CHRISTMAS SHOPPING

Friday morning, my daughter, daughter-in-law, sister-in-law, and her daughter-in-law, and I left home at 6:00 a.m. to join the thousands of other people who were out taking advantage of all the bargains on the day after Thanksgiving. I have to tell you that we had a wonderful time together and did find some great deals. I am much closer to being finished shopping that I was before. We didn't get back home until after 7:30 p.m. and were all exhausted, but the laughter was worth it all. We couldn't have gotten another package in the car if we had tried. I was driving and my neice made this picture with her cell phone from the front looking back. As you can see....there are packages every where.
I hope each of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I enjoyed the time spent with family and friends. Our son and his family left this morning going back home to Louisiana. I've missed visiting with you but wanted to spend as much time as I could with my babies while they were here.

I AM BLESSED

Having a house full of grandchildren running around, toys scattered every where, preparing "favorite" foods for those you don't see often are just some of the reasons that I am so happy. Sure there will be many more people at my house on Thanksgiving day than I have places for them to sit doesn't bother me. We are family! I'm so thankful each time I hear one of my children say that they love Thanksgiving because the whole family is together. (They mean all 42 who will be there on Thursday). There will be so much food but the main thing they love is the fact that we as a family are together this one time each year. I am indeed blessed and I am most thankful for all that God has given me. I want each of you (my new blogging friends) to know that I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving. I probably won't be posting again until the weekend but you know why. HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

APPLE DUMPLINGS

I want to share a delicious and EASY desert recipe with you. Each time I have made this every one has loved it and it doesn't take but about ten minutes to get it in the oven. This recipe makes 8 apple dumplings....but you can double it by using two apples and two cans of crescent rolls. You don't have to change any other ingredient.
1 Granny Smith Apple (peeled & cut into 8 slices)
1 can of Crescent Rolls
1 cup of sugar
1 stick of butter or margarine
1 cup of water
Unroll the Crescent rolls (you'll have 8 triangles). Take each triangle and place one of the apple slices at the larger end. Begin rolling it up. Put it in a pyrex dish with the side where you stopped rolling down. While rolling these put your 1 cup or water, 1 cup of sugar, and 1 stick of butter in a pan and bring to a boil. Pour over the Crescent rolled apples. Bake them at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until golden brown. The juice thickens if you can let them set for a little while before eating them.....but if you can't it's ok!!!!
Here is a picture after I poured the water, sugar, & butter over them before cooking the dumplings (I used 2 apples & 2 cans of rolls). I DON'T KNOW WHY THIS PICTURE IS SIDEWAYS....and I don't know how to fix it!
Here you see the dumplings when I first took them from the oven. Put you a big scoop of vanilla ice cream on top of them and YUM YUM!!!

THE WINNER IS.....

I told you that I would draw the winner for my 100th post giveaway on Sunday, November 23rd. This morning before church I printed my entries and cut them apart. After lunch I had my husband draw the winner. He asked me when he was "stirring the pot" if I had any favorites. I told him that I have some who have entered that I visit each day, but it didn't matter because we would be completely fair in the drawing. When he opened the slip he had pulled he said, "It's..... This Country Girl ". I told him that was one that I do visit each day. I appreciate everyone entering. It was so much fun to check and see the new names. I found new blogging friends through this giveaway. I will be visiting all of you regularly. This week will be busy with family coming in for Thanksgiving but I will visit as often as possible. Have a wonderful week!!

MY 100th POST GIVEAWAY

It's hard to believe that this is my 100th post! I remember when I decided that I would join the world of blogging. I had been reading blogs for about a month and was already "addicted" when I told my daughter that I thought I wanted to have my own blog. I really thought I was too old but I'll tell you that I haven't looked back. I have gained SO MANY wonderful friends that I must 'visit' each day. So for my 100th post I want to give someone this large ceramic Christmas tray along with a Christmas pillow and 50 napkins. All you have to do to be eligible for my drawing is to leave me a comment saying that you'd like to be entered. If you post about my giveaway let me know and your name will be entered two times. Hurry....because this giveaway ends at midnight this Saturday, November 22nd. I will announce the winner on Sunday!

