To my blogging friends, I wish you peace, joy and a:

 

"I hear the bells on Christmas Day. Their old familiar carols play. And wild and sweet the words repeat. Of peace on earth, good will to me." author unknown


See you next year! 

Courtesy of Graphics Fairy

 

My Knitting Projects and a giveaway!

Are you making your list and checking it twice? I sure hope that you are not getting stressed this Christmas season like the lady above.

Knitting projects have kept me pretty busy during my free time. They were presents for our parish priests.

For Father John

My sweet friend, Cheri, gifted me with a book on product photography. And although that is not something that I specialize in, I thought I would give it a try. Let me know what you think.

One of the suggestions in the book is that you get up close to show detail. You can see the pattern here, I hope. The hat is out of focus on purpose.

For Father Manuel

This is only half of the hat and scarf set. ..I am still working on the hat.

This is a close up of the above pattern. I don't know why the color is so off. It is really between the two examples. And the light was from a window in the same spot. Hmmmm?

This is not for the priests. It will be a prize for whoever has the best holiday memory.

Just be sure to give me your email address when you leave your memory. I will try to get this out by the first of the year.

And remember to try and be joyful during these trying times.

Graphics courtesy of Graphics Fairy

"And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love Him, to enable them to fulfill the purpose for which they are called. "(Romans 8:28)


An encouraging video from Chris Esty


XOXO

Peace, love and joy of Jesus be with you!

Secret revealed

Hello Sweetie Pie! My name is Charlotte and I am a Christmas Tree Scrooge. Now the truth is out and I feel better.

Before you think the worst of me, I must say that it is not Christmas that I am against.
In fact I love to celebrate the birth of Our Lord, Jesus.

But I get no joy from the hassle of a tree. Sorry, that seems so unAmerican.
Even when I was a little girl, the Christmas Tree was a source of contention. I wanted it to be perfectly  decorated but with so many sisters and brothers participating, it was a real mess. Maybe I was OCD?

When I had my own little family, no one wanted to put up the tree so it fell to me. I just can't get excited over ornaments that I have had for years. Yes, they are pretty, but I hate dragging them out, unwrapping each one... Then you have to rearrange your house to fit the tree.

First put on the lights. As my hands get scratched from the branches, I would persevere until every one had lights. Plug them in and half do not work. Yikes! Why do people do this every year!? LOL It is just not worth it.

Then the day comes when it has to come down and everything put up until next year. No, thanks. Not this time. I will celebrate with a wreath, a nativity scene, church and good Christmas movies.And I will drive around town and see other decorated trees.
 And remember that Jesus is the reason for the season.

Yes, I am a Scrooge when it comes to trees. I make no apologies.

XOXO I hope you are still my friend.

Peace and love of Jesus be with you today and always!

Amaryllis

 

Greetings, Everyone! I hope that you are not stressed but enjoying this Christmas Season.

I am taking a break while my Croquenbouche is underway. The last puffs are baking.

In case you are interested, here is the post that I got the recipe from:

My Old Historic Home

 

Anyway, I just wanted to show you my beautiful amaryllis plant. My neighbor and friend gave it to me as a bulb and it has bloomed wonderfully.

Processed with a Kim Klassen Texture

Time to relax and enjoy the reason for the season. Jesus Christ came as a baby, born in humble circumstances. What a joyful time of reflection! Thank you, Lord!

Merry Christmas to all my friends! I wish you  a safe, peaceful and happy time!

♥Charlotte

Christmas Linzer Cookies

 

These have always been a favorite of mine. I used to treat myself every once in awhile when living in New York City to one of these Linzer cookies. They are actually 2 cookies sandwiched together with a blackberry jam filling.

Since this is the season for cookie baking, I went online to find a recipe for these. I have never made them before, but the recipe was very easy to follow. And I think they turned out pretty as well as delicious.

Here is the link to the recipe: Linzer Cookie Recipe

Hope you are not getting stressed out and are enjoying life.

May the peace, joy and love of Jesus be with you today and always!

♥Charlotte

Linking up to:

Painted my window frame

Hi friends! How are all of you doing this Saturday afternoon? I am just popping in to show you some changes I made in my mantle decor.

I decided to paint the frame white so that it would stand out against the rock. I also framed the frame with white lights. I think it looks pretty.

How do you like Mr. Owl? He was too cute to pass up.

And I picked up this live wreath at Aldi on sale for $5.99. I added the bow.

Have a wonderful weekend Y'all!

Blessings from:

♥Charlotte

Linking to:

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Do you ever wake up in the middle of the night with an idea to make something? Well I did last night. I have this old window frame that Jim picked up somewhere and it has been sitting in the garage waiting for some inspiration.

 

I cleaned it up pretty well and then got to work on each panel. I printed up the words you see on top using the kingthings Christmas 2 font, which I love.

I found this on the
Graphics Fairy

 Cute, huh?

And this: I used this on my Christmas card this year.

I really want to paint the frame white, but that is another day.

And I know I have to add some other interest on the mantle. Any ideas would be welcomed. I am rather lame when it comes to decorating. I have to use others ideas. :-)

This is my re purposed "Christmas" pumpkin. It was still in good shape so why not? I might add some greenery or a bow.

 

This picture really doesn't show the real beauty of this tree when it is lit at night. It is a real tree and we picked it out at a nursery after breakfast on Sunday. I thought I would pick silver and purple as the tree colors this year, but I sneaked in a good many gold and a few red balls.

 

I really liked the white, glittery garland when I bought it. But I don't know exactly what to do with it. Ha!

Thank you, my friends, for stopping by today. I love when you visit!

And how are you faring this Christmas season? What kind of decorations, baking, crafting are you doing to "make the season bright"?

Never forget the reason for the season: the birth of Our Dear Savior Lord Jesus!!

Linking to these parties: