Of Roses In Winter, Christmas + Another New Year

When Advent started,
 I made a hundred and one plans--
most of which were changed when Farmer Boy decided

that Christmas would be a great time to finish some of the items on our seemingly endless 'to do' list. This would mean very little decorating and no baking, but it was logical in that he had time off from work and we would not be entertaining this year.
 

At first, I was VERY disappointed and stressed out, as I was looking forward to turning our home into a lovely winter wonderland...but because I wished to maintain my sanity,
I finally followed Elsa's good advice and "Let it go"--
well at least the winter wonderland part.

Now, looking back, I am glad I did because I'm SO happy to be done with more projects!

 

 

Finished:

 the G (guest) room, 

new handmade cabinet doors on a once very ugly storage area

and a few smaller projects.

YIPPEE!

 

Additionally, we were able to start cleaning and organizing the third bedroom that's been

used as a storage room for years now AND I found all my craft stuff --

some of which I had forgotten about--

candle and soap making supplies, ribbons, craft books, stamps (unfortunately way too many of these),

other card making stuff, scrapbooks, etc. Now to finish the job so I can use the treadmill and

work on the crafts I enjoy again. It would be a great way to start the new year off don't you think?

 

And that winter wonderland I dreamed about creating for this Christmas season?

Well there's a little surprise decorating project I am planning for that remodeled guest room--

in honor of Elsa and the Small One who loves her of course

:)

 

 

As I said baking was out this Christmas season,

but one of my sweet SIL's saw to it that we had a lot of homemade goodies to snack on during this time. Although this is a terrible picture, the goodies were indescribably yummy! And, unless my hubby Elf comes up with another project to work on, I still have a few days till Epiphany (January 6th) and a long list of Nordic goodies I want to make.

 

Speaking of indescribably yummy Christmassy food...

 

 

on Christmas Day our oldest son had us up to his place for a luscious dinner of glazed ham, green beans, mushroom gravy, a special potato-root veggie mash (sweet and russet potato, celery root, parsnips) and a lovely crostini topped with cream cheese, roasted beet and hazelnuts. It was SO GOOD that both hubby and I had multiple helpings and wanted even more!

 

 While there, in the lap of "civilization" (LOL) we enjoyed things we normally aren't able to do--things like watching a movie on Netflix (Skyfall--007) and doing Facetime with our granddaughter and son using an iPad. I can see why so many people love Apple products. My son used to do support for them and he has sung their 'praises' for years--LOL

 

As I have already mentioned, one of my Advent/Christmas dreams

had been to bake, and one of the items I had really wanted to try was lussekatter--

that lovely golden saffron roll Scandinavians make on St. Lucia's Day

(December 13th).

Here's one I shared with a good friend several years ago...

 

 

YUM. I can almost taste it now.

 

Doing it the traditional way was NOT going to happen due to all the remodeling and health issues;

a trip to the bakery I originally found these at was out of the question too.

But today, with no remodeling or cleanup happening and feeling OK (yea),

I was finally able to make an easy substitute...

and it did help satisfy my need for creating a pretty roll that reminded me a little of the swirls

and flourishes of rosemaling (Norwegian folk art) I love.

 

 

Since these were definitely not baked per tradition (no raisin or currant in the middle of the coils, no saffron, wrong type of dough, etc.), I also indulged my constant wintertime need for citrus with a very unorthodox orange icing that reminded me of orange sherbet.  These pseudo lussekatter turned out pretty well although next time I will have to alter the baking time +/or temperature as the bottoms were a tiny bit burnt.

As for the real thing...my son told me he will give me a private

 cooking lesson sometime soon and even provide the needed saffron :)

 

 

Around Christmas Day, I asked Farmer Boy to come with me up to Mom's gravesite and immediately started to gather a wintertime bouquet of camellia sasanqua (above photo) for her grave. Suddenly I heard him yelling that we had blooming roses. Roses? Blooming roses? Turns out we did.

