have 8 more nights though...)  This is part of the dessert buffet.

BTW Folks, if you go to a buffet, especially one that benefits the museum and it's programs, (or any not-for-profit) please don't take a cookie, or a roll, or butter, or any food that you aren't going to eat for that matter. If you aren't sure DON'T TAKE IT. It's a buffet, we're a really friendly place, you can go back up.

 It's wasteful and costs the museum money. Understand that please.....

December Photo Project- December 1st

A few years ago I participated in View From A Prairie Box's, December Photo Project, where you post one photo per day until Christmas. I love that-seeing someone's life in pictures so I'm doing it again this year. Besides it will force me to pay attention to the blog a little more often this busy time of year. 

December 1st Garden.

I realize that I've got more than one picture here but I was out in the yard today and this is what I saw.

Green Onions. The gift that keeps on giving. You plant these things in spring and harvest the tops all summer and then they start growing again in fall. By now the onion underneath is much bigger too so you can eat that as well. Leave them in all winter and they'll probably grow green onions in the spring again for you. I like green onions better than any other kind of onion! 

Sage. While the garden performance was lackluster at best this year, this sage plant flourished. I love the distinctive smell of sage. Sometimes I dry it inside and burn it as an air freshener.  Native Americans also think burning sage keeps bad juju away...  Nice, a fresh smelling home free of bad juju..... 

I did not grow that pumpkin but it sure looks cute in there. It was the only striped pumpkin in the patch.  There is my little worn bench where I like to drink coffee in the morning and beer in the evening. I got it on the side of the road (of course.) The seat flips up. Since I got it for free and I'm not all that attached to it, it stays outside all winter long. So do the plant supports. I like having a little architectural interest when there is nothing else going on in this. This may be the last winter that it lasts though. 

Broccoli. Still growing. Only when you are a new gardener do you operate under the assumption that you can only grown things from May-Sept. Things grow much earlier and much later. Broccoli grows really well in the yard, I must have perfect soil for it. (I should probably look up what kind of soil that is...) You can cut off the main bunch and then these little side shoots keep producing . 

Rosemary. Still going strong. Although I brought her inside for the winter because she's not cold hardy in my neck of the woods. Rosemary is also expensive to buy as an herb at the store and look at this plant!! It started as a tiny little thing back in May.  Yup, that's a milk box. It's sitting next to my back door just waiting for the milkman to come. The funny thing is that it's sitting right UNDER a milkbox that is built into the house.  I sometimes wonder if the milkman did ever come and put the milk in the wall there. I bet that was delicious milk. 

Do you live in a home that's been owned by someone other than yourself? If your home is older do you ever sit in the rooms and wonder what the prior furniture looked like? Of course, we saw the people's furniture who lived here before us because we saw the house when they still lived here. I'm talking about a longer time. What did the house look like during the depression? Where was the sofa? What color was the kitchen? 

I sometimes picture people in here living their lives. Laughing, crying, arguing, making up, having holidays and waking up each morning.  When I do this I realize that it may be our house today but we're really just passing through. 

December 27th- Winter at the Beach

 

 Today we went for a walk at the beach by our house. It's  nice with lake/beach on one side of the road and ponds on the other. It is all part of a park and the road goes right through the park. There is also a nice walking path through the woods.  The new blog header up top is of one of the ponds.  There are dirt paths all along the water which are really nice to walk on. We stayed on the beaten path today though.

 

I like the ice, it looks like frozen waves.

 

At the edge of the pond. I almost used this as the new header.

Walking path.

December 22nd-I'm A Cheap Date

Today on the way home from work my husband stopped at the store to buy my daughter a sled for Christmas. When he got home, he brought with him, a dozen roses for me.

I was pretty surprised and asked why he got them for me. 

He replied, "Well I saw the roses. And then I saw the cheap price and I thought of you..."

hmmm....

This is the same man, who, just today, was stopped in the school cafeteria by an imposing African-American 8th grade girl who proceeded to tell him,

"For an older white guy you're pretty cute. We all think so.." Done with a sweeping hand gesture to a table full of 8th grade girls.... (I would NEVER have said this to a teacher. Heck, I don't even say stuff like that to attractive men at parties....)

