The Tuesday Editions

Yesterday was a very busy. Remember I said some time last week that that was the busy week and I’d be able to take it a bit easier this week? Yeah, right who am I kidding?

Part of it is my own greatness. Hehehe… This has been just a bumper-crop year at the Davinities cookie farm! When the cookie trays came out Saturday they went fast! I had to refill from the trays of extras in the kitchen! And I have to agree that the cookies did turn out really tasty this year. I had made “favors,” cookie bags to take home, for everyone and they were all were quite eager to make sure they grabbed their bag before they left. That makes me so happy!

I was a little shy on my normal amount of fine chocolates for the party this year, but the cookies actually went in more abundance. After restocking the party trays, it leaves me a little shy for Christmas, so I’m fortifying my resources! The Chewy Black Forest was a large batch, so I don’t need to make more of those, same with the Almond Sugar Cookies, but the Mr. Goodcookies and especially the Chocolate Chunk Hazelnut and Gingerbread are completely gone.

Now I will make a point of making sure it’s known that David ate the last Chocolate Chunk Hazelnut and I ate the last Gingerbread cookie yesterday. So, I did NOT run out of anything at the party. My Noni would be sitting next to me with that tilted hand accenting every word, half in Italian. It would not be a friendly Heavenly visit! A host running out of something their guests are enjoying is a mortal sin!

So today’s original schedule, which was one Loaded Loaf and finish the wrapping, is now a Loaded Loaf and Gingerbread cookies and finish wrapping. The Chocolate Chunk Hazelnuts are added to Crostadas tomorrow. I still have about 8 Mr. Goodcookies left and I’ll use half on the tray for home and the rest on the tray I take to Pop’s Christmas Eve. I’m still trying to not have any baking left on Thursday. We’ll see what happens there. David is working Friday night, our anniversary, so we’re doing dinner the night before. No gripes about him working that night. He worked the night shift the day we got married too, so it’s kinda romantic that he’s working!


Meet Me On Monday on Tuesday

Yesterday's busy was just enough that I didn’t get all my regular Monday blogging stuff done. It happens sometimes and by the time I got groceries and couple more little stocking things done and, well, I was beat! David and I went out and got our ham for Christmas last night and the scooters at the Andersons were all charging. I know from shopping earlier that yesterday was a busy grocery day. So we took out the wheelchair and used that. Even with David pushing a good part of the time, my arms were in the “falling off” mode!

But, a day late and a candy cane short (because I ate it) here’s Meet Me On Monday!

Every Monday Java at Never Growing Old gives us 5 questions to get to know each other better. Well, since the next two Mondays will not have MMOM questions because of the holidays the next 2 Sundays, we have 15 questions, to fill in for those weeks. The theme is Christmas Prep!

This Week’s Questions:

1.Wrapping paper or gift bags? I like gift bags, but I usually don’t have tissue paper, so most of the time I wrap.

2. Real or artificial tree? Artificial.

3. When do you put your tree up? I used to do all my decorating the day after Thanksgiving or the day after I got home when we started going to Grandma’s. Now it's when David and I can coordinate schedules.

4. When do you take your tree down? After Epiphany, January 6. David and I were both raised recognizing when the Wise Men got there. My Mom set up her Nativity with the Wise Men far away from the stable and after Christmas Day began to move them a little closer every day

5. Do you like eggnog? Yes I do and so does Rina, so I made sure to get some when I did the groceries yesterday.

6. Do you have a nativity scene?
I got the stable and holy family in my Nativity when I was 21. It’s Fontanini and I love the Old Italian look. I’ve collected other pieces bit by bit. In addition to Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus, I have the animals, Wise Men, several shepherds and shepherdesses with sheep and a sheep dog, villagers, musicians and barn cats. A certain orange house cat has gotten much better about staying out of the Nativity.

Baby Kaline just wanted to nap with Baby Jesus?

7. Favorite Christmas Movie? Early in the season, Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer, and near or on Christmas, It’s A Wonderful Life

8. Favorite Christmas cookie? This year, all of them! (very proud!) But I most pleased with having found and tweaked the perfect gingerbread recipe for which I’ve been searching about ten years! I’ve always bought gingerbread because mine just wasn’t good enough. This year, I’m making more gingerbread!

9. Where will you eat Christmas dinner? David, Rina and I will have Honey Baked Ham in Toledo. Our big family dinner is Christmas Eve at my cousin’s. It’s a traditional fish dinner, mostly fried. I’ll enjoy the family at that meal, the food at home on Christmas.

10. Angel, bow or star on top of your tree? Angel. I bought that angel when I bought the first Fontanini pieces.

11. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? That fried fish dinner?

12. Do you like Fruitcake? Traditional fruit cake, no. I have tried some variations that have been good and I loved the Celebration Generation fruit cake cookies! I have the recipe for those too!

13. What are you most excited about the holidays? This year, I’m totally geeked that Rina will be with us on Christmas Day. David is fine with some of the traditions that I keep, but Rina "gets" them because she grew up with them too.

14. Do you open presents Christmas Eve or Christmas Morning? Christmas morning. As a kid it was always after church, which meant the first place Dave and I went after midnight mass was to see if Santa had stopped while we were in church. He never did. We figured maybe he went in alphabetical order and Southgate was pretty far down on the list.

15. Will you still be wrapping presents on Christmas Eve? I want to say “I hope not,” but if something jumps out at me and says, “Just one more, I’d be a great stocking topper,” I’ll end up wrapping Christmas Eve.


See more Meet Me On Mondays and maybe even join in on the fun!




Barn Charm

In honor of the Christmas holiday, which will be past us by the next Barn Charm, I’m going a little off the strict interpretation of a barn because when I saw this I loved it!

These guys were hard at work on top of the entertainment center last weekend at a friend’s Christmas party.

The party was hosted by a friend of David’s, the host for train operating sessions with the group of guys he does model railroading with in Michigan. It was my first time meeting Mike, the host, and the rest of the guys. I was not the only wife there, but I may very well be the only wife who drooled over the CTC system he has in a control room upstairs. It's a vintage real deal that he has wired for his layout in the basement. The operating sessions are SO authentic. I told David I want one for our layout with a mug rack over it. Dispatching is a perfect job for someone who can’t do the standing. But I’d want less authentic video so I can see the trains too


For the barn purists, I also offer this one that we shot on the way to hockey last weekend in Connecticut:

There are lots of barns in the neighborhoods near Ben’s place. Some have been converted to garages or out buildings of that type, but a lot of the barns are kept up and are part of the beautiful antique homes.


See more barns this week at Tricia’s Barn Charm at Bluff Area Daily.