Traditional Pizzelles

It wouldn't be Christmas if I didn't make " pizzelles".  I have been making them for years.  Chuck's Dad also used to make them to share with the family. Michelle now has his pizzelle maker.  This year, I ended up making three batches.  I know....took forever!!!  but so worth it.  Every year my book club has a cookie swap and the first batch, I took there.  Then, I doubled the recipe and made another batch.  All in all, I think it came to around 90 pizzelles.  This last batch will be shared with some friends and the kids when they come up for our " after Christmas, family Christmas"   Just looking at the pictures makes me want to go to the kitchen and get one......seeeee ya later.

Courtland's Christmas Open House

Free Carriage Rides

House used for a hospital in the Civil War

This house was "open" the last time we came

Here comes the carriage to pick us up for the next house

Beautiful decorations around town

A young couple's beautiful house

1800's Church

Upstairs of the Church

Hoping that someday this house will be on the tour.

Three years ago,  Chuck and I went to Courtland's ( a little town close by) Christmas Open House.  It was so much fun that we decided to do it again this year.  The town has a pretty little park in the middle of their square and they had Christmas music playing ...loudly, I have to say but when you are walking around town it is nice that you can hear it.  This year, there were two horse drawn carriages to carry people around town if they didn't want to walk from house to house.  We ended up riding three times....only because it was so much fun.  Each house that is open is decorated for Christmas inside and out.  Plus, they each have refreshments set out for everyone to help themselves.  We toured five houses and the Presbyterian Church that was built in the 1800's.  One of the houses belonged to a young couple who had only been married for two years and who had a new born baby boy.  Their house was adorable!  They had spent the last two years working on this old house, turning it into a show case.  On their TV, they had "before" pictures of each room.  It's amazing what you can do with something so run down and turn it into a place where anyone would want to live.  The first house we went into was used for a hospital in the Civil War.  There are all kinds of stories to go with this house.  One, was the wooden floor in the dining room was replaced because it was used as the operating room and they couldn't get all the blood up, so they just replaced the boards to the floor.  Even though Chuck and I had been on this tour before, it was a very fun Christmas afternoon and will put it on our list " to do" at Christmas time.  Little towns are the BEST!!!!

A Little Bit of Christmas

Our tiny little Alabama Christmas tree

My 1980's tree I made but updated

Family Christmas presents

My $ Store Christmas dishes but now cost $15 a plate

Table set for our Christmas dinner

Dining room decorated

I made this Christmas tree quilt in the 1990's.  

Christmas just keeps growing here at Brambly Pines.  I was going to keep it simple but it seems like I just keep finding more and more Christmas to decorate with.  Wait until you see what I came up with this week.  ( it will be in another post)  I think my favorite room to decorate is the dining room.  I love the fact that I bought my Christmas dishes at the $ Store about 8 years ago.  I bought 8 of them....so that would be only $8.  Well, since then, I have seen them in magazines for $15 a plate.  This is the true price for them because a friend of mine has them and that is what she paid.  I know!!!  best bargain that I ever found, huh?  Not only did I get them for cheap, but they are really pretty with cardinals on them so that is the theme of my decorating in the dining room.  We have so many cardinals here in the woods of Brambly Pines that it just seems appropriate to decorate that way.
   About 25 or so years ago, I made one of those ceramic Christmas trees like everyone else in the world had.  I also gave one to my dear Christina that year for Christmas.  Yes, we both still have them and get them out every year.  A couple years ago, I did replace all the multi colored lights to all white lights.  I left the little red cardinal lights on there.  It's now an updated vintage tree that I cherish.  Christina cherishes hers also.  She puts it out at the first of Advent every year and says a little part of me is there with her.
    We still have a couple more presents to buy and wrap  and a couple carts full of food to buy before the kids get here but all in all, I'm pretty much ready for Christmas.  Merry Christmas to everyone!!!!

On the First Day of Christmas...

Presents from Michelle

Presents from Melanie

Six years ago when we moved up here and were freezing to death in the TT with no electricity, heat or running water, it was right at Christmas time.  It was just Chuck and I and the two cats.  You think I would have been depressed not having our kids around us for Christmas or no real Christmas dinner.  Well, I missed it all but I was in all my glory just living in Alabama after all the years of my dreams.  Twelve days before Christmas here came a present in the mail from Michelle.  Another one the next day and the next...for 12 days.  That is when it all started...."The 12 Days of Christmas"  The next year, Michelle and I decided we would do it for each other since it had been so much fun for me the year before.  It sounds like a lot to buy but you have all year to pick up little things for each other.  They don't have to be BIG presents...they can come from the $ Store or even a thrift store.  Just something little that you know each other would like.  Of course  Christmas Day is the 12th day so that is when we give each other our " real Christmas present".  We exchange all of our wrapped presents with each other on Thanksgiving.  That way we have them to start opening on December 14th.  It is just too much fun to have a present to open every day for 12 Days.  Not only that, but we either talk or text each other about the presents we have received that day. It's nice getting 12 " thank yous" also.   After six years of doing this, I think it has become a tradition between Michelle and I.

