* 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

The Garden Keeps Giving ........

On Monday , my Mom and I walked down to the chicken coop to gather the eggs. Mom decided she wanted to pick some greens to cook , as she was picking a few greens I started looking at the volunteer potatoes we've had sprout up since we dug them. The frost has killed the vines , so I decided I would dig around and see if there were potatoes under those vines. Surprise , Surprise , there were more potatoes , so we had these garden fresh potatoes for dinner Monday night. Now I need to find time to finish digging under the vines , we've had so much rain , it's about to muddy to get in the garden , hopefully it will dry up some in the next few days.

I also harvested leaf lettuce and spinach , the broccoli and cabbage have began to develop heads. If we have a mild winter , we might have broccoli and cabbage to harvest too. I'm going to try and keep them covered on the coldest nights.

My garlic is sprouting up , it's about 2 to 3 inches tall. I didn't get the other 2 rows planted , it has been raining when I would've had time to plant it. I'm hoping to still plant those 2 rows , if it quits raining so much and I find the time.

~ Garden Blessings ~

JoyceAnn

~ Art Every Day Month Ends ~

The " Art Every Day Month " started off well , the first two weeks I did create something everyday. The last two weeks , I created and worked on a few things , but not everyday. I lost track of what I did and didn't post on the blog I created for the " Art Every Day Month " challenge. But I enjoyed the challenge and that's what counts , so maybe I'll try again next year. I did create a few more woodland fairies , thought I would share some pics of them. The first woodland fairy has a snake skin scarf and the second woodland fairy demanded glittered wings. You can click on images for a better view.

~ Woodland Blessings ~

JoyceAnn