Random Acts

 

I loaned a couple of gates to a stranger.

She returned them today and dropped this

poinsettia

off as a thank you.

What she couldn't know is that mom and Big

got me a poinsettia every year 

through a fundraiser at their church.

Somehow I was aware of when the fundraiser

was being held last year so I ordered one

for myself as support for the 

church they loved and,

 to just have one less thing to miss last year.

Well, this year I hadn't thought early enough 

to check if their church was still doing

the event this year, given Covid and all.

I'm thankful for a Father who knows my heart

 and those who act as His

 hands and feet 

here on earth.

Star Light, Star Bright

Let's start with an obvious sign of Christmas - the Star of Bethlehem.  The story is well known and depicted.  Three wise men see a star in the East and follow it.  They actually did get lost and ask for directions, which I find kind of funny considering all the jokes along those lines.  They stopped in Jerusalem to ask Herod for his opinion, which he gave for a very self-serving and diabolical reason of his own - but that's part of another story, so we will leave that for now.

When I get past the Sunday school picture of a star over a stable, I start to wonder.  Just how do you follow a star?  The sun is a star, right?  If I rise each morning and follow it to the East, I won't actually get that far before it's overhead and then behind me.  To actually follow that star, I will walk endlessly back and forth.  The rest of the heavenly stars "move" the same way though their relative distance makes it far less apparent to a casual observer.

The Bible makes it sound pretty matter of fact:  they saw the star, packed their bags, remembered to bring a gift and there they are.  Was star-following so common in those days that explanation wasn't even necessary?  Was it something that wise men did routinely - rich wise men, that is.  When was the last time you brought gold to a baby shower?

Back in the day, astronomy and astrology were one in the same.  Their study of the stars was a scientific calling- serious business not destined for an obscure column on the comics page of the daily paper.  Those famous, though unnamed kings, made a rigorous study of the movement of the night jewels using the zodiac as signpost and way of explanation. The heavens, then and now, for all their overwhelming vastness and solitude perform a well ordered dance.  Almost like Someone orchestrated it.  Hmmmm  And when you can direct a dance on that scale, why not show off a bit and use your handiwork as a birth announcement for your only Son?

There are several theories about what the actual star was:  a comet, super nova, conjunction of planets, or a mysterious fireball planted above a stable.  Of all those possibilities, the last seems the least compelling.  After all, if there was a "stable" light hovering over an outbuilding in Bethlehem, I think it would have attracted more than three travelers.  (The shepherds having received an entirely different invitation.)  Certainly the neighbors would have noticed as well, as would the un-neighborly, like Herod.  That king, for all his paranoia, seemed pretty unaware until the celestial event was pointed out to him by the visiting royalty.

I can't explain the star - not in this blog or through any lifetime writings or efforts, though I did find some interesting theories at http://www.whychristmas.com/customs/star-of-bethlehem.shtml.  What I can do, though, it wonder at the stars.  How beautiful, how peaceful, how steady and reliable, yet so fluid and ever changing.  The One who created the heavens and the earth, the One who brought His son to earth heralded His gift with His heavenly handiwork.  I don't need to figure out how to follow a star.  I'll follow the Babe instead.

Christmas 2012

This Christmas had some highs and lows.

All Christmas' do.

But a definite high was

the series of blogs I did with Lory.

 Oh, and this.

And these. 

And these too.

People.

Thank you, God for the people in my life.

The relationships for me to enjoy, 

and most especially the relationship

you have given me with

Jesus.

The End Of The Season

Christmas is officially over when

Dirk goes home.

I think you can understand why.

Same Thing, Different Perspective

Sometimes it's good to see things through

new eyes.

When decorating for the holidays 

do you find everything has it's place?

The tree has it's designated corner.

The stockings go here,

and the Santa tree ALWAYS goes here.

Well, I shook things up a bit this year. 

The tree is still in it's corner.

The stockings however are lining the back of the couch.

And shocking!
The Santa tree did NOT go up this year.

But you want to know the biggest surprise for me?

While I chose a different location for the

creche, shocking!, 

I had Shanna arrange the pieces.

And while it is still in the dining room,
I did change the piece of furniture it sits on.
But what is truly amazing is
Shanna's positioning of the pieces.
Joseph and Mary are in the manger.
Jesus is tucked away safely in a drawer till
 Christmas day.
But the young shepherd who should be
crouched down waiting
in front of the manger to worship
The Christ Child?
And the cow who should be lazying in the manger?

Check it out!
The cow is out in the field and the shepherd
is petting it!

Makes perfect sense!
Who knew!!??

Christmas With The Girls Part 2

Asparagus Quiche and Asparagus Soup.

Quiche just screams Ladies Who Lunch.

I used America's Test Kitchen's recipe.

It's so creamy and easy. 

You pre-bake the shell for about 

5 minutes and then add the goodies, 

I was using sauteed leeks, blanched asparagus

and swiss cheese.

 The you top it all off with a mixture of

2 eggs, 2 eggs yolks, 

3/4 cup heavy cream, 3/4 cup milk, 

a little salt, white pepper and a hit of nutmeg. 

I only used the tips of the asparagus and was 

feeling wildly decadent about that but very 

wasteful with the stems, so hey, 

make soup!

I used Giada's recipe with the herbed goat cheese. 

I even happened to have some honey goat cheese

in the fridge. I think the honey was a pleasant addition.

It cracked me up that I could lay my hands on 

the Christmas dishes so easily. 

It even snowed! 

Christmas With The Girls

It was a little long in coming but it got here. 

Eventually. 

Let me take you through the creative process.

These are flowers made from zippers. 

I found a You Tube tutorial on how to make them. 

These were going to be simple pins. 

A pleasant gift.