Since this has become so much fun, Lady Melanie asked if I wanted to do 12 Days with her also.  Of course I did!  Who wouldn't want to have TWO presents to open every morning!!! The tradition that Michelle started six years ago is spreading.  Not only is Melanie doing it with me, but she is doing it with her oldest grand daughter.  Christina did it for her great grand daughter this year also.  So if you want a lot of Christmas fun......find someone to do "12 Days of Christmas" with you.  I wish I could do it with everyone that I love.  ( I know, I'd have to win the lotto....but it sure would be fun)  .....on the first day of Christmas....my true love gave to me....an ornament for our tree!

Christmas Outside

Mr. Santa that I made about 10 years ago.

Our first Alabama Christmas tree

I didn't put  a lot of Christmas decorations outside this year.  Just enough to know that Christmas has come to Brambly Pines.  The first Christmas we were in the house, I went all out.  I put wreaths in every window of the front of the house and lined the railings with garland and bows. I hung huge snowflakes all along the front porch.  I had two little lit trees on each side of the door.  Oh, it was so pretty and a dream of mine to decorate like that.  Then, it came time to take it all down and lug it down the stairs to the basement.  Also, I decided it was pretty silly to do all that work when no one even saw it but the animals that live in the woods.
It was a perfect Christmas that year....our first year in our new house and we woke up to it snowing on Christmas day.  Now our perfect Christmas comes the day after Christmas when our whole family comes to celebrate with us.  It means leaving Christmas up just a little longer than I'm used to but it's so worth it.  Yes, my decorations will come down BEFORE New Years because as you know, it's bad luck to have them up for New Years.  There is less to take down and lug back to the basement and I just might have help with all the kids being here for it.  

Pear Color

The pear trees from the sun room windows.  

Now that we are well into December, all the color and leaves have vanished from the trees.  All but the Bradford Pear Trees.  They stayed green well after the other trees and then slowly turned a beautiful yellow.  We have four of them at the one end of the house and it's like someone has turned on four bright lights out there.  It's just so pretty to look out the sun room windows and see all this pretty yellow.  Yes, Fall is my favorite season.  How can it not be!!!!

Christmas Chalk

I love it when Michelle is here and it's time to change the kitchen chalk board.  It seems like I never get around to spending time on it.  The day after Thanksgiving, I gave Michelle the idea of what I would like on the board and she took it and ran with it.  " Christmas in Dixie" is my favorite Christmas song so that was my wish for the chalk board.  Before I knew it, the board was covered with pretty Christmas art.  Come the New Year, it's going to be hard for me to erase this pretty piece of framed art.  Maybe I can just erase the Christmas part and come up with a way to keep it for my winter art.  ....my mind is racing right now.  Stay tuned.......

Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving Table

Our little Miss Turkey

Half of our family

Miss Vivi in her Mama's Thanksgiving dress at her age.

Thanksgiving is always a special time of the year.  When the kids were little, it meant pack up the car, get picked up after school and hit the road for Alabama.  For most of their years, growing up, we spent Thanksgiving with Gene and George.  Oh what memories we have from all those years.  Eating wonderful southern food, walking in the woods, shopping and visiting with Mac and Mimmie.  Oh yeah....the 8 hour drive up and 8 hours back home.  Keeping the kids entertained was a challenge .  We had to come up with games to play, songs to sing and a bed time.  Remember, we didn't have TV's, phones, Ipads, etc, back in the day.  Even the time in the car had some funny memories.
  I am one for not decorating for Christmas until AFTER Thanksgiving.  Please don't play Christmas music until AFTER Thanksgiving!!!!  Enjoy the one holiday where we just get together and have a wonderful, traditional meal together.  Take a walk in the woods and reflect back on the Thanksgivings from the past.  We are so lucky that Michelle and her family are close enough by that they can come and share our Thanksgiving with us.  Oh, how I wish Ryan and his family could come.  It won't be long now, before the whole family is here to celebrate Christmas.  Now that Thanksgiving is over, the count down is on.......

Fall Garden

Broccoli 

Lettuce

Green Beans

We were lucky to find some Fall garden plants, after looking everywhere for them.  Now we know, come the end of next summer to just go down to the Feed Store at the end of the Beltline in Decatur and they will have them.  It was well worth the hunt .  It was nice to go down to the garden and pick everything just before our first frost for the season.  Everything was great but the best was the broccoli!  It was the best broccoli that we have ever eaten in our whole lives!!! Our next Fall garden is going to have twice as much broccoli as anything else.  What a nice treat the garden brought to us again.