I Have No Gift To Bring.....

One of my all-time favorite Christmas carols is the Little Drummer Boy. When I listen to the lyrics of this song, they always bring a lump to my throat. Christ does not ever ask for much from us, knowing our frail frame, and that we are but human. Yet, what little we bring is enough to make Him shower us with His love and grace us with His smile. How truly beautiful the love of our Lord is!




Come they told me, pa rum pum pum pum
A new born King to see, pa rum pum pum pum
Our finest gifts we bring, pa rum pum pum pum
To lay before the King, pa rum pum pum pum,
rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum,

So to honor Him, pa rum pum pum pum,
When we come.

Little Baby, pa rum pum pum pum
I am a poor boy too, pa rum pum pum pum
I have no gift to bring, pa rum pum pum pum
That's fit to give the King, pa rum pum pum pum,
rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum,

Shall I play for you, pa rum pum pum pum,
On my drum?

Mary nodded, pa rum pum pum pum
The ox and lamb kept time, pa rum pum pum pum
I played my drum for Him, pa rum pum pum pum
I played my best for Him, pa rum pum pum pum,
rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum,

Then He smiled at me, pa rum pum pum pum
Me and my drum.



Let Every Day Be Christmas


 Christmas is forever, not for just one day,
for loving, sharing, giving, are not to put away
like bells and lights and tinsel, 
in some box upon a shelf.
The good you do for others, is good you do yourself. 

~ Norman Wesley Brooks ~

Easy Homemade Holiday Wreath

Not only was this wreath very simple and fun to do, but relatively inexpensive to make! And I will have several winter months to enjoy its lighted beauty.....

Start with a grapevine wreath that can be purchased at any craft or even dollar stores.....

Purchase some craft ribbon....mine has the thin wire at the edges, but this kind isn't necessary. Any kind will do! And these were purchased on clearance.....

Use one 35 - 50 count light strand of clear or colored lights. I like the simple beauty of the clear bulbs...

Find a bunch of twist ties....these come in any size of regular, non-ziplock kitchen baggies boxes....

Lay the light strand on top of the wreath if your strand is a shorter one. Wrap it in and around the wreath if your strand is longer. (Longer strands are nice if you want more glow of the lights!) Use the twist ties to secure the lights in place.

Choose some garland - tinsel, evergreen type or the wire pine garland - at least 6 ft. long as you will need to wrap it around and around the wreath! If you'd prefer to see some of the woody grapevine, a shorter garland would be better....

Here is my wreath wrapped in a wire pine garland which I happened to have extra in my Christmas bins!

Select some tree ornaments, pine cones, berry sprigs.....whatever your heart desires to decorate your wreath! I love these shiny globe ornaments we had left over this year.

Wrap your ribbon around the wreath, securing the ribbon ends somewhere on the back side. To secure the ornaments, I used the very thin, green ornament hooks. They were easy to twist around for securing the ornaments, and blended in nicely with the green of my garland! A thin craft wire would be just fine, too.

Cut a length of ribbon and make it  into a loop to secure at the top back of your wreath for hanging. Plug in your lights and enjoy the beauty of your own, simply made holiday wreath!!

Lights On The Porch


Ah, the job is done. Now I must wait until night time for the enjoyment of them!


And, now for some snow to complete the picture.....

Well, that was up to Mother Nature!

Mozzarella and Tomato Sandwich

I'm always game for something new, and you could say I'm not afraid to mix and match when it comes to getting creative with food. While it's very common to pair mozzarella and tomatoes together, I can't say as if I've ever seen them put together in a soft, fresh roll. With the added touch of Italian dressing and a bit of course ground pepper, I do think I created a winner!

Just 3 main ingredients ~ simple and easy!

Mmmmm, tasty....
and
D E L I C I O U S

~ ~

My Finches


The children and I have Society F inches, and one Spice Finch. They're enjoyable birds, and the males have such a pretty song that they sing all throughout the day. With 4 males, you can imagine how lovely that might be! If you're a bird lover, that is.....

Here they are while I was cleaning their cage the other morning....

Their names are (from left to right across back) Buck, Shaggy, Gingersnap, Bella and Chickadee. In  the forefront is Francesco.


Time For Tea

After a busy day of shopping, dinner and more shopping, I was really looking forward to a nice hot cup of herbal tea. Tonight I chose Celestial Seasonings Tangerine Orange Zinger......It's quickly becoming one of my favorites! I really like its refreshingly real orange taste ~ and with a hint of honey, it tastes even better. :)



The apple mug is one of two that I got from my thrift shop..... It's just the right size, and quite cute, too!

