Blue Spruce at My Cottage

I planted this towering tree as a seedling about 20 years ago. When I moved here I had a tree company bring a grove of "my" trees and transplant them. They all made it and now they shield my cottage from the road.

First Christmas in A New House

I would like to see the back of this house to make sure it has lots of big windows looking out on the mountain view. I put up my wreath yesterday with the white bow like last year in memory of my mother. I have to attend a home inspection today with my buyers and thankfully it's a nice mild day. I hope it goes well so they can proceed with wrapping everything up so they can move in. I'll leave the TV on for Webster since I'll be gone all afternoon. I usually turn off the TV at 9am and switch on NPR on the radio. I've always been that way -- I like background noise. He prefers talk shows to all music and the voices of men rather than women. My mother used to listen to books on tape and he would stick around and listen with her if the reader was a man. image source

Sad, But True--About Trees

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A Few Favorites

Honey Crisp Apples are my favorite variety. They have the perfect combination of taste and crispness. They snap when you bite them and explode into a taste sensation like no other apple.

Webster, in all his handsomeness, enjoying a beautiful day on Saturday. He's my favorite lawn ornament.

My current food obsession is grated raw beets. I peel them with a potato peeler, cut them into smallish cubes that will fit in the Cuisinart tube, and then I push them through with the shredding attachment in place. They are so good in my daily green salad. 

A frozen leaf in a puddle on a recent cold day.

Winter is the time for Home

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December Bluebirds at My Cottage

This photo is very grainy because I was so far away. I was thrilled when I looked out my kitchen window and saw quite a few bluebirds flying around the bluebird house. I grabbed my Nikon and clicked away but I forgot I had it on a manual setting. Anyway, here is the best photo cropped quite a bit for you to see.

Cornless Cornbread Muffins

I know several people who are allergic to corn.

They LOOK like cornbread muffins.

Makes 6-8 Muffins
(Double recipe if desired)
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/4 cup coconut oil, butter or real lard, liquified
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 Tbs. unsweetened applesauce or, and this is really yummy, 100% pure apple butter
1 Tbs. raw honey
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350. Line 6 muffin cups with unbleached liners. Mix together the coconut flour and oil until smooth, then beat in the eggs until smooth. Add the remaining ingredients and stir well.

Divide between the prepared cups and bake about 20 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean and the top springs back when lightly pressed.

Read more about these Paleo Cornbread muffins here.

Dogs at Rest

What a pair. I don't wear an eye mask at night but if I did, I'd be thinking about putting it on sometime soon. Sleep tight when you tuck in and have a great rest of the weekend. xo Image from Google Images.

Cabin in the Adirondacks

Camp QP at Ragged Lake in the Adirondacks, New York. I love looking at getaway cabins all over the globe and you will too at this site with beautiful big photographs.

I was invited for Thanksgiving leftovers with friends last night and we dined before an open fire and it was delightful and delicious. My friend Stacey made me a turkey pot pie that I'm picking up this afternoon. I am so fortunate to have good friends, aren't I?

Meet Jack,  my new hero (and boyfriend).

I'm going back to look at more cabins now. Have a great weekend and I'll see you later.

David Tennant reads Shakespeare's Sonnets

Shakespeare's Sonnets from Touch Press on Vimeo.

I could listen to his Scottish accent all day long. This is a Promo for Shakespeare's Sonnets. I wonder if all 154 sonnets will be available when this project is ready for iPad publication?

My Thanksgiving

Is there anything more beautiful than a sink full of cranberries?

I made raw cranberry relish and a cranberry/jello/pineapple dish iced with cream cheese and sour cream. I left out the nuts...recipe here. Relish: I just chopped raw cranberries in my Cuisinart in small batches. Then 2 honey crisp apples with skins on, and finally 2 oranges, seeded, with skins on. I chopped the apples and cranberries coarsely and the oranges finely until they were mostly juice. Mix all together and add a little sugar if you wish. I added about 1/3 cup for a big batch, about twice as much as you see in this bowl. The front dish is actually a pyrex loaf pan. I made the jello dish in two of them. One to take to my friend's house and one to keep for myself. That worked perfectly.

Webster got lots of treats yesterday too. The yogurt container was first, followed by pumpkin oatmeal - canned pumpkin mixed in with hot oatmeal to cool it off. 

Did you have a nice Thanksgiving yesterday? I did and have lots of leftovers to enjoy today. Yum.

A Day for Friends and Family

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I am thankful this Thanksgiving for my fine friends who always remember me on holidays. This is my first Thanksgiving without my dear mother and oh, how I miss her. She loved to wake up early and start cooking while the rest of the family still slept. We always ate in the early afternoon so we could do it all over again with the leftovers later on. 

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. I have to start cooking some things to take to Kelly's, also in the early afternoon. Webster is whining very softly for his breakfast too. I'll see you later. xo

Rain.Day

Webster and I went out and checked all of the downspouts this morning in the soft rain and they are all fine. So far, so good with the weather here. The HARD rain they have been predicting hasn't happened and it's not too cold. Bright sun is predicted for Thanksgiving Day with much lower temps. I'm sorry all the travelers have rain and snow and ice to cope with depending on their destination. Be safe everyone. My animals have gone back to bed and I wish I could too. I can see an afternoon nap in my future. Tabitha got me up way too early this morning.
PS....Never did get my nap and sundown is in 20 minutes. Guess I will just turn in a little earlier than usual tonight. my iPhone photo

Almost Home.

I love seeing houses with lights on in every room. It's so welcoming, especially for family coming home for Thanksgiving. Turn them all on tonight. I usually do this anyway in my small cottage on the main floor because I love the way it looks when I go out in the dark for Webster's last walk. via

Did you read about the 1640 Psalm book that sold yesterday at Sotheby's for $14.2 million dollars? The book was published in Cambridge, Mass., by the Puritan leaders of the Massachusetts Bay Colony just 20 years after the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth. It was the first book printed in America and it now holds the record for the most expensive book ever. It's small, 6"x5" so check your bookshelves. Story here.

If at first you don't succeed...

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Robert Frost Quote

This is a good quote and I like it. via

Recipe for your Vegetarian, Vegan, Gluten Free, Wheat Free Guests

Dilled Zucchini Fritters with Feta and Tzatziki

Greek style Crispy zucchini fritters topped with a dollop of Tzatziki. You might as well plan on having something wheat free, gluten free, and meatless, right? There is at least one person with these needs in every crowd. Easy Recipe here.

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Ice Skating in 1565

Pieter Bruegel the Elder, The Hunters in the Snow (detail), 1565. This looks very modern, doesn't it? I never really mastered ice skating with any grace but I thought it was fun anyway. I just got in from a walk with the dog and the cat and it's cold but nothing like yesterday. No wind, clear, and 32° and it was actually quite nice. Sleep tight and I'll see you tomorrow. via

Webster Waits

He's giving me one of those looks so I'd better go to the kitchen now. See you later.

Cat Buried in Snow

We haven't had snow yet....but it's cold enough. Brrrr. via