SALE PRICES ON SELECT CHRISTMAS TEA COZIES

 

I have a few elastic bottom tea cozies

that are ON SALE and ready to

ship.   Do you have a Christmas

Tea Cozy and if not, here is

your chance!

I also have a large Christmas

Cats:

(see link above)

DECORATING FOR CHRISTMAS #3

On this 3rd day I am sharing

just a few more decorations. 

I love getting out the Ephemera

paper ornaments:

I see I have issues with my blog on all

 my old posts and in the sidebar below.

  I am guess that is related to when I

changed my blog link address back a few years ago as I didn't want to pay for a

 domain name anymore in retirement.  

  I love technology but not some days! 

 Maybe I will work on that this winter

 when things are slower.

I hope you are enjoying this season

of decorating and baking and crafting.

I have been enjoying trying some new

recipes and pulling out quite a few

past Christmas recipes.

Of course, some snow would sure

make things more festive here.

In all these years, I have never

made the candy called Christmas

Peppermint Bark.  I definitely

want to try that one this year.

DECORATING FOR CHRISTMAS #2

 

It's always a happy time when the

red transferware comes out for

Christmas.

I was never a red person but I have to say

collecting red transferware has sure caused

me to love it.

Fresh greenery is always so wonderful:

I have shown you these same decorations

over the years....

Last year I had fun making

some Ephemera paper ornaments

and I hope to be able to do some more

tree ornaments this year but where does

time go when one loves to sew and bake 

and do crafts?

When I was young I never left the

furniture in the same spot.....maybe

I need to think about that again!

Just like many of you,

I love Christmas books:

And another Collage:

DECORATING FOR CHRISTMAS

 Time to decorate for Christmas and that

means getting out all the fun Nicol Sayre

and other artist's angels I collected

 for many years:

Our decorations haven't changed much over

the years but I did put some Hydrangeas in

the Christmas tree this year.  The stockings

I made from an antique crazy quilt back

in the 1970's are still a part

of the decorations.

I hope I have time to make some more Ephemera paper ornaments to add to

the ones I made the last 2 years.  Where

does time go when there are so many

projects to do?

This nativity is also Nicol Sayre's design:

We always look forward to seeing the

nativity my Mother In Law gave us years

ago and as I shared before, we had it

repaired back in Colorado.  It was

originally from Germany and as you

can see is very unique and old and has

waxed paper palm trees:

The Chandelier always

gets a few bulbs:

More to come......

CONGEALED FRUIT SALADS

 Today I took 2 congealed fruit salads

to a luncheon for seniors at the

 church we attend.  I have made

both of these molded fruit salads

since the 1970's.  Time 

flies by doesn't it.  They are

both pretty with fruits:

So this first one is called Fruit and Cream Salad and you will need:   1  11 oz can mandarin orange sections, 1/2 cup of sugar, 1 envelope unflavored gelatin, 1/2 cup orange juice, 1/4 cup lemon juice, 2 beaten eggs, 1 cup sour cream, 4 oz cream cheese and the fruits:

 20 seedless grapes cut in in half, 2 bananas cut up at the last minute, 8 strawberries sliced, 2/3 cup chopped walnuts.

I need to tell you that for mine this time I skipped the bananas but added blueberries instead and I probably did more fruit than listed above.

So.....drain the orange sections and reserve the syrup.  Add more water to the syrup to make 3/4 cup liquid.  In a saucepan on medium, combine the sugar, gelatin, add syrup mix, orange and lemon juices.  Heat until the gelatin is dissolved and gradually stir about 1/2 of the mixture into the eggs and stir well.  Return all to the saucepan and cook stirring about 2 more minutes.  Remove from the heat.  I used my kitchen aid mixer to blend the softened cream cheese and sour cream and poured the saucepan ingredients in blending everything well.  Now pour all this mix into a ring pan, bundt or jello type mold container.

Chill until the mixture is cold but not completely solid.  This is when you are going to press the fruits in making sure they go down into the "pudding".  If you are using the bananas they will NOT TURN brown if you made sure the mixture was truly cool.  Bananas need to go well into the pudding mix.

Make this fruit salad the day before so that it can get firm and solid.  When everything is ready, you can put hot water in your sink and hold the pan in the water moving it back and forth slowly (be sure not to get water inside) until it looks loose on the sides.  Then, flip the container on a pretty plate that is bigger than the jello mold and make sure you center it.

Put it back in the refrigerator now until time to serve. 

Wow, that was a lot of directions and I admit it sounds unusual but it is wonderful!

Now this second salad that a dear friend gave me back in the 70's.  That would be Marilyn Long who I knew in Des Moines, Iowa back in the day!

To make this congealed salad, you will need the following: 

1 10 oz frozen raspberry package drained (reserve syrup)
2 3oz packages of raspberry jello
2 cups boiling water
1 pint vanilla ice cream
1 6 oz can pink lemonade
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Thaw and drain the raspberries reserving the syrup.  Dissolve the jello in boiling water, add ice cream by spoonful and stir in till melted.  Stir in reserved raspberry syrup and lemonade.  Pour into a ring mold.  Chill until partly set.  Add raspberries and nuts.  Chill till firm. Turn out on a favorite plate on cake stand. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Best made overnight! 

This makes a lovely Christmas

Salad.