Deviled Benedict's

My mom gave me this egg plate for Christmas. This plate was a great gift. Although it does sort of seem out of place, until you know the whole story.

Mom came to visit GR a week before Christmas. We went to Meijer Gardens. As we walked through the building, admiring the many Christmas trees from around the world, we noticed an egg theme on many of the trees. It seems that the tradition of using decorated eggs is not just for Easter!

I do enjoy deviled eggs, I also love snow (I can say that again after last winter), snowflakes, snowmen, etc. All these things combined and now you can see why this is a great gift.

I was catching up on some dvr'd shows (Giada At Home), and she made some Eggs Benedict Deviled Eggs (you can find the recipe here). I thought: well, we have some ham, eggs, panko, and I have this new egg plate. I had to make them.

I'm calling them Deviled Benedict's and no, there aren't any left. They made a great lunch. If you ever want to make a twist on deviled eggs, I highly recommend this recipe. It may be my new Christmas tradition.

2013 decorations before and after

As I mentioned in my post yesterday, I had to re-appropriate the tree decorations. First, are the before.

 The tree before the leaning...

 The mantle and stockings (Santa brought Bill a new personalized Star Trek stocking).

 The nutcracker suite.

 These are the after pictures. Starting with additional ornaments on the mantle (they're probably difficult to see, they're tucked in the garland).

 More ornaments hanging from the light fixture.

 Ornaments nestled in a decorative bowl (birthday cards and gifts are the extra stuff around it).

 The garland on the hutch was bare, now planes and crocheted ornaments adorn it.

 And ornaments are hung with care, wherever a hanger can be supported, including the drawer pulls.

 Look carefully, cars are hanging from the top shelf!

 Yes, Juliette is alive. She loves to sprawl across the vent. The Muppet ornaments were moved to the bookcase.

 This is the doorway into the dining room. The ribbon is hung when the decorations are put out, then the cards are added as they come in the mail. This is the first year both ribbons (see photo below) were filled to the max. This did not change with the tree situation, I just didn't add them before.

 This is the doorway into the side entry and kitchen. More cards stapled on ribbon!

 The stair case (and a better shot of a few of the cards).

Me, playing with my camera and a close-up of the bells on the garland on the stairs. The choice of ornaments varies from year to year. Some years I hang the Noah's ark collection (and other Biblical themed ornaments) on the stair garland. Sometimes with the bells, sometimes without. Some years I hang the Santa collection. This year I stuck with bells only.

undone

I was going to post pictures and write about Christmas. I still will. But for now, I'm sitting here, eating breakfast as fast as I can (and typing as fast as I can) before the tree falls. Yes, our tree is leaning. I swear I'm watching it move. This is not good.

Yesterday, I swore I smelled cat urine. Bill pointed out that decomposing Christmas tree has a similar smell. He could not smell cat pee. Any time I was close to the tree, the smell intensified. I finally conceded that it must indeed be the tree.

And now it leans. So the rotting must have led to the leaning.

We have a dire situation on our hands (at least for the tree's sake and the ornaments). I must undecorated the tree. Something I had not planning on doing until Epiphany, or at least next weekend.

Pardon me while I go finish my breakfast and start the less than cheerful process before nature does it for me.

A night in the gardens

I took a walk around the gardens tonight.

I started inside. I didn't stop and pay much attention to the trees, because when I was there in November they had many of them set up. And, because Meijer Gardens is open late on Tuesdays, it was crowded. 

I checked out the train, because there is always something special about seeing it at night.

(Please forgive my very amateur photos. I tried to change settings, but clearly I don't have them just right for clarity in dark spaces.)

Then I went into the large conservatory. There is a giant star hanging in the tallest part of the room.

Then I bravely wandered outside. This giant tree greets guests as they emerge from the warmth of the indoor space.

Then there's this sculpture called, Mad Mom. She's covered in snow, I liked the effect it had.

I walked into the Children's garden where silence greeted me instead of the usual happy cries of children. Colorful lights fill the area, creating a different effect.

From there I wandered out into the sculpture park. I tried to capture the snow fallen scene around the horse… but I'm still working on those camera settings.

