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Christmas Blog

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 Happy New Year

 Posted a few pictures of 👉Christmas day

new post

 I have a new post on Christmas Blog 👉 Here

🎄🎅🤶

12 already

Sweet granddaughter turned 12 today.   On the left with a great cake made by Publix.  Raspberry jam in between 4 layers with cream cheese frosting. 

On the right she is at Lewis Ginter with sister and her great grandmother at around the age of three. 

She liked those sunglasses,

where did the time go?   Picture enlarges some when clicked on 

Happy Rainy Saturday

New post on Christmas blog  👉 Here 

Post

 My decorating started day after Thanksgiving.  

Click below to see post of some so far

New post here

Happy Thanksgiving

 Wishing everyone A very Happy Thanksgiving!

Mom turns 102 on Thanksgiving this year.  She was born November 23, 1921 in Chase City Va. 

God has certainly blessed my family.

She reads her bible, prays and says her prayers every night as long as I can remember.  I heard her several times giving thanks for her children and calling all of us by name. She is always smiling, even when she feels under the weather.  

We had a Thanksgiving lunch with her on Tuesday where she lives now, and she ate everything.

She was hitting that balloon back and forth to us at the table.  I just can't get over how great her reflexes are.  She plays a mean game of checker and scrabble and so far always beats me.  

Her lunch and the plate was clean.  She still had room for pumpkin pie.

Today I got some dishes ready for tomorrow.  A head start and now just need to put them in the oven to cook.  

I made the cheese sauce for the macaroni and cheese.  I will put that together tomorrow with extra cheese for the noodles.

cooking the cranberries with juice squeezed from oranges and some sugar. 

Collards cooking with just a little salt, olive oil and lemon juice to perk it up. I like bacon drippings in it too but the oil is fine with me.  I like it better this way I think more.   

I have other vegetables to cook , some dressing, potatoes and succotash.  What we don't eat, I will freeze or send home with the children. 

I have yams parboiled and mixed in with maple syrup, marshmallows, spices , butter and a little orange juice.  A peek of them in the fridge.

I froze apples from the orchard and made them into this apple crumb pie.

Here it is in the oven.  I put some fresh cranberries in there too. 

I did purchase a frozen cherry pie but think I may save it for Christmas now.  I did make a pumpkin and cheese cake.

Well off to get some other things done like cleaning a very messy kitchen 

Again

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone.

🦃🦃

Sunday post

Hi there, getting much chilly after the sun lowers in the evening.  We started putting lights on the shrubs today but have a long way to go. Hope to get everything out by Wednesday.  Will not light until after Thanksgiving.  I will put my wreaths out Thanksgiving evening.   

My potpourri is scented  now with the orange oil and orange slices I dried in my air dryer.  Cloves, lavender buds that I crushed and used as a fixative, orange peels all make for a festive scent this time of year. 

I placed most in a silver tray I purchased for $2.00 near me at a secondhand store.

The Putka pods hold the scent really well.

I decided I am going to buy some pies for Thanksgiving and some other premade items.  No point in rushing around and cooking so much when some things are just as good coming from a bakery. Pre cut fruit and vegetables help out a lot. 

This cherry pie is delicious. 

Little Debbie cakes

Taking the wrappers off and placing on a pretty plate makes these little Debbie cakes all the more attractive and they are very good little cakes.  I know they look like Christmas but that's o.k.

They can snack on them while I am putting ornaments on the tree in the evening 

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I found these pretty paper napkins by Pioneer Woman.  They are pretty and will be using these Thanksgiving.   A recipe on the inside for baked mashed potatoes

I did put the tree on the porch with the Santa.  I will put lights on that probably tomorrow.  Will brighten the area nicely in the evening.

I found this picture on Pinterest, and I copied it.  I will darken the nativity with a sharpie, place a star, then frame it for my table.   I have some other ideas for different prints like this. 

That's it for now

Bye, betsy

Little bit of this and that.

November is ticking away and I need to get some shopping done along with many other tings. 

First a look outside at these pretty purple mums.  The Crepe Myrtles are so pretty.  