Yes, it is true folks, I am the envy of many a Middle School Girl.

The roses are very nice though.

December 20th-Making Pierogi with Grandma Ruth

Today my grandma and I made 90 Pierogi.  I'm so proud of this picture because in it, you can hardly tell mine from hers. (I can tell of course) but I've been getting better and better as the years go by. These have not yet been boiled.

It took us about 3 1/2 hours but it seemed to go by quickly.

Like last year, we talked and talked. When I really listen to her (I mean with my heart, and not just my ears) I  get some real life truths from her.  About her, and life in general. I'm glad I'm old enough (or wise enough) to appreciate them. Today we discussed how lucky women are today as opposed to back when she was younger. (For a huge variety of reasons) We also discussed my cousin's wedding in England that took place yesterday and my aunt and uncle who will be with us for Christmas Eve.

Bob wandered in and out all day long.

For lunch, my grandma served soup that she made from the Turkey carcass that I sent home to her on Thanksgiving (she asks for it every year) It was a simple soup of rice, carrots, onions and turkey. It was delicious. My grandmother and Bob are not poor people and yet, they are simple and conserve.

Bob told us stories about having only a chicken for Christmas dinner growing up because they could not afford a Turkey. He also has really neat stories about being an Ice Deliver man with his own truck and route when he was a young man.

When we were finished we watched a DVD that someone had sent Bob from the History Channel. They waited for me to watch it because they have no idea how to work the DVD player in their Big Screen Plasma TV....  The DVD included a part that featured the ship Bob served on in WWII, The USS Enterprise. The interesting part was the footage was from when Bob was actually on the boat and from a battle he participated in. At one point they show an ariel view of many ships racing somewhere and engaging in battle. I asked him if he can remember seeing all of those other ships around his, and he does.  He was pretty excited to talk about it. It was interesting to listen to. (Did you know that many ships in WWII had ice Cream parlors??)  I told him to bring the DVD tomorrow so that we can all watch it.

You can find the recipe for the pierogi here if you are interested.

December 19th-Dino Party

By all accounts the party was a success.

 Decor by the resident Dinosaur. She swore she was wearing her Halloween costume to the party but we convinced her it might make the other kids feel badly.

 

 Very excited as her friends arrive. I have many other cute shots but do not want to plaster other people's children all over the internet.

  

I literally took a 2 hour nap when this was over. 9 kids, cake & ice cream, games to Dora Christmas music &15 intense  rounds of "Don't Break the Ice" =mentally exhausted mommy......Tomorrow we do the grandparent's party.......Wednesday we celebrate her Birthday at school,  Thursday we're hosting 17 people for Christmas Eve. By the weekend I will be toast. Having a child this close to Christmas was NOT part of the original plan.....

I don't really recommend it.

(Although we did get to bring her home in a stocking & Santa hat on Christmas Day, that was pretty awesome.)

December 18th-Dino Cake

Tomorrow is my girl's 5th birthday party. This is a big one for her  because it is the first time we are having a kids party. She wanted to invite only boys because she doesn't think girls like Dinosaurs. We convinced her that inviting friends would be more appropriate than random boys.  She's wearing a plastic pith helmet and her girlfriends will have pink princess crowns. We are playing pass the dinosaur and going on a archaeological expedition where the kids can search for dinosaurs and dinosaur eggs. We have a craft with pink glittery dinosaurs to appeal to everyone.

I'm a pretty ok hostess. I can throw an intimate dinner for 8 without much grief. I host major Holidays. I've thrown a bridal shower brunch. I like those things. I'm comfortable in that arena.

Kids parties, not so much. I'm completely out of my element. I think I've been on the phone with Deanna (Queen of Children's Party Planning) every day this week about a 2 hour party for 9 pre-schoolers. And to tell you the truth, Deanna planned most of this party for me.  I did, in fact, come up with the cake myself. It's not the prettiest cake I've ever made but my girl is going to love it when she sees it tomorrow morning. I am particularly fond of the volcano made from a sugar cone and red sparkly gel frosting.

December 17th-Where I become like the masses

Today I became one of those people I swore I would never be. Those people I laughed at pre-child. One of those people whose motives I snickered at with scorn.