Just before I walked by this sculpture, a horse drawn carriage passed me by, carrying guests through the  sculpture park as part of the holiday festivities. The jingle of the bells on the horses, the silence created by snow and the singing of the carriage riders transported me to a different world.

All was calm. And all was bright. Lit by twinkling lights. The voices of the singers carried on, even when they were out of sight.

And then I caught a glimpse of the full moon.

I tried to photograph it…

But I couldn't capture it's splendor.

I'll end with this photo. This is the waterfall. I love how the snow changes everything. If I listened closely, I could still hear water rushing under the snow, cascading down the rocks.

Love and Peace

Yesterday's post was about Hope and Joy. Today's post is about the experience I had volunteering with the Gift of Giving.

Like I said, I helped drive parents home. I drove home one mom. But I had another job. I had gifts for another mom in my trunk. I went to her house on Thursday and helped her wrap.

This mom has been ill and couldn't get out of the house to come wrap her children's presents at the church. Jer had asked if I could take them over to this mom and of course I was willing to do that.

While at the church on Wednesday, Jer loaded me up with everything I needed to help the mom wrap the presents.

The mom and I connected and made arrangements for me to come over. I got there about noon. Her sister was there to help too. The three of us wrapped presents like Santa's elves. It was so nice to talk to both of them, to learn about her kids, her family and her dogs (they were so cute!).

I was not prepared for the gifts. I wrapped presents for one of the boys. She told me that she could tell they are growing up because she asked them what they needed for Christmas and the kids were all practical (the younger boys are 10, the girl is 13 and the older boy is 15... I think). They asked for gloves and boots. They asked for warm blankets. They asked for clothes. They got all of those things and more. The three of us were having fun going through the gifts and showing them to each other.

We finished by 1:15pm. She wrote her thank you note and I was on my way.

I read her note.

It was so kind and full of love.

She had us write "from: Santa" on all the gifts so that her kids would know that these gifts came, not from her, but from the generosity of others. She included that in her letter, and it's clear that she's teaching her kids a lesson in love and giving.

What a gift for all of us.

Hope and Joy

I helped out with our MLK Gift of Giving program this year.

Bill and I have donated to the program in the past.

Jer is the woman in charge. Wow. She is organized. She has thought of everything.

I volunteered to drive parents home. Many of them take the bus to the church. They don't realize how many presents they will have to take home with them, so having drivers is helpful.

Jer made sure that all of the volunteers know that this program is not a hand out. These parents have to do volunteer hours, attend the parent/teacher meeting, and write a thank you letter for the gifts. (Which Jer publishes as a book. She then gives one to the church and one to the sister school - both of these organizations provide the presents, and leaves one at the tutoring center.)

Maybe I should explain a little more about the program. Our church partners with the MLK elementary school in a tutoring reading program. We help Kindergarten through Second grade students read or learn to read. This is the 26th year of the tutoring program. Students who were in it have come back to help tutor. 

The school has 90%+ students on the free school lunch program. Somewhere along the way someone (probably Jer because this is the kind of woman she is) realized these kids aren't getting Christmas gifts.  Hence the Gift of Giving program. The students/parents who qualify write out a Christmas list. Between the sister school and our church members, the gifts are donated. Then, the parents come in and wrap them. 

Each person who signs up to make a gift donation is asked to spend at least $40.

Jer goes through and makes sure all the gifts are at least equal to that amount. She fills in with other donations if not. 

It is a huge operation.

She also asks for donations of bows, ribbon, wrapping paper, gift tags, tissue paper, boxes, tape, and gift bags. She has thought of everything.

Then, somewhere along the way, someone (probably Jer again) realized that the mothers aren't getting any gifts.

Now there is a table full of gifts for the moms. (We have gifts for dads too.) They each get to pick out one present. If they want, a volunteer will wrap it for them so that they also have something to open on Christmas morning.

It's amazing.

While I was waiting to take someone home, I was helping at the check-in table. I was handing out the thank you paper. The moms were returning them to me. It was a little slow so I had some time to read through those letters.

These moms are so grateful. Their words may be simple but their joy and love jumps right off the page. It is the best reminder this season. 

