Friday Friends!

I'm excited to get back to Friday Friends! I am in the process of trying to learn to make a button you can grab when you've been featured. If anyone has any hints, please email me or leave a comment! I'm all ears.

Today, I had a really hard time picking out just three or four blogs for you to peruse. There are so many great ones out there and so many are going again due to resolutions, etc. I spent hours (unknowingly) just hopping from blog to blog, checking out all the wonderful ideas and projects. So here are the first four I've picked for 2012. I hope you will make them a regular part of your daily surfing.

First is Christie at A Lemon Squeezy Home. How many of you have read the Pigeon books by Mo Willems to your kids? Or to yourself? I absolutely love them. The pigeon is just like a little kid, always trying to get away with something that he shouldn't do. Well, Christie has made a tutorial to teach us how to paint the pigeon or make a stuffed pigeon that will be perfect to go along with those stories. So click on over to her blog and make yourself a pigeon. And if you've never read any of Mo Willems books, go check out your public library. I guarantee that you'll be captured by the little-boy actions of the bird, and his hilarious escapades.

http://alemonsqueezyhome.blogspot.com/2012/01/pigeon-painting-and-softie-tutorial-mo.html .

Second is Andrea Badgley from Sacred Suds. She makes the most beautiful soaps and her Etsy shop is wonderful! In the post I'm linking you to, she explains the soponification process for those who wonder "What the heck is soap, anyway?" At the bottom of the post, if you click on "handmade soap" it will take you to a post that shows you how to make hot process soaps, and there is a link in that post that will take you to a post on how to make cold process soaps. She also recommends some really good reading material, if you are seriously interested in making soap. Even if you aren't, it's interesting stuff. Check it out at http://www.blog.sacredsuds.com/?p=719.

I just love the look and feel of handmade soaps.

Next, we have Mindy Tsonas, creative director, founder and hostess of Wish Studio, a great blog and website for your creative side. Her post on green gift wrap ideas was inspiring to me. I love brown kraft paper, and I would never have thought about painting on the ribbons and bows! Lots of good ideas from other folks, too. Go to http://wishstudio.com/2011/12/24/green-gift-wrap-ideas/ and look around. Check some of her other posts, too, and you're sure to find some inspiration of your own.

Last, but NOT least is Emily from Massachusetts at Red Bird Crafts. Her whole blog is really impressive. I love the feel of it, the look of it and the direction she's taking it. It's one of those blogs that feels like home. In one post I particularly like, she made a nest with little blue eggs in it. She says it's a reminder to believe in the beauty that surrounds her. Her outlook is.......the best word I can find is peaceful. Comfortable. I hope you will take the time to peruse more than just the post I've linked to, because you're going to like what you find. http://www.redbirdcrafts.com/2011/03/nest-building-tutorial.html .

That's it for this week. I think this is a really great group of Friends and I hope you will visit them often. I know I will.

I leave you with my favorite Erma Bombeck quote. For those who know who she was, you will recognize the truth beneath the humor. For those of you who don't know who she was, I'm sorry. You have missed a great lady. Go to the library and find one of her books and get to know her. Anyway, she said, "When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, 'I used everything you gave me.'" I have this same hope. Love to you all until next time....

Traditional Christmas Breakfast

Traditional Christmas breakfast in our house has been the same thing for years........German Pancakes! Never heard of German Pancakes? Well, you are missing out! They are really easy and don't take long to make and my family eats them like they are going out of style.

We get up in the morning and the first thing we do is let the kids out of their rooms. Sometimes we even have to wake up on or two of them! I know, that's an amazing phenomenon, but it happens.

Uncle Dale has to wake up Hannah, who isn't feeling well.

Next, they all gather by the tree to go through stockings. We line them up so they can be seen by the cameras that will be flashing, and let them go at it. My sister-in-law, darn her sweet heart, started a family tradition when my kids were little of wrapping everything that goes in the stockings, too, so it usually takes a while.( I've tried to quit this tradition, but my kids won't let me.)

After everyone is done with stockings, we make them put it all back in the stockings and then we start handing out presents. Uncle Dale played Santa this year, minus the hat, and he kept everything going pretty smoothly.

Of course, they don't stay all lined up for long, because it's just too dang exciting to sit still for too long! After the presents are open, breakfast gets started while kids and other adults pick up wrapping paper and packaging and try to organize the piles of loot. This year, we were all at my daughter Deseret's house, so she fixed the German Pancakes. So now, I'll show you how its done.