But as time went by I had more time to "create"

and decided I needed to do something with this new found creation:

The basic design is to take a circle of anything, 

wrap the center over a pointy object, 

dab a bit of hot glue on the tip

and place it somewhere. 

Here I used fabric and a piece of felt as my base. 

But here Carol used paper bags and a styrofoam wreath form.

Viki uses t-shirt material and makes necklaces.

So now I had a zipper flower and fabric flowers. 

They needed a vehicle.

TaDa! 

They are Meijer, super soft and seeing as how our

Christmas was coming a bit late in the season, 

ON SALE FOR CHEAP!!

So I had the beginning of something.

But I just didn't feel like all the elements

related to one another. 

So here come the ties that bind.

AKA, decorative trims. 

And here you have them. 

The finished products. 

Who knows what they would have

 become if we had celebrated Christmas in say, oh,

 June?

Sloppy Mini Muffins

These were part of our Christmas Eve Appetizer Lollapalooza.

They were a new addition and it would appear they will be a keeper.

I couldn't even get a picture of the plate full of them.

Well, truth be told they were diving for the olive bread

but you get the picture.....

These are a twist on something I saw 

Sandra Lee make. 

It's just a Jiffy corn muffin mix that I baked in a mini 

muffin pan.

 You scoop out the center of the cooled muffin.

I used a serrated grapefruit spoon. 

(good thinking, huh?)

and then Sandra made a chili to spoon into the divot.

My mom had made sloppy joes the day before

and mom being mom, there was plenty leftover

to stuff my mini muffins.

(good thinking, huh?)

I topped them with some cheddar that I used

a microplane to shred so it was really fine and popped 

them in the oven to warm up and melt the cheese. 

 and 

WALA!

(that's for Shanna)

The Gift That Keeps On Giving

The Snuggie.

Dirk gave this to Shanna in 2009.

Fast forward to 2011.

Turnabout is fair play.

Well played, Shanna.

A Collection

You never know when one will develop.

Even the dogs are no longer safe.

When To De-Christmas?

I think New Years Day is 

pretty typical

but is the first day the rest of the world goes back to work too soon?

A friend on Facebook posed the question.

I decorate the day after Thanksgiving

and I have to tell you, 

while I love all my little *vignettes* 

when I make them,

by Christmas I am getting kind of tired of all the

stuff around. 

Between that and all the activity

I'm getting ready for a little more order in my life.

So, today is the first "work" day after Christmas

and I have consolidated my decorations to the

living and dining rooms. 

I have reclaimed my family room

and kitchen. 

Now to reclaim my diet!

Santa Hats

Or how to get from here

to here

These are so cute, 

but so inedible.

They are way too sweet but I mixed them in with

the Puppy Chow I made and they looked really cute. 

Unfortunately, I did not manage to get a picture of that.

Shanna sent me the link to this.

They have you mix them with a white 

chocolate covered concoction. 

Talk about *sweet*!

Here's what I can tell you about this little project:

Val had suggested you dip the bugles

in halves but top and bottom as opposed to side

and side. It made sense till I did it. 

When you dip from the bottom all the

coating pools at the bottom. 

The Swedish Pearl Sugar was a better size than the 

white "ball" sprinkles I  bought.

This is messy and requires the down time

for the candy melt to harden between steps.

But the ooohs and ahhhs 

made it worthwhile. 

The Greatest Gift Of All

Is Jesus Christ. 

That being said, 

here's number two.

I remember my mom being so excited to become a 

Grandmother.

I didn't get it back then. 

And then after my kids were teenagers

I started *borrowing* friend's kids.

Then I understood. 

I have loved loving on my friends children. 

I thank

Anna, Rylan, Libby and Ava

for my grandmother training. 

My *rentals* as I have liked to call them.

I thank my girlfriends who have

shared their grandchildren and their

grand-parenting experiences with me. 

I have less than 9 months to take off the training 

wheels and jump into the 

Grandparent pool!

Now to choose a title. 

Diva and Mrs. Luehr have been rejected. 

Salted Caramel Sauce

Or, Christmas Gift Idea #4

It' s #29 in the Food Network Magazine's 

insert this month.

I am taking these for a mass birthday party tonight

but they are really cute hostess gifts as well.

I have never made caramel before and my candy

making experience is limited at best, but nothing

ventured, nothing gained.

Here is what I can share:

Do not "simmer" the sugar water as the instructions 

would have you do. 

After 1/2 hour of simmering

 (not the 12 minutes the instructions suggest) 

 and the mixture not getting anywhere near a dark amber, 

I Googled more instructions. 

As best I can tell, you should allow the water to boil. 

I had to make a second batch and that one 

did turn dark amber in about 12 minutes. 

Ina would have you stir the sugar water, 

these instructions tell you to swirl it. 

For some reason, I think you are not supposed to 

stir sugar water when making candy, so I did not. 

The first batch I just poured in the cold cream which 

bubbled quite impressively and proceeded to form a 

big ol' ball of goo that I eventually

turned into a sauce.

With the second batch I warmed the cream a bit but

when I poured it in it went NUTZ!

Up and over the sides of the pan, 

all over my stove. 

Now, I don't know if that was a result of the warmed cream or 

of taking the sugar water all the way up to a boil.

A bit more research and I found Alton

suggests you let the sugar water cool a bit

before adding the cream. 

That sound like good advice. 

All that aside, it's really delicious sauce. 

My friend asked what you do with it. 

I suggested

over ice cream, 

over gingerbread cake,

or by the spoonful. 

You decide.

Cookie Day 2011

It's funny how traditions are born all 

on their own.

Sometimes you don't even know 

it's happening till it's firmly established.

Cookie day did it. 

And what looks to be our mandatory picture.

Looks like this mandatory picture is creeping in.

Nice that he's changing up dogs each year. 

And that the dogs now have a matching hat.