 

All I can think is it must be some kind of miracle to have blooming roses here in winter and

that my mom must be smiling at God's little Christmas gift to me. She probably smiled at the fact that the deer that live near the cemetery would be happy to see the roses too:)

(my mom had a great sense of humor and deer love to eat roses)

 

 

Another Christmas surprise--

but not nearly as nice as the roses--

was the yellow jacket I found in the G Room this week.

Fortunately he was moving a little slower due to all the chilly night temps

 we've had recently

and I was able to convince him to leave the house without getting stung.

Roses AND yellow jackets in late December?

Strange but wonderful.

 

Finally, it being New Year's Day, I wanted to share my New Year's resolution here.

As I have been doing for the last several years, I chose some scripture for my goal.

For 2015 the following verses will be my resolution.

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." Proverbs 3: 5, 6 KJV

 

Wishing you all a blessed, peaceful and joy-filled 2015!

Blessings,

Aimee

 

Sorry about the less than stellar photos.

Many of them were taken with my cell phone or when I was in less than optimum conditions. Also, as usual, I am watching one of those wonderful cooking shows and--well you know what that means:)

 

Saturday By the Sea

Hello visitors!
I am totally into the Advent season now! Having finished my second reading of the New Testament for this year, I am currently reading through a list of Messianic Prophecies (prophecies in the Old Testament which foretell of the birth, life and death of Jesus).
As far as decorating for this wonderful season, I have been doing that in my usual leisurely manner--not all at once but little bits each day or so. Now if we could only have some pretty white snow instead of the BIG windstorm that is forecast.

But before I move on to Advent and Christmas...

 

 

As part of our Thanksgiving week celebrations,
we spent some time by the sea with our youngest granddaughter who,
not surprisingly, shares her grandma's love of the coast.
 

 

At first, it was really cold and windy (the above photo reminded me of a bad hair day (AKA our hairdo after a day at the beach), but then things got much better and we really enjoyed our time checking out Siletz Bay and the Pacific Ocean. There were lots of other people enjoying the area too, but we managed to snag the very last spot in the popular parking area. Yea!

We saw kayakers, fishermen, beachcombers and more...always fun to watch.

 

 

Of course, we also saw the usual residents...
small birds,

 

bigger birds

 

 

 

and the resident harbor seals which can always be seen on Salishan Spit

(located south of where we were)

 

 

The waves were glorious--

I LOVE high waves as much as I love low tides!

  

  

 

 It was a wonderful way to spend the last day before Advent!

Finally, fellow Oregonians and history lovers--
did you know there's a shipwreck located in this very same bay?
Yep. And being one who loves historical mysteries (and knows some others do too),
I've included a few links to some information on this mystery.

http://www.northlincolncountyhistoricalmuseum.org/historical-highlights/
(scan down to the very short article on the Schooner shipwreck)
http://ouroregoncoast.com/lincoln-city-area-guide/1409-siletz-bay-ghost-ship-an-oregon-coast-ghost-story.html
(another short article)
 http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Searchers+sift+Siletz+sands+for+signs+of+mystery+ship.-a0117950064
(an awesome, not too long, but more in depth article about the shipwreck there)

Maybe someday, if we're very, very lucky it will reappear! I know if it does, I'll be there.

Advent Blessings,
Aimee

Photos: Siletz Bay, Oregon

 

Of Thanksgiving Turkey + Other Fowl

Thanksgiving Week

 

 

saw us in the Coast Range

 

 

admiring some newly fallen snow!

And it found us in one of our many Pacific NW National Wildlife Refuges

 

 

loving the dramatic morning light

(MUCH more dramatic in person)! 

 

It also saw us on the beach

(no surprise, I know. LOL)

 

 

enjoying a walk along the bay, watching the big waves and taking in the city's Christmas decorations!

 

But, on Thanksgiving Day it saw us here--

at my Chef's son home

 

 

devouring and thoroughly LOVING the meal he prepared for us!