Decorated Gazebo

Our shopping center has a beautiful gazebo at one end of the parking lot. It's surrounded by grass, a small holding pond, and walkways that lead up into it where you can find a spot to relax on one of the benches placed there. Tonight, while shopping with Becca we drove over to admire it's beautiful holiday decoration display a bit closer. She took a picture of it for me so that I could share it with you here. Isn't it pretty?



Happy Birthday Little Man

Christmas Cardinals

         

         

         

         

         

         

         

         

                                 Cardinals are my favorite birds to watch for in the winter!

Winter Themes

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Gingerbread men decorations like these can be enjoyed all winter long. Doesn't the sight and smell of gingerbread just make you think of warmth and coziness on a snowy, winter day?


Snowmen are also a great winter long theme. As long as there's snow, there'll always be snowmen!

Cozy Christmas

When I think of decorations for Christmas time, a beautifully decorated tree and a cozy room to snuggle down and relax in, this is what I imagine....

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It doesn't have to be anything large or spectacular. Just something simple, quaint and oh, so inviting!

Simple Fireplace Mantel

Our fireplace was built with nothing but a wood frame around it, and was sadly lacking a mantel! So, my father came up with a great idea of using a wide piece of molding for one. I stained it to match the existing wood frame, and polyurethaned it for long lasting durability and a slight shine.

The wide molding - stained and polyurethaned, then secured into place as a mantel.

A head on view that shows the mantel looking like a perfect fit!

We added some teacup hooks at evenly spaced intervals under the mantle for displaying holiday decorations, stockings, etc.

I removed the two end leaf plate decorations since they were clashing with the tall wall pictures. That made a nice difference. I just love the coziness the fireplace adds to our living room now!

~ Many thanks to my father for his expert help with this project ~

Cutout Cookie Craving

I finally gave in and made a batch this past week when I had been craving them! I didn't roll the dough out too thin, and actually loved the thicker, softer cookies I ended up with. ☺

Harvest themed cutters - P.S. I love my Pampered Chef rolling pin! Thanks, Mom!!

Perfectly baked cookies cooling!

Now on to decorating them with a simple confectionery sugar frosting.

A November Day

As is sometimes the case here in the Northeast, our weather can be wacky. (Especially the last few years worth of weather!) On Saturday, we had a gorgeously mild, sunny day. And generally on those unusually mild days, we always have a ladybug sighting....

Like this one
Yep, right on the inside of our screen. ☺

It's a sign; always a good sign for me. On the winter day my daughter was born, we spotted a handful of ladybugs that, somehow, were still thriving inside! The midwife told me that ladybugs are a sign of good luck. Well, they certain brought me a bundle of good luck on that cold January day! *Grin*

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As beautiful as Saturday was, I just had to open the windows one more time for that fabulous smell of the warm Autumn air. My animal children thanked me. They just couldn't resist this wonderful treat! Within moments, I saw animal faces peering out through the screens of the open windows.

Checkers immediately spotted some birds, and one can only imagine what he wishing at that moment

Some swirling leaves captured Melissa's attention

Romeo instantly staked his claim at the look out on the front porch

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Overall, it was such a great, productive day! My entire afternoon was spent outdoors getting the very last of all the yard work and winterizing done before old man winter officially arrives. I went to bed feeling quite happily exhausted, and finally content that all I needed to do, I have done. ☺

SO, LET THE SNOWY DAYS BEGIN!

No, not really. Just kidding!

A Mild, Sunny Saturday

Blue sky, bright sunshine, a fresh, crisp smell to the air.....Yep - today is a perfect day to head outside and finish up any lingering yard work that needs to be done.


With the forecast of mild temperatures in store for the next 2 days, I'm going to enjoy the beauty of Autumn while I still can! ☺


~ Have a wonderful day everyone ~

Mmmm, Mmmm, Good!

Wonderfully delicious cinnamon rolls. 
Anyone can do these!

You can make your own dough, or buy it at the store.

Then follow these very simple steps:

Gently knead the dough. Turn out onto floured surface.

Roll dough out into a long oval.

Brush melted butter over entire dough's surface.

Sprinkle on a generous amount of cinnamon.

Cover with a generous amount of brown sugar.

Begin to roll dough (tightly) toward you from the top to the bottom.

Pinch dough together at seam, then turn seam to underside of the roll.

Slice into rolls with a very sharp knife. Place on greased cookie sheet.

Let rise in a warm place for 45 minutes.

Bake at 375 for approximately 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Frost with confectionery sugar frosting.

Serve and enjoy!