CHRISTMAS BIRDS

May your week be filled with Joy

 Comfort, and Love.

BETTY NORRIS' HOLIDAY PUNCH

So many Christmas Punch recipes are about Cranberry Juice which is lovely but I want to share a different recipe I think you will love.

My helpers here are my grandkids and the photos are from last year...yes this is a repost but I think you will love it just the same.  This recipe was created by Betty Reames formerly from Des Moines, Iowa and I first had it at my son's baby shower over 34 years ago.  Everyone loved Betty's recipe!

Here is the recipe:  1 large can pineapple juice, 1 large can frozen orange juice, 6 bananas mashed, 1 quart 7 up or gingerale, 4 cups sugar, 6 cups water and a jar or marachino cherries.

My little - but now bigger - Lily and Pete are going to town here on the mashing! This would make a lovely tradition for your family!

Mix and freeze the pineapple and orange juices with the water and sugar the day or night before.  Whatever you freeze this in needs to be smaller than your punch bowl.  When ready for the punch - dump the frozen mass into the bowl and add the mashed bananas, chopped cherries and mash together to form a slush - pour the gingerale over this and enjoy!

DECORATING OUTSIDE #2

I never could ice skate very well but I do think they make a fun decoration.

For me Christmas is about the birth of Jesus - this is what Christmas means to me....

 No season is more of a pleasure to

decorate than at Christmas....

DECORATING FOR CHRISTMAS IS HERE

Last year I decided it was time to say goodbye to the old fake Christmas Tree! This year we have a white fir and I love it! I like a lot of space between the branches.  

I removed the antique lace tablecloths I had hanging in the window so the tree would show up better and guess what?  The lace was dry rotted from the sun and fell apart so now I guess we will be cutting those up for tea cozies.

  I am always willing to take a risk and do something knowing in the long run you might loose something.  I wear my Victorian Costume jewelry knowing occasionally I loose a piece.  I would still rather enjoy something than pack it up!

MISS POTTER TEA EVENT

It was a lovely day for a Beatrix Potter Tea Event at Bernideen's in Old Colorado City. Here is a photo of Gwendolyn Simpich and her mother, Debra Simpich as they pose outside after Gwendolyn did a lovely presentation reenacting Beatrix Potter....

We had  some darling children listen to Miss Potter read and talk about her life....

Beside the children and parents...we had visitors from the Victorian Society of Colorado Springs who caroled in Old Colorado City today!

CHILDHOOD CHRISTMAS MEMORIES

 Today I am sharing an old Christmas Memory...well that's easy because that was the year I got this doll back in the l950's!  My Mother had wrapped a box of paper dolls in "tin foil" (I think it really was tin back then) I crawled under the tree to try and peak in the box and the whole tree fell on me breaking some of the glass balls - what a mess that was! Boy was that scarey for a kid.

CHRISTMASTIME DECORATIONS AND TEAPOTS

I always love decorating but especially at Christmas...we have a live tree patiently waiting in the garage...a white fir....will show you later.  I grew tired of that old fake tree last year and decided it's day was over!

I have so much baking I want to do including steamed puddings. For weeks now I have been studying different recipes and am interested in one written by the Victorian Lady Fannie Farmer.

AN EARLY VICTORIA ISSUE ABOUT GEORGETOWN, COLORADO

My favorite place in Colorado was featured in the second edition of the original Victoria magazine.  I somehow missed the first edition but started my subscription with the winter 87/88 issue.  It featured Georgetown, Colorado and the beautiful Victorian houses there.........

I love the movie that John Denver made

there which brought interest to the little town:

This photo is of one of the pages

in the magazine:

Who doesn't love  Uncle Bud and the Buzy Bee Cab Company. This movie is hard to find...and this is an old video...but I highly recommend it!  I think it is out

now in DVD and we enjoy it at Christmas.

FALL WEATHER AND CHOCOLATE CAKE

Now that the weather is changing we will be spending more time indoors........Here in Colorado we had a rainy summer which is unusual and we seem to jumping right in on fall.......this weekend the aspens have turned in the mountains........

We look forward to using our woodstove and relaxing nearby. It's getting dark earlier now too!

Chocolate Fudge Cake Oh-la-la: 

5 Squares unsweetened chocolate, 2 1/4 cups sifted flour, 1 cup sour cream, 2 tsp baking soda, ½ tsp salt, ½ cup (1 stick) butter, 2 ¼ cups firmly packed light brown sugar, 3 eggs,

1 ½ tsp vanilla, 1 cup water – boiling to be added last

1Grease and flour 2 size 9 x 1 ½” layer cake pans, tap out excess flour.

2.  Sift flour, baking soda and salt into bowl.

3. Melt chocolate in a small saucepan with the butter.

In a large bowl beat brown sugar and

 eggs; beat with mixer at

High speed until light and fluffy, 5 minutes. 

Beat in vanilla and chocolate.

4. Stir in dry ingredients alternately with sour cream until batter is smooth.

     Do not boil water too soon as it evaporates

 fast – Stir in boiling water – batter will

Now become thin.  Pour into cake pans.

5. Bake in oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes (less if convention oven – watch!)

6. Let cool 10 minutes +, cut around edge of cake with knife and turn onto cake platter

Fudge icing: 2 squares unsweetened chocolate, 1/2 stick of butter, 3 ¾ cup of powdered sugar,  1/4 cup milk, 1 tsps vanilla

Melt chocolate in small saucepan with butter…remove from heat

Combine other ingredients in bowl and then add chocolate mix…….beat till ready to ice cake

 If the icing is too thick- add more milk

*sometimes I put cherry pie filling between layers

 

After the cake is iced I like to cover the center top with maraschino cherries!

I often bake my cake in 2 heart shaped cake pans and sometimes 3 pans…..it only takes 20 minutes if using 3 pans.

 For cupcakes – bake 15-20 minutes

ANOTHER TEA LINEN SET FINISHED FOR THE GARDEN

So I continue my project of 

combining old and new table toppers with 

sewn chair covers I am making from

my grandmother's pillow cases to save

for a future garden

tea.

This table is about pink and purple!

My grandmother's pillow cases are working out well....cutting them up to make the back covers to drop over the folding chairs!

And using those old doilies to embellish

them with!

I love this bone china pattern:

The door is on the side

where people enter

the garden:

LITTLE FLOWER GARDEN IS COMING ALONG

I enjoy visiting Aiken House and Garden - a list of my favorite blogs are over at the right.

It is the most beautiful garden at Carolyn's on Prince Edward Island. If you enjoy gardening, you must visit it at

http://warrengrovegarden.blogspot.com/

My back yard is small - but big enough for me as I am a working lady and this garden layout, though small, has taken me a while to dig out.  I took a photo from the upstairs

looking down.

This summer I started a project and since I work a lot I just did a little each week.....I took out a section of the lawn on each side of my back yard and the first to happen was this left side with a giant Colorado Blue Spruce.

Then I did the opposite right side:

And this photo taken through the window screen shows how I was able to finally join the two in the middle. 

I think a garden team could easily get

this all done in a day or just hours but....

I do have a great deal to learn as I had a vegetable garden back in the 70's but want 

to learn to grown  some

flowers from seeds and

I am not sure Colorado

is the best place for

that without a 

greenhouse.

Our summer is shorter and

 it stays cool at night.