Sunday Chat – Wildlife, Book Reviews, Cooking and a New Quilt

It has been busy week this week, with several gatherings for the holidays. It is the season for indulging, and Oliver is happy to have his sandwiches with chunky peanut butter. He's put on his winter layer, and is quite chunky himself, LOL! After the tea last week, I had several dozen cupcakes left over, …

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Vintage Christmas Tablescape

Christmas is a wonderful time to set a pretty table, celebrating the season all month long. For several years, I have been slowly adding to this collection of Christmas stoneware. It is a Certified International set designed by Susan Winget (just love her stuff!) called Vintage Christmas. I do not remember where the plates came …

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Christmas Tea Party – Cooking, Sewing and Crafting

This year was our neighborhood group's turn to host the guild's Holiday party, and we have been working on it for months. We set the theme last spring and began looking for the materials we needed. Settle in for a long and picture heavy post, as I catch you up on all the prep and …

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All Those Last Minute Details

Wow, it is just a few days to Christmas, where has this year gone? December comes in with such anticipation, and then I run out of time. Thankfully, the decorating is much simpler now, with carloads going to the thrift store and not having every horizontal surface in the house covered in Christmas. I finished …

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Cooking Up a Christmas Feast

Time to think about Christmas dinner and get the shopping done for the ingredients. For many years now, we have done a Standing Rib Roast in the English tradition. Having just had turkey for Thanksgiving (with all the turkey leftovers), it is wonderful to do a special beef dish for Christmas.  Yes, a bit expensive, …

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Christmas Cheer

With holiday gatherings back in full swing, even if they are smaller and scaled down, it still means a busy time. We are having a bit of fun, seeing some friends, and enjoying some Christmas cheer. This past week, we were once again able to do Winter Lights at the Arboretum with friends. It was …

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Reading Holiday Stories

Over the past month, I have been reading stories set during the holidays. A light read with a Christmas theme is fun this time of year. Many of these are shorter novellas with feel-good endings, and isn't that the perfect thing for the holiday season? This month, all of the books are recommended, not a …

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Christmas in July

Can you believe that July is almost over? This summer is going by in a flash! As of today, we have five months and two days to Christmas, so we might want to get to some projects now to finish with time to relax and enjoy the holiday season. With that in mind, I have …

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