Poppop and Abigail in the garden

Here is hubby and granddaughter Abigial, the day after Christmas, picking broccoli for dinner. They had a good time and got a good load! We have had a casserole and have steamed some too. Yummy!

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree....

I miss it already! Yesterday, December 28, we turned it on and nothing happened....no lights. So we decided to dismantle it, and sure enough it was the main power cord going up the middle that was faulty. I am so glad it was AFTER Christmas Day.....otherwise, there would have been a lot of work involved in getting it back on. And grumbling too.

It was a real tree.....although they are more work and mess, there is nothing like a real tree to me. It smells so good, and this year ours stayed really fresh...it was up five weeks, but I was ready to enjoy it at least another week.

I found the quilt about 15 years ago at an antique shop in Marianna, FL. It is an old crazy quilt, with wool batting. It makes the perfect tree skirt, I think, because it is a little too heavy and too old to sleep under, but just right for presents to lay on.

Christmas Cookies - finished!

No more jammies either! The cookies came out really good, with lots of icing. What are cookies but mere vehicles for lots of icing?

Christmas Day - Men making cookies - little gals too!

Here the guys (Poppop and Daddy) help the little ones roll and cut cookie dough. Most of Christmas day was Jammy Day.....we opened gifts, had brunch, made cookies, took a nap, put the turkey in the oven, iced the cookies, ate dinner, played with all of our new stuff, and had a wonderful day!

Our daughter and her hubby live in town, but they packed their bags and moved in for two nights and almost three days, and we had the best time. It was so nice falling alseep at night knowing all the beds were full of family.

Don't they look serious about their cookie making?

The Cosby Cabin in Maggie Valley NC

Love this cabin!!! I will post more photos of it soon, as I took some of the inside too. We had a fire one night and it was so cozy. We cooked pork chops on the grill on the back porch, read, watched the election returns on TV (yes there were all the comforts of home, even a washer/dryer) and took lots of walks around the property.

The pets on the property claimed us, and there was canned food in the kitchen for them, which is why they claimed us. Two little Jack Russell terriers followed us everywhere; they had boundless energy and then fell exhausted on the porch when we cooked out.

The cabin was well over 100 years old when it was found and brought to the Boyd tree farm. Old bits of newspaper still cling to the inner walls where it was once used for insulation.

How fun it was to cook and sleep and sit by the fire in an actual old log cabin.

Mountain time again

Well, it has been a wonderful autumn. A week ago we spent one week in Tennessee and North Caolina, and the colors were spectacular. We got to visit with Tom's brother and his family, and spent two nights in an authentic log cabin (see http://www.boydmountain.com/) and then spent several days with good friends outside of Asheville.



The image you see here is the view from their deck and family room windows (and the driveway, kitchen, and the dining room, too), of the house we stayed in near Asheville. This view changes every five minutes, and deer wander across the meadow. It was so lovely. This faces west, so the sun goes down behind the mountains. It was also a dairy farm at one time, and the barn buildings are nearby and the fields are still planted in hay. The haying had just finished when we arrived.

Our host is a wonderful cook, and lives by the recipes of Paula Deen. She is also a crazy wonderful friend, and we had so much fun. Isn't this to die for?

Cutting the aprons.....Leftover Kerchief from a giant gets recycled.......

Here is Jennifer, modeling her apron to be. It was a giant kerchief, probably meant to be a card tablecloth.....so cute! She made every angle and border go just right. Even the pockets were going to line up when they were added.

It will look so cute with her jeans when it is finished. Her mom is also a member of our chapter, and she made a blue apron from a scrap of fabric she had. I can't wait to see all the finished products next time, and it got to be 10:00 and we were still sewing.

The girls love to come to these meetings, as it is a night out for them, and hubbies get the kids for the evening. I love having them, as they are all sweet Christian women, and so much fun!

Would you believe all these tiny women have 7 children among them and one on the way? The two older mommies, Donna and I had only children, so we are so blessed to have all the little ones in our lives.