Less is More

I've never been much of a decorator
Not much of a shopper either


Year after year we pull out a same tote of Christmas decorations that we've had for years.
Many of the ornaments were made by the kids. Some we've acquired from friends & family.

Maine Maine with his brew....lol

We chuckled when my Mother gave us this ornament 15 years ago. Now each year when I place it on a branch I am thankful for yet another year with such an amazing man.

Made by Flower Girl a couple years back.

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Each ornament tells a story ........

.......of our simple life.
MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM OUR FAMILY TO YOURS!

Tomorrow we will be making a special delivery.....stay tuned!

The Accidental Foodie

It was never intentional, it just happened! When we first married dinner consisted of frozen pizza, chicken nuggets, take out, and if Maine Man was really lucky... Shephard's Pie. Fast forward 15 years later and food has become a HUGE part of my life, as it should be! What else do we do 3-6 times a day? .....EAT. What interests me most is cooking from scratch, eating organic, and local food. The BEST meal to me is a dinner that consists all of food we've grown, raised, hunted, and/or foraged for. We are fortunate to have quite a few of those kinds of meals. Don't get me wrong....I do not eat 100% organic, nor all local, I eat processed crap time and again, and I MUST confess I have a slight addiction to diet pepsi. I've quit the "swill" (as MM calls it) three times previously, they say fourth time is a charm, right? Change takes time........and will power. I'm getting there ;)

Any how the point I am slowly trying to make is about the bread recipe I posted back in November. It is the ONE I have been searching for for years. If you have always aspired to have a fresh loaf of bread in your bread box, you MUST give this a try! I can't even began to tell you how many loaves I have baked over the last month. It is EASY...just takes a little planning. CHEAP... literally cost pennies. Not sure about your neck the woods but at the farmer's market a loaf of bread like this goes for $5. And above all DELICIOUS....Flower Girl refuses to eat store bought bread...LOL.

In addition to bread I now set aside a batch once a week to make pizzas from. I prepare as I would for bread except I split the dough (blob) in half prior to rising. After rising I refrigerate if I am not going to use immediately. I will admit the dough is a little tricky to work with due to it's consistency, the shape is not always perfect but I assure you it is always super tasty.
Now if you take my advice before long you will be eliminating bread & pizza crust (frozen pizza) off your grocery list. Not sure about you but stuff like that EXCITES me. I love walking past the egg cooler, the meat section, baked goodies, pickles, produce etc when my cupboards, freezers, and pantry are right packed full of the real deal.

Just saying.....give it a try!

Snowflakes

Last year I hoped to make these with the kids. This year we finally did! It was a fun, fairly quick & easy project. Only supplies needed: popsicle sticks, hot glue, and paint. My inspiration you wonder.....Craftynest. LOTS of great ideas. Here is the link for a how-to for this craft if your interested.

Learning new skills

Last weekend my neighbor came over in attempts to teach FG and I how to crochet.
What started out as a dishcloth quickly became a bracelet.

And here is my sorry attempt. Doesn't look much better and I have been working on it ever since that day. I am having difficulty figuring out how to hold my hands. I have un-did, redid.....just a tad bit frustrated. Patience is NOT one of my finer qualities. In addition my rascally cats got their paws on it. Let's just say, it is NOT pretty! I am headed over to the neighbors right now for a little remediation.
Wish me luck ;)

Wordless Weekend

Letter to Santa by FG

Dear Santa,

How are you? How are your raindeer? I have a great life. I have a loving mom and the Best dad in the world. I would really like a lot of candy, DS games like plant vs. zombies, pants, I would like some pichers of me if you have any but I would like pichers of me when I was little, and the thing I would like the most is the Best Christmas ever. Merry Chrismas! P.S. Please wright back. Love: FG

One, Two, Tree

This past weekend we went out to my cousins tree farm
He worked a deal with the kids so they could try & sell a few trees.

Our farmer friend, Myron came along too.

He had a grand time watching the kids run about.

Even thanked me the next day for inviting him along.

We enjoyed his company as well.

He even helped by trying to guide me as I backed up the trailer.

He quickly learned I was going to do it my way even though I would have been much better off had I listened to him. LOL...maybe that's why I sometimes drive Maine Man crazy :)

If your a local come on over and buy a tree from the kids. You'll make their day!