~ * ~ Happy New Year ~ * ~

Two Wolves

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people.
He said, "My son, the battle is between two wolves inside us all.
One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.
The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith."
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: "Which wolf wins?"
The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."

My New Year's resolution is to feed the Good Wolf.

Happy New Year

&

Be Blessed my Dear Friends !

JoyceAnn

* Happy Birthday Little Time *

Today our youngest Grandson celebrates his first birthday . My , how he has grown. He looks just like his Pa , so today his nickname changes from Little Tree to Little Time. Dh has been called " Big Time " for many years , since he looks so much like him , I've started calling him " Little Time " , the name fits him.

Happy Birthday , Little Time !!

Nana and Pa Love You !

~ Simple Old Fashion Toys ~

The holiday gift exchanges are finally over , so now I can share some of the fun things I found for the Grands and the other kids on my list. I didn't want to post about them before Christmas , because I was afraid they would see them on my blog. I ordered most of their toys from Lehman's ~ http://www.lehmans.com/ ~, they were " Made in the U.S.A. " , well constructed and lead free toys. The toddlers got lacing beads , remember the wooden blocks with holes that you thread onto a string , they were a hit with Little Froggy and Little Missy. Little T got a wooden pull along toy that has a wooden block that sits on top the wheels and flips as you pull it. He didn't want to pull it , but he sure enjoyed trying to eat the red block that sits on top (LOL). We got Curious J a tool box with a few real tools so he can work in the shop with Pa , he loved that. I also ordered solid maple wooden yo-yo's for my nephews and Curious J.

I found some great finger puppet sets on Esty for all my young nieces and Little Missy. I also made them recycled crayons and bought them a coloring book . The younger boys got pull back action trucks from Lehman's and recycled crayons/coloring book too. I have to say they weren't as excited with these gifts as the colorful plastic , battery powered toys they received , but after the batteries die and they're tired of those toys , experience tells me these old fashioned toys are the ones that truly get used the most in the end.

Hope you found time for some old fashioned fun during Christmas !

~ Be Blessed ~

JoyceAnn

~ Sunday Blessing ~

May this Day Be Blessed with Many Smiles !!

JoyceAnn

~ To All My Wonderful Blogging Friends ..........

May Your Christmas be Merry and Bright.

Merry Christmas !

JoyceAnn

~ Twas the Day Before Christmas .......

and all through the house , there was alot of stirring about. The pots and pans were being put to good use , cooking up some good grub for a family or two. There's a few more gifts to wrap and the preps will be done.

Today , I'll be in the kitchen , baking cookies and other goodies for tonight. Hope your Christmas Eve is a Happy busy !!

~ Holiday Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

~ Checking My List ~

Christmas is almost here , today I'll be checking my list twice , I think everyone's been " Nice" (LOL). Tonight I'll be baking and finishing up my gift wrapping. We have our first gathering tomorrow night at my Mom's , her family has traditionally always exchanged gifts on Christmas Eve. Dh's family has decided to wait to this Sunday to have their Christmas gathering , his youngest brother will be hosting it this year. We'll have the girls and their families over on Christmas Day. So , how are your preparations going , have you checked your list twice?

~ Holiday Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

~ Bon Appetit , Turnips on the Menu ~

Little Missy and Little Froggy cooking up a good meal , Little Froggy found some turnips I had in the kitchen and of course that's what he played with almost all day Saturday (LOL).

~ Sweet Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

~ Happy Winter Solstice ~

As the Sun Rises on this Winter Solstice , May it Shine Brightly and Warm Your Soul !

Be Blessed ~ JoyceAnn

May You Be Blessed .........

with the "Magic" of the season !

JoyceAnn

Almost Finished with Decorating ..........

One of my favorite things about the holidays is the decorating , nothing elaborate , just lots of simple old fashioned touches of red and green , here and there. I love using natural greens and berries , but this year I've used real cedar greens but fake berries because of all the little Grands running around. I usually decorate right up to Christmas , adding a little touch each day or changing something I'm not satisfied with (LOL). The bottom photo is one of the grapevine wreaths I made last year , my daughter found this angel with grapevine wings at a thrift store awhile back , she looks right at home nestled in there. I hung the angel wreath over the mantel , but later decided she would look better in the kitchen. Now I have an oval wreath with a bow and cedar greens hanging over the mantel , it looks much better with the beanie baby tree. So , are you through with decorating or do you keep adding touches up to Christmas ?

~~ Holiday Blessings to Everyone ~~

JoyceAnn

~ ~ Tree Hugger ~ ~

I started this drawing on Thankgiving night , but just finished the coloring last week. I think her " Tree Hugger " spirit shines. I haven't drawn anything in awhile , but I really like this drawing. I think I might frame and hang it in my bathroom. The bathroom has a woodland decor , so she'll fit right in.

~ Be Blessed ~

JoyceAnn

~ May You Be ................

