No Place Like Home Week 2

This was our  last Christmas table!

I am delighted to be  joining in on a blog party  hosted by Sandy at  No Place Like Home to share  the special things  we do to make our Christmas merry, and especially cosy!  This is week 2!

I  was raised to put family first at Christmas.  My mother and all her sisters and their families all gathered at Grandma’s on the farm for Christmas.  Traditions were important.  Grandma was famous for her Apple Brandy cake, chocolate cake and delicious boiled cream custard. All the aunts brought their favorite foods and a royal feast was enjoyed every Christmas Day.  The mid eighties brought an end to those days when it became time for us to take our holiday tradition to my mother’s home and the food changed .  Mother liked to have a Christmas Eve party.  She would serve Shrimp cocktail, potato salad,  cereal Chex mix,  fruit salad, and pecan tassies  We always had ham, sweet potato casserole, and green bean casserole for Christmas Day.  My daughter, Amanda, loved both! 

  When my elderly parents moved  to be closer to us, Mom still expected to do her Christmas Eve party, but I did a Christmas Morning Brunch, thus began my traditional  Yuletide celebration.  Number 1 on my list was Christmas Quiche!
 

Last year Hubs and I were on our own, so  here was our traditional brunch...

Christmas Quiche,  Cranberry walnut scones,   cranberry fruit salad,   coffee and juice!

The quiche  would be a little different  each year, for example,  starting about   5 years ago I stopped using   a crust and did a magic recipe  adding  bisquick to the mix.

The quiche ahs  become   a great  tradition and  Amanda in her own home  has  quiche  as her  traditioinal Christmas breakfast many times!

Well, I made a  variation of this  dish  this morning for breakfast and it was  really very good..  yet super simple..

  I  was able to clean out a few things in the fridge.. I used  1/2 a vidalia onion and  half a yellow pepper.  For Christmas I like to use red pepper...more festive!

For Christmas I use   coun try ham becasuse I love  the savory  value of it,  but today I used up 3 slices  of deli ham from the fridge.  I   chopped  the onion, pepper and ham up and  sauteed it in my  baking pan.  If it was  Christmas morning I would have  then moved it to my pretty  red baking dish..  to this mix I had added  seasoning to taste..  including salt, pepper,  garlic powder,   onion powder,   and  nutmeg.

Meanwhile, I had  my  5 eggs and   about a 1/3 cup  of half and half  seasoned and ready to go.    Whish together and pour  on top of the  mix in the pan.

Before I put in a 375 oven, I sprinkled about 1/2 c. of shredded  swiss cheese on top.

Hubs took it out and had it cut up  before I could take a photo but it was  delish and note I didnt even have to use any bisquick.  It still  somes out and less  carbs  for me!!!  But  a  pastry or  bisquick recipe is  nice for  a Christmas  quiche!
 I baked it  for  about 35 minutes  or until the side  come away from the side of the pan and it gently golden on top!
                                            

You might like to   experiment and make your own breakfast  quiche..  so  easy...   of course my Christmas quiche was larger and  had  8 servings. I will  put the  true recipe up soon!  Check back and  have a great time this week    getting  all set for  your Merry Christmas!

Happy Homemaker Monday

                                                                  Hosted by Sandra!  

     ♥♥The Weather♥♥

Mon

54°

34°

Tue

40°

30°

Wed

50°

29°

Thu

54°

38°

Fri

53°

36°

Sat

51°

35°

Sun

51°

33°

Looks a littlke more seasonal now.

♥♥How I am feeling this morning♥♥

Except for  allergies,  all is  bright and bushy tailed!

♥♥On my mind♥♥

It was so great to get back to face to face church yesterday.  Our church is  pretty small which I love, although we are always hoping for more  new  Christains,  but  our  body has  more  older follks than   younger and  the older  ones  havent been coming this year..  We see them on zoom, thankfully!

So  we onl have about a dozen faithful  ones who  brave coming out  so  social distancing isn't a problem.  Our pastor is so wonderful, brilliant, caring,  we  just want  everyone to be blessed like we are!

https://vimeo.com/480308394

Paste this url in the  bar    for a lovely short sample.. one of his  encouragement videos

♥♥On the breakfast plate

No breakfast yet...

♥♥On my reading pile♥♥

We are doing a study on Jen wilkens' book  in Sunday School and I am doing

another  study on Ann Voskamp's book,

This online study is  very good.. I had read the book years ago,  but now I am getting a fresh perspective!

  Charis- Eucharisteo-    Chara

Grace-Thanksgiving- Joy

♥♥On my tv♥♥

Youtube videos, Laramie, Hallmark movies,HGTV  The Create channel,  (a PBS station)

I  started watching Fairyland Cottage and Cottage Girl vlogs on Youtube on Tv..  oh,  that is  so  fantastic to watch them on  the big screen!!!

I will add another  great vlog.. Jeri Landers of Hopalong Hollow.  Her  posts  are   amazingly  beautiful.  Such talent and  hominess! I am hooked on these blogs..so much better than regular tv! 

