Hello!

I have been a neglegent of this space as of late...I have been wanting to post but always want to include pictures but I am terrible at uploading them, but I thought I should at least drop on by and let you all know what we've been up to.

Thanksgiving was lovely, quiet and peaceful it was just the 5 of us. I made a big ::read:: HUGE turkey and 18lb 'er and it was quite the sight on Thanksgiving day when I took it out of the fridge only to realize I had forgotten to buy a pan to cook it in...after a little searching a trip to a friends house we got it in the oven, just barely any bigger and it wouldn't of fit! We had all the fixings all from scratch and it was delicous and it fed us for a week! With enough turkey leftover to make it till spring!!

We have mostly been house bound, not intentionally it's just where our rhythm is, it has gotten very cold here as of late woke up to the 20's this morning! and being in the house warm and cozy cleaning, decluttering, crafting and cooking has felt good.

With only a few weeks left to the Solstice and Christmas and 12 days till Noni arrives there is still plenty to do...and my mind is beginning to feel it...so I am going to follow a bit in MaryBeths shoes over at Salt and Chocolate and try to get it all on paper and in a bit of order and into lists.
My whole deal is that I am a very last minute thinker. I try and think about christmas earlier in the year or atleast in the fall and I start to gather some ideas but it 's not usually till Late Novemeber December that I get my BIG ideas in which case all need to be made and well there is not much tie left. I need to shift my brain to think christmas in July! that way I'll be ready...maybe?

There are things to sew, things to knit, things to cut and build...

Of coures in the midst of all of this Holiday merry making I am rearranging furniture and freshening up the house...I do wish this feeling would have hit earlier or at least waited till after the holidays but alas it has not and I for one am not going to let this feeling pass with out taking afvantage of it!

I'm seeking inspiration for the house over on flickr in the corners of my home group

Holiday inspiration is being found here, here, here ....

books, books, books.....

As soon as I received my christmas gift in the mail from my Mother in law I knew what I wanted to use some of it for....(thanks Mom!) So I immediately got on the computer. I spent quite a long time going through all the great books that are out there, deciding which books I wanted. The next thing I knew this delightful stack of books arrived at my doorstep. I can't wait to start diving in!!

I got quite the mix of books: A bread book because learning to make bread is something I have been wanting to do for a while now and just haven't fully made the plunge yet. I've been seeing lots of great recommendations out there for this book: The Tassajara bread book, by Edward Espe Brown. Another book out in blog land that I have had my eye on is A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenburg. She has this blog here. Which I love. There is a recipe on their for peppermint bark that is just begging to be made. Gotta see if I can rummage up some peppermint candies. I think we'll make these later in the winter when we need a little pick me up from cold, dark and dreary days ahead! Lets see what else..... Oooh I also got a sewing book, because well, sewing more is part of my New Years thing this year. So I got the new book by Meg McElwee called Sew Liberated. She also has a blog. There's a lot of great projects in there that I can't wait to try out...I'm going to be one busy lady! The other books were: Roots, Shoots, Buckets and Boots by Sharon Lovejoy it's children's gardening book. Living Simply with Children by Marie Sherlock, and You are your child's first teacher by Rahima Baldwin Dancy.

I am so so happy! I can't wait to start reading and sewing and cooking and baking yummy bread!

Christmas...

Our Christmas this year was quiet and beautiful!

7 months

The girls in their matchy-matchy christmas dress from their Noni..A gift from Noni..a box for treasures...
a gift from Aunty Jamie for jaden a collection of bottle caps...to add to his already large one...this one however has a much bigger variety!!

Eliza in her mama made pants..
Homemade checkers and cookies...
The wooden tea set I finally decided on for Annie to go with her sugar cookies an tea bags made by Mama...
Family on Christmas Eve....happy birthday Uncle Nick!!!
Chillin' with dad.. airplane pants were his Christmas eve gift made by mama....a tradition here
My Auntie Diane with Jaden Annie and Eliza...
Miss Eliza in the Christmas dress Annie wore...
Intense game of Parcheesi (sp?) with Jamie's friend Matt...
Jamie and Matt...

Annie's mama made jammie pants...
Matt, Jamie, and Annie....
Auntie Jamie with Jaden and Annie...
This one is so cute but alas it is blurry....
and these...these are the cinnamon rolls that were started Christmas eve by me in the wee hours of the night so that they would be ready to bake in the morning...they were delicious!!
more pictures of christmas day coming soon...