First, you will need, for each batch:

1 cup milk
1 cup flour
1 tsp salt
8 eggs
Butter

You need a blender and a 9x13" baking pan. Set your oven to 350 degrees. Slice at least half a stick of butter, yes, I said BUTTER, not margarine, into the pan. We usually use a lot of butter, but you can decide how much is good for you. Put the pan in the oven to melt the butter, but be sure to keep an eye on it so it doesn't burn! You will not like it burned, take my word for it.

While the butter is melting, get started on the pancakes. Pour the milk into the blender and add the salt. Put the lid on and turn it on high speed. Gradually add half of the flour, then add 4 eggs, then the other half of the flour and the other 4 eggs. Let it run on high for a minute or two so it is light and fluffy.

Oh! And don't try to double it, because it will come up and out of the blender! This is another thing you will have to take my word for. I have made these mistakes, so I know :).

This is only part of the eggs we used.

Open the oven and pour the mixture into the pan. You can just pull out the rack, pour it in, and push the rack back in. Don't take the pan out of the oven or it will cool off too much and your pancakes will be flat. Bake it for 15-25 minutes, or until it puffs up on the sides and in the middle.

See how they are puffed up? They were higher than that when they came out, but they go down fast, kind of like a souffle. At this point they are usually done, but you can test them with a knife. If it comes out clean, they're done! And sometimes, depending on the moisture content in the flour and a few other things, they won't puff hardly at all, and the knife will be the only way to know if they are done. That same moisture content in the flour is the reason for the disparity in the baking time. Dryer flour will cook faster and moister flour will take a little longer.

Anyway, cut them up, put them on plates, drench them with syrup, and serve to the family. They are so-o-o-o-o-o-o good!

All the family will always ask for seconds, and some for thirds! We have these a few time a year, but not too often, because it takes so many eggs, and because I want them to feel special on Christmas morning when they are served their "most favorite breakfast", as one little grandson told me. As you can see, we had to eat in shifts, which gave Dez time to make more for everybody else. She made six batches in all, I believe, or maybe it was eight. It was a lot, and it was good!

So that's our traditional Christmas breakfast. What's yours? Leave a comment and let me know. And remember that the only jewels any of have that are worth the world, are our family. Never let them grow dim. Love to all,

Happy New Year!

Back to the grindstone! We made it through the holidays in one piece and we're back home again. Thank Heaven! I love my family very much and enjoy spending time with them, but when we're all crammed in one house  (even though it was pretty good sized) for more than a day or two, things tend to get "dramatique", if you get my drift. I always love to go and I'm always glad to get home again.

We got to Elko on Friday night, and of course, Christmas Eve was the next day. We had portrait appointments at noon, and then we put the turkey and ham in the oven and headed to the park for a family game of kickball. It was a lot of fun, and after we decided not to keep score, the kids settled down to just enjoy themselves. We try to teach them that not everything is a competition. Here are a few photos.

This is the 2's team, with my son, Andy, getting ready to blast the ball into oblivion.

This is most of the 1's team. A few of the younger ones were AWOL.

Our youngest grandson, SJ, wandered the outfield a lot, usually in the company of one of the dogs, and we had to keep calling him back. He's a real cutie, almost 2.

SJ and Alex's new Christmas puppy, Quasimodo, getting a little too far away.

Rafferty gets ready to give the ball a good, swift kick!

I have way too many photos to post here, so I'll stop with these. But we did have a good time. Two of the boys had to go to their dad's house after we opened gifts on Christmas morning, so I hurried everyone into some big, family group shots. This is everyone in my family except one granddaughter, Airika, who stayed in Tennessee. Not a bad looking family, huh?

Twenty-five Halls (and Cooks, Smiths, Stevens and Simmons.)

My beautiful grandchildren.

Well, that's enough for now. I'll be back tomorrow to show you our traditional Christmas breakfast and a few projects I did with the kids over the holidays. We had fun! The only problem is, I kept forgetting to take pictures of them in the process, so mostly I just have pictures of the projects themselves. Oh, well, it'll have to do. See you tomorrow, and remember as you go through the new year, with all its new (and old) problems, that with God, nothing is impossible. Luke 1:37 Hope you are all off to a good start in the new year.

Merry Christmas!

