Winding down

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Ever have a busy day and you know you should be getting shut eye, but the adrenaline just keeps pumping? I am getting there, very tired and yawning. Wednesday I made 4 kinds of cookies-Butter flavored Crisco Chocolate Chips (the best recipe), 7 layer cookies (from a box mix-so skimpy, I’ll make more), Russian Tea cakes and last but not least, Rum Raisin Cheesecake squares. Two were in a pan, so not too hard to make. My CCs are a little brown, I swear the first batch gets that way. Today I’m trying new recipes…involving ice cream caramel sauce, macadamia nuts, peanuts and peanut butter cookie dough-not in one cookie recipe! I have a ton of Reese’s peanut butter cups I should sub for Hershey kisses in that blossom recipe.

I’ve been watching ‘Clash of the Choirs’ as I’ve been in so many. It would have been awesome to be in the Patti LaBelle one! I sing soprano, but I can sing lower if I wanted to. : )

Wish my friend Barbara well, she may be welcoming her little kiddle into the world today! Good luck!

Guess who?

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The early 1980s…
About 1982
My Princess Diana look!

Me at Longwood Gardens
Gee, to be that thin again! I was looking through some old albums and these caught my eye. I was at Longwood Gardens in the second shot. Who knew I’d live so close a few years later?
I managed to wrap almost all the gifts-it took me about 2.5 hours Monday night and then about 1/2 hour Tuesday. I am missing some big gifts that haven’t arrived yet-hurry up! LOL I don’t add bows and ribbons until the last minute as they fall off or get flattened. I’ll show you the pretty papers when they are nicely arranged under the tree.
I had to return a gift to TJ Maxx that was too small for my niece. I should stay away from that store. I got a new rug for under the computer desk, a new pillow and a few more ornaments. Naughty. I’m naughty for staying up so late as I have a baking schedule to adhere to. I am pretty zonked. I went through about 80 blogs in the Christmas tour of homes. I’m trying to catch up!

Update-Since I have that coupon printer installed, I did a search and found a few places where you can print out coupons! One is coupon.com. I like it because you don’t have to sign up, but if you add your zip code, you get more to choose from. Some coupons even come with recipe ideas! You can’t beat that!

Not sure if I’m fighting a sore throat, but it hurts in just one spot. I’m going to bake this afternoon and take it easy tonight.

Both our parents are causing us worry lately. My mom has been having some dizzy spells. She thinks from lack of eating, well that makes sense. She is also borderline diabetic. I suggested she have a small glass of orange juice in the morning when she first gets up. Brian’s dad fell down getting gas (at night) and felt like he had something stuck in his throat. He was eating on the bus coming home from Atlantic City and has no beverage. He’s had this happen before. I believe he gets panicky which makes his throat tighten up more. I think we’ve all done that.

Christmas 1984

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Norfolk pine

This was our first Christmas tree as a married couple 23 years ago. We lived in a second floor apartment and didn’t have any ornaments or that many decorations. I bought this little Norfolk pine and made the best of it. The teak tea cart was a wedding gift from my cousin who owned ‘Dane Decor’ (her children still do) and we still have it in our dining room. We also still have the framed house blessing (also a gift).I have little red hearts as some of the ornaments. Below is my grandfather’s creche. I see I have some Holly Hobbie paper ornaments strung under the window. I crocheted the little stocking when I was about 19 and it’s in a middle of a garland this year! I believe my in-laws gave me the nutcrackers. I haven’t had them out for a while. By the way, I made those iris curtains which went well with our cinnamon color sofa (that was one of the best sofas to nap on unlike the red monster we have now).

Christmas Tour of Homes 2007

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Merry Christmas and welcome to my little corner of Pennsylvania! All the photos are ‘labeled’ so enjoy a peek around my home. My husband and I both took the photos here. I may add more! Thanks Boo Mama for hosting this again! Check out the post under this one for some free stuff!

Christmas Tour of Homes

A late add, but here’s a yummy bar cookie!
Rum Raisin Cheesecake squares
(I can’t find the book I used, so copied it from a group I’m in-from a post from last year!)
1/3 cup butter or margarine softened
1/3 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
3 Tablespoons rum (or extract)
1/2 cup raisins (I used golden raisins)
To make th crust-cream together the butter and brown sugar, stir in the flour, and add the nuts. Press into an 8-or 9-inch square pan., reserving some of the crumbs to use as a topping. Bake in 350 deg oven for 10-12 minutes. Cool.
With a mixer beat the cream cheese until fluffy. Add the sugar, egg and rum, beat well. Then stir in the raisins. Spread the mixture over the cooked crust, then sprinkle with the remaining crumbs. Bake in a 350 oven for 20-25 minutes.
Makes 9-12 servings.

Free stuff coupons!

