More Camellias...

We picked some more camellias the other weekend. They are so beautiful!

Christmas Post...

I wanted to get a few Christmas pics up. I made a few gift bags for our neighbors with fig preserves, gingersnaps & biscotti. I also gave gift bags of the same to our family but I didn't get a pic of those. The fig preserves I made myself from the lovely crop of figs we get from our trees. This I think was my 4th time making them & I believe my best batch. Figs I think are an acquired taste. They are a beautiful yet strange fruit. I didn't really like them before or ever really had them before moving here. But my husband has always loved them. I've enjoyed getting to know figs the past few years.
I did a lot of baking again this year. Last year I was too depressed about Georgia's food allergies to do much baking. I mainly made gingersnaps & a cinnamon, pecan biscotti with chocolate drizzled on top. That biscotti is amazing! And it's actually easy too. I'm wanting to make some more right now! I didn't do the spiced pecans. Just didn't have time to shell all those pecans which I've been working on slowly. Oh well. We had a great crop of pecans this past year but we probably won't get any this fall. They seem to produce every other year. That's what the freezer is for right?!

Friday Musings...

*note to self~must change camera so date is not printed on pic~

One of the 2 lovely handmade mugs I received from my mother in law for Christmas! I'm really in love with it. The color, texture & how the artist even supplied a place to rest your thumb. How thoughtful...

I have Christmas pics I want to put up. Yes it's the end of January but I don't care. My computer/camera has been giving me trouble so I've had a hard time uploading pics.

Here I sit at the computer while my sweet babe naps. I need to be cleaning...oh yes I do. But it's Friday & I feel like having a break. Told my hubby he needs to bring home a bottle of wine for mama tonight!

There has been so much going on in this New Year. But my cousin Laura & I have been able to have a little escape lately by walking down memory lane. We've gotten in touch with some old friends that we haven't talked to in 10+ years. So it just makes all the memories of the old days come flooding back. It's been fun talking & gossiping (hehe) We've even admitted having highschool crushes on one friend. It's so funny! What does he think about these crazy old married ladies coming out of the woodwork admitting these crushes? But Laura & I don't care we are happily married wives & mothers so I guess it feels safe to admit such things that were so long ago! She wrote a great post about it on her blog. Her writing is so beautiful ~ http://drumcircledeva.blogspot.com/2008/01/memories.html

I miss you...

Blog I miss you! I need you more than ever just need to find, well make the time! Hope to return soon. I have so much going on & so much going on in my head need to release it. I'm excited about this New Year! It started a little shaky but I'm hoping things will turn around. I know it will be a year of changes & I don't do well with change. So I am trying to prepare myself for whatever may come.

Tis the Season for....

~CAMELLIAS~

We have the most amazing camellias surrounding our home! We went around one year & collected 1 bloom from each & found out we have 13 different varieties of camellias! The woman who built this house in 1917 was a great gardener. People tell us about her all the time even though she passed away, I believe in the 60's. She was very beloved around here. A true southern lady. We also have beautiful azaleas, dogwood trees & various bulbs that pop up at different times of the year. These pictures are the first of the camellias to start blooming. It was a nice surprise to find while Georgia & I took our walk. I think it's so wonderful that we have flowers blooming in our yard with every season of the year. Even in Winter!

Fall Clean Up.....

It was a beautiful weekend! Georgia & I worked outside this weekend, starting to rake leaves & sweep the patio. Most of the leaves have finally fallen so I guess it's time. We always wait until ALL the leaves have fallen to start raking! But I really was half heartedly raking mainly looking for pecans to gather. I plan on making spiced pecans for some Christmas presents from the pecans in our yard. I've gathered quite a lot of pecans now the hard part is going to be the shelling! I have a good recipe for spiced nuts but I also want to try the crispy nuts in ~Nourishing Traditions~ by Sally Fallon.

*maybe I shouldn't have posted those pics~What a mess! It doesn't look much better today~haha~

Mama's Night Out...

I did want to talk about the wonderful evening I had this past Monday. I have a playgroup Georgia & I meet with every once in a while. I wish we could go more often but living in this town makes us a little isolated. Which is hard but hopefully in the next year or so we will be moving to our new home on our land. Then I will be close to all these wonderful women! The core group for me are the 3 other women that I went through my pregnancy with. We did what was called ~Centering~ at our midwives office & met in a group. We were all within a month or so of the same due date. It was a great experience. Well from there they started going to the La Leche League meetings which unfortunately I did not attend. About a year ago they started a playgroup separate from LLL. The group has grown & I have met some other wonderful mamas.

Anyways starting this past Monday we are going to start doing the occasional Ladies night. I can not tell you how much I need this! I was so happy I was able to go. It was worth the long drive & late night! I didn't get home til 1:30am!! (then up at 5am~Ugh!) I wish I had a picture from that night to post. But try to picture in your mind a group of 7 women sitting around a table in a cosy dining room. Each having either cups of tea or coffee or a nice glass of wine. Half of the women keeping their hands busy knitting special projects while chatting. Then our hostess suggested going around the table & each of us sharing our life story. In any other setting this would have been something I would really have disliked but it was really wonderful hearing everyone's story, sharing our joys & hardships. It was this safe place of love & support & you felt you could reveal more of your soul. It was a really special night....Can't wait for the next one! I am so incredibly Thankful for this group of women. They are so good for my soul. It's just nice to know there are women out there that I can relate to & have something in common with. Because in this town I have not been able to find that yet...