I know it's a little early, but I am taking the next couple of weeks off to finish projects and to just enjoy time with my family. Things have slowed down a bit, but not totally. I still have a few things to make and some baking to do, but I took the day off today and I feel much better. I wanted to take this opportunity to say Thank You to anybody out there who is reading this blog. I know there aren't many of you, and I hope there will be more someday, but for now, a big THANKS to the few.

Before I take my break, I want to show you some photos of a nativity a good friend of mine made. Her name is Robin and she is one of the craftiest people I know. She is always making some goody or another, plus she sings and leads a singing group, directs and acts in plays, she's involved in church and community, and so many other things. She cuts her own wood items, too. Anyway, here is one of her nativities (she has a whole collection of them.)

The pictures were taken while it was on display at the annual Festival of Trees at the Old Logandale School in Logandale, Nevada.

Last year we spent Christmas with the six of us living in our little tiny motor home. We had very little money and it wasn't a big Christmas, but it was a good one. We had what we needed and the kids were happy and that's all that mattered. Here are a few photos from last year.

You can see our little tiny tree in the background of a couple of the photos. It was all we had room for and we loved it. We were stuffed into our little space and could barely move, but we were together. It was such a tight fit that when we cooked, or ate, or did dishes, we had to put the tree in the bath tub so we could use that little counter space.

Christmas will be so different this year. We don't have any more money this year, but we will have more family. We are going to Elko, Nevada, to my oldest daughter's home. We will have 10 adults and 15 children (I wish it was going to be all 16) and there will be lots of laughter and craziness, which is a given in our family, and there will be snow and snow angels and snowmen, and sledding and hot chocolate and, of course, presents. I hope we will not be so caught up in the chaos that we won't remember what it's really all about. My family are not active in the church and don't even think about the reason for the season, so I hope I can get them all to stop and take a minute to listen to the real story of Christmas, the only one that really counts.

I will be back after the festivities to show you pictures of my family, the whole group of them, so you can see the many reasons I have for being happy. I love them all very much. Merry Christmas to you and yours and I hope you enjoy your holiday as much as I plan to! 

Friday Friends!

Boy! Christmas is getting closer and closer! I still have a few projects to do and some more baking. Next week I'm going to give you one of my favorite recipes. It's a bread ring filled with cream cheese. Mmmmmm good!

So today's offerings start with a cute project from Amy at The Happy Scraps. I love nativities, and the manger in particular, and this one is darling. This blog is written by two very good friends, Debbie and Amy, and they have a cute style and lots of nice projects. Take a look at this cute manger, and check out the rest of their blog while you're there.

                              http://thehappyscraps.blogspot.com/2011/12/away-in-manger.html

My next find is a blog called My Simple Home Life. Its author is Jackie, mother of 4 small boys and a black lab who looks just like my Molly. She has some really cute paper trees that I think you will really like. They look easy and fun, so hop on over and take a look. These can be made before Christmas easily, and they would be cute last-minute decorations for a party or cookie exchange. She's got some cute renovating projects, too, so go check it out at http://www.mysimplehomelife.com/2011/12/diy-christmas-paper-christmas-trees.html

I love these! I have to make some next year.

Last for today. but certainly not least, is the cutest little fishy purse you ever wanna see! I came across this by accident, and I think I have two granddaughters who need them! Actually, three. The blog is written by Ashley, who openly admits that she would rather blog and craft than clean house. A woman after my own heart! Anyway, she gives a great tutorial and the patterns, too. So go over to  http://www.makeit-loveit.com/2011/12/fabric-fishy-purse-pattern-pieces-included.html  and check things out.

Well, that's it for today. Right now I am so tired I can barely function. Along with being the Relief Society chorister and getting a musical number ready for Christmas Sunday, doing the 6 Sundays of Christmas, the 12 Days of Christmas, making gifts for the family and trying to get the baking done, I am also on the Relief Society Board, and we just had our Christmas function. I think I will spend the day being lazy, and then get started again tomorrow. Christmas waits for no man (or woman). Until next time,

The Great Christmas Tree Hunt

Today I'm going to show you our Christmas tree. This was the first time for my son and daughter-in-law to go tree cutting. My hubby and I did it the 2nd year we were in Montana, but that doesn't make us any kind of experts. So we went to the Forestry office and bought our permit, got our map, and came home to peruse it. We haven't lived here long, so when we looked at the map, we were kind of worried about getting into the wrong place. A lot of the area was checker-board looking, and it would be easy to get on private property instead of BLM or forest land. But......there was one area that was pretty much all forest land and we were pretty sure we would be okay. So that's where we went.

