Christmas Stockings

We bought beautiful Christmas stockings from Pottery Barn this year and had them embroidered with each family member's name.  We will fill the stockings with small gifts, and then hang them up each year as a new family tradition. We had so much fun shopping for small, but meaningful, gifts that would fit into the stockings.  They also look beautiful hung all over the house.

 

 

Christmas Decorating

Here are a couple of shots of the living room and all of the various decorating that has been going on for almost a month now.  All of the presents area wrapped, and every surface is wearing a Christmas theme.

 

 

Birthday Flowers from My Best Friend

My best friend Liz sent me this beautiful holiday basket filled with red and white roses, pinecones, and greenery.  It smells wonderful, and is the perfect centerpiece for my Christmas dinner.

Thank you, Liz--you are the best friend any girl could have!  We've been going strong for over 51 years!

Making Norwegian Krumkake

To tell you the truth, I haven't made Krumkake for over 35 years--that's a long time.  This year, however, I thought I'd try out the krumkake griddle that my mom gave me and see if I could do this again.

I found a recipe online, whipped up some batter, and let it sit overnight in the frig.  Last evening, I started making these lovely, delicate cookies.

After a couple of false starts, I got the hang of it, and here is the result.  They taste great!

 

 

A Christmas Elf

I've been very busy running around shopping, cooking, baking and planning this last month.  I did stop long enough for this 'selfie' in the living room mirror, though. I'm lurking in some of the foliage of Christmas decorations.  Let's just say I went slightly overboard this year with my decorating because I could!!!

Trip to Poulsbo, Washington

My uncle lives in Silverdale, so several times a year, we take the lovely 75-mile round-trip via the Edmonds-Kingston ferry to visit him.  It was a calm weather day, and we enjoyed the ferry ride and the drive from Kingston to Silverdale.  We brought Christmas to him in the form of homemade baked goods and family news.

We stopped at the Poulsbo Bakery and bought some Norwegian Fattigman (cookies) and several other items.  It really put me in the Christmas spirit!

It was a wonderful trip, and it was fun to get out and about before the holidays.

 

 

Polly's First Christmas With Us

We found Polly at PAWS last January, after Nala passed away.  She has been such a joy to us this year, being quiet and polite and very affectionate.  She is as close to being a "perfect dog" as any dog I have ever owned.

We are enjoying introducing her to our Christmas traditions and rituals this year.  Here she is, modeling a red and green jester's collar with tiny bells attached.  She loves to run through the house while wearing it so she can make the bells ring!

Making Stollen

It's that time of year when we gather all of the ingredients for the German bread Stollen, and start baking!  The buttery dough smells wonderful as it rises, and then spends overnight in the frig, rising once again before being shaped into loaves and baked in the oven.

It's a great treat for breakfast with hot coffee or tea, and in our case, it's a good snack anytime of the day or night.  Our two loaves of this delectable holiday bread do not last long in this house!

 

 

Christmas Shopping at Bellevue Square

Sometimes I leave the Slow Life in Maltby and head for the 'big city'--Bellevue!  My friend Janet wanted to meet there for coffee yesterday, so I braved the rainy and blustery weather and arrived at the most beautiful mall in Washington State.  Everything there is so evocative of a perfect Christmas!

We visited at Starbucks in "The Lodge", and I also got a peek at the Starbucks new "Evolution Fresh" juice bar.  I was also able to finish my Christmas shopping, so now I have exactly two weeks to wrap everything and finish my baking.  It's truly the most wonderful time of the year!

 

 

 

 

Class of 1968 at the Maltby Cafe

Bryan and his wife Michelle were back home this week from Arizona, and we met Melanie at the Maltby Café for a hearty breakfast and some wonderful "catch up" time.  It was so good to see Bryan, as he and Michelle got married and moved to Arizona the week of our 45th High School Reunion 18 months ago.  He is so happy with his new bride, and we all enjoyed getting to know her better.