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Actually it’s buy one get one free for the Glad Wisp Flameless candles. I priced them and they are $8.99 at one store and are probably cheaper at another store. You have to install a small file that can print out coupons. I worry about my mom using lit candles, even electric candles in her windows as we found a burn mark on her sofa! These would be ideal for her! Update-I got two at Walmart today (they only had a few left) and I only had to pay $6.97! Yeah.

The other offer is for a Gus the groundhog free calendar. He’s the ‘other well-known groundhog from Pennsylvania’. Just fill out the form and confirm it through the email you get. Sponsored through the PA lottery.

Updated-thanks to Sweet Pea for the heads up on the free sample of the new Shania Twain perfume called, Shania Starlight.

Enjoy!

Another old lang syne

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My heart is very heavy tonight as I learned of the passing of one of my favorite singers Dan Fogelberg.

Rest in peace Dan

Dan had prostate cancer for about 3 years or so and this is what took him at the age of only 56. He left behind some beautiful music. Brian and I saw him at the Spectrum in Philly back in about 1983 or so and he was wonderful. Mom reminded me that we used Dan’s song ‘Longer’ when we got married. We’ve been hearing ‘ Another Old Lang Syne’  a lot  as it’s in the Christmas mix on the radio. I kept wondering how he was. My uncle is a prostate cancer survivor and in his early 80s. Dan’s website expresses how we need to get our men in for that ‘exam’. I really want Bri to get one now that he is 50.

Dan Fogelberg

I don’t know if I can listen to Dan anymore. That happened to me following the passing of Jim Croce and then John Denver. Right now it’s hard.

12 Things about me Christmas Hoopla

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Here are the golden rules:

1. List 12 random things about yourself that have to do with Christmas.
2. Please refer to it as a ‘hoopla’ and not the dreaded ‘m’-word…
3. You have to tag specific people when you’re done. No “if you’re reading this, consider yourself tagged” stuff is allowed…then nobody ends up actually doing it. The number of people who you tag is really up to you — but the more, the merrier to get this ‘hoopla’ circulating through the blogosphere.
4. Please try and do it as quickly as possible. The Christmas season will be over before we know it! Let’s involve as many people as possible!
5. Please give Andrea some link-love as the “Hoopla-Creator!

  1. I always have to get my Christmas cards filled out and mailed by the first week of December. To me, if you aren’t wishing your family or friends at least a yearly ‘hello’ you are missing out on the togetherness factor of the holiday.
  2. My grandparents planted evergreen trees in their backyard in the 50s. After my grandfather passed on, my grandmom and mom built the house mom lives in now. A few years when the budget was tight, selling those trees helped buy us gifts. There are still some left and they are really tall now!
  3. I love to think of themes for Christmas decorating as not to have the same thing every year. This year it’s red and white and cardinals and candy canes. In the past I have lined up the candy canes along the front; this year the candy canes are in my umbrella bucket on the front step!
  4. I really like a spotlight on the door, but I usually have different wreaths, many that I have fashioned, over the years.
  5. We started the tradition of getting dressed up and going to one of our favorite restaurants on Christmas Eve. It’s right up the street from my mom. Afterwards, we visit my brother and his family.
  6. My pets always get a stocking and gifts. : )
  7. Another thing we just started doing is going to midnight mass in a nearby town. They have a fabulous choir and attending this service really stirs my soul.
  8. Cookie baking is my thing. I go crazy! I try to bake all my cookies in about 2-3 days. I have to make chocolate chips first, just in case I run out of time, I have them!
  9. I usually make the Christmas dinner. I may have pot roast or ham or even lasagna. But not all in the same meal.
  10. Although I love real trees, the fear of fire is in the back of my mind since we have two heat ducts right where we usually put the tree. I am really happy with our artificial tree and will use different decorations to make it look different each year.
  11. As a child, my favorite Christmas book is ‘Mr. Willowby’s Christmas Tree’ and I own a copy now.
  12. If I miss ‘It’s A Wonderful Life’, I feel I’ve missed a little piece of Christmas.

I tag: Lee, Carol S. and Zoey.

Lights at night

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After doing some carpet deep cleaning (not finished) the family room yet), I almost fell asleep watching a paranormal show on A&E that Sean told us about. It’s called ‘Paranormal State‘ and the main guy and his team are from PSU where Sean attends. I’ll have to read up more about it. Then the repeat of the Longwood Gardens special came on and I had to see that. The local news people have a yearly show there now and I wanted to see the new children’s garden which looks so cute-jumping water, steam, etc. I have until the 27th to go for free and I wonder who will want to go this year?

I added both multi-colored lights and white lights to the hedges that run along the front of out house. The colors are like the icing on a white cake. Bri thinks my window box needs lights too-since he cut the greens for me he wants it fixed up better.

