Christmas Baking

Christmas Celebration

The tree is trimmed; I found one on our lot where our shop is located. It is kind of lopsided but fit in the corner okay.
The stockings are hung; our grandchildren are all guys so hence the cowboy boots. They are filled to the top with little gifts all wrapped individually.
The Christmas baking is all done; just a sampling on the plate. I even made Red Velvet Cupcakes, a first for me.
Tomorrow we have our first turkey with all the trimmings. There will be 9 of us crowded into a dining room and kitchen area of the new house. It will be cozy but that's how it should be at Christmas time.
I even bought a new game, "Pass the Pig". The game consists of two tiny rubber pigs which you throw like dice. You score depending on how they land or don't land. You can lose all your points very easily. We played this recently with 3 other adults and it was great fun.

Christmas Decorations

One day I was in Value Village and there was a bag of red stuff for $3.00 so I bought it. Today I finally looked inside and found all this wonderful fruits, apples, cranberries, and pears along with a candle holder, which still needs a candle. I did a little decorating and it does make it more like Christmas. Dreading getting out more decorations as it is -32 out now and our container with belongings has no heat!!!

Christmas Baking

Well, I must have got some energy from somewhere as I baked all afternoon today. Chocolate cupcakes, Fruitcake cookies, Buttertarts (runny too and yummy), Rachel Ray's Fudge. The kitchen works like a charm even if I had to use pots and plastic containers for mixing and stirring. I can't wait to unpack all my stuff. That will be like Christmas. Even Hubby is impressed with the production that went on today. He thinks I may have too much counter space - ha, not for a minute!!!

Cold and more cold!

Another wasted week lying in bed coughing and blowing the nose; I could now portray Rudolph. It is going to be hard to get ready for next week-end when we celebrate the first Christmas with family. I did a little decorating today so at least I feel more in the spirit. If only the weather would now cooperate - we are at -31 as I type this and that is cold, oh so cold! I need to drive to Prince Albert to shop but will wait a few days to see if it warms up. The only good thing about being sick all week was that I got to stay in; today was the first time I ventured out. Here is a toast to all of you who have to be out tonight!

Happy 65th Birthday to Hubby!

It was my Hubby's 65th birthday on Friday. Here he is shown with his only sister the day after. He got to have an hour long massage and eat lobster at Red Lobster, his favourite food. We would have liked to have a party but with the house not completed this was not possible so we opted for the lobster instead. On Saturday he also got to have lunch with his children and grandchildren at a new restaurant called Chili's. It was good although we did not try anything spicy. I also attended a wedding shower for a niece, and a funeral for a relative. There was also shopping, and visiting with friends over coffee and tea. Think I was more exhausted when we got home than when we left. At home, we had a frozen well and that took some cold work on the part of Hubby to fix but he did it and we praised the Lord when we turned on the taps and the water ran again.

Quick Peanut Butter Blossoms

So when I bake, it is usually from scratch, however when your kitchen is in disarray and you want to quickly make some cookies, Pillsbury peanut butter dough does do the trick. Not sure how to store these though; chocolate kisses are supposed to harden again but so far they are very soft. Guess maybe you have to eat them all immediately!

Here is the recipe:
1 pkg Pillsbury Refrigerated Peanut Butter Cookies
3 tbsp. sugar
chocolate candy kisses, unwrapped

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Shape dough into 1" balls, roll in sugar and place 2" apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 7-9 minutes. Place kiss in center immediately. Remove from pan. Let cool until chocolate is set.

** You could easily do this with your own scratch recipe for peanut butter cookies.

Yum, yum!

Ceiling

We finished the ceiling in our craft, exercise and extra bedroom. Instead of running the pine crosswise, we put it end to end from the peak down. It gives the room a totally different feel. The walls will be pine also but painted white. Can't wait for it to be done as this is where the creative juices will flow!!!!

A friend sent me this quote recently and I thought it worth putting here:

"Everybody has critics, but God isn't one of them.

God is crazy about you so return the favour."

Christmas Supper 2009

So last night was our annual Christmas Supper for the community of Candle Lake. At the end Santa comes and so Hubby decided he had a request. Our friends, Brandy and Joe just bought an acreage, and being a young couple need a lot of things, one being a bobcat. So of course what did Mel request from Santa - a bobcat - at least it was pretty generous of him to request something for someone else. What a sweet guy! We had a great time and a great meal with turkey and all the trimmings. This is one of the best events at the lake here and attendance proves it.

Sparky the Helper

Our puppy Sparky is very curious and even more so if there are tools involved. He loves, drills, air hoses, compressors and the noise does not seem to bother him. Wherever Mel is, you can find Sparky! Here they are drilling holes for the drawer slides in the new kitchen. Think it must be rest time though!

Light Fixture

I also have to tell you all about this light fixture and yes, I know there are no bulbs in it. My fault as I bought the wrong ones and not sure if our local lumber yard will have any. I will check tomorrow. This fixture came from Walmart and it was being cleared at $10.00. What a bargain as it is fabulous! It was a lot of work to put together though and definitely took two of us to figure it out. I am thinking I could also buy the little shades for each bulb and that would make it look even more wonderful. Hubby was good enough to put it up even though we could not try it out.