Christmas 2013

Here's our house, decked for the halls.

I'll take some inside photos when there's good light. Which will probably be in May. But there won't be any Christmas decorations. 

I guess I'll have to hope for a sunny day so I can take those pictures. 

Christmas 2012

Here are the pictures from Christmas!

First, Christmas with Bill and Emily. It was a quiet "Christmas" day the Sunday before. We had our Big Breakfast and then we opened presents and our stockings.

We had a small exchange, mostly clothes.

Bill got season 15 of "The Simpson's" on dvd!

Next, Christmas Eve with Cyndi, Jerry, Skylar and Spencer at Mom and Dad's (and Bailey).

Spencer is really good at ripping the paper.

Skylar is really good at being goofy.

Bailey is really good at being in the middle of everything.

Skylar and Aunt Em pose for a Christmas Eve picture.

Skylar is excited about her Nutella from Aunt Em and Uncle Bill.

Uncle Bill and Spencer are good at playing.

Bill opens a gift from mom and dad.

We hope your Christmas was as joyous as ours!

12.12.12

Twelve reasons why having your birthday twelve days before Christmas isn't fair:

12. All of your birthday coupons coincide with Christmas coupons and you often end up using them to buy gifts for others instead of yourself (and you don't get any good deals any other time of year)

11. People don't even send Christmas cards anymore, so they send you one card wishing you a happy birthday and a Merry Christmas at the same time, to "save on postage"

10. You get the Twelve Days of Christmas stuck in your head every year

9. Your friends have Christmas parties that are more important than your birthday party

8. Doing any outdoor activity (picnic, going to the beach) requires wearing several layers of clothing which means the minute you zip up the last zipper means you have to go to the bathroom and everyone spends more time inside than outside for the activity

7. Your birthday gifts come wrapped in Christmas paper

6. Your birthday gifts are Christmas themed

5. No one bakes you a cake, instead they give you cookies

4. You may get snowed in on your birthday (that isn't necessarily a bad thing), but if you happen to like snow, it never snows on your birthday

3. Your birthday occasionally falls on a Friday and everyone avoids you because it's bad luck

2. There's no money leftover to take you out to dinner because it was spent on Christmas presents, so your birthday dinner is at McDonald's (what do you like from the dollar menu?)

And the number one reason having your birthday twelve days before Christmas isn't fair is...

1. no good reason whatsoever, it just seemed like fun to count down on 12.12.12

And, just in case you hadn't figured it out, my birthday next year will be 12.13.13 on Friday!

The following year, 12.13.14 there will be a big party. Because 12.13.14 will be on a Saturday. So save the date. I want a(nother) birthday party with all my friends and family there. No Christmas party excuses this time (see number nine above).

trim the tree

Trimming the tree has always been one of my favorite parts about Christmas. As I child, I loved the old boxes in which the glass ornaments were lovingly stored. I liked hanging tinsel on the tree until the year the cat puked it up.

I do not ever recall hanging lights on the tree.

No, that is a job saved for adulthood.

Oh the joys of hanging lights on the tree.

Today, I helped Gwen with her Christmas decorations.

First we had to get the boxes off the shelved in the basement. Then she looked through each box (which numbers and size are much less than my own) and determined whether or not there was anything in it that she wanted to use this year.

Then we took everything out of the boxes and carried it upstairs.

It would have been easier to carry the boxes upstairs and then remove things, but I was there to help not tell her how to do things.

I digress. Many minutes later it was discovered that she was missing a couple of key items that she wanted to display.

We went back to the basement and went through boxes until we found them.

Back to the living room. Only a few minutes later she discovered something else was missing.

Back to the basement, through the boxes, and I came up empty-handed. I went back upstairs. This time Gwen came downstairs with me. Immediately she found what she was looking for (I had actually found it but didn't realize that box was the one I was looking for, funny how that happens when you don't know what color/size the box is).

Over Thanksgiving, Bill and I discussed when our Christmas decorations will be hung. It has to be after this weekend because of Casey's socks.

This was my trunk. Remember, the youth went shopping and all of those bags are already in the storage closet.

