Boxwood Tree 2016...

My friend Brenda and I have a fun tradition...if a couple of years counts as that...of making boxwood trees at Christmas time.

I didn't trim our boxwood bushes again this year (oops!) so we had plenty for cutting and making our trees.  We started with several blocks of wet foam and a dish/vase for a base.  (sorry no pictures of this part...we were having too much fun!!)  We then headed out around the house with our clippers and filled containers with snippets of boxwood.  After about 2 1/2 hours, and numerous trips out to the boxwood bushes, we were finally satisfied with the finished products.

Here's my tree last night after I finished decorating it with some of my favorites from my angel collection.  The tree skirt was a score at our local Ten Thousand Villages store a couple of years ago on after Christmas clearance...

Here are some closeups of a couple of favorite ornaments from my collection.  I don't like to put them on our family tree because some of them are rather small and I don't want them to get lost when we undecorate, and go out with the tree!

I bought this one in Heidelberg Germany in 2006 when I took a trip to visit my sister's family...

This tree topping angel/star ornament came from my sister.  I don't remember for sure, but it might have come from her mother in law in Germany...

This one was my latest find at Ten Thousand Villages.  It's made out of tin cans, and is from Burkina Faso...

This one was also a gift, but I don't remember if it was from Germany, or from an estate sale in Chicago!

This pasta angel caroler was made by another sister...

And this one came from Lancaster Central Market in 2008.  It's not a great picture, with the glare from my flash, but it's a Springerle cookie with an angel...

I have other angel ornaments from various people and places, but these are just a few of the ones that had "stories" behind them that "made" the blog today!

Brenda and I had a fun afternoon, creating and reconnecting since our busy lives have gotten in the way!

Christmas Is In the Air...Finally...

'Twas the week before Christmas and all through the house, we wore shirt sleeves and short pants, inside and out!  (At least some of us did!)

Not any more!  It finally feels seasonal out there.  And in here.

The calves' water buckets had ice on them this morning, and I think I'd better keep after the eggs this morning, before they freeze!

It finally feels a little more like Christmas really is next week!  My friend Brenda and I made boxwood Christmas trees about two weeks ago.  I hadn't trimmed the boxwood by our house this summer, so there was plenty to trim off and design our trees.  I like to have a place to display my more delicate angel ornaments.  If I put them on the big tree, I'm worried that I'll miss one when cleaning it off, and they'll get lost in the process.  Several of them are pretty sentimental to me...

This angel ornament I bought at a Christmas shop in Heidelberg, Germany when I went to visit my sister and her family in 2006...

Although it's not an angel, this star ornament that was a gift from a good friend, is the perfect size for the top of this tiny tree...

The little red tree skirt was something I found on Christmas clearance at our local Ten Thousand Villages store.  If you ever have a chance to visit one of these stores, you're in for a treat.

There are others that have special stories behind them, but I won't bore you with all the details!  It's just fun to have a miniature tree, and was fun to make one with a friend!  This year it's in the kitchen, where we spend most of our time.

There's still a lot to do this week, but at least now it feels a lot more seasonal outside!

How are you spending your week before Christmas?

Family Time...

It's been a relatively busy couple of weeks here..

The five cows that were due to freshen within a few days of Christmas all had their calves a week or three early!  We had three heifer calves, a single bull and a set of bull twins.  It was nice to have the cows freshen early and get any potential freshening "problems" out of the way before the Christmas festivities began!

Since I've been out of commission, the kids have really stepped up to the plate.  Eric's been getting up early and feeding most mornings before school and helping every day over break, and Jenna's been feeding calves before school and helping more in the barn over break as well.  We also have a neighbor who helps, but we're trying to give him some time off before the kids head back to school.  We couldn't do it without them!

Here are a few pictures of our family Christmas at my parent's house.  It might be family photo overload, but we had fun with a photo booth that my sister set up in my parents' basement.

This is a picture of me, my sisters and my Mom. I don't think she looks like she's 81, does she?  (bottom right)

A silly one...

...and then the girl cousins took a turn...

...and the boys, minus one...

Here they all are, outside after lunch.  The weather was so nice...we actually had sunshine!