Dining Room Table

So being cabinet makers / wood workers, people tend to want to give us old furniture instead of taking it to the local landfill. And that is how we happened to receive this maple table which also has a leaf. We decided to spray it white for our new dining room and moved it into the house today. Unfortunately, our chairs are still packed away and we only had some white patio chairs to use. I think it turned out quite well, and we saved another piece from the garbage.

Christmas Gifts

So on my side of the family we started to draw names for Christmas gifts a few years ago. There are only 6 adults but there are also 5 dogs so they get to have a draw too. This year it was our turn to draw the names, make up the rules and mail them. This only got done today - I know, I know this is cutting it rather close considering we all live far away from each other and there is the whole other issue of getting the gifts to the other people. Now setting the rules is always interesting. We put a $20.00 limit on the gift and stocking stuffers have to be under $2.00. Now this gets even more interesting when you see all the gifts under the tree. Some of us get quite creative by making gifts (and those are okay) or getting freebies (and those are okay) or cashing in HBC reward points (not so sure about this one)! We are also all supposed to have a "Wish List" and those also get quite interesting - one request was light fixtures, of course they would have to be a bargain at $20.00 but then some of us do have quite a reputation for bargain hunting and this is a well known fact. But Christmas just would not be quite the same without gifts for our children, no matter how old they are!!!!

New Countertop

I can't say enough about the new countertop in the kitchen. Wow, it shows no dust, no crumbs, no water marks. It is fabulous and I am so glad that we decided to go with it. Can't wait for all of the counter top to be put in. A bribe is in place - I get all the counter top put in and someone may get homemade fruit cake baked, one of his favourites for Christmas!!!!

Pine Boards

So I am brushing varathane and thank goodness, it is water based, on pine boards. Each board is 6" x 12' and I am set up to do 16 at a time. I have only completed 32 in many days as I have to do three coats, sanding after the first coat. I think I will be here for a year!!!! These are for the upstairs ceiling. The pile on the floor does not look any smaller and my wrists are already aching. I don't like heights and so it is easier to do them now then after Hubby puts them up. He is anxious to get started but he won't get far if I don't pick up the speed! Think he has the easier job of the two as he even has a friend willing to help cut while he stays on the ladder. Where are my helpers???

Sunday

Another beautiful day in northern Saskatchewan so we decided to drive into Prince Albert for church. Very interesting service today with the minister speaking on a passage in Revelations. Revelations is always quite fascinating for me and he did a good job of tying the words in the Bible with what is going on in our world today. It was worthwhile the 45 minute drive in to hear the music and message. We have a community church here at the lake but do not always agree with what is taught there. One of the hardest things about living at this lovely resort is the fact that we do not have a church to attend on a regular basis. Maybe we need to start our own - wonder how Hubby would be a preaching, oh yes and singing! I would be a good organizer - just ask my kids!

Great Weather

I am so impressed with our great November so far. No snow to speak of, and the lake is not frozen. The sun continues to shine and long range looks like more sunshine. After a miserable summer, we need this before we hibernate in our winter again. Hubby got the floor done on the first and biggest veranda. Now for some steps. Anyone know how you hang Christmas wreaths or boughs on a fiberglass door with side lights. Also vinyl siding beside the door and PVC trim (we were going for a low maintenance look) so no nails are possible in there. I did not think I would get the Christmas spirit with all the building to do but all of a sudden, I feel like putting up some lights! Please don't remind me of how many days are left though!!!

Kitchen Lights

So I bought this two pendants for over the peninsula; the glass is ribbed which will go with my cupboard doors since they also will be ribbed. My problem now is where do I find two more fixtures for the ceiling that match these. Rona had these in stock but of course, there were no others. Hubby thinks my kitchen is way too big and needs way too many lights! Is he kidding? It will be a dream working in this kitchen.

So I still am having some issues with the posting; my pictures should be under the journalling and I tried to put all four pictures on the same post but no, it did not work. Any hints all you bloggers?

Creativity in the kitchen

So most of my kitchen items are still in boxes being stored in a container and therefore one has to become quite creative. I emptied a Tim Hortons coffee tin today and it was perfect to use as a utensil holder beside the stove. Then I unpacked some items I had purchased last winter, a spice rack from Costco - it also has stainless steel on the sides, two glass jars from the Dollar store to store coffee in and mugs from Canadian Tire. I bought two sets of the mugs for a total of eight and they were a great price right after Christmas. I love the shape and size of them.

Back of the house

Our House

So we live at a lake and we thought a nice Cape Cod cottage would be the way to go. This is a view of the front. There are to be two verandas on the front yet with white railings and pillers. I plan to paint the door and side lights Slate Black. The side door opens into my kitchen. I plan to build a swing and it will hang on that veranda. Can't wait to sit outside next summer. On the back of the house there will also be a big deck with a screened gazebo as we do have a lot of issues with black flies, mosquitos and no see um's. The lake is just at the end of our street, a nice short walk.

Close-up of countertop

New Sink with tap