FIRST CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS

I have been saying for weeks that I just can't decorate for Christmas until after Thanksgiving. Then I said I would begin decorating upstairs before Thanksgiving but wouldn't put any Christmas where it could be seen (our bedroom is downstairs). You already know that I'm having LOTS of people here for Thanksgiving. Well....I did start upstairs. I always have a tree in one room for the granddaughters and one in the other bedroom for the grandsons. It's so much fun looking for ornaments just for little "princesses" and also for boys who love sports, cars, and fishing. I sure do wish you could really see how pretty the pink lights look on the tree for Breanna, Maddie, & Emma. Here's the best picture I could get.

The tree all lit in blue lights are things that Keith, Zack, and Griffin like. I really should change theirs from blue to an Alabama tree (I may do that next year). I can use red lights, but this year it's done. Both of these trees look so pretty with only the lights from the trees on. I should know by now to never say that you won't do something because........after I finished the kids trees upstairs I moved to the kitchen and put my tree up in there. I started making excuses by saying that we will eat our Thanksgiving dinner and have our Christmas decorations up because most of our family won't be together at Christmas so we are just celebrating both holidays. My husband told me to stop worrying because I could decorate for Christmas when I wanted....so I just might pull some more boxes out of the attic. Here's the tree in the kitchen.

See my orange slices that I dried and the gingerbread ornaments. I have plenty of those left to go on my BIG tree in the den.

The next post is my 100th (I think). Be watching!

CANDLERUG MATS

I received the most wonderful surprise today when these two candlerug mats were given to me. I had received an email from a friend telling me she was sending me a gift that she thought I would like. As you know I was out of town for several days last week and my daughter did not get them to me until today. I absolutely LOVE these. I was at an antique mall weeks ago and saw this friend there. I told her how I was changing my decorating to primitive. By the way....it's extremely hard to find things here that fit that style. I don't get to see her very much anymore and was blown away when I saw these two gifts. I LOVE THEM!!!!!

FAMILY DAY

This morning at 6:30 a.m. m y middle grandson, Zack, called me and said, "Gigi, today is Family Day. We're having a special breakfast." I didn't know what he was talking about and thought that there was something going on at his school. I asked him to tell me what it was. He said, "You know, it's Famil y Day. We have balloons, candles, and a special breakfast." I asked him if Granddaddy & I were supposed to come or if he just needed some money (still thinking there was something special at school & he was calling me about it). You are going to think I am a horrible grandmother (Gigi) because I know my grandchildren's birthdays, but it never crossed my mind that on this day four years ago the two older boys were officially adopted. My daughter has always made this a special day. In fact, she & her husband have sent flowers to their attorney on this day each year. You must go to my daughter's blog and read about this day for them (get your kleenex first). We are so blessed!!!

OKRA ORNAMENTS

I made it back from our Ladies Retreat late yesterday and must say we had a wonderful time. On Thursday night we went to a Murder Mystery Dinner and Friday night we did the Dinner Boat Cruise. Both nights were so much fun. I was tired when I got back, but it was great to spend time with the other ladies from our church. I haven't had a chance to check in with all of you but will do that for sure.
I want to show you something that I have been working on and and it really costs nothing (if you have these things already at home). When I taught school years ago, some of my co-workers and I made some of these and I have them hanging on my tree to this very day. I'm sure those of you who have a garden with okra will have the okra at the end of the season that usually just dries up. Perhaps you use these in arrangements---this is what I'm talking about girls.



I cut these pods of okra and I painted them red (sprayed them of course). It took two coats of paint.

Next I took some flesh colored paint and painted a spot big enough for a face. Then I took white paint and painted around the face to make a beard and hair (all the way around). I also made a place for white fur around the bottom of the okra.

When that dried I added some black eyes and a little red mouth. I also used a tiny pom pom for his nose but you could paint it also. At the tip of the okra I glued a larger white pom pom and a piece of ribbon to hang him on the tree. I'M NOT AN ARTIST at all so I am sure most of you could do a much better job but these are so cute. I have comments every year about my okra Santa's on the tree.

You can make quite a few at one time....just get your assembly line going.

This will be a busy week ....may put up a few Christmas decorations (everywhere but the den). Also, I'm mailing my stocking for my stocking swap partner tomorrow!! (I didn't forget you Debi). AND...if I post like I plan this week my 100th post will come at the end of the week and I have my giveaway ready...Be watching for that!

