Christmas

Hi!
I don't have many pictures to post, because I CAN'T FIND MY CAMERA!!!!!!
I took some with my phone, but they turned out fuzzy. I do have a couple of pictures that turned out okay, but not many. This first picture is my table of Nativity sets. I used to only have the one small glass one. I splurged and bought Rachel and myself the Willow Tree set a couple of years ago. I have other types, as well, so I thought I would put them all on a table together.

We had a wonderful Christmas. The day went smoothly, it was calm and peaceful, and we had a great time. Adam and Vicky went to Miami, and they were greatly missed. Thomas, the fireman, had to work. William and his family were in Tennessee. Even though we were not all in attendance, we had a terrific day.
I made a Santa Claus cake and a Christmas tree cake. By the time I got around to icing them, it was time for dinner. So, I had to hurry! Santa has a crooked smile, and his face didn't get tinted, so everything is either white or red! Ellen wanted to watch me ice the cakes, and she tried her hand at doing stars. She made the red stars for the tree cake. She helped me mix the red color, so she wanted to do something with the red icing! HA! I colored the cake with Juniper and Leaf green, and I think it looks like a fir tree. I used the tip that makes hair, grass, etc. so that the tree would look like it had pine needles. I guess for a rush job, they both turned out okay. I baked them at 2 am on Christmas Eve, but I didn't get time to ice them until right before dinner the next day.


















Rachel and I are going to Asheville, North Carolina tomorrow. She gave me a Christmas gift of a trip to the Biltmore Estate. I hope to find my camera by then. Just in case I can't find it, I have my old camera ready as backup. I have the old battery on the charger right now! We will have lots of pictures to post, I hope!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas.

I bought myself a new tree this year, but then I took it back to the store. There was something in that tree, paint or whatever, that I was allergic to, so I took it back. My old tree is doing just fine. Since I took the tree back, I didn't have a present for myself. HA! But, I found two name brand leather pocketbooks at TJ Maxx that I opted to buy. I saw them on Christmas Eve, and carried them around the store, but then I put them back before checking out. So, I went back to the store Saturday morning to find them. I had put them way in the back on a hanger, and they weren't there. I panicked and walked around and around the pocketbook section. Finally, I found them! I got one Lucky Brand and one Betsey Johnson brand. The Lucky Brand is the kind of bag that I love to buy, and I have several. The Betsey Johnson is a new one. It is a big, really huge, black bag that is called a Cat-Alina Shopper. The leather is made to look like a Cheetah print, so that is where the name originates. I did not pay the real price. No way would I spend that much money on a pocketbook!! TJ Maxx is a fun little treasure place. You never know what you might find.
Happy day after the day after Christmas!!

Shopping

Shopping makes me crazy. I really do not like to get in the Christmas crowd, but I had to do it. I have not had time to shop, as usual, for Christmas, so, I was forced to go out into the madness today. I didn't get much - not what I needed anyway. I was able to buy a couple of things, but I am way behind. I finally figured out that I would go to Walgreen's and buy a few gift cards to restaurants. That made sense to me, since no one really needs any gifts. I just walked around and around that silly mall and got more and more confused about what to do. Oh well, maybe that kept me from spending too much money unecessarily. Lauren, age 9, told us yesterday that Christmas is not about giving gifts. It is about the birth of Jesus! (from the mouths of babes!!!!) I thought that statement was really profound. Anywho, I do want to do some shopping, but I will have to wait until tomorrow. As for tonight, I am going to try and get some decorations on the tree. I got some out last night, but I didn't have any hooks for them. I still have tons of ornaments in boxes to take out, so there is a major task awaiting me in the living room. I guess I should get in there and get busy! Merry Christmas!

