Holiday happenings

 I have been a little lax about posting...working on a quilt and the Mr. and I went to a pool tournament last weekend and I am preparing for the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons upcoming.  Almost my favorite time of the year.  Girls, I have a craft project that I think you will love!!!  Just beginning to work on it.  Last weekend I met with several of my friends over in Cheyenne and we went to a couple of Christmas craft shows and that is where I saw this painting project.  My retreat gals like to paint and if the project can be a gift...all the better.  Wait for the finished project soon.  Also, since I am a baby boomer and of the generation that came during the first half of the last century, I still retain that simpler love for life.  Technology will cause that to change for other generations but I have the time and love to bake for the holidays.  Above are real fruitcakes!!  Not the kind you buy at the local market or the specialty stores, but the old fashioned Christmas fruitcakes.  We always had them at home and my dad loved these.  They are expensive to make and were a real sweet treat for those who struggled to make a living for their families..we had them once a year.  Mine is a very old recipe, but there are similar ones on line.  It has 4 cups of sugar, 7 cups of flour 8 lbs of candies fruits, dates, raisins, nuts, molasses, 10 eggs and lots of spices. Then when it is cooled, it is drizzled with brandy, wrapped in cheesecloth, then foil and placed in a tin.  Every few days, I will drizzle brandy over the loaves and rewrap until Christmas.  Yummy!!!  (not everyone loves these, in fact I find that mostly people my age appreciate the traditional sweet, but there are a few that do and I will gift them one)

The leaves are long gone from the cottonwoods and the Canadian cherry tree in our yards, but the pine makes a pretty silhouette against the firey sky sunset.  For us it is way too early for the Christmas decorations, but this pine will get it's lights soon and we are planning our 2nd annual trek to cut our indoor tree. 

When I was growing up, my mom had Thanksgiving dinner with aunts and uncles and cousins.  It was always festive with lots of food, games, a little bottled cheer and lots of love. When my children were growing up, we lived too far away to be with family most of the time and the Mr. and I are too far away from our children to travel at this time of the year.  We still live in snowy, windy country with travel advisories most of the time, but we have been fortunate to have family and friends most of the time.  Even if it is just the two of us and the furkids, I still cook a turkey and have all the trimmin's.  So when it snows and it does regularly, I bake cookies etc. and the holiday happenings have already begun!!