DRIED ORANGE SLICES

Thanks to some of you for giving me directions I tried my luck at drying orange slices last night in my oven. I didn't want to try too many in case they did not turn out well, but I will be doing more next week. I had two oranges and sliced them in about 1/4" slices. Then I sprinkled just a little cinnamon on them and rubbed it in. Next I put them on a rack on a cookie sheet and put them in the oven set at 250 degrees. About every 20 minutes I turned them. It took about 1 hour to 1 1/2 hrs. The smell was wonderful! Even my husband (who had said earlier in the evening that he was NOT going to eat anything else after dinner) asked if I was just doing those oranges to tempt him! I want to hang these on my Christmas tree.
I need some help.....several weeks back I visited a blog and saw the most beautiful personalized jewelry. She had a cuff bracelet that was engraved that I fell in love with. It would be perfect for all my grandchildren's names to be on. I cannot remember where I saw this. If any of you might know where this blog is PLEASE leave me a comment. I have been searching and have had no luck.
Also, I will not be posting again until Saturday night. The ladies from our church are going to Tennessee on a retreat tomorrow and returning Saturday. Say a prayer for us!!

12 DAYS

It's only 12 days until these precious girls will be here for a whole week!!! One of the reasons I love Thanksgiving is the fact that my family is home. My son and his family come for the week of Thanksgiving. They stay at their home for Christmas but always come to Alabama for Thanksgiving. We have so much fun eating, shopping, enjoying all the other family members who come for Thanksgiving Day, and playing games. Besides that.....when you mix these three with.................................

THESE THREE who are already here-----the fun begins.
I can't wait!!!

Making Gingerbread Ornaments

It's Beginning To Smell A Lot Like Christmas at my house today. A few weeks ago Linda from Behind My Red Door posted about making her gingerbread dough ornaments and I decided then that I would try my luck at this. I've never made them before. Yesterday I mixed my dough and the recipe said to refrigerate overnight. Believe it or not...I was patient enough to do this. I only rolled out one baking and there's enough dough left to make about four times more. I will spray these with the satin finish. Linda had tried dipping hers in wax and didn't really like the finish so she saved me that step. I couldn't wait to see what they would look like with a ribbon so I jumped ahead and tied one. I'll tell you one thing....they smell good enough to eat however I think I might break a tooth if I tried because they are definitely hard!! I'd like to try drying some of the orange slices to hang. Does anyone know how to do this or would I be better to buy a bag????

CHRISTMAS VILLAGE

Yesterday my daughter and I went to Christmas Village and had a wonderful time. I will say that it was extremely crowded (shoulder to shoulder at times) but over 700 vendors presented some BEAUTIFUL and unique wares. I was real pleased with my "will power" because I didn't buy as much as I normally would. I guess I can say I'm trying to cut back and then again I will look at something and think I might find something a little later I like better and pass it by. I think this happened yesterday. I will show you some of the things I purchased.
I'm sorry this picture posted sideways. I'm telling you ... I'm having problems lately! One of the longest lines was at this booth. These bread bowls were made by the vendor. He had stands for sale to sit them on (but I didn't buy one of these). From the line of ladies buying, he probably sold all he had yesterday.

When I went to Homestead Hollow last month, this vendor was there. She had the most beautiful clothing and also had t-shirts with cute sayings. I saw this one then but didn't buy it (I bought too many other things). I knew she was going to be at Christmas Village so I found her and grabbed this shirt. She remembered me (that's NOT a good sign) .....shows that I did buy too much. Seriously, her clothes are so unique and she designs them all.

I found these for my precious granddaughters. Breanna and Maddie (the two oldest) LOVE shoes! When Amy & I saw these shoes when we first got there we knew that we had to get them for the oldest two girls. They are painted in bright colors and some of the colors are painted with glittered paint. Breanna and Maddie will love them. I can't wait until Thanksgiving to give them to the girls. Emma is only 9 months old so she's not much on shoes....YET! I found her this darling little dress that had the ballerina shoes and outfit painted on it. They had tons of Christmas ones but I called her mom and she already has too much Christmas clothing. That's one thing....these girls dress for the seasons (thanks to their mom). I'll be able to be with them a WHOLE WEEK at Thanksgiving. Get ready for lots of pictures after then.