Blessed with Warm Hands and a Happy Heart !!

JoyceAnn

~ Herbal Flavored Butter ~

Yesterday , I got busy chopping herbs for the flavored butter. I chopped a few chives that were still growing in the herb bed. Then I chopped the lemon balm and parsley , added the herbs to 1 lb of soft butter and stirred them in well. I don't have a mold or butter dish , so I put the butter in a round candy dish that has a lid. I haven't tried it yet , plan to give it a couple of days for the flavors to develop. Next week I hope to make garlic flavored butter. I'll also be filling up the dehydrator with garlic , so I can make garlic powder after it dries. Anyone care to share their favorite recipe or way of using garlic.

~~ Herbal Blessings ~~

JoyceAnn

~ Squirrel Chewed Ornaments ~

If you need a gift idea for the nature lover on your list , these squirrel chewed pine cone ornaments would be unique. I collect the cones when I go walking , if you have pine trees and squirrels in your area , you should be able to find them. I just glue them together with a glue gun or tacky glue , add moss and an acorn cap in the center , then add a raffia/twine hanger. So easy and very frugal , but definitely unique. I made my sister a set a couple of years ago for Christmas. This year I plan to use them as decorative gift tags. The actual tag will be made from recycled paper bags with a hole punched and the tag strung through the raffia hanger.

If you like natural ornaments , you may want to check out " Chickens in the Road " , she's making twig stars and they look wonderful. Click here for a peek ~ http://suzannemcminn.com/blog/2009/12/10/making-twig-stars/ .

~ Natural Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

~ Wow , 800 Eggs ~

We got our hens last Feb. , our first egg was laid the last day of May , since then the girls have really produced some eggs. Yesterday the egg count reached 800 in a little over 6 months time. I've read that their egg production would slow down once it got colder , but so far they're still laying at the normal pace and I'm so thankful , all those eggs will come in handy for holiday baking and the potluck favorite , deviled eggs. This morning as I was reading the comments about parsley , Lib mentioned adding parsley to foods to make them more appealing. It got me to thinking , deviled eggs would look and taste great with a little parsley and cayenne pepper or paprika sprinkled on the top , plus look quite festive. I'm looking forward to making some of those holiday eggs.

~ Holiday Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

~ The Spiral Herb Garden ~

My herb bed is being naturally composted with the falling leaves , but some of my herbs are still growing , the parsley is actually thriving since the weather has been cooler and we've had so much rain.. Earlier today I harvested a basket full of parsley to put in the dehydrator , after drying it , I had 1/2 pint of parsley. I also gathered lemon balm and spearmint to dry for herbal tea.
I found a recipe for herbal flavored butter awhile back in Mother Earth News , so tomorrow I plan to make some herbal butter . Basically you let the butter soften , chop some chives , garlic and parsley , then just blend the chopped herbs into the soften butter and refrigerate. I'll be using the butter on bread and I plan to try some of the butter in grits. How do you use parsley or lemon balm ?

~ Green Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

~ Old McNana had a Tree ........... e . i .e . i . o

( Click on Image for better View )

Well , I've debated for a month or so , about how I was going to keep 2 two year olds and a soon to be 1 year old , who just started walking in the last 2 weeks away from the Christmas Tree. I decided I would create a tree they could really enjoy and I wouldn't worry about , sooo " Old McNana's Tree " became a vision. My late MIL and I collected beanie babies for a year or 2 back in the 90's , so I dug them out and they have became child friendly ornaments.

Curious J and Little Froggy were here last night to help decorate the tree , we had so much fun playing with ornaments (beanie babies ). The cat was chasing the birds , rat and the squirrel , the dogs were chasing the cat and the buffalo tried to trample them all (LOL). But we finally got them settled on the tree for the night. This morning I added the final touches to the tree , a few bows , raffia strands and a big red bow for the tree topper. It's a really cute tree and the Grands love it. Little Missy was here tonight , as they were leaving , she told the tree " Bye Bye " and blew the animals kisses (soo cute). I'll miss my traditional tree , but the Grands are Happy and I don't have to worry about ornaments being broken. So listen and you may hear us singing " Old McNana had a Tree ....... e.i.e.i....oooo.

~ Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

~ Sunday Blessing ~

May your Day be Blessed with

" Hope "

~~ JoyceAnn ~~

~ Tis the Season for Sharing ~

Mojo ( the kitty ) and I would like to share a wonderful blog with you today , you need to " Migrate " your way over and read her beautiful poem and check out her photography. Tammie's blog is called "Spirithelpers" , click here ~
http://miztlee.blogspot.com/2009/11/migrate.htmlga_search_query=spirithelpers&ga_search_type=seller_usernames&page=4

I won 3 of her greeting cards during the October giveaways , she's a very talented artist and I feel honored to own her art. You can check-out her Esty shop here ~ http://www.etsy.com/shop/spirithelpers.

~ Nature's Blessings ~

JoyceAnn