 

On the menu was:

a truly DELICIOUS apple juice brined, herb infused roast turkey with gravy,

mashed potatoes

 (a FABULOUS combination of sweet potatoes and russet potatoes plus garlic and other ingredients),

totally YUMMY kale with bacon, hazelnuts and more

(I am NOT ashamed to say I have a new love in my life now---kale!)

and,

last but not least,

cranberry chutney SO GOOD I could eat it at least once a week

(needless to say I am stocking up on fresh cranberries while they're still available)!

 

Everything was great and we enjoyed each other's company,
chatting,
cooking,

learning about Netflix (something we had never seen)

and

getting some quick cooking lessons

:)

 

 

Sadly the lighting was dim and
 I didn't have my camera settings correct so pix are few,

but I had to include this refrigerator decoration in this post.

 I thought it (and the ones for fowl, pork and more) quite fitting...

 

Now about those other birds...

On the weekend, I got the brilliant idea to take the Small One to a NWR

 

 

and I knew just the one I wanted her to see--Baskett Slough near the town of Dallas, Oregon.

 

 

I love this one because you can hike

(although that is limited to the butte during the winter season to protect the visiting waterfowl)

 and drive through the refuge using your vehicle as a blind...

We were blessed to see a heron, duck, geese, hawks and more!

We also walked part way up the butte but didn't make it to where the deer usually are.

If you ever go to a NWR make sure you bring binoculars, a good camera with a zoom lens and SNACKS (for you, not the wildlife).

 

 

At home our remodeling project is getting closer to being done

(YEA!).

My hubby has just about finished painting and he's installed the new ceiling light and mini blinds.

Next to go:

the finishing touches to the ceiling then the laminate flooring and closet doors!

That means it's almost time to get a futon:)

 

 

Advent Blessings,

Aimee

 

Photos:

Oregon Central Coast Range

Baskett Slough NWR

Lincoln City area

and elsewhere!

Of Remodeling, Creatures Great + Small, the Garden + Gratitude

As in my last post,

this one is also being written to the sounds and sights

of cooking shows so you all know what that means. LOL

 

My wonderful Chef son texted me his Thanksgiving menu earlier this week...

just reading it had my mouth watering! I cook fairly simple meals at home now,

because that is what Farmer Boy prefers,

 but I confess to having a never-ending love for gourmet and international foods.

(In fact, I could go for some good tempura or yummy nikujaga right now.)

 

DS's menu sounds like something you'd find in an upscale restaurant --

"herb infused",

"pate au choux"...

I will share photos and the full menu in an upcoming post

(that is if I don't devour all the food before I get some photos. Ha ha!)

 

By the way, speaking of Thanksgiving--

do you know I have something in common with a certain Flying Nun?

Tis' true--

But will get to that in another post.

Maybe.

 

Remodeling update: 

there's new sheetrock above our heads and on all the walls in the bedroom now

(except for the closet, that is, where we kept the old drywall).

 

 

My new "best" friend and tool!

Do you know why I LOVE him so much?

Hint: he helps me bear burdens I can't bear on my own!

I named him after our youngest son who has done his own share of remodeling

and would love to be here to help us if he could.

So -- do you know what 'burdens' this 'friend' helps me bear and why I love him so much?

 

 

Drywall installed (I have a whole new appreciation for screws).

Next step: taping.

You can't really see it,

and I didn't want to bore you with a lot of remodeling pictures,

but sheetrock panels are not the same thickness everywhere.

The tape is applied over the 'valley' and where two panels come together. 

It has a self adhesive backing.

BTW, did you know you can't keep rolls of fiberglass mesh drywall joint tape forever?

I do now. Fortunately we had some that was ok and we had bought more recently.

 

 

Are you seeing spots?

Yep, and it's a good thing--a very good thing!

You see, all those lovely screws and taped areas have to be covered with lovely 'mud'

(AKA joint compound).

The trick to using this stuff, per Farmer Boy, is using multiple thin layers to

 blend the sheetrock panels together. All this is necessary before you begin the texturing process.

