Christmas Weekend 2014

Had Christmas lunch at my sister's then opened presents. In addition to my sister, her husband & niece we also had my Dad & his wife, her daughter, boyfriend, grand daughter & my Mom. It was very low key this year. We normally open gifts one at a time so everyone can see what each received. With so many present this year we all opened at the same time which made it go a LOT quicker. Gift cards were the theme for us because we kept telling everyone we didn't need anything. Actually, I wish we wouldn't exchange anymore but my Dad will have nothing to do with that. This was the 2nd year without my other niece. We all miss her very much but truly believe she is in heaven doing what God needs her to do.

We got an earlier start to the Country due to the presents not taking so long. We woke the next morning to this beautiful sky:

After breakfast, we made enchiladas from some leftover taco meat from earlier in the week.We then decided to continue our Christmas tradition of buying ourselves blocks for our own present. If you remember, 2 years ago my niece had just died & we didn't celebrate Christmas at all. That's when we bought 250 blocks to define the raised beds in our garden. Read about that here Christmas 2012. This year we needed new steps to our front porch & off the car port. We had temporary steps made of a couple of old blocks & wood. The wood was starting to rot & spiders had taken up residence in the block holes. We decided to make steps out of solid blocks so off to Lowes we went. We only had to buy 24 this time, whew! We got the steps put in after much levelling & decided to call it a day. 

Just as we sat down I got a text from my neighbors at Hoss Tools down the road, inviting us to come over & hang out by the fire & to eat some Christmas leftovers. We put on our boots & hopped on the Mule with our enchiladas. It was a fairly small group of about 10 or 11. Everyone brought a dish of some sort. We had ham, boston butt, broccoli casserole, etc. My friend's daughter was home from Germany & made homemade biscuits. They were great with the ham & the enchiladas were a big hit. It was a nice night & we were home & in bed by 10:00p.

We got up the next morning & I decided to try to make some biscuits myself. I just don't have luck with the regular old fashioned biscuits so I found a sour cream/7 up recipe on Pinterest. I had 1/4 c. sour cream & some lemon lime soda. It was very soft dough & you place the 'cut' dough on top of melted butter. Very messy & while they were baking I had my doubts but boy were they good! And, I can't find the recipe now. I need to get back on Pinterest & search. I didn't want to pin it in case they weren't good. Silly me.

We then put up a weather vane that Greg gave me. It's more for looks than anything. It's really the same brown color all over but the rooster & arrow looks copper with the sun shining on it.

While at Lowes the day before we also bought insulation for our garden shed roof but wanted to wait until the end of the day to install that. The early afternoon was spent string trimming (him, not me) & laundry. We then got the insulation done & stopped for the evening. Had leftover spaghetti & meatballs & called it another early night.

We left fairly early on Sunday because we wanted to stop by my sister's on the way home. We stopped & gorged ourselves at a country buffet in a nearby town. Roast beef, potatoes, carrots, turnip greens, dressing, chicken & dumplings, butterbeans & fried chicken. It was sooo good & I think it was $6.99 a person.

My Mom's house trailer is falling apart & we wanted to talk with them about buying her a new one. Since they live in the same town as her, we wanted to see if they would coordinate getting the old one torn down, permits, etc. We all agreed & hopefully she'll have a new safe home to live in, in a few weeks.

Greg has gone back to the Country, his business is closed until the 5th & he is going to work on getting the electrical & water trenched to the garden shed. I have to work tomorrow & 1/2 day on the 31st & will then head back to spend the New Year weekend with him.

If I don't post again I hope everyone has a safe & happy New Year celebration.

Merry Christmas All!

Merry Christmas to all my blogging friends. Wish we were closer & could raise a glass & eat a great meal together. Enjoy your time with family & friends.

Oh My Stars!

Had a great weekend in the country. Weather couldn't have been more perfect. After dinner on Saturday night we decide to don jackets & gloves (& ear muffs for me) & go for a ride on the mule. We are way out in the country about 10 miles away from the closest small town & on a clear night you see can the whole astrological sky. Wish I could name more than the big & little dippers, plus Orion's belt.

We rode in the big field across our dirt road. It's about 1500 acres. We stopped at one point just to look up & admire it for what it is truly worth. We also saw many shooting stars. I heard tonight that it might have been a meteor shower. It was so peaceful & quiet.

Here's an internet pic (I think from the Canon website, but not sure). I know my camera could never do it justice.

I just love this time of year.

This & That

We've been busy little beavers here lately. Thanksgiving was quite nice. We spend it with my husband's family almost every year. MIL is a fantastic cook! We usually take 1 or 2 things to go along with the meal. But, like everyone else there is always a boatload of food left over. This worked out great for us, as we headed to the country on Friday & with all those leftovers didn't have to spend any time cooking up there.

Last summer we had 2 big things happen:

1. Greg bought me a mule for my birthday:

We had a golf cart that was able to pull a small trailer but nothing heavy as the batteries wouldn't last. So he decided to splurge & get something that would last. This thing is a work horse! We've since added a roof & trailer ball. The bed lifts to be able to unload all that poo that I intend to haul!

2. We had a metal building put up on the country property.

It is divided intro 2 separate sections. The front section will house a kitchen, living & dining area, plus a bedroom & bathroom. And, best of all ...... a pantry!

The back will house an office, workbenches & shelving. The 'shop' of Greg's dream.

Over Thanksgiving weekend we laid out the front section & the office. We will be talking to someone about framing it inside, we just don't have the time. We will then hang the sheet rock, run the wiring for the electricity & lay out the duct work for the air. I would have loved to have solar but it just didn't work out. But, we hope to add a wood burning stove for heat.

Over the long weekend, I did get a chance to pick up some pecans from the volunteer trees along the fence line/driveway. I have at least 2 varieties. They are small but very sweet & meaty.

Other than that, I have been very busy at work with year end deadlines. Plus, we had our Christmas party last Saturday afternoon. It was on a boat & we had beautiful weather. Afterwards, we went to a nice dinner & then went to see Jeanne Robertson, a comedian that we really like. Here's a link to one of her YouTube videos if you are so inclined.

Don't send a man to the grocery store.

I am almost finished with my Christmas shopping. Cutting back a bit this year. Taking this Friday off to finish & then it's back to the country for the weekend ... woo hoo!