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Okay, I'm combining 2 reasons, one because we were gone yesterday
and secondly because they go together.
Second on my list of what I'm grateful for is great food! I love to cook from scratch and as I was taught by mom, cooking is a form of creativity. We had a fund raiser 2 weeks ago for a woman who lost her husband and a leg in a motorcycle accident. I found a killer German chocolate cake recipe, and happen to have two Tiara cake pans that Duncan put out years ago. The only place you can find them now is in a thrift store. But I like the fact that you can get two luscious cakes out of one recipe. Each cake comes out looking like a ruffled version of the strawberry short cakes you can buy at grocery stores, plus they're larger. So I created a chocolate creme cheese filling for the center and here is the result. It disappeared literally over night as my husband is a midnight snacker...lol.
The first reason to be thankful is family. Where would we be without
time I have with my
It's a beautiful day in this neighborhood, how about yours? We have Santas and snowmen all over the place, just waiting patiently for Thanksgiving to pass so they can be about their business. What? You already have a snowman in your backyard? Well here's one that will never melt, and can bring smiles to all that see him!
The sheep are grazing quietly while the day is colored by the beauty of Autumn. It's cool out so the fire has been lit in the fireplace to ward off the chill. pumpkins are ready for harvesting, and apples await their journey to the root cellar where they will patiently sit until someone has a craving for a crisp, juicy slice with their lunch. The chickens are gleaning a bit of grain kernels that have been harvested already, and the air is still as mother nature holds her breath in anticipation of the upcoming holidays......
I just checked the temperature in North Pole, Alaska and it's "1" degree right now. Brrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!! As I sit here in balmy Utah I'm thinking I don't miss those cold temps! I do miss friends, but not the weather.
was created with all my North woods friends in mind. He sports a nice cap with pine cone and needles, and has a pine cone and needle spray on his coat. Brings back many great memories.
I hope you are enjoying this season so far. Halloween is past and it's time to look forward to the next holidays coming up. Since Santa is my specialty you will be seeing him a lot here. This time I've created a Santa over a gourd, but decided to add a special "Keep" to store him and another ornament or two. Perhaps you could give the two as a gift, already "packaged". I hand painted this paper mache box and each piece comes signed and dated. As always, click on the title above to view this listing on ebay. Thanks for stopping by!
Are you ready for Halloween? We are! Actually this is a photo of my two oldest children and I that was taken when we lived out on the Aleutian Islands off the coast of Alaska. We were having a church party at the house because the weather on Adak was usually very rainy and windy. We had bobbing for apples, donuts tied to strings suspended from the ceiling (you have to try and eat them off the string without touching them), just to name a couple of fun games. And then before everyone left they went "trick or treating" down our hall and into the kitchen and laundry room. Each family had an adult at the door of a room to give away candy. I had so much fun getting ready for this party! Bryans and Stephanies costumes were put together with finds from the thrift store for about $5 total. I made the hat and wig Bryan is wearing from felt, yarn and a silk flower. We took down all the curtains and put up our makeshift haunted house window coverings made from dyed sheets that were ripped and torn. I love being able to do that sort of thing.
and he and I shared a plate of pumpkin oatmeal cookies. Yes, we are both cookie-aholics and so we get together often to support each other in our addiction. If you can't beat em join em.
There's a chill in the air, and snow is on it's way soon enough. These handsome fellas have dressed for the occasion with their stocking caps, and warm wraps. The first jolly gentleman has a pocket made of clay that I textured to look like waffle weave fabric. His pocket is filled with antique fruits from Blumchens, cinnamon sticks, pipe cleaner candy canes I twisted my self, and glittered "pinion" branches. He is dusted with vintage mica flakes and sparkly teeny tiny glitter. He is a large fellow, standing 12" tall.
Cooking is a wonderfully creative way to express warmth and love. I've collected a few cookbooks over the years and this recipe comes from PUEBLO INDIAN COOKBOOK, compiled and edited by Phyllis Hughes. As with most recipes I find that I like, I tweak it a bit to suit my families tastes. I hope you take the time to try this as it is delicious!