If you want to learn more about the process,

 there's some good DIY websites out there which will explain it a lot BETTER than I!

 

And now to some prettier stuff...

(although I was thinking, after all these years of looking at studs,

 that the new sheetrock is BEAUTIFUL).

 

 

A through the window shot...

one day the birds were most entertaining!

I can hardly wait to visit a NWR and see some BIG birds.

 

Lots of kiwi still.

Hopefully my hubby will keep giving it away.

 

Ah! Those beautiful ever changing autumn leaves...

 

 

 

A little something (or should I say a little someone) special we saw while driving in the hills.

 

Somehow even the ordinary looks pretty special with a few raindrops on it.

 

Parrot's feather and floating leaves.

 

Water lily leaves and a resident bug:)

 

So last time we 'talked',

I was thinking of blessings and how this world would be SO much better if everyone would live daily being a blessing to each other.

This week, I've been thinking of gratitude and thankfulness...

lately I've been grateful for the little things of life ---

heat, indoor plumbing, a walk in the garden and the wonder of nature!

 

Sometimes, when times are hard and the news is depressing,

it's good to "Count Your Blessings" as the old hymn says.

I know I have a lot to be thankful for

(some of which are pictured above).

 

In closing, a few lovely gratitude quotes for you...

 

Thankfulness is the tune of angels.

(Edmund Spenser, reported in Josiah Hotchkiss Gilbert,

Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers (1895), p. 290.)

　

A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue, but the parent of all the other virtues.

(Cicero, Oratio Pro Cnæo Plancio, XXXIII)

Thanks are justly due for things got without purchase.

(Ovid, Amorum (16 BC), 1, 10, 43)

And the WORD for Wednesday

(since it's after midnight now)...

 

Oh that men would praise the LORD for His goodness,

and for His wonderful works to the children of men.

Psalm 107:31 KJV

 

Blessings, Aimee

 

Links:

"Count Your Blessings"

Awesome lyrics!

http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/c/o/countyou.htm

 

Gratitude quotes can be found here:

http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Gratitude

(please refer to this site for terms of use, etc.) 

 

Nikujaga: a Japanese meat and potato stew that I am crazy about.

I've only had it once, at a restaurant, but keep telling myself I have to make it---

or talk my oldest son into doing so:)

 

And now, time for a snack...

 

Of Flowers, Kiwi, Aspen + Other Stuff

Let me start off by saying I am watching a cooking show right now,

so expect typos, bad grammar and a REALLY random post:)

How is everyone? Are you enjoying winter in autumn weather like we are? Oh yes, we've been having our share of windy, very sunny days and now a "delightful" wintry mix. LOL.

 

Speaking of windy, dry, cold (low 40s) and sunny days, I finally had the chance to conduct the laundry experiment I've been wanting to do for a long time---and I was shocked with the results!

The experiment was to see if laundry (in this case towels and some clothes) would dry

--at all--

at such a low temp.

Unfortunately I was really late in getting them outside and so they were only out there a few hours,

but they were definitely a bit drier--

some more then others.

Next time I'll get an earlier start.

(BTW, I finished drying them on a rack over one of the heat registers.

I felt a bit like a pioneer except for the whole central heat, automatic wash machine thing)

 

Inside we (meaning Farmer Boy) have been hard at work --

and we (meaning both of us) now have sheetrock in our not-used-for-5-years bedroom!

I can almost see the finished project now:

 a big walk-in storage/utility room (easy oh beating heart of mine) and a bedroom or craft room or man cave or ??? 

Of course I am totally in denial that it is going to take the months Farmer Boy is talking about:)

 

 

While the man has been very hard at work, I have been doing far, far less--but the kitchen organization is almost done and -- for the first time in months -- our dining room table is decorated and empty of all the miscellaneous stuff that had taken up residence there in the last months.