The Crown and Virgin River 

♥♥On the menu this week♥♥

Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and  biscuits

♥♥From the camera♥

♥♥Looking around the house♥♥

  Most of the house is decorated now.. The dining room table    needs  some  more   work. I may need to shop a bit more for my  centerpiece theme 😜

♥♥New recipe I tried last week, or one that we really enjoyed♥♥

nothing

 ♥♥Something I want to share♥♥

I want   to watch The Queen's Gambit.. I saw on facebook yesterday  it is a great  hit with many folks.  I hope it is on Netflix.. Any    reviews on it from anyone?

♥♥On my prayer list♥♥

Dear  God,  nothing takes you by surprise. You know everything that has transpired in the last  few years in  our nation..  I won't your time reminding you    but please  know  that our hearts are wrenching from the  knowledge that our nation  has  fallen beyond the pale into the  hands of an evil entity  that has been brewing for  a long time  but  who has  reared its ugly head  mightily  in the last   few weeks. Deception,   deception deception!!!   You know best   what is to be done,  so  we wait patiently for your help!   Thank you for your peace  that passes all understanding.

Devotional::

No Place Like Home week 1 (part II)

In my opinion the Christmas season has officially  started  and I am delighted to be  joining in on a blog party  hosted by Sandy at  No Place Like Home.   We are asked   to share  the special things about home that make life special and cosy...

This is Thanksgiving Saturday and if you are like me,  your home is  sort of ravaged with  boxes, and  decorations of all kinds   everywhere..  I  have sort of  gotten the parlor back into  a presentable state,  but everything else is  hectic with activity!  But this is what makes  our home...home!

My style here at home is   dictated by  our house style.  We live in a Tudor  home, and since I am an Anglophile, I choose decor   that has a bit of Olde World look..Just like the music that has played all morning is  from an Olde English Christmas!

So here are  few areas that are   ready  for  the Yule!

Yesterday I did share the tree and  arrangement, but  now   the area  around it  is   set for  the Yule!  They will look better this evening...  Check in below!

  Today the mantel is finished! 

  Now I wonder.. Does anyone else have a staging room.  Right now mine is the Dining room.  I vow to have this finished and  cleaned up  by this evening!

I share this photo to  show that the little tree is  done and    giving me tons of  holiday cheer!   Now,  I'm off to the  dining room!   More in about any hour!!

Well,  the dining room  is    almost finished.,,.  but we are both pooped!!

So  we move into the dining room!

The table is   almost there...   I  have a theme in mind    that incorporates  red  trucks and Christmas trees!  But more about that later!

So I took a bit of a rest   by  my cosy fire!  Although   it is pretty warm here today... But Monday  ...brrr!!!

  Hubs view from his chair!

My view from mine!!

I love the mantel from my vantage point!

  And then there is poor hubs!     I've worked him pretty hard today...

WHew!  It does feel good to be this far along  in  the decorating process...  We will enjoy sitting by the fire tomorrow   while we do our  church zoom!

Good tidings to all!!!  And  God bless!!

No Place Like Home. Week 1 (part I )

I am delighted to be  joining in on a blog party  hosted by Sandy at  No Place Like Home to share  the special things  that living here  really make home  feel  really  homey!  

Well, it is finally the day after Thanksgiving and I can legitimately be excited about Christmas.  I cannot think of a better time of year to be confined at home with just my sweetheart, than Christmastime.  The senses are so engaged and tantalized that you can’t help but feel love, cosiness, and hope for things to come.

  Hubs went out today and purchased an early present for us to be able to really enjoy during the holidays. This cute Victrola multimedia sound system is just what we needed to enjoy the sounds of the seasons!  Listening to carols is one of my  favorite  Christmas pastimes!

We  do have our main tree up and decorated.  That leaves two smaller trees to go... but  trees are so important to  whole  climate of  a Christmassy home..It draws  you right into the room with its  warmth and  bright  lights!

I  haven't run across my  tree skirt yet,  perhaps it is time to make a new one to commemorate this year of years!  The arrangement below  seems to always be my first    project  each  yuletide season.. I love to switch it out  by the seasons and I    really  get my  love of Christmas   decortaing  in full mode  by starting small  but it does give a big punch.  Later in the evening,   I will plug in  its lights!

Hopefully, tomorrow I will have  another tree done and the   whole effect will be  so  divinely lit,  that  I might capture the  glorious  Christmas  love that  light and cheer add to a setting ...  that even when   we are  here  on our own this year,  we still  enjoy the majesty of the season in our  safe and  comfy home!                                                    I will be sharing more   on No Place Like Home in the coming days of Christmas!

Wednesday Hodge podge

Hosted by Joyce.

1. It's Thanksgiving week in the US of A so let's talk turkey. And by turkey I mean the elephant in the room because it's still 2020 and our blogs are a record of sorts of the times in which we live. 

Do you live in a state (or if you're outside the US, a country) that's instituted restrictions on the size of gatherings in your own home? What do we think about this? (keep it classy folks)

I do live in a state has  has suggested  no family get togethers,  so I did actually invite a friend whose kitchen is  torn up  for remodelling but someone had beat me to the mark.  So  Hubs and decided to  get take out  for  Thanksgiving and help the economy.  I have very mixed feelings about  the pandemic which I wont go into!

