New Books

I received two books for my birthday. The first is Wild Color by Jenny Dean. It is a wonderful book on making dyes from plants. So far I have tried three dyes. I will have to post pictures sometime. I have been wanting this book for a long time but it is out of print therefore hard to find(at least for a reasonable price). My sister was able to find it online and she got it for me. I have such a great sister.


The second book is The Rim of the Prairie by Bess Streeter Aldrich. It is a sweet, simple story that takes place in a small prairie town. It is beautifully written. The characters are so real. You feel like a part of their joys, heartache, laughter, and trials.

Walking this Road

The day was a lovely, sunshiny one. No clouds were in the sky. The road I was walking was easy, it meandered through meadows and along streams. Birds were singing and flowers blossoming. The way ahead around the bends looked inviting.
I said "Lord I will follow wherever You lead, I will walk this road with You."
Slowly the road became harder, clouds blew across the sky. Soon it was very dark and there were thorns across the path. The road had become rough and painful.
"Lord I don't understand, this isn't the way I thought it would be," I cried.
"Will you still trust Me?"
"The pain is too much, I can't see Your face through the tears."
"I am with you still holding your hand" was the reply.
I answered "Yes, Lord I will follow wherever You lead, I will walk down this road no matter how hard"

This sounds silly now that it is written out. These are just some thoughts that have gone through my head as I have struggled with something painful. I am learning to trust more deeply even when I don't understand.

Psalm 56:8
You number my wanderings;
Put my tears into Your bottle;
Are they not in Your book?

Psalm 23
A Psalm of David.
The LORD is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the LORD
Forever.

Proverbs 3:5-6

Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.

Christmas Shortbread

The kitchen is quite a disaster.

The last few days have been grey and rainy, what better time to bake cookies. Shortbread is my favorite Christmas cookie. They are so fun because there are so many variations to try. This year I baked five different flavors. So, today I have been dipping and drizzling hundreds of little shortbread cookies. That is why the kitchen is a mess.

I usually use a basic recipe, then adjust it to my fancy :)

Basic Shortbread Recipe

1 Cup Butter
1/2-3/4 Cup Sugar
2 Cups Flour

Cream butter and sugar. Add flour and mix until combined. I usually end up using my hands. If dough is too sticky ad a bit more flour.
On a well floured board roll dough out to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut with cookie cutters and place on ungreased cookie trays. Bake at 325 degrees for 10 -14 minutes. Cool on wire racks.

Shortbread Recipe Variations

Now for the fun part! These are the varieties I made this year. There are many other possibilities.

1. Ginger Spice
Add: 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 tsp. nutmeg
3/4 tsp. cloves
2/4 tsp. ginger

Dip in melted white chocolate

2. Hazelnut
Add: 2 Tbsp. maple syrup (use the smaller amount of sugar)
1 tsp. vanilla
1 Cup finely chopped hazelnuts

Dip or drizzle with melted milk chocolate

3. Peppermint
Add: 1-2 tsp. peppermint extract

Dip in melted dark or white chocolate.

4. Coffee
Add: 2 Tbsp. instant coffee granules
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Dip or drizzle in dark chocolate.

5. Orange

Add: 1-2 tsp. orange extract

Dip in dark chocolate.

I cut each variety with a different cookie cutter. It is fun and makes it easier to tell them apart.

In case you were wondering which ones are which in the pictures.

Hearts; hazelnut
Stars; coffee
Trees; peppermint
Angels; orange
Gingerbread boys; ginger spice

Red Roses...

...to wear in my hair to the ball.

A Special Visit

On Wednesday afternoon we had a special visit with the Serven Clan. They are out here in California for a little while. It was fun to see them again and catch up a little.

Enjoying good food and fellowship around the table.



After lunch we walked around outside to see the animals and our many projects. After returning inside we had fun sharing music together.
Here are some of the Servens singing a song for us.


More visiting.

Etsy

There is something new over in the sidebar!!

Introducing our new Etsy shop; The Cricket's Song.
Right now we have some greeting cards and soap listed over there. I will be working on a new logo and adding more items soon.

Experimenting

A year ago I found a fascinating book called Wild Color. It is all about making dyes from plant materials. I have been wanting to try some of the ideas in there for a long time now. So, last week I experimented with making a dye from eucalyptus leaves. Here is a photo of the results. The rusty orange yarn in the foreground is what I dyed, the green yarn is one I bought. I thought the two colors looked pretty together. Isn't the orange an interesting color for eucalyptus leaves to make?

Sunday Sunset

We were driving home Sunday evening and I just had to stop to get a picture of this lovely sunset.

A Last Minute Picnic

When Grandma and Grandpa came over for Thanksgiving they brought us a basket full of Harry and David treats. I had the idea of going on a picnic and taking some of it along. So late Saturday afternoon we did just that. We spent most of the day working on the shed and got a later start than planned for our picnic. But finally we quickly got together some of the tastiest sounding snacks and a bottle of Martinelli's sparkling apple cider. With the short days this time of year it is harder to calculate how much daylight is left. After driving for awhile and arriving at our destination it was nearly dark. But we proceeded to set out the food and enjoy our picnic. We had a little problem opening the cider because nobody had remembered to bring a bottle opener. Finally I was able to use the edge of my knife to pry it open. We had a funny and enjoyable picnic although it was rather short because it was getting dark and a little chilly. By the time we left the moon was rising, it looked so beautiful. I took a picture but it didn't quite turn out.


We took Tizzy with us also. She enjoyed the outing.


Enjoying the picnic and trying to stay warm :)


My attempt at photographing the moon.

Thanksgiving Day

We had a pleasant Thanksgiving day at home. Our grandparents came over for the afternoon. It was good to have them come over, it has been quite awhile since they were here. We had a good time visiting. Grandma was able to walk down to see the horses and goats. We had a delicious traditional dinner and afterwards relaxed in the living room looking at pictures. It was special that they were able to come because it is getting harder for them to drive over here. Here are a few pictures form throughout the day.