We hit the grocery store and I bought the rest of my cookie baking supplies. I also bought some pot roasts for Christmas dinner. Everyone loves my pot roast and it’s easy to make. I like spiral cut ham, but Sean doesn’t.

We ran in Big Lots to look around and I found a nice size gold wicker sleigh! My pal Zoey (Perennial Passion) has a green one with a Christmas tree in it and I liked the idea. I’ll get that together tomorrow. I can’t believe I’m still decorating (and cleaning). I hope the weather isn’t too bad tomorrow as we still have tons to do. I hope my doctor wouldn’t be mad that I am doing all this extra curricular activity as I’m still healing and I am of course, a left sided person (not just left handed).

Carole, I’ll try and do that meme soon, hope I can think of 12 things. : )

Have a great Sunday!

Photo Hunt-Small

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I just bought this adorable teenie tiny gingerbread boy at World Market on Tuesday. I think he’s about 2″ tall if that.

PSHunt
Grab the Scavenger Hunt code.Photo Theme. Join the blogroll. Visit participants.

Very small ornament

Long shot of the little guy

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I got down to my mom’s on Friday after over 3 weeks of not seeing her. She cringed at my boo-boo, but was anxious for me to assemble her Christmas tree-the kind with a million branches where you have to match up the letters on the tree pole to the one on the branches. We ended up with two that had different letters then the spaces left, so we shuffled a few around and that worked. Mom bought amber lights with white cording-opps-but we worked them in the middle well and they look okay. She has this pretty angel with fiber optics and really long ribbons that hang nicely down the tree. I was accordion pleating them and I think it’s going to be a gorgeous tree. I couldn’t figure out what was wrong with her dishwasher, but she may have dislodged or kinked a hose while forcing the dishwasher door shut when the bracket on the top that holds it to the underside of the counter was bent funny. I hear water gurgling though.

We went out for Chinese and then went to a few stores. I got a few more things for the guys, almost finished! Then we went to Home Goods and I saw a ‘must have’ peacock ornament-silver with Swarovski crystals on it’s body and a real peacock feather! I also bought a carved cookie press decoration modeled on an old one of an angel with laurel around it.

Needless to say, I am exhausted! I just wanted to get my photos up to share and rest and maybe trim my front hedges in the afternoon before the snow hits.

Still here!

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Yes I am! Just trying to get things tidied up and the way that looks best. I don’t know where to store some of my art supplies as I am using my living room, where the tree is, as my art studio! What would be ideal is a long, open up bench in front of my bay window to store all the goodies in. Maybe someday.

I did get my snowbabies in the above mentioned window and will photograph it for the 17th. I think I’ll be making a slide show for the Christmas house tour. : ) My family room isn’t finished yet though. I also want Bri to help me deep clean the berber in there as I can see soiled areas (this drives me batty).

My poor sinuses are bothering me from handling the dusty boxes and just stirring dust up in general. Yesterday morning I sat up in bed and had a coughing attack, not to pleasant. I used my BioAllers before bed last night (which made me have slight post nasal) and I am somewhat better today.

My poor mom is having all kinds of things start to break on her-the dishwasher won’t pump in water and two of her burners on the stove don’t work. I called my brother Ken last night to see if he could look at these and he asked why our mom didn’t call and I said she was afraid he’d get mad if she did! He’s the son for goodness sakes. I said Bri has his dad to worry about and doesn’t even get to his house that often, so it would be hard for him to help mom too. My brother lives minutes away from her house as it is. I know he gets frustrated when he goes in there as it’s so disorganized. But you’ve gotta do, what ya gotta do. I am crazy about Ken, my little brother. He can do anything, is funny and handsome all rolled into one package.

I was hoping to get to mom’s today, not sure if she is up to company, but I think today would be better than tomorrow.

By the way, Mark Wahlberg and Susan Sarandon were shooting scenes for their upcoming movie ‘The Lovely Bones’ in a Delaware County mall near where I worked in a daycare center. I thought that was pretty interesting and would love to be nosy to see, but they aren’t mingling with the public.
From My Big Fat, Friggin Head:

There is a major motion picture being filmed in my hometown of Glenolden this week. And the set that they are using is the Mac Dade Mall, which is the shopping mall that my mother managed for nearly 30 years. It is quite literally the mall that I grew up in.

Today, the mall is practically abandoned, the victim of much bigger area malls and the local Walmart which drove most of the remaining business away. But this made it perfect for a movie set. They remodeled the empty stores inside to look like a mall from the 70’s. It’s quite beautiful. I saw the inside last week. First time in my life I ever got to walk around a movie set as they were building it. I did not get pics of the inside, but others did and they are floating around on the web.

My local stitcher pal Mindy got to meet Michael Nutter the newly elected mayor of Philly a few days ago. Awesome!

Have a great weekend and make some ‘me’ time for yourself.