EVERYDAY MOMENTS....

It's been really cold, so the days that the sun shines into the house are golden!

The animals love it, I love it. There is nothing like sitting in a big chair and letting

the bright sun warm our bones as we read or doze a bit.

The colors around us are awesome...Thanksgiving is nearly here

and we have so much to be grateful for. I love to gather my thoughts

at this time of year, realizing all that I have to be grateful for. I could

go on and on with so many blessings large and small, I know that I am

so very blessed...and I am so eternally grateful for my many blessings.

I bought this sweet picture at a thrift type store the other day.

I know it's quite old by what is printed on the back..just love it!

Two of my grand daughters came for a visit the other day.

We had so much fun snuggled up under warm blankies
watching, "Little Women", and then before bed they
wanted me to read them stories.

The next day they played Twister and grandma purposely gives
them very hard moves to do...making it more fun for them and

me!

The next morning we decided that we wanted to make some

apple pies. So they were my peelers and they did it so fast!

They sure are cutie-kins! We talked all about recipes and cooking,
and a zillion other things that grand daughters and grandmas share.

They helped me do everything and they did a great job of it too.

And look what they did...great little cooks both of them!

Yummy! We could hardly wait to cut this up and help

ourselves to some nice hot apple pie and ice cream.
~~~~~

"Best Pie Crust Ever"

6 T. butter, softened
1/2 cup (4 oz.) Cream cheese, softened
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2-3 T ice water

