Christmas in the sticks

This year our family get together was on the 21st due to the newlyweds going to the UK to get married again and have yet another reception.


Our meal was very simple: Pasta with homemade noodles (made by RM and brother), sauce, meatballs (made by me) and salad (made by d-i-l).

This was followed by the gift opening.
































On the 25th DH and I spent the evening at the home of S, S, and K. Again, simplicity reigned. We made pizza.

Boar Head Festival

DH and I attended this festival put on by a local community theater. The pictures should speak for themselves.

12 hours of shopping

What a long day it has been. I left home at 7:30 AM and returned 12 hours later. First I had breakfast with friends ( the ones I complained about in previous blogs). I now can call them on their negative talk. Then I shopped for gifts. The most amazing accomplishment was that I actually found a gift for DH. Usually we give each other IOU's and then never get them. My friend, Mary, had her van in town so I put the gift in her van and she took it home so it really will be a surprise. I had a Holiday lunch at the office of the Board of Elections. They treated all of us who worked so hard there during the election. Then more shopping. I bought some clothes for myself as well as more gifts. Of course I cannot discuss details because of who reads this blog. Then I bought groceries for the upcoming festivities. $260 dollars worth. I told this to RM who said, "I though we were have an inexpensive meal." So I fessed up. I bought three or four bottles of wine, including one of ice wine, which is rather pricey. Also five kinds of cheese, including Bree and Drunken Goat.

So much for my ramblings. On to decorating

Looking at other people's decorated houses

For two weekends now I have gone on Holiday home tours. These are inside the house, in case you worry about me walking around in the cold. These ten houses were decorated for the holidays and opened as a fund raiser for charities. In most cases, I enjoyed looking at the architecture and interior design in the house more that the decorations. Today I saw one house built in 1832 and another in 1831. In one they found a tunnel in the basement which was probably used as part of the Underground Railroad. The owners of these old homes have been careful to keep as much of the original part as possible. It was interesting to see how they updated but still have the hand- hewn beams in the rooms.

So now that I have seen what others have done, I need to get my act together. This year it has been hard for me to get motivated with our decorations. Having said that, I will get going.

Muffins-My comfort food

I guess my comfort food is making and eating muffins. Whenever I have spare time, that is what I bake. DH sometimes takes two with him to eat as he drives to work in the morning. His very favorite is called Kona Inn banana muffins. Since I could not find the recipe on line to put a link here I will give the entire recipe:

1/2 c shortening
1 1/4 c flour
5 very ripe medium bananas
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1 c sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 c chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Set rack in lower middle. Line two muffins tins with liners or smear with shortening and flour.

Peal banana and put in bowl. Beat with electric mixer for a couple of minutes. Set aside. (The riper the bananas the smoother the finished product)

In another bowl, combine flour, soda, salt.

Add sugar, shortening, and eggs to bananas. Beat together. Stir in walnuts. Add flour mixture and stir until blended.

Pour into muffin pans and bake for 15 minutes. Test with a toothpick and if not done, add a couple minutes. (up to 5) When toothpick comes out clean, remove from oven.


These are very moist. When I have bananas that are old, I freeze them and then thaw, peal, and use in this recipe.

Not my favorite job

Having spent the Thanksgiving weekend giving moral support to DH with the insulating project and then giving the same moral support as he put the motorcycles to bed for the winter (which involved putting some kind of gas stabilizer in the gas tanks, running the engines, then driving them into the lean to) my desk was calling loudly for some help.

So today I sorted through mail and the mountain of papers that had accumulated. It was not just a matter of filing or paying a bill. These were things that needed research and then decisions. For example I compared the perks of two credit cards that we have. One gives us 1 or 2 % back on each purchase depending on what it is for. The other gives us miles for airfare. As it turns out, it is better to use the first one and just buy the airline ticket.

The other financial thing I worked on was finding an amortization schedule that would show me how many years we have yet to pay on the loan. We started out with a 15 year, but have put one lump sum on it and then added another monthly amount. It was sort of a backwards amortization schedule. I was able to find a calculator on line for this. Sometimes I just don't know what to call things when trying to find them on line. I know you can find everything there, but just what do you call things.

I am trying to be on top of things so we are not wasting money. Would a money manager say this is a good use of my time? I guess it depends on how much I actually saved.

Buttoning up the house

We had a great Thanksgiving day at son's home. D-i-L's father made the turkey and dressing, I brought three pies and the candied sweet potatoes. Her sis brought scalloped corn and green bean casserole. D-i-l made the mashed potatoes and had the house for us to meet in.
As usual it turned out great. We had a helper setting the table, and the naps after dinner. (Mom was napping, don't know about child.)





















Since DH had Thursday thru Sunday off we tackled a much needed project. The area in the front of our house, over the front porch needed insulation. But the problem was the access. There are three dormers so you cannot just go up there and move across the whole front of the house. DH had to take off the flashing above the porch and access each area separately. After working all weekend, there is just one part left. There is a little door through the closet in my office which he enters. I think by the end of this week it will be complete. This should make the walls in the rooms on this side of the house warmer as well as the floors.