Christmas Village was so much fun. I did get some neat ideas. I had my camera and had made one or two pictures when I heard the announcement ..."VIDEO AND PICTURE MAKING IS ABSOLUTELY PROHIBITTED IN THIS SHOW". I slipped my camera right back in my purse. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

MY MAKEOVER

I have had this cabinet in my bathroom for some time holding towels and it has served its purpose well. The thought came to me that if it didn't have the glass in the front, and was black, it could be used in my den as a prim cabinet. I wanted to do this project myself because it's always better to ask forgiveness than permission, BUT I needed help in replacing the glass panels. I had mentioned it to my son-in-law but he was busy on another job (and I am very impatient) so last week I brought the cabinet downstairs and started removing the glass. My DH came in and asked what I was doing. I told him my plans. We had some beadboad scraps left from other projects and he got right on replacing the glass with the beadboad.
The cabinet was painted black and sprayed with a satin coat of finish (I know it looks shiny here but it's my poor skill in making pictures). I wanted to distress it but the white underneath would not allow this. I still am VERY pleased with the results. It has two shelves inside if I want to put things on the shelves.
I put the shelf that I had finished awhile back on it. If you remember....I had it sitting on an old record player and it looked ok, but I never was completely satisfied. We have moved that to another spot. I love my new "prim look" cabinet!
I'm off today to Christmas Village. It's a HUGE show that I look forward to each year. I'll be posting about that later.

BEAUTY ALL AROUND

Some of you have already enjoyed the beautiful colors of fall in other states, but here in Alabama we are just seeing the full beauty of the foliage. Yesterday I left work to go to the Post Office and this tree caught my eye. There were no cars behind me so I slowed down (and always have my camera in my purse) to make a picture. You can even see my side mirror at the bottom of the page. I told my husband this weekend that I am seeing beauty more and more these days and perhaps it's because I'm getting older. I drove by his parents old "home place" over the weekend while I was out and the drive along the road was absolutely beautiful with trees making a canopy across the entire road at places. If we would only take the time to enjoy the beauty that is right before us!!!
I plan to have pictures tomorrow of a project "make-over". I have had to wait for paint to dry before making a picture. Hopefully....I can show you tomorrow. Have a wonderful day and enjoy the beauty!

THINGS THAT MAKE ME HAPPY

This morning as I was cooking breakfast I started thinking about the things that "make" me happy. Guess I could have said things I'm thankful for... but that topic may come closer to Thanksgiving. These are just thoughts that came to me this morning and I'm sure there are many more but I'll share these with you.

1. Jesus Christ -- He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He never changes and never fails me. That should be enough right there!

2. My husband of 36 years. Have they all been wonderful? No, but our love for each other is stronger today than ever before. He is a Godly and honest man and a wonderful father. Both of my children think their daddy can do anything and they are strong today mainly because of him.

3. My two children....Amy & Chris. I suppose any mother (or daddy) would say that their children bring them happiness, but I'm so happy that they both serve God and are wonderful parents themselves. I am happy that they both have spouses who love God, love them, and are great parents.

4. My grandchildren.....these six little ones are joys! Perfect?? Heck, no! They are so full of life and I look at the things they do and the way they act (when I'm around) and I see their mama and daddy all over again

5 My church....I love my church and church family. I know that I need to be fed spiritually as much as physically and when I miss the few times during the week that I am at church, I can tell it.

6. The change in seasons. Yes, the different seasons make me happy. I love the change that comes every few months....the colors of the leaves, the cooler weather, the few times it snows here, and then before I know it the weather begins to warm and it's another season.

7. A fire in the fireplace. There's something about having a fire in the fireplace on a cold night that makes me happy.

8. Home grown tomatoes and fresh vegetables.

9. Thanksgiving when my whole exteneded family is together at our home. I look forward to this all year long. Family is important folks!

10. Christmas music! I LOVE Christmas music and I smile when they start playing it on the radio.

11. Christmas lights. Sitting in my den with a fire in the fireplace with my Christmas tree lights shining makes me happy.

12. The beach! I love going to the beach anytime but especially each summer when my children and grandchildren are all with us.

13. Coffee in the morning.

14. Doing something for others.

15. Knowing that everything is in God's hands and realizing that I'm not in control...He is!

TRASH TO TREASURE

Diane at A Picture is Worth 1000 Words is sponsoring Trash to Treasure blog day. She invited anyone who would share their favorite trash item turned into a treasure! Although I posted a picture of these cabinets already this week, I'll have to say this is my favorite "trash" item. It's true that a friend of mine got all the cabinets from a house that had been partially burned and had been vacant for quite awhile. She used many of the cabinets in her home (painted them black) and they are beautiful. She gave me these and I painted them black first and then red over the black. Someone had asked me the color red. It is Sherwin Williams Cherry Tomato. I think the black underneath gives it a different color than the true Cherry Tomato. After I painted them red I sanded the edges some so black would show and they looked even older. The inserts to the cabinet doors were missing so I put the chicken wire and made the curtains. You can see my detergents, etc. through the chicken wire but THIS IS IN MY LAUNDRY ROOM. You should have seen it before!!!!