These bags were the result of the shopping trip I took with Bill and then various stops I made on several separate occasions.

Back to decorating, it was fun to help Gwen. She had a few stories of where her special pieces came from. That is the part I enjoy most, thinking back to where those special ornaments came from; I guess hanging the lights is just part of it.

Christmas in July

Merry Christmas in July!

You know, I never understood the whole "Christmas in July" concept. We tend to do things like have half birthdays (oh, so important to a kid). Which means June 25th is the half birthday, not July.

On top of that, we don't have a birth certificate from mother Mary. We really don't know the exact date Jesus was born. Perhaps "Christmas in July" is more accurate than we give it credit.

At any rate, I decided to post the picture of our Christmas tree today because I need to print off a few pictures to scrapbook. A picture of our tree is one of them. So I thought it would be fitting to have my own little "Christmas in July" post.

And because I listen to Christmas music all year long. Yup, I'm that person.

Merry Christmas! And happy end-of-July!

Merry Christmas!

Peace on earth.

Goodwill to all men and women.

May you find and give both of these today and every day.
Together we can pray for these things and bring hope to this world once again. Amen.

the best in people

This story has been in our local news and it just keeps growing. It gives me goosebumps when I hear it. This story is why this time of year is so great. It brings out the best in people.

Then there's the story on our Quota blog, written by our President. What a gift! It always makes me think outside the box and try to find a new way to give a gift to someone.

What's the best gift (non-material) you've ever given? What's the best gift (non-material) you've ever received?

Even though yesterday's post suggested it's all about the material things, it most definitely is not. One of my favorite things is our Christmas Eve service. The darkness of the sanctuary, the stillness throughout, that is what makes it Christmas for me.

My wish for you this Christmas is that you are looking beyond the presents and will find hope and peace.

making a list...

And I've checked it twice.

Actually, I have three lists.

I think of something and write it down, but not on the same piece of paper. That would be too easy.

Fortunately the lists are similar. There are some extra things here and there. But for the most part, I've got almost everything on the lists and then some.

Of course we went overboard, again. We do every year.

Bill was so sweet this year.

He called me into his "office" and had me sit down. "Let's keep it to $XX this year."

"Sure", I replied knowing that what we'd already shopped for we had blown that number out of the water. And then we went shopping again. At least I keep the family gifts in check. There was one year that they came to Jersey to visit us and I went overboard, and then I shopped some more. Literally half of the living room floor was covered in presents. There wasn't much room for anyone to sit.

We've done better scaling it back since then. Until this year. Well, it won't be that bad (if you really think that's bad). I did shop some good sales. And I've had coupons.

Now to turn the spare bedroom into "Wrapping Central".

Let the waiting begin

It's all done.

The decorating. I can't believe it. I even carried the last of the two thousand gallon totes up to the bedroom (yes, they still have to go to the attic, but they're half way there).

The tree is decorated in snowmen, snowflakes and a few other special ornaments. We have three trees in the dining room (all small). You could say, it's the tree-fecta.

One is full of the planes Bill has collected, one is just white with a few small colored glass balls (I think they're greens and blue), and the third tree has the miniature ornament collection.

The mantel is my favorite decorated surface. It has a lit garland and the church ornaments. I am going to have to try to take pictures. Warning, they never turn out because I don't want to use the flash. But I'll go charge the camera battery and perhaps on a sunny day I'll be able to snap a few pictures. Of course then I have to remember to post them here.

And the sun has to return before Christmas...

So the waiting has begun. The Advent season is in full swing. We are prepared (although if Christ shows up before next weekend, he's not getting any cookies. The cookie baking isn't happening until then). We will spend the rest of Advent waiting, anticipating. Being full of hope and wonder.

For now, I'm just waiting for Bill's big Sunday breakfast.

Oh Christmas tree...

In response to Bill's blog from yesterday, I would just like to point out that we have come upon an agreement for the outdoor lights/decorating that greatly reduces the amount of time needed to spend on the lighting/decorating (wow, that was a long sentence).

We purchase two wreaths from my high school band, which sells the wreaths as a fundraiser. They are made in Danville, Indiana so they started out local (please ignore the carbon footprint in which we made bigger by driving to get them). We hang one from the attic window and one in the porch gable, point two spot lights at them, and voila! The outside is done and it looks beautiful.

