A Little Bit More Yuletide Planning

December does seem to be  flying by... and  thankfully I am  clicking things off my list...

So today I  am  working with the menus...   I decided to  change up the  Christmas morning  Quiche a bit....  and   made  hubby and I  a smaller  version  to try out for lunch today....   full of  fresh garden veggies,,,  peppers,  broccoli, onions, and this time, I added an extra  measure of nutmeg to  add a bit of  Christmas  cheer. But I must make a note to self to  be sure to  season well  otherwise....   the veggies tend  to   mask the salt apparently...  but  tastes so good with  my   Christmas coffee.... this time flavored with    a bit of  our  local  fresh  made  egg nog... so   rich an yummy... instead of   half and half which is my usual  habit. 

So as I  ponder   our yuletide    meals,  I am listening to  one of my  all time favorite  Christmas  cd's.

Winterlude -- Instrumentals for a Contemplative Christmas

Just exactly the kind of instrumentals one  wants to listen to     during days like these!

You can find it here.

This year we sent out  90  cards...  I  actually  spent all day yesterday on them...   but  we do love to  sent greetings to our  dearest  friends and families..  plus old friends  whom we havent seen is  many years..   There is something special about a bit of slow mail  correspondence that cant be  duplicated digitally!

 The  house is   finally  decorated...  Im using my  small trees this  year.... much  easier   to put up and especially to take down!  The mantel is     lovely  and   

I  was  so  pleased   when I found  my New  Fox family to celebrate with us  becasue I could not find    my   lovely  older couple...

Then, this morning  my dear old friends showed...   turns out they had been vacationing in Boca! 

It seems they had  had  a visit with   Uncle Sylvestri  Fox  who  was  so   full of stories  they almost missed  their  Christmas    visit with  me here....

But they did bring  back his favorite  Yuletide   lovely recipe 

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BLT-Stuffed Tomatoes

 Prep Time 15 min. Total Time 15 min. Servings 9 servings 

How to Scoop Out the Tomatoes Use a measuring teaspoon or a small melon baller to scoop out the seeds from the tomatoes. Make Ahead Tomatoes can be filled with cream cheese 

18 large cherry tomatoes (10 oz.), about 1- 1/4 inches in diameter 2 oz. (1/4 of 8-oz. pkg.)  Cream Cheese, softened 1/4 cup  Mayonnaise,

 3 slices cooked  Bacon, crumbled 2 Tbsp. finely chopped romaine lettuce

 3 Tbsp. crushed seasoned croutons

 Cut tops off tomatoes; discard. Scoop out seeds. Drain tomatoes, cut sides down, on paper towels. Meanwhile, mix cream cheese and mayo in medium bowl until blended. Stir in bacon and lettuce. Spoon cream cheese mixture into tomatoes just before serving; top with crushed croutons.

  Sounds  pretty tasty and looks  great  as well!!!  

 Thanks  Uncle  Sylvestri!

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Today's word: Cosy!

So bright and early this morning  I was up  preparing for my  brunch/chat   event with  my  BFF"s.. I was,  also,   taking advantage of this time to give my   Christmas gifts to  my friends  because  every one's  Christmas is   very  busy and   complicated this year. Plus,    we as a group  had  had the opportunity to go view the film War Room  last month,     and  when I saw   this book,

 I  knew we needed to have our own copies, and  I   didn't want them  to go ahead and get one when they saw it on  the book stands..  But this morning   was  so  cold and  dreary....   the sun wouldn't shine and the rain  would pour today.    So I  immediately set about warming up every room with   lights aglow....

 I love the    lamplight  and   cosy   look   of the rooms   this morning...

  The  mantel lights  and  harvest tree lights   made their statement of  " Come in, and  let's   have a cup of   warm  tea or coffee!"

 As I was  taking these photos this morning it registered with me  that  this very likely will  be  the extent of my holiday  decorating  this  season...    so I   revelled all the more  with my  harvest  lights and hues!

 Even the den   was  looking   inviting    with its  lamplight glow!

 Now this morning I didn't  get the  tea cups out...   today   was meant for a  hefty mug of coffee, so I used  my  wonderful collection of Bed and Breakfast mugs!    Every time we  stay at a B &B  I purchase their signature mug...  I love the  deep  tones of   autumn  best...in the above photo you can see the  gold and orange,     below the  maroon and green....    I just   love these  fabulous mugs.

 Then I turned my attention to the  point of entry...   friends  come to visit through the sunroom..

                                            After I got the  lights   and the heat  adjusted, 

it was  now time to get  busy in the kitchen. 

My offering for the morning  besides  a  busy coffee pot,    was   my  crustless Quiche... for a 12 inch  quiche dish,  I    cut up  1/2  of a large onion and 1/2 of a red pepper.

 I added that into a saute' pan  with about  1/2 of  a pound of sausage  crumbled and   sauteed them together.....

 meanwhile, I  broke 10 eggs into a mixing bowl  and  seasoned them with  salt, pepper, and  a  tsp of  nutmeg.  I added  at least 1/2 c  of half and half and   whisked  them together..  I added  at least  3 oz.  of     shredded Parmesan cheese  to the mixture.  I sprayed the  quiche  pan with    PAM,  added     all of the sauteed veggies and sausage and  spread it evenly  in the bottom of the pan, then poured the  egg mixture  over the top.  Using  a folk I   just  sort of  pushed  the  sausage down into the eggs and   evenly distributed the  cheese.  

