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.