As Christmas Nears

Like everyone else, I'm scratching my head wondering what

happened to November and, wow, is it really almost Christmas?

You might want to grab a cup of something warm--

I'm about to catch you up on some wonderful things.

We're feeling pretty blessed.

Firstly, I quilted up Apple Orchard and it's now on its way to its new home.

Somehow I always finish my quilts as the sun sets and my lighting

just isn't the best.

I’m pretty happy with how the quilting turned out;

in fact I’ve enjoyed the whole project.

I think I've mentioned that I love BOM's and now that I have the

long-arm, I'm thinking I'll do more than one next year.

For someone who doesn't like to have too many projects going,

how many BOM's is too much?  Three?  Six?

This apple pantograph turned out to be fairly easy for me to do

and that got me pretty excited.  Wouldn't you know it?

There was a holiday sale!  I was quick to order 5 new ones that

I'm pretty sure I'll find very challenging but I'm going to give them

all a good try! 

I fully intended to cut myself off after my last order but this time is it!

Truly.  I think I've covered a lot of area with my collection of 13!

Just off the machine this afternoon is this lap quilt that

hopefully it will be on its way to its new home by Saturday.

I think this, made with those 1860's reproduction fabrics, works

well for a man so it's going to my brother-in-law.

It is quilted in fairly simple feathers that were made a little more

complicated than they should have been by some thick joining seams.

Sometimes you just can't avoid that in construction but I've

made a mental note to up my game on it from here on out.

Speaking of games!

We ended the football season as victoriously as possible!

5A State Champs!  My son was allowed to take the final

snaps in the victory formation at the end of the game.  As

an offensive lineman, he never touches the ball but, as there's

a funny story behind this--and, well, he's a darned good kid

and football player--so he was chosen for the honor by the coach.

Yes, a proud-parent moment!

(sorry, the story is too long to go into here)

And the icing on the cake trophy?

My son made not just All-City but All-State as well!

What an incredible wonderful ride it was!

So many friends and memories made!

There is a tradition for the seniors to hang up their cleats on the arch

at the entrance to the football field after their last game--and there

they stay till the elements bring them down.  This picture is so

beautiful...and a little bittersweet.  I'd go through it all again

and again if I could.  But life moves on.

He's been accepted to Creighton and has already been awarded

a substantial scholarship.  There are 6 more he's applying for within

their business school; with his academic record, we're very hopeful.

My husband and I cooked what we hope was another

elegant meal for the priests--this time just eight.

For the appetizer I served Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms--an easy

recipe that I've made more than a few times now with good results.

(This would be good for the holidays, btw.)

(photo credit)

They can be made a little early and refrigerated, though you'll

need to account for the fact that they'll be ice cold going into

the oven and add a little time, or bring them to room temp first.

My preference is to use smaller mushrooms that are bite-sized

 which makes them more manageable at a dinner party.

Larger ones can be a little slippery to cut, and who wants to deal

with a knife for their appetizer anyway?

(photo credit)

For the main course, my husband cooked up a pistachio-crusted

beef tenderloin; I made mashed potatoes with a hint of garlic and

maple-glazed carrots--my new favorite way of making carrots.

I suggest slicing these a little on the big side if you like your veggies

crisp-tender like we do.  They need to simmer a bit to reduce the glaze.

And, of course, served with toasted slices of my French bread

that I love to make for everything and everyone.

For dessert, there was a choice of pumpkin cheesecake (made with

our fresh pumpkin) and a bourbon banana cheesecake--a new recipe

that everyone seems to love.  I doubled all additions of the bourbon.

Even then you barely taste it in the cheesecake.  One of these days

I should do a whole post on cheesecakes because, after making about

a zillion, I think I've learned every trick and tip there is.

I taught myself how to make spun sugar garnishes.

For really shmancy desserts.  Above are regular spirals;

below are more cone-shaped.  I haven't tried the bowls

that you make on the back of a ladle but they're next.

They're so incredibly delicate and require very dry conditions so,

as much as I wanted to take them to our dinner, I really didn't think

they'd make it.   But, hey, add that one to the ol' repertoire, eh?

And lastly.

This little cutey is already one month old.

And we get to babysit him tomorrow night.

I'm not sure I'll get in another post before Christmas

so I'll just take this time to wish you a very wonderful

and blessed holiday.  May His peace be in your

heart and in your homes as you spend time with

all of those you love!