 Then I   placed the   pan into  a preheated  400 degree oven.  It  baked for   around  30 minutes until  it was  solidly   cooked and  beginning to get golden brown around the edges.

   My  friend, Dot, brought the most   delicious  Honey Crisp  stewed  apples ....    the recipe  was 

 from a Taste of Home  site

We all had a grand time  around the table...   with  sweet fellowship,   tasty   food, and  

   gracious sharing!!!

                                                                 Now I'm  Sharing on  

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Wallah! All Done at Last

Change around the home   is   wonderful...  

Heretofore,  my 1930's kitchen  was   just bereft of storage  or   utility..on the  one long way opposite the sink  there was nothing but a furnace flue in the corner...  so for  extra  storage I  put  a hutch there.. which  served us well enough  for  several years..

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As you can see the other side of the kitchen  was   very  small   and  actually only suitable for one  cook at a time.  But  Lynn was well trained to  use  the space on  winter mornings  to make the family  waffle  breakfasts!!  Our  very plain  solid wood birch cabinets  were  efficinet,  but  not nearly enough  and  we won't discuss again that I only had 2 drawers....

 But this past  late spring  we   had only one purpose ~to  redo  that  kitchen...   and  bring it into the  21st century anyway!  Our  English Tudor home  will never   have an open concept,   but  that isnt a priority  for us.. We love  the cosiness of our home and attempted to keep that same  country cottage  feel of it..

  I have posted before  how we  incorporated our old cabinet  bodies  into the new design  with new  cabinet doors, but  these  horrid  over the sink lights had to go!

So after  we   installed our wonderful  plantation shutters  we   were able to install our new pendants...

Which I think  goes a long way in updating and    I do  really love my  paint color..  Rolling Pebble by  Behr.

without the flash

 and with it....

 So now  on the other side of the kitchen...  we have a  computer work station... Yes, it is  absolutely  too full of stuff  I can't seem to decide  how to manage  all  my gear...  but Im getting there.  Computers and printers are  bigger than you think they are... but now that I am  a Grannie to two  little  tykes,  I absolutely couldnt keep all my  mess  in their room....  So before   Birdie's little  sis   gets here  we had to make  a way  ....  and  now  I have many more cabinets for the  myriads of  dishes I collect!  yayayayayay!
 YOU might also notice our  under the cabinet lights....  I   love those so much in the evening...Our daughter  said  a few weeks ago when she saw it,   "Gee, mom, why didnt you do this   when  I was still at home...."

 And now beside my ugly old flue I have  my floor to ceiling pantry  which I love so much!   

  My new fridge and  dishwasher  beside it     bring me   hopping in the  present time.....

Ok, I still have my old stove... everything in it's time is what I always say!

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My Very First Mad Tea Party

There is a place, like no  place on earth.

A land full of wonder, mystery, and danger!

Some say, to survive it,  you need to be as mad as a hatter.  

Which luckily, I am!

~Alice in Wonderland

Whoooooo's excited about  the Mad  Tea Party  over at Fanciful Twist!!!!

  Well, the party has already started so you're going to be late!!!!!

Follow me...  we can still make it to Schotzy's  woodland cottage... 

You know it is all about celebrating the 150th Anniversary  of  Lewis Carroll's marvelous book!

  But  at Schotzy's party it is all about fun, music, and   tea. Listen, I can hear the music now!!!

The fairies  have assembled..

 Miranda 's   all tuned up!!

Ahh,  we are  so fortunate today, King Frederick Frog  will   take charge and keep  everyone in line!! 

The Twitterings  welcome  one and all!

Ahem!   If you will  all pass right through here please...  we shall  find our  way to the  glen of merriment!
Step carefully here, please...

Right along through here, I  think,.. um...   I hope...
 

No need to pause for a rest... plenty of time for that  soon enough!

Oh, dear,   excuse me, madame,    Oh, please,  I  do  beg your pardon,,,    ahem,,,  now I  do believe,   ...  umm,   yes,   I think......  ah,   at last,  yes,     but if you please, just  one more  left turn through here and we're there!

And  I do believe  we  can see   our way clear  now...

The alarming clock  announces....

  

And so  ....( Drum roll, please) I present  darjeeling...  for my  darlings!

And the tea is ready!!!

The fairies sing an ode to  the cup!

  (Fanfare)

White rabbit makes  a huge announcement!

YOU  have been chosen  the Queen of the  Party!  The Fairy Queen will  crown you!

 Never  fear, Darling,   the Queen of Hearts is vacationing in Boca!

So be a dear,  would you mind  pouring the  tea for us?

  What!!!!!!!!!!!

What mischief is this!

Someone has quite  forgotten his manners: he must have left them in his nasty little  burrow  along the garden path....

AwK!  If I may divert your attention.uh,...uh, uh, uh     my dears,,   we shall now   move right through the glass  .. to our tea!

The fairies and the 

 woodland creatures   serenade  the   partiers...  
The Twitterings    declare, "It's  a huge success!"  

 and wish everyone who  visits   a  very  Mad Day!

Hope you  enjoyed  our first  Mad  Tea.. now I'm off to visit  some other parties!  Come on,,, let's go together!

Today is also, Pink Saturday!

  BTW.... As I ran across this wonderful post  I am adding it here to share with mothers do  not   think  they should  teach children about fairies...   I love this   prinicple of  teaching!

I   still believe in the possibility of them.... and my mind loves to imagine them  among the flowers  and  making friends with the woodland creatures.  If C.S. Lewis and Tolkien can have fairies,,,  then    so can we!

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