Depending on what legend you are listening to, the beginning of Punkin Chunkin varies. This is the one believed to be the closest to the truth. Only the men present in the Blacksmith’s Shop really know the true beginning.
It began in 1986 as a group of men sat in a local blacksmith shop arguing over who could throw an anvil farthest. Someone heard some local college students were throwing pumpkins by hand to raise funds for their school. The group embellished that event. Anvils turned to pumpkins and Punkin' Chunkin' was born.
In November of that year, Bill Thompson, Trey Melson, John Ellsworth and the Burton brothers, Chuck & Darryl, met on Thompson’s farm, outside Milton, Delaware, with their inventions. Ellsworth’s chunker was a combination of ropes, tubes and pulleys, while Melson and Thompson’s chunker was various garage doors springs connected to a car frame. The Burtons machine was a wooden pole mounted on a trailer, powered by auto springs. One of the spectators, Larry McLaughlin, maintenance supervisor in a local town, was seen hanging from one of the poles that day and local punkin chunkin rumors were that he was caught up in the action and was attempting to throw a pumpkin by hand. He tossed it 50 feet. By the end of the day, Thompson and Melson were the victors with a throw of 128’ 2”.
Three teams competed that first year, where only a handful of onlookers watched. But since then, the event evolved from human chunkin' into oversized slingshots, venerated catapults and air cannons with names such as Bad to the Bone, The Terminator, Mellow Yellow, Poor & Hungry and The Aludium Q36 Pumpkin Modulator (named after a weapon used by Marvin the Martian, the pint-sized, high-strung alien from the Warner Brothers cartoon).
Last year, thousands and thousands of teams competed across the continent. Several corporations are entering teams and competing against other companies. The growing popularity of Punkin' Chunkin' has spilled into schools around the world. Many teams from local High Schools and colleges compete as part of their physics and science projects. Even families, Scout Troops, and Youth Organizations are now vying for the coveted first place spot and bragging rights.
Okay, here I am putting up Christmas before Thanksgiving is here, but you know, getting a jump on the season so you can actually take time to enjoy it is never a bad idea. These adorable creations are hand sculpted ornaments with an added twist. They are also small gift boxes that will hold a special surprise for your cherished someone. They are perfect for a special ring, or other small piece of jewelry. The bear will hang on the tree as well, so he is a perfect collectible ornament for the bear lover. See these by going to my website. Just click on the title of this post, and whalaaa!
Go on..... stick your hand in the bowl for some candy.....I dare you........
Off to Oregon we were, to see how the house was coming and get the place squared away for winter. With the price of gas my husband is trying to beat the system by slowing down to 60 mph, which really does save us money. So it takes us 12 hours to get where we need to go. It gives me plenty of time to work on my designs for sculpting and to get a pencil drawing done. So here is the result. Can't you just taste the mellow sweet juiciness of the apples and the tart sweetness of the plums? Ahhhh, I love this time of year! Now off to put into reality the designs I came up with........
.......and those teeth! Isn't he the cutest little jack o' lantern? Halloween creating is a new venture for me and it's been so much fun. This little fella was inspired by a vintage candy holder. I created him using paper clay on an egg shaped gourd so that his eyes and teeth would stand out. I added a star at his base to incorporate the star icon that is our shape of choice this year with AHAO. I also added a hat to dress him up a bit and gave him a bit of shiny black garland as a neck wrap. He's up for grabs right now on ETSY. Thanks to Suzanne, our tireless leader of AHAO I now have my own shop started on ETSY and am excited about the possibilities. 
TRICK OR TREAT JINGLE BOO SANTA. Who would have thought that Santa would go trick or treating, but why not as he does have a sweet tooth! The elves "belled" Santa so they didn't lose him in the night....lol... so he is ready to see what sort of treats he can find. Oh...look! He's already found some candy corn so he's off to a good start. Happy trick or treating Santa! 
I also have a photo of a grandmother and her 2 granddaughters: 
Okay....this is very hard for me as I look at Ginger's photo and know she is no longer here on earth. Yes I know that she is in a better place with family that have gone on before, but we still miss her and mourn her tragedy. In June her ex husband brutally murdered her and then shot himself. He is still alive........