As we climbed higher and higher, the view got better and better. Oregon is soooooo beautiful. Anyway, we found a place to park the truck and we got out and started looking. No luck. We got back in the truck and went up a little higher. Got out and walked some more. We found several trees we liked, but they were too tall. You aren't allowed to cut any trees that are taller than 12 ft or shorter that 8 ft. so you have to be watchful when you choose a tree. Finally, we found one we liked.

It was a little taller than 12 ft. but not too much, so we decided we would be okay.

Cameron got to try his hand with the axe first.

   Then it was Hally's turn. She could barely lift the ax!

Finally, Andy got in there and took care of business! Then he got out the chain saw and sawed off the extra trunk and sawed the stump to less that 12". We carried out the extra trunk pieces and after they have a chance to dry, I will use them for camp crafts next year. They will make nice slices for any number of projects.

We tied up the tree, fastened it to the top of the truck, and took her home! Now she has the place of honor in our living room. Next year, we will go out scoping out good place to cut trees, and hopefully find some trees that are fuller, more bushy. But for this year, we are happy with our little Charlie Brown tree.

So there we are, all ready for Christmas. The house is ready, anyway. See you on Friday for Friday Friends! Until then, remember that gifts of time and love are the basic ingredients of a truly merry Christmas. Good night,

Day 12 of the Twelve Days of Christmas

This is it! The last day of the Twelve Days of Christmas! And, of course, it's a nativity. For me, that is the culmination of all the happiness and joy and celebrating. The real reason for Christmas. I have a little pin that says Jesus is the Reason for the Season, and I wear it all season long.

Our little nativity is all natural this year and it looks like this:

Gather your supplies and let's get started. You will need: cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, whole allspice, Star Anise, a pine cone and jute twine. You will also need a little hot glue to help you hold it together and a little saw to cut the cinnamon sticks and the pine cone.

You need 5 cinnamon sticks to 3" to 3 1/2" long. Mine were 7" so I just cut them in half. You can adjust if yours are 4", but if they're longer than that, you need to use a saw to cut them. You also need one piece 1 1/4" long, for Joseph. You need to use a saw to cut a petal from a pine cone for Mary. And you need 1 whole star Anise and one piece of one, for the baby.

Start by laying out your five cinnamon sticks in the shape of a stable. When you get everything placed just right, lift each piece and put a little dab of hot glue. When you get it all fastened together, use the jute to tie it at each joint. Also tie a piece of jute at the top for a hanger.

Now, you're going to make the figures. Start by finding two whole cloves with good size bracts and two pretty good size allspice, too.

Pull the clove out of the bract and use your fingernail to clean it out good. Glue the allspice into the bract. This makes the head with a collar under it.

For Joseph, glue the clove down into the short piece of cinnamon stick.

For Mary, glue it to the back of the pine cone petal.

Sorry some of these photos are blurry. I was having trouble with the macro setting on my camera. I finally got it to work, so they get better. Now we're going to work on the star and the baby.

Some of the Star Anise will be broken, so if you can't find a whole one, or one you like anyway, then you can glue pieces together to make a whole. After you get your star chosen, pick one of the broken, single pieces to use for the baby's body.

The seed inside will be the body, the hull will be the manger, and you glue a small allspice to the open end for the head. Now, you're ready to put it all together. Using hot glue, fasten Joseph and Mary to the back of the bottom piece of the stable. Glue baby Jesus in front of them, head toward Mary. Glue your star at the point of the roof and you're done!

I love this little nativity. I got my first one at a yard sale about 10 years ago, and I've been meaning to make some more ever since, but never got around to it until now. I DID buy all the supplies 3 or 4 years ago, though, so I still honored my "no buy" challenge for this year! Children really like these little nativities, and they can make them with help. They make sweet gifts for Primary teachers, and it's a nice little project for Activity Day Girls and Young Women, too.

A man named Harlan Miller said he wished we could put some of the Christmas spirit in jars and open a jar every month. I think the world would be a much better place if we had an endless supply of that spirit to call on when we feel contentious, or jealous, or blue. Maybe we'll have to come up with a project that would be somewhat comparable to one of those jars. Let's all think on it and see what we come up with. And by the way, there seems to be no cure for the common birthday, and I am a year older today. Until next time,

This post linked to:

Made By You Monday at Skip to My Lou