MY CHRISTMAS STOCKING CAME!!

CHRISTMAS came early to my house!! My husband called me at work today and told me that a package had been delivered to me and I knew that it was from Debi who is my Christmas Stocking Swap Partner (that's a mouthful). I could hardly wait to get home. I couldn't believe the size of the stocking that she sent....IT WAS HUGE!!! Let me change the subject for a moment and tell you that my computer has gone crazy AGAIN! I tried several times before the pictures would even upload and then they are not even in the order that I had them. I wasn't about to redo them so you will have to use your imagination. The picture above shows the gifts after I had opened them. I don't even think you can see all of them in this one picture because there were so many!!

This picture above shows the stocking as I took it from the box before taking all the gifts out. Debi had wrapped each gift individually and she even included a gift for my daughter, Amy.

This picture shows all the gifts wrapped before I opened them. My husband kept saying, "Now, why did you get these gifts?" I had to try and explain the Stocking Swap to him. I love my gifts, Debi!!! I will tell you right now that you are more creative than me....there is NO WAY I could paint something for you. You must have really been studying my "likes" because you hit a variety of them (even the old cookbook). I wondered how you knew that I liked old cookbooks and then I remembered that I posted about that a LONG time ago. Even the tulip bulbs....WOW! The sewing kit that you made is a wonderful idea and I love the placemats and napkins and all the roosters.....I COULD GO ON AN ON!!!! I haven't finished your stocking but promise it will be in the mail before the deadline. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! You are the best!!!

MY LAUNDRY ROOM

Several weeks back, Shannon from Bless Our Nest, showed pictures of her laundry room and it inspired me to do something to make mine look a little better. I'll be honest with you....most of the time the door to my laundry room stayed closed because it was not a room that I had ever cared about "decorating", and it really didn't bring much joy to me as far as what was behind those doors!!! After seeing how beautiful her room was I started thinking about how I might make mine more "enjoyable". The cabinets above my washer and dryer were given to me by a friend who had taken them from an old house that was going to be demolished. She used most of the cabinets herself but gave me these. I put 'chicken wire' in some of the openings but made the curtains to hang over the larger opening. This is where I store my things I use alot. My daughter, Amy got me the shutters at The Cotton Pickin' Festival last weekend. She said someone asked her what she was going to do with them and she told them that her mom would paint them and use them somewhere. I had not planned to use them here but after I painted them that's where they are now. I may move them somewhere else later. I have some ideas for putting things on the wall....I have a chalkboard (of course) but for right now I'll have to show you this.

These are aprons that my mother made years ago. She took gingham and cross stitched designs on it and made aprons. I think she gave everyone she knew an apron for a gift. As a little girl, I remember wearing gingham dresses with the cross stitch design around the hem. I love these aprons because I know she did the stitching. I also have the one apron I bought this year when we ate at Paula Deen's.

I know my laundry room isn't as pretty as Shannon's but I will say it makes me feel much better when I walk in there. It's surprising what a little "fixin' up" does to make your whole attitude change. Thanks Shannon for sharing your pictures!

FALL FESTIVAL

I'm really tired right now!!! Our church had it's Fall Festival tonight and I'm happy to say that it was a HUGE success. I was in charge of registration and we registered over 400. It's really a fun time for all but I spent much of today getting ready for the festival. We usually have two big events for the community each year (an Easter Egg Hunt & the Fall Festival). We had cotton candy, popcorn, cake walk (the picture above was made during the cake walk), duck pond, Go Fish, Coke Toss, 3 inflatables, a hay ride, hotdogs, and prizes.

This was just as it started and these two little girls were getting their cotton candy. I was so busy after everyone started getting there until I didn't get many pictures. I can tell you that the cotton candy & popcorn smelled so good all night. I didn't get any but I could sure smell it!

We had three inflatables. This is one that was a long train and the kids had to make their way through. The event was free for everyone. I can say that I am glad that it is over and I think it's time for me to get my bath & head to bed. I'm sure glad the time changes tonight and I get an extra hour of sleep!!!!!!