And just for fun, we had them line up from tallest to shortest.  The second oldest nephew is "only" 6' 5.5", and the youngest is only 11 years old, so it will be interesting to see how this line might change in the next few years.  I doubt anyone else will become the tallest, but the order of the others might change a bit...

On Saturday night we all went to my oldest nephew's new house to have a hot dog roast and watch football.  The impromptu back rub line could have gone on for a lot longer, in my opinion...

It's been good having family around.  Some have already left, but the others will be here for a few days yet.  I'm feeling a little blue since surgery...feeling really good physically, but a bit out of sorts otherwise.  I think it's probably somewhat related to the fact that I'm not allowed to do some of my regular work, and I feel a little useless.  I'm worried that since I'm feeling good, I'll get careless and re injure my back, which would be bad news.  I guess I need to work on making the house inviting and comforting for those who have to do my work!  I see the surgeon tomorrow for my two week post op visit, and I'm curious to see what he has to say.

I hope you all had a nice time with your families and friends over the holidays!

I'm Still Here...

It's been a long time since I've posted.  I don't think I've ever taken more than a week between posts since I started blogging in 2010!

I just wanted to let you know that I'm still here...the farm is still here...and things are going pretty much like they do this time of year around here! Milking, chores, laundry...those things never end for anyone.

I finally got some greens cut yesterday, just in time for the dusting of snow overnight...

I've been in a blogging slump lately, so I think I'm going to take a little break. I'll still be around, checking out the blogs I follow, and I'll be back.  I promise!

When the new barn cleaner elevator goes up, I'll let you know.  (We had an unexpected glitch that held things up)

Wishing you and yours a wonderful Christmas season!  I"m going to be slowing down a bit and hoping to enjoy time with family over the next few weeks!

Random Five Friday...

Here it is already...only five days before Christmas.  How did that happen?

How about some random thoughts from our week...

1.  This year...for the first time in twenty years, we didn't do Christmas cards. This is as close as we got...a picture on the porch a few days ago after the Amish School Christmas Party, but we're missing a couple of important family members, so I guess we just won't send any.  Somehow I just don't like that, but there's only so much we can do...

2.  I was invited to two cookie swaps in the past couple of weeks, and I'm wondering where all the cookies went?!

3.  I began some gift baking today.  The house smells really good with fresh from the oven Cranberry Nut Bread, and there's some Buckeye Bark cooling in the fridge.  No calories included.  I found these fun little bread bakers at a craft store for $1.00 each, and I think they'll make nice gifts!

Here's the recipe...

Cranberry Nut Bread

2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

Sift together in bowl and mix thoroughly

1 egg, well beaten
3/4 cup orange juice
1 Tbsp grated orange rind
1/4 cup vegetable oil

Combine, then stir into flour mixture just until moistened

1 cup chopped cranberries
1/2 cup chopped nuts

Fold in

Pour into a greased 9 x 5 loaf pan and bake at 350 * for 45- 50 minutes


4.  It's been a regular maternity ward around here this past week.  We've had six cows/heifers freshen in the past ten days, with two more expected any day.

5.  The weather is no longer frightful.  We went from snow on the ground and temps in the teens over nights, to several days above freezing, with possible record highs this weekend, and rain. Sounds like our Christmas might be more muddy than white.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Linking to Random Five Friday

Amish School Christmas Program...

What a special treat we had today!

Our Amish neighbors invited us to their childrens' school Christmas program this afternoon.  This is the second time we've been able to attend...but this time at a different school.  There are Amish schools every few miles in our area, and we see the children walking to and from school every morning and afternoon. The school that is closest to our house is full, so some of the neighbor children ride the public school bus to another one about a mile away, and that is where we went today.

I wish so badly that I could have taken pictures inside...the children were so very cute...the boys wore black hats, bow ties and of course their suspenders for one of their funny songs, and even though we couldn't understand it (it was sung in PA Dutch) it was hilarious!  The little girls would come out and recite their poems as quickly as they could, often turning and walking off stage as they finished their lines.  The singing was nice...one of the children would start singing a verse and the others would follow.

Every available space was filled and the windows began to inch open as the hour went on.  Even though it's below freezing outside, if you pile over 100 people in a one room school, it gets a bit warm!