Besides having "the best breakfast in Washington State", we all shared a gigantic cinnamon roll, one of the Maltby Cafe's specialties! Isn't it something to behold?

 

 

More Scamp Christmas Fun!

Here's the Christmas banner and pillows!

Decorating the Scamp for Christmas

I'm putting up LED lights this week, but I got started with the little Christmas tree!

Decorating for Christmas

I love decorating the house and yard each year for the holidays!  I've collected so many beautiful Christmas decorations, and it's fun to come up with new ways to use them each year.

I start with a trip to Flower World to get evergreen wreaths for the front door, the garden gates, and the picket fence driveway entrance to our home.  I even had a wreath this year for the Scamp trailer (she needs to be decorated, too!).

I have over 200 Shiny-Brite glass ornaments from the 30's and 40's in my collection.  It takes an entire day to get all of them on the Christmas tree in the living room.  I put on my favorite Christmas music, eat some sugar cookies, and enjoy remembering Christmases past.

I especially love my collection of Santa mugs and my Christmas mice.

 

 

The First Snow of the Season

Lovely white flakes fell silently, and the landscape actually sparkled!  We had two weeks of unusually cold weather (from 9 degrees to 25 degrees!).  It forced us to stay inside and practice some hibernation techniques.  I did get caught up on my reading.

 

 

Family Photo

Here we are, all gathered around our table.  I even had time to sneak in a piano lesson for Kaila!

A Slow Life Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Day dawned cool and wet, with lots of rain.  We are always grateful to not have snow or power outages on this day!

We had the whole family together, and we had lots of time to talk, eat, talk some more, and then eat some more.  Our turkey dinner was made with all of our favorite "Slow Life" foods--turkey, organic potatoes (mashed and sweet potatoes), beans, Waldorf Salad, lefse, bread, organic whole cranberries, and home-made stuffing. We served some nice wines and sparkling cider, and held off the big meal with a few appetizers and a tour of our new Scamp trailer.

It was a good day with good food and family.  We are thankful for it all.

 

Waiting for the mashed potatoes to finish!

 

Mom making her Waldorf Salad

 

 

 

Mascot for The Maltby Pie Company

Here's the official mascot of the Maltby Pie Company.  She wears her custom hat proudly!

 

 

Maltby Pie Company

It's been busy around here for the last week!  Maltby Pie Company had 10 pie orders to fill before Thanksgiving Day!  We peeled apples, froze pie fillings, and rolled out dough for our very first large holiday order.  We had so much fun!

We baked three apple pies, two sweet potato pies, two pecan pies, two pumpkin pies, and one strawberry-rhubarb pie.  Whew!!  That's a lot of pies...

Wednesday afternoon, I packed up the Volvo, put on my apron, and set out to take the pies to their new homes.  I feel a part of this holiday this year, now that I'm retired and can do something this fun for my family, friends and neighbors.

 

 

 

My Son's Birthday

My son Dave turned 40 years old last Sunday!  That's truly a milestone--he's no longer young, but not yet middle-aged.  It's a good time in life to assess where you are, to be thankful for what you have, and to make plans for the future.

I am so proud of the person he is now, and always has been.

 

 

Molbak's Decorated Trees

Here are some examples of decorated trees for the holiday.  The last picture was a lovely purple door, decorated with greens and ornaments.  Which ideas should I use?

 

 

Peppermint Mochas and a Trip to Molbak's

My friend Janet met me at the Woodinville Starbucks (across the street from Molbak's) on Saturday, and we had a chance to get caught up on the past couple of months. It was a cold and sunny day, and the warmth of the fireplace at Starbucks was cheery and cozy.

After our lovely holiday drinks were gone, we walked across the street and spent a couple of hours looking at everything that Molbak's had to offer.  It's helpful to see all of the beautiful things that they have in this store, and it's easy to find the perfect gift for just about everyone on your list.

The many decorated trees were an inspiration to both of us, and we snapped many pictures of our favorite ones, hoping to replicate parts of the decorating scheme into our own homes. 

Janet, my friend of 30 years!