2. Let's move in a cheerier direction. Will there be corn on your holiday dinner menu? How so? Cornbread-corn pudding-corn chips and dip-cornbread dressing/stuffing-corn chowder-or regular canned, frozen or fresh corn in a bowl...which of the 'corns’ listed is your favorite?  There will be  cornbread dressing!  Yum!!!

3. What is there a cornucopia of in your home, job, or life currently? There is a cornucopia of love, for God,  for our family,  our church,   and our friends!

4. Have you ever quit something (such as a habit, a food, a time-sucker, a relationship) cold turkey? Is there something you need to quit cold turkey?  I was  so fortunate to quit smoking cold turkey..   I need to cut back on my  technology use.  But I'd probably fill it with more tv.. 

5. Share a favorite verse, quote, saying, or song lyric relating to gratitude. 

6. Insert your own random thought here.   I am so very thankful for my  salvation through Jesus Christ,  my church  that is led  by  the most  amazing  young pastor who loves mightily, my family, husband, daughter,  son in law and grands. I am thankful for the   my parents who raised me to seek God in all things.  

Tuesday 4

The Language of Flowers

Click the title above to return to Anne's page!

Do I have a favorite flower?  I, personally, love Hydrangeas!

Do I know my birth and state flowers?

My birth flower is the Water Lily and my state flower is the Flowering 

Dogwood

Is there a flower I love hanging in my house or garden..

I used to  hang Fuchia baskets,  but there are  a bit tempermental  so now outside 

I  always plant trailing petunias.  They do very well in our  area!

If I could plant a dream garden what I plant in it!

There would be scads of  hydrangeas of every color,    and  lovely tea roses.

There would be banks of For-get-me-nots, and  purple salvia.  A hedge of peonias  would 

 surround the whole.!

Happy Homemaker Monday

                                                                  Hosted by Sandra!  

     ♥♥The Weather♥♥

Mon

51°

33°

Tue

54°

38°

Wed

59°

51°

Thu

70°

45°

Fri

66°

47°

Sat

59°

38°

A little too mild for me liking!

♥♥How I am feeling this morning♥♥

I am doing fine...  I've been getting around much more than usual and it seems to be helping my over all outlook and capacity.  Exercise  is a good thing after all!

♥♥On my mind♥♥

Well, I am still praising God that with this crazy culture and dilemmas we are enduring, I still  am at very much peace in my inner soul. I know nothing takes God by surprise and His purposes will be fulfilled in His timing!  I shared  the   above because it is so true.  I  go to prayer meetings and I  pray fervently and   then leave it all in the hands of  the Creator  who  has a plan and it will be fulfilled in HIs own timing!

♥♥On the breakfast plate

Cup of coffee and fruited yogurt, as usual! Thanks to my dear Hubs who has it ready for me every morning!  I am Blessed!Then  a bit later he fried up the bits and pieces of left  over  bacon    and we  had a bit of bacon with a toaster waffle..  What a honey I married!

♥♥On my reading pile♥♥

We are doing a study on Jen wilkens' book  in Sunday School and I am doing

another  study on Ann Voskamp's book,

This online study is  very good.. I had read the book years ago,  but now I am getting a fresh perspective!

  Charis- Eucharisteo-    Chara

Grace-Thanksgiving- Joy

♥♥On my tv♥♥

Youtube videos, Laramie, Hallmark movies,HGTV  The Create channel,  (a PBS station)

I  started watching Fairyland Cottage and Cottage Girl vlogs on Youtube on Tv..  oh,  that is  so  fantastic to watch them on  the big screen!!!

I will add another  great vlog.. Jeri Landers of Hopalong Hollow.  Her  posts  are   amazingly  beautiful.  Such talent and  hominess! I am hooked on these blog..so much better than regular tv! 

The Crown and Virgin River ***starts up season 2  this Friday night!

♥♥On the menu this week♥♥

No plans yet...  

I am however working hard on decorating for Christmas..  Harder every year!!

♥♥From the camera♥

A little inspiration!

♥♥Looking around the house♥♥

Everything is complagely topsy turvy.. boxes everywhere with their contents spilling out!  No place to walk.. Hope we  get through this  mess  in one piece!  But is fun, in a wearisome way!

♥♥New recipe I tried last week, or one that we really enjoyed♥♥

Brussel Sprout Salad

 ♥♥Something I want to share♥♥

Hubs and I are  doing Thanksgiving on our own,  so  we've alrady ordered our dinner  from   the restaurant here in town..  I think I've definitely passed the point of no return!

♥♥On my prayer list♥♥

Dear  God,  nothing takes you by surprise. You know everything that has transpired in the last  few years in  our nation..  I won't your time reminding you    but please  know  that our hearts are wrenching from the  knowledge that our nation  has  fallen beyond the pale into the  hands of an evil intity  that has been brewing for  a long itme  but  who has  reared its ugly head  mightiy  in the last   couple of weeks. Deception,   deception deception!!!   YOu know best   what is to be done,  so  we wait patiently for your help!   Thank you for your peace  that passes all understanding.

Devotional::