Through the Year

 

 

Thank you, Susan, at Between Naps on the Porch, for hosting another year of Tablescape Thursdays, and a very happy, healthy 2011 to everyone!

Silent Night...NOT!

What is Christmas with out a set of drums?  :) 

Santa brought one of my little gkids drums, well, because that was on his list!

And gdau wanted a microphone.  So have you ever heard Silent Night accompanied by a very energetic drummer? 

Knock knock jokes with the punch line  accented with a whack to the cymbal? 

A fun day was had by all, and seeing the kids enjoy Christmas is such an important part of the holiday.

My 3 year old gson brought me over to see Jesus, and told me , He didn't even cry! And then gave Him a little spin for good luck!  :)

The halls were decked...

The tree was lit...

The table was set...

  

There was plenty of food...

My dil and son did a wonderful job, nothing was left undone.  They certainly are excellent hosts!

The presents were opened...

And this morning, we had a lovely breakfast with some drum music in the background!  :)

We were supposed to attend our 4th grade gdau's CYO basketball game, but old man winter had started to spit out some snow.  We hated to disappoint her, but the forecast wasn't good, and we had a long ride home.

It was a nerve wracking 2 hours, and when we were about a mile from home, barely escaped a crash.

Although we were going only around 20 mph , we hit ice, and spun out of control, back and forth across the road.  If another car had been coming, we would have hit it head on, and then back across to the other lane.  We finally came to a stop, off the road, narrowly missing a pole.  I am very thankful to God we landed softly!

I am very lucky to be writing this , safe and warm from home.  Another Christmas gift for sure!

 

I think we will be snowbound for the next few days.  It is supposed to continue through the night.

Stay safe, everyone! Thanks for visiting!

Hope you all had a delightful Christmas!

I join my friend The Tablescaper for Seasonal Sundays.

♪♪ Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas ♪♪

We won't be having dinner here Christmas, so just a little holiday table. Tonight is very traditional, red and green.

The dishes, from a long time ago, made in France, called Noel, from The House of Salem, whatever!  I have told the story of how my aunt who was in her early 50's died in Nov. and I invited her children, 6 of them, and my uncle to join us for Christmas.  I didn't have enough matching dishes for the joined families, so I went to 4 different places spanning many, many miles to get enough.  So I ended up with service for 28!

  Very reasonable, very pretty in a traditional way, and very well used over the years. 

 

I used a red and green plaid table cloth, I love the edge!  From the Christmas Tree Shop. The napkins are from there too, as are the bell place card holders, green BEE glasses and red flatware.

 

Green glass chargers by Gorham that I got at Lenox last year.

 

The centerpiece a simple basket filled with fresh greens form the yard and some baby's breath.

 

The candle holder matches the dishes.

 

Both sets of salt and peppers are by Spode, and both were gifts.  The trees this year from my friend Judy, and the Spode pattern from my niece, many years ago.

 

The larger glasses I got a long time ago on Cmas Eve after Mass  in the supermarket, for 50 cents!  They were marked down, and I ran in for milk, and of course had to buy them. 

Oh Tablescaper, I have 48 of them!  :) But that was before I cured myself of buying so many of everything !

A green glass leaf serves as the butter plate.

 

A shiny red cracker for everyone.

Do you use crackers on your table for Christmas?  We never did growing up, but the little gkids look forward to them now.

For an appetizer I made baked clams.  I am making them to bring for Cmas, so instead of shells, I baked them in a mini cup cake pan.

Much easier for people to pick up and eat!

Directions:

I use a very large fry pan to do this.

Place at least 1/4 C of Olive Oil in the skillet.

Brown 1 teas of granulated garlic, or fresh in the oil. Be careful, it browns quickly!

Add 3 C of flavored bread crumbs and let them brown, stirring often.

Drain half the juice from a 51 oz can of chopped clams ( we dig them in summer right here, but in winter, it is the can!) and reserve.  I like the clams smaller, so I use a blender stick to chop them more.

Add the minced clams and the juice you chopped them in to the crumb mixture.  Remove from heat.

Add 1 teas chopped parsley, and the juice of a half lemon.

A few grinds of pepper.

Add a half cup or so of freshly grated locatelli cheese

Stir in a handful of shredded mozzarella cheese. You can add more of the reserved clam juice if you like them wetter.

Spray the mini pan and fill with the mixture.  You can add bacon crumbles to the top if you like. I added a dab more of cheese to the top.

Bake till brown and bubbley.  Serve with sliced lemon.

You can also make them in natural shells or the foil ones.

I am joining Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for Tablescape Thursday and Designs by Gollum for Foodie Friday.

May you have the Merriest Christmas, many blessings to you all!  And as always, I appreciate your visit!

 

See you next week!

Make New Friends, But Keep the Old...

All you old Girl Scouts remember that song!

But it is true.

I have written about my friend , Gail before.  We started teaching together, and have remained friends to this day.

Gail made this ceramic tree  and brought it to one of our Santa parties filled with goodies. Anyone else out there have one of these from 35 yrs ago?

There is a base and 4 tiers .

I used Petit Fours, but any treats will work.

It looks like Lenox, cream brushed with gold.

One of my Favorite Things is remembering these special  people as I unpack the Christmas decorations each year. All the different ornaments and other decorations friends and students  have given me over the years, all bring back sweet memories.

Another thing I love during this beautiful season, is the Christmas Concert and Nativity at my gkids school.

  The grade school orchestra played.  My 5 yo grandson held his ears and said, "They sound awful!"  LOL

The chorus sang...

The Nativity arrived...

The third graders get the honor each year.

A little peek at my son's home decked out for Christmas.

I hope this Sunday you are finding a little time to enjoy the season.

Put the music on, put your feet up, and treat yourself to something sweet!

I am joining Laurie at Bargain Hunting with Laurie for Favorite Things and The Tablescaper for Seasonal Sundays.

Last but not least...The winner of the 55 dollar CSN give away is .....In the Middle of Nowhere, Mimi/Marigene.

Congratulations , Marigene, and thank you everyone for visiting!