I have been harvesting little rose buds from my rose bush to dry for potpourri.    I put some in my air dryer to hasten them along.  I am drying orange peels too. 

The orange rinds, I will show you later what I do with them when dry

A wreath I just finished of roses and other flowers I received from children and husband.  I have some hydrangea from the yard, lavender, black-eyed Susan, marigolds, zinnias, peonies and anything else I could find to dry. 

A little more tweaking I see here and there.  I have another to make, and I will put the rest of the roses in arrangements or just in a pretty glass bowl.   

I think I showed these before, not sure but anyhow I made these coasters from packaged leaves.  I glued them to a circle I cut from felt. 

Not pretty on the back.  I used what I had.  We only see the pretty part.

In the dining area this evening I have my faux candles lit.

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Took another trip to Hobby Lobby to look at their pretty Christmas decor.   The wrapping paper is a deal at 50 percent off.   Pretty paper that is strong, won't tear so easily.   I think at 50 percent off almost 10 dollars a roll is more of a bargain that the dollar stores.  Stronger and more on the roll when I add up what 5 rolls would come to cost wise.  

I said I did not want one of those revolving tree stands.  Well, I walked around the tree revolving about 6 times, got ready to leave and said, what the heck, I want it.   It was 50 percent off.  It's a gift to me for Christmas.  I would never pay the original price. 

 The tree that is pictured in the stand, I purchased a month ago.  I wanted one that was not so big around. This one is less wide.  My granddaughter doesn't like it.  She wants me to put up the wider one.  Will see. 

I purchased this fabric bag

My sister was with me.  She makes her pretty Christmas pillows from these.  I am going to do the same.  Great idea.  She said to just use hot glue as that makes it fast and easy.  I think I may sew mine.

🦃

Wrapping up October

 With a few more pictures of the evening.'

Genevieve with a scarecrow on her arm.  I love this scare crow costume

Adalyn is wearing her devil costume

looks so cute the both of them

I had this hanging as we go up the stairs

That's it for 2023 Halloween.

Near the end of October

 Where did October go?  My heavens we will be celebrating Thanksgiving before we know it. 

A drive through town of Ashland today with a few nicely decorated homes and then to the local farm to get the girls a pumpkin and a hayride. 

The last weekend was cutting it short, but we enjoyed the hayride, girls found good pumpkins.

My son and the grand girls.

Slim pickings on the pumpkins in the fields.  A lot of pumpkins were taken away.

corn maze

Genevieve drew the face on her pumpkin, and it turned out so cute after carving it. 

She had to have eye lashes.

Our drive through the town of Ashland with the auto train going through at the time.

People really do put up some nice decorations in the town.  I am sure people traveling through on the train and ones that drive through love seeing them.

I have just these two that I took from my video.  This is the reason for them not being really clear.  I took the picture from my you tube video. 

I love this yellow house and pink door. 

Around my yard before it's over with

He glows in the 

boxwood

coming in driveway

The purple mums keep on blooming beautiful.

My ghost in backyard at nighttime. I look out my downstairs window and see this.

witch legs

bats in the evening

We enjoyed dinner in Port Royal Va. this past Saturday and this was our view of the Rappahannock River from where we sat.

I zoomed in on this one

Anne of Green Gables said it best

My beautiful roses from children on my birthday last week

Sweet gifts from a friend.  Great read 

From husband.  I liked this picture in Cracker Barrel.  I am going to use it probably as a background for a winter scene I have in mind.  

My granddaughter's birthday was two days before mine and she also shares her birthday with my youngest sister, her great aunt.  

She had the best ice cream cake, banana ice cream layer with fudge cake layer. 

It was lit, Genevieve jumped up as the sparklers kind of scared her some. 

 The banana ice cream was not just flavored, it was real banana ice cream.  The ice cream cones were filled with whipped topping.

My husband brought me a bar cake, and it was so delicious. UKrops bakery made it and reminds me of the Thalhimer's 6-layer bar cake.   Miss those days of Thalhimer's and Miller and Rhodes downtown Richmond Va.   I still have my Santa picture taken there.   

Wish I had taken a before eaten picture.   

We are enjoying a fire in the evenings now since it is chillier. 

🎃🎃