Cakes and Flowers

Hello again,
I took four more cake lessons this month. The second course is all about making flowers. I learned how to make rosettes, daisies, primroses, pansies, rosebuds, apple blossoms, crysanthemums, daffodils, and little african violets. We also reviewed the shell border and learned how to make the rope border. The basketweave was something we learned on the last night. I am happy to know how to do that. It makes a cake look so nice. I cannot say that I am the best at any of these yet, but I am getting better. I am now a pretty good rose maker, though. I learned that in my first course, and I have been practicing a lot. It doesn't take me forever to do one anymore. I figured out one trick that is helping cut down on the frustration and time. The trick involves the first part of the rose, the base. I can just put icing on there and shape it with my hands, rather than use one type of tip to make that and then use another tip for the petals. The next course is all about fondant and tiered cakes. I have heard that fondant is not really tasty, but that is what is used in most professional cake places. The fourth course is about fondant and gum paste. Well, maybe it is the gum paste that tastes bad. I'm not really sure. We learned how to make Royal Icing, which is made of meringue powder, water, and powdered sugar. There is something with the meringue powder that makes the icing harden, like candy. If you have ever bought 'candy' letters or shapes at the grocery store to put on a cake, you were buying this type of icing. The teacher said that you can keep these creations for ten years and keep using them! Wow. They are not very tasty, though. Then, we learned how to make icing called 'color flow'. This icing is made with a powder called color flow. You thin it out real watery, and pour it into a picture that you have made. You use this color flow to trace the outline of any picture you want, onto a piece of wax paper. This border dries. Once the outline is dry, you fill in the picture with the runny color flow. Once this dries, you take it off the wax paper and put it on your cake. My bluebirds cracked, but I got one to put on my 'finale' cake! I made lots of flowers, although my icing was so runny that they flowers are all lopsided :)



I am going to start practing my little flowers, with regular icing, and then maybe I will be able to post some decent looking pictures. I am posting my little cake, even though it is not in the best of shape. I had fun doing it, though, and that is what counts!

Pecans, Pecans!!

The time is here...Pecans in Savannah!! All of the trees are dropping pecans all over the place. There are people in our neighborhood who come with all sorts of bags in which to store all the pecans they pick up from our yards. We try to get there first, but many locals know where the biggest pecan trees are. There is one in the yard behind me, so my backyard is full of them. The lane behind my house is really full of them. I have a small tree in my backyard and one in the front yard. These trees are putting out small pecans, but not the ones that are really ripe enough to eat. I saw a car parked by my garage Saturday, and it was someone getting pecans that had fallen up against the garage. I guess that means I won't be getting any of those!! There is a big, big pecan tree across the street, and we get them from over there, also. Vicky got a huge bag from across the street the other day. She is planning on making Christmas presents with them. Kate is planning on making pecan pralines. We should have a good bit of great pecan treats this Christmas. My mamma used to love to shell the pecans. Last year, which was her last year with us, she cracked pecans all day long. She could sit in her wheelchair at the dining room table, look out the window at the traffic going by, and shell pecans. There were a lot of them, too. Mamma enjoyed that so very much. My Granna used to like to look out of the window, too. They didn't get to go out during their last bit of time with us on this earth, but they both loved to watch people.

Pecans, we have tons of them. They taste delicious, too. Why buy them in the store for a ton of money, when you can just take a brief walk around the house and pick them up?? Pecans....YUM!!

The Tree

I finally got a new tree! I splurged and bought a new one this year. I also bought a new revolving stand, since mine bit the dust last year! My tree and stand are both 17 years old, so I guess they have both served their purpose. I bought both of them when I moved into this house. My old tree sheds just like real trees, so I needed a new one.

I saw one that I really liked at Michael's, but it was $349! I thought, "NO WAY!" Well, I went to Lowe's and Target looking for trees, and I saw some that I liked. I just couldn't make myself buy any of them. Susan called me Sunday to tell me that she saw a good tree at Michael's that was on sale. I went over there Monday, and the tree that was my favorite one WAS ON SALE!!!! I bought it!

We got out of school early today, because we were supposed to have really bad weather. As soon as I got home and walked through the door, I started moving things around in the living room to make space for the tree. Rachel, Adam, and Vicky came over (very unexpectedly), so they helped me get everything done. I would not have it put up if they hadn't helped. The stand needed some adjustments, which they did easily. The tree was very heavy, and they helped with that greatly. It has prelit white lights on it, so it looks good even without ornaments. I haven't put any of those on it yet. I decided not to buy any NEW ornaments this year, since I had to get a tree and a stand. We shall see how long that decision lasts! I have held pretty stern to it so far, though.

The tree is 7 1/2 feet tall, and it is very wide. The type of tree that it is supposed to be is a Connelly Pine. I have never heard of that kind, but it is pretty. The tree was made in China, so it might be something they have over there :) I have also been worried about getting sick from something that they might have used to make the tree that is not good for humans (with all the news about their paint and stuff, you see). I'm just a big sissy and worrier about that stuff.

Now, I need someone to help me get into the attic and get all of my ornament boxes down. I have new attic steps, and they are not as big as my old ones. They are more sturdy, but they will take a bit to get used to climbing. I have been moving stuff and cleaning and moving stuff all night. My house is always a big mess, you see.

Anyway, I have one step towards the Christmas season completed. I will keep you posted on my progress. Merry Christmas everyone!!