I kind of like seeing the wood tabletop so maybe I'll work harder to keep it cleared off this time

:)

 

 Miss Pilgrim (well, Pilgrim descendant) blew it today. My best friend mentioned Michael's and the next thing I knew I was out the door. Of course, surrounded by aisles of Christmas ribbon, winter cookie cutters and more, I soon had a few items in my cart including a great book for Small One. Bad, bad me...I am telling myself it's OK since three of those items are for Thanksgiving.

Have I said we're having dinner at our son's (a Chef) that day?

I am SO excited to see what he'll be making:)

 

And now some photos from the past three (has it really been so long?) weeks...

 

From the vine to a ...

 

 

box.

This box will be stored in our RV during the winter.

Last year we had a full box and they kept beautifully for about 4-5 months in there 

(we keep the RV at about 39-40 degrees to avoid frozen pipes).

When we wanted some to eat, we would bring out a few to ripen.

 

 

Our second camellia sasanqua has totally come back from its near demise

and is filled with pretty pink flowers (as is the other camellia)!

 

 

When I was planning our garden years ago,

I tried very hard to have something in bloom each season,

because on those gray days there's nothing like pink flowers to put a smile on your face:)

 

 

Also abundant are the mushrooms--

they seem to be taking over our woodland or at least one part of it.

 

 

Look at what I found?

Yep! That's right.

Beautiful quaking aspen in WESTERN Oregon.

I am so proud of myself...

 

The Internet can be very handy at times when you are desperately

in need of an aspen sighting in autumn.

(I'll admit they are less golden then their east of the Cascades counterparts,

but they are aspen,  and autumn isn't autumn without seeing one of my favorite trees!).

 

 

Last but not least, I met two "angels" in the past three weeks.

Not REAL angels of course...

though I believe in them,

but two ladies who truly blessed me when I needed a bit of a blessing.

And I was thinking...

wouldn't this world be a better place if everyone lived each day being a blessing to others?

 

Until next time.

Blessings,

Aimee

Of Birthdays + Beaches

As always I stressed out the night before,

 trying to pick out the very best beach for her birthday celebration.

The timing of the high and low tides weren't what I had hoped for;

the expected arrival of the next storm system made outside adventures a bit iffy too...

 

I shouldn't have bothered with all that planning--
this girl knew EXACTLY where she wanted to go

 and her choice, though unexpected,

was perfect and a MUCH better one than I would have chosen.

 

And the other worries?

Totally a waste of time too.

You see--

God answers the prayers of little girls

(and their stressed out Grandma's).

A few drops of light rain at first, then a few drops towards the end,

with a whole LOT of dry

and even some sun in between!

And the timing of the tides?

 

 

Well it did mean we had to wade through the creek

 to get to the main part of the beach...

but that just made the trip all the more memorable.

 

 

Down by THE rock,

 waves were a bit wild and beautiful as they crashed against the island and then flowed around it!

(The waves and different currents around the rock and up the creek fascinate me)

 

 

The birthday girl.

 

 

At times, blowing sand created some very neat effects on the northern section of the beach.

It did sting the bare legs a bit though. Ouch!

Perhaps it's time to put away summer's cropped pants?

Probably.

 

The smaller castle 'cousin' of one built further up the beach by Small One and her Papa

(the huge one I didn't take a photo of--sigh).

I called this one a hobbit castle.

Love all the windows...

hobbits need to be able to watch for those wild incoming waves too.

 

 

No whole sand dollars here but all beaches have 'treasure' if one is willing to look.

A very adorable toddler we saw found a 'palm tree' and was happily carrying it up the beach:)

 

 

One of the many gulls who were visiting the beach on this autumn day. 

Poor hubby; poor quilt...

good thing both washed up well:)

 

 

At times the clouds parted and the sun lit up the waves. Pretty!

 

 

 Looking southwards towards the headland and 'the rock'.

A whole different perspective from this direction.

A great walk--a great day!

Is it possible to have a bad day when you're surrounded by such beauty?

Nope, not for us it isn't.

 

 

Happy Birthday (not so) Small One!

Love you always:)

Blessings,

Aimee

 

Photos:

Neskowin Beach, Tillamook County, Oregon