This is the progam they gave us...

This is the schoolhouse as we drove in the lane.  The van parked there is an Amish taxi, probably bringing several families who didn't want to hitch up their teams...or maybe Grandparents who didn't live close...

Yes, we see them every day, but there's something beautiful about Amish buggies in the snow.  The team is tied to the back stop that they use when they play baseball at recess...

This wagon brought the students from another school to the program.  We saw them go by as we were getting ready to go...

It was a privilege to be invited, and we are so glad we went.  The innocence of little children, and the sense of community is something to be held close.

Christmas Celebrations...

It's been a busy week of family celebrations...

We spent Christmas day with Jim's family.  As usual, we ate really, really well...and had a good time together.  I didn't have my camera along, so there are no pictures...but we enjoyed our time with family!

Today was my family's celebration.  We had a mid-morning brunch here at our house, minus one cousin.  As the cousins get older...with jobs and college...it's becoming harder to juggle the schedules to get everyone together in one place.  But we did it!  The missing cousin arrived around noon, and we had about three hours in the afternoon when all eighteen of us were together.

My parents...

the cousins...

My youngest nephew accompanied us on the piano as we sang some Christmas carols...

And much to the excitement of some, we had a few inches of wet "packy" snow today.  the young ones headed outside.

Mom (Grandma) watching the activity outside from the warm kitchen...

Putting on the finishing touches...

And then the guys headed out to play in the snow with the big toy.  My oldest nephew bought this four wheeler recently, and they had fun with it in the snow.  He has a Go-pro camera attached to his helmet...

Eric took a turn...

Late afternoon called for a round of Dutch Blitz...

We have one more extended family gathering tomorrow, and then our family celebrations are over for this year.  It's been a busy, but fun week of spending time with family!  It may get a little hectic, but we wouldn't want to miss out on any of it!

Making Christmas Memories...

No matter that it was warm and damp outside, today was a Christmas cookie baking marathon at my sister's house. Jenna and I, my sister and my niece, and my Mom spent the day together.  We each prepared several types of cookie batter ahead of time, and we baked today from 9 to 5!

The sugar cookies took a long time to decorate...

I saw these at a friend's house this week, so we tried them.  Dip these in your hot chocolate for a yummy treat...

Snickerdoodles...

...made from this recipe, written out by hand in my Grandma Herr's own handwriting!  She would be 113 if she were here today...

While the cookies baked this afternoon, we were serenaded by Mom playing the piano...

All finished!  We will be eating good...

...or perhaps rather, we will have cookies to share for quite a while!

Christmas Greenhouse...

Hidden away in the southern end of the county is a wonderful greenhouse that is a must visit for any of you who live in Lancaster County.

This morning my sister, my Mom and I visited Henrys' Greenhouses  just west of the Buck.  It was my first visit, and I was not disappointed!  They have retail hours several times a year...Christmas being a great time to go and stock up on beautiful flowers and great ideas!

We loved the original ideas that we saw.  There was so much to see before we even got inside!

This is the porch where you enter.  Check out what's growing on the roof over the porch...

I loved the old bicycle leaning on the post.  In the spring, my sister said the old ladder that you see hanging horizontally was filled with hanging baskets...

If you just happen to have some old stairs laying around, you might as well decorate them...

And I loved this old nesting box filled with green and swags...

Then we headed inside.

Make the seat of an old chair into a planter box filled with bulbs...I think these were "paper white" bulbs...

Unique ways to hang plants...

I have some old canning racks like this in the basement...what a creative idea!

This nesting wreath is unique.  It's a wreath form wrapped with wool...hang it out for the birds to pick at and have something soft to line their nests!

The hood of an old Farmall and an old gas can make nice decorations too...

And of course the highlight was seeing the tables full of beautiful poinsettias, in every color, style and size you could imagine...

These were my absolute favorite, so I bought a couple for myself...

And of course there were lots of the traditional reds...

We enjoyed ourselves immensely...

If you have the chance to visit, they're open until December 22nd...Monday-Friday, 9-5 and Saturdays, 8-12.  If you go, allow plenty of time for browsing, and don't forget your checkbook!  :)

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