Here's a photo from last year.

Simple, right?

Beautiful, no?

So there, Mr. Scrooge. For all the decorating we do inside (which I continue to scale back), at least the outside is easy. And I hope your heart will grow each year just like the Grinch.

the preperation begins

I learned from a very wise friend (thank you, Dave) to be better prepared for Christmas, it helps to have a schedule.

You can find one at Martha Stewart's website.

Then, when I get my new planner in January, I go ahead and write in when I need to send Christmas cards, bake cookies and decorate.

It makes the season a lot less stressful. I get to enjoy things like my birthday and baking.

Today I worked on my list of cookies to bake. When we lived in Jersey I baked several dozen cookies and then Bill and I delivered them around to our neighbors. Every single one of them looked at us as if we were from another planet when they opened their doors. We quickly learned to start out with the phrase, "we're from the mid-west". For whatever reason that explained away the unusual gift we were bringing to them.

Then, a few years ago, I made turtles and fudge and I delivered it to our neighbors here.

I enjoy this sort of thing. To me, it's a simple gift. If there's one thing I enjoy more than baking, it's gift giving. Combined it makes for happy neighbors.

I'm working to create the right balance of cookies; candy-cane topped, chocolate, nut-free, annual favorites, these are all being strategically planned so that it doesn't wind up as a plate full of chocolate cookies. Which, believe me, I wouldn't mind. But I want it to be a nice variety (without going overboard).

I've settled on six kinds. The last one is a new recipe and I need to go search for it, so please excuse me while I do that...

Craft day

My mom found this craft in the Midwest Living magazine (December 2011 issue, page 80) and told me about it.I hadn't made it that far, but flipped ahead and liked the craft. It was perfect! I had leftover halves of the embroidery hoops from our Halloween costume.
Last Friday, I did what the magazine told me; I sat down with a glass of wine and started cutting ribbon. I only had a thin, gold curling ribbon so I thought I'd see how that looked. I cut a test strip to check the length. It worked, so I set about cutting and tying. I worked in groups of ten. This was the smaller of the two hoops. Between texting and drinking the wine, it took me about an hour.
While the photos don't really do it justice, it looks great! I'm super happy with the ribbon wreath I made. I'm going to try to find some other ribbon (the article used a red & white "candy cane" striped ribbon) to make the other one. Then, when we pull out the Christmas decorations, I'll hang them in the windows.

I'm mostly sharing this for my mom who first pointed it out to me!

wrapping presents round two

My boss called me this afternoon and told me to take the rest of the week off. I have to admit, I am happy because she is going to pay me. My first paid week off in four years. Since we moved to Michigan, I have not received paid time off. If I took time off, it was without pay. So I'm pretty excited about this.

I decided to get started by wrapping the Christmas presents for my family. We'll be seeing them this weekend, so I had postponed wrapping all of their gifts until this week. No time like the present... (yup, I had to use that pun). So I got all of them wrapped and then I got all of our wrapping paraphernalia gathered up, sorted and put back in storage. This of course needs to go back up in the attic. Which is a lot neater today. Bill cleaned it out yesterday. It was quite a feat, started by the new tv. See the old tv box is up there, with lots of other boxes hiding inside. After clearing the path to the box, Bill decided it was doing a good job of keeping all the other boxes together. He then proceeded to clear out the miscellaneous boxes that had been piled at the top of the stairs. He also went through his electronic mess. The answer is always, "yes, we do have the proper connection for ___." And one can easily find it now that he put them all together.

There was only one accident. While he was chucking trash down the stairs, I came in to hand him back a box to throw said trash in. He had just let go of a cd which slammed into my head, edge first. Those things hurt! Of course a warning could not have been shouted because the cd had been launched well before my head entered the doorway. It was perfect timing. we laughed about it. The goose egg on my head has finally gone down and the headache went away after I took a couple of ibuprofen. I think I'll survive.

Peace on earth

Merry Christmas

"Glory to God in the highest
and on earth peace, good will toward men."
Luke 2:14