We lit the second Hanukkah candle last night and enjoyed its peaceful glow into the cold night.

 

We also tried our hands at potato latkes yesterday.  Of course I had to modify the recipe to include garden vegetables.  We added zucchini, carrots, and our delicious candy roaster squash to the potato latke recipe.  WOW!!!  What a treat!!!

 

HAPPY HANUKKAH!!!

 

We lit the first Hanukkah candle last night.  I love seeing it glow against the evening sky.

 

Tradition says that we are to place the menorah next to a door or window, so that the light can shine out into the darkness.  We are also reminded that we are to be lights into the world, each time we pass through that doorway.  

 

I love celebrating the Festival of Lights, even though our celebration is colored by our Christian upbringing.  Celebrating light makes me happy, and it feels very much like celebrating the Winter Solstice, and Christmas, both of which are coming up soon.  Perfect timing this year:  all these holidays blending together.

 

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

 

 

 

Roxanne's Camellia japonicas are blooming.  This is the prettiest one, I think.

 

I took this picture yesterday, and I hope that our overnight temps didn't frost its blossoms.  I will have to check later.

 

HAPPY DECEMBER!!!

 

Funny that this would show up on my radar today.  It is so true.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

Yay!!!  Got all my seed catalogs for next year's garden.  I love to look at them and read about so many different crops that I might be able to grow.

 

Sometimes the catalogs arrive after I have already planted my seeds.  Too late!!!

 

This way I have time to think about what I might grow in my garden.  And I have time to actually get seeds before planting time:  middle of February.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

Here is Momma making cheese biscuits in 2017.  She was 94 years old.  

 

She didn't see very well, but by golly she still loved grating the cheese, rolling out the logs, and baking the biscuits.  Of course, that year Betsy got to do all the other stuff, like clean up the mess and wash the dishes, but we all loved our turn making cheese biscuits with Momma.  

 

Another sweet memory of Momma's birthday is that, on that day she always placed her Christmas candles in the windows.  So we do that too, on her birthday.  

 

We love celebrating her in all the happy ways.

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOMMA!!!

 

 

 

Yep.  Getting ready to make cheese biscuits.  We love doing this every year on Momma's birthday.  

 

But in order to cook the cheese biscuits on her birthday, we have to start the day before, to give the butter and cheese time to soften.

 

If you are interested, the recipe is in the recipe section.  I included a bit of family lore, so do take a look.  Recipes are further down the Neighbors Sharing Section on the menu.  

 

Be sure to check back tomorrow for a picture that we all know and love.

 

HAPPY COOKING!!!

 

I know you aren't going to believe this, but when I went out to the garden yesterday to get kale for supper, I saw cilantro growing!!!

 

True, I planted seeds back in October, but who would've thought that it could survive the winter weather.  I guess it hasn't been all that cold yet.

 

Maybe I'll spend a little time in the garden this afternoon;  I love warmish winter weather.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

Here we are making gingerbread men cookies.  I know we are grown, and have no kids around, but we love doing this every year in December.  

 

Yesterday was a rainy day, so we made our gingerbread men cookies and listened to Christmas music.  Yes, there was also wine involved.  ;)

What a fun thing to do on a rainy day.  Oh, yeah, here is the result:  we made about 80 cookies, less the broken ones, which we ate!!!  

 

 

Next cooking project:  Momma's cheese biscuits.

 

HAPPY DECEMBER!!!

 

 

We saw this wooly worm as we started on our walk the other day.  Also called Wooly Bear, these caterpillars are the larvae of the Isabella tiger moth, Pyrrhorctia Isabella.  

 

We have all heard the folklore about wooly worms predicting winter weather, but I couldn't remember exactly, so I went to the Farmers' Almanac to read all about the folklore.  Very interesting.  Go there now if you'd like to learn more.   https://www.farmersalmanac.com/woolly-bear-caterpillar-facts-28792

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!