Thursday, December 16, 2010

Simple Joys...

 A delicious and simple-to-make cookie.  All you need is a mini-muffin tin, some foil liners, a package of  mini Reese's cups and a package of peanut butter cookie dough (from the refrigerator section of your grocery) or make homemade dough.  I had to make my dough because our small-town store doesn't carry it.  They have sugar cookie dough but not peanut butter dough.  Go figure.  Line your muffin tin with foil liners and then add approximately a 1" ball of dough.  Bake according to directions and allow cookies to cool just a few minutes.  Unwrap your Reese's cups and push one in the center of each cookie.  Done!  Yum!

I've had my creche set up, but I wanted a little cave-like setting for it so I glued some bark together from an elm log.   I like the result.  Rustic, just as I would imagine it.  Hazel Peach enjoys playing with these figurines, and I let her since they are unbreakable resin.  They are very small -- just 2.5 inches tall.  I talked with her about Baby Jesus and she said, "Paci and blankie," and pretended to hand him the things a baby needed.  My heart melted.

 I've been spending part of my evenings embroidering.  I like having busy hands and yet feeling at rest.  There is a peaceful calm about pushing and pulling pretty colored threads through fabric in tiny stitches that I love.  These are some coasters that I made.  I like the simplicity and individuality of each one.

Our annual bull sale is now complete and we are so grateful for the farmers and ranchers who chose our bulls to help proliferate their herds.  They are a good and generous people with big hearts and hearty laughs.  It was good to shake hands with many of them that day.

The sun is low in the sky now and it shines straight into my kitchen and dining room windows in the afternoon.  I love its warm glow upon everything it touches.  Especially my face.

The Holly & the Ivy carol, another of my favorite carols.

12 comments:

  1. Last year my 3-year-old granddaughter broke the ear off the donkey to my nativity set. It didn't bother me because I was glad she knew the story of the manager; that is more important. This year I bought her a childlike set from Walmart for her to play with.

    Someone at work brought a batch of these peanut butter cookies to work this week. Never had them before, but they are out of this world good!

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  2. Oh, HP! She's a dear, dear heart, isn't she?
    I've had those cookies with chocolate chip cookie dough (from the grocery!) and they were good, too.
    I love your coasters. I agree with you, pulling thread is soothing. You are so talented, Jody.
    Today is my last day of school until the new year. I'm doing the happy dance!

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  3. Beautiful, simple joys Jody.
    Love the creche...so rustic yet so charming.
    Thanks for sharing,
    Joanne

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  4. I love a nativity scene that can be handled and Hazel is so sweet. Won't she be a good big sister!

    Love the pretty coasters! And I have not had those kind of cookies in YEARS! Yum! PB& choco is my favorite combo of all. I bet yours are way better with homemade dough. I almost bought sugar cookie dough for a recipe the other day but after touching that plastic tube I thought, "Nahhh." I'll be making this at home and I put it back.

    Wishing you much Christmas joy and love,
    Leslie

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  5. A lovely post, full of sweet things. xxx

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  6. Your little HP is a sweetie! Love your setting for the creche. Very creative!

    I like to think of you embroidering in the quiet evenings. Your coasters are lovely.

    Many blessings Jody!

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  7. ahh...paci and blanki, so precious.
    Love the coasters and that carol is definitely a favorite!!
    If for some reason I don't travel to your prairie before Christmas may your day be filled with glory and joy!

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  8. I've always wanted to make those Reese cookies! Maybe this year :) And I didn't even notice those were coasters -- I thought it was a large square pattern. So pretty. Thanks for the song -- I'm listening right now. Julia noticed the maze on the floor of the cathedral.

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  9. Boy, cookies don't get much simpler than that, do they? It sounds like Hazel Peach has been spending lots of time with her Grandma -- she's sweet, just like her! ;-) And isn't the sun amazing? Or rather our orientation with the sun? The other day, I was just noticing how low in the sky it is now, compared to the summer. And you're right, the light now is just beautiful!

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  10. Those coasters are very classy.
    I love "The Holly and the Ivy," too. Tonight we heard Natalie Cole singing it on a recording -- last week we heard her in concert but she didn't include it among the several Christmasy songs she sang. There is something so historic and holistic about it, like the last line that lists random elements that somehow add up to a Christmas feeling.

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  11. Jody, I love that rustic creche! Cool. And you made me a bit sentimental as we lived near Cambridge in England and used to walk into the Kings College chapel. We heard that famous choir practice more than once! :-)

    (I like your header photo--it's probably been there for awhile, but I have you on my reader, and I also don't get around blogs much anymore.)

    Happy Christmas!
    Susan L

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  12. The Holly and the Ivy is one of my favorite Christmas carols, too, and I love the King College choir. I love all the old medieval-type hymns best.

    Your embroidery is fabulous!

    xofrances

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