Today I went in the search of  that all allusive, Christmas toy.....

No, I did not wrestle someone in Walmart over one of those hamster things....

I meant to order this a while ago and never got around to it. Then when I went to purchase it no one had it.... I called all over and finally found it in an upscale toy store in Fairport.

Behold, the Playmobil Sphinx

They have a pyramid which is bigger and even more cool than this.  That, is nowhere to be found. This one has a secret compartment you need to open with an amulet, a mummy with a glow-in-the-dark skeleton, those 2 guys and a few other things.

The funny thing is that my daughter has no idea this even exists. (it's not like I was chasing after it because she really wanted it!)  We've been reading about Ancient Egypt and she loves it so I know she'll really like this. And this is a toy I will like playing with too.

If you've never checked out the Playmobile toys you really should. They have all kinds of sets from Romans to Pony Ranches to Weddings to Masai Warriors. I kid you not!

I almost bought myself this little guy today because he was so darn cute! Being the practical woman that I am though, I left him on the shelf.

I'm also kind of cheating and using this as my December photo of the day!

December 14th-Pittsford Farms Dairy Eggnog

One of the reasons that I love Christmas is because of eggnog. And not just any eggnog. This is the very best eggnog in the world.

IN. THE. WORLD.

It's from a local dairy but at this time of year they sell it at Wegmans. I'm so very sorry for you if you do not  live near me because this is life experience you really should have. It's creamy and made with REAL ingredients & real spices. (and look at the darn label. Isn't it cute?) I just cannot express to you my love for this beverage. There is nothing fake in this product and they are also nice enough not to include the nutritional breakdown anywhere on the package.

And the cost, well it's pretty expensive. This little qt size bottle is $5.49. You can get 1/2 gallon for $9.99. I never do get a half gallon at a time though because I would feel waaaaaaay decadent and I really don't need to consume a 1/2 gallon of eggnog each week from Thanksgiving to New Years. And yes, I do buy it every week.

You might think it's funny that a frugal girl like myself would even consider purchasing this item but I  use it as coffee creamer and it  beats paying $5 for a Starbucks Eggnog Latte that I also love so much. (And please don't even try and tell me that your fake eggnog non-dairy creamer even comes close to this perfection of dairy delight. It doesn't and you are fooling yourself.  Don't even get me started on non-dairy creamer, it won't be pretty.) In  case you are wondering what I drink in my coffee when it's not The Eggnog Christmas Season, I drink half and half. I KNOW, GASP, it's not even fat-free! 

I tend to splurge on quality rather than quantity. $5.49 may be expensive for Eggnog (or coffee creamer) but think of all of the way's you've probably wasted $5.49 before.  I get my magazines at the library for $0.25 because I can't bear to spend $5 on one, $20 a gallon for eggnog is not a big deal for me. It's all in your priorities. And mine include real food and eggnog.

I have an ice cream maker and I have been pondering taking this and trying it out in there, but I feel that might just be a little too decadent even for an eggnog lover like myself.  I might quickly make the leap from lover to junkie and I'm still looking to be able to zip my pants in the new year.

(Again, thanking God that I am not not lactose intolerant.)

December 11th Makeup-Ladies Who Lunch

Last Friday Leighanne and I drove to my favorite little hamlet of Pultneyville for lunch at one of my favorite restaurants that looks over a little inlet & the lake. We've been trying to have this lunch since August! We had a late lunch &  the whole place to ourselves.

I didn't do pictures for the weekend because Saturday's would have been a picture of Cosmos at my neighbor's annual Christmas party and Sunday's would have been the pillow that I laid my aching head on for a good part of the day. I should have stuck with beer. I am NOT a good drinker, although I pretended to be on Saturday evening.....

December 7th-One Perfect Apple

 I like to use a lot of natural elements when decorating for the seasons. That way, I can easily come by, dispose of, and possibly, eat, the decor when I'm done.  I don't get really fussy. I have a shelf behind the kitchen sink that I lined with cedar branches and apples and oranges this year. Other years I have used boxwood and pine cones. 

I like how simple objects can be beautiful.