ornament update ~

There was no one home last night but little ol' me ~ which meant no distractions ~ which meant I was able to sit down and kick out the rest of the applesauce/cinnamon ornaments (recipe on prior post).

In answer to a few questions about these:

How long will they last?  Forever.
It is best to keep them between seasons in a sealed container.  They will retain their scent a long time.  I have some on a little wreath that hangs year round by my entry hall that have to be at least five years old.  If you just give them a very light mist of water once a year they seem to rejuvenate themselves.

What kind of paint do I use:  An oil-based marking pen.

They sell these paint pens in any craft store; but I prefer to buy them at a hardware store or in an automotive store. You can get them for half the price there versus a craft store.  They call them touch up pens.  They come in an array of colors.

Every recipe I've seen on making these ornaments say that you can use any kind of paint on them.  I beg to disagree with that.  I have painted them with water-based acrylics before; but they have a tendancy to fade out. They also say you can coat them with a light layer of polyurethane or varnish ... well ... to me that makes absolutely no sense whatsoever ... you'll lose the scent then of the cinnamon ~ locking it under the finish.  duh!! 

I've  seen recipes for this that say you should add white glue to the dough ... I personally don't see any reason for it.  Besides that ... these have to bake for a couple hours ... I don't want glue baking in my oven.  You don't have to use old cookie sheets either ~ they won't stain or stick.  If you have sil pats though for your baking sheets I do think that would be benificial ... you wouldn't have to grease the cookie sheet then.  

Just my opinion. 

Until next time ...
So it goes in my neck of the woods.
~mel

apple/cinnamon ornaments ~

Today I made heart shaped applesauce and cinnamon Christmas ornaments ~ or I should say I started to make my applesauce/cinnamon ornaments.

Poor Dear Hubby ~ he got so excited when he came in from the garage and the aroma from the oven overcame him.  He thought for sure I started with my Christmas cookie baking.  That guy just loves his Christmas cookies!!

Unfortunately, these little delicacies are not edible ... but they sure do smell good :)

Here's the recipe: Yields 60 - 3" ornaments

2 Cups of Applesauce

1 Cup of ground Cinnamon

Mix together to form a dough.  Roll out on a floured board.  Cut with a cookie cutter.  Place on a lightly greased cooking sheet.  Use a straw to make a hole for hanging.  Bake 200 degrees for 2-1/2 hours until firm and dry. 

I got 68 little hearts out of my batch.  I might make up another batch of gingerbread men.

Now the fun part begins ... painting them and stringing them for the Christmas tree.  So far I only have 16 of them painted... but I'll get them done.  I haven't decided yet if I'm going to string them with red ribbon or curly wire... maybe both.  Also, whether or not I'm going to hang them individually or possibly make a garland out of them.  They would also be cute tied on a gift.

No matter how I end up using them ~ I'm happy with the progress so far and my house smells like Christmas!

Until next time ...
So it goes in my neck of the woods.
~mel

the domestic diva returns ~

I had no luck at the TajMelHal hunting the elusive white tail deer this year ... a repeat of last year :(  Oh well... I guess it just wasn't meant to be.  I have no regrets though; but some venison put in the freezer by me would have been a plus.  The guys (son and son inlaw) did get some meat though, so I'm not complaining. I'm sure they'll kick back a few packages of meat for me ~ since we were kind enough to let them process it here and Slim will be making some sausage later on and will be providing the pork etc... and the smoker for that.  We certainly won't starve because of it.

My time spent at the Taj was still memorable and something that I loved doing.  I did get to see a lot of partridge up close and chickadees, nut hatches, blue jays, squirrels and some does and fawns. Plus... I saw a weasel climb a tree! (photos on prior posts) That in itself was enough.  Plus ... big bonus ... the quiet time!

Sometimes I think it does the soul good to just have some quiet time to sit and contemplate over stuff, come to decisions, and reflect on cherished memories.  Every day out there I had such wonder thoughts of my Dad and the many hunts spent with him.  Also, so many thoughts of my sister Lana, who has passed on and the many hours of laughter that she bought to the family. Also, thinking back to the many holidays that we once spent with Slim's family before his parents and grandparents passed on.  His mother was a hoot!  While she was still living, and before I got into hunting, it was tradition that we would spend opening day of hunting season Christmas shopping.  She was like a hamster on steroids the way she could run those store aisles!  She'd have a photographic memory ... run through the mall on a look and seek mission then back track to get the best deals.  That gal was a master shopper if there ever was one.
 ~~

It's cold out ... and we're covered with snow.

   

  Winter has hit the north woods with a vengence.  Last week we were in the 40's and this morning it was 8 degrees out.  Another reason that I'm grateful the hunting season has come to an end.   The guys were asking me if I wanted to keep on hunting ... it's muzzle loader season now for the next week.  I told them I'd consider it ONLY if the temps get into the double digits again... and preferably the first number has to start with at least a 2.

I'm so thankful the wood shed is full .. and just love seeing that smoke curling up to the sky. We'll go through about 30 cords of woods before spring.  Our outside boiler heats the house, the house water, and half of the 30x50 garage.  We could heat the whole garage because the whole thing is insulated; but we put in a divider wall and only heat the work shop area ... but it's still warm enough in the other side that the vehicles don't freeze up. 

So for now ... the hunting is over ... back to normal.  I have about 3 loads of laundry calling my name and a refrigerator that needs a good clean out.  Anybody want to come and do some domestic diva chores for me?  A little vacuuming, floor scrubbing, clean the porcelain throne, etc...

Until next time ...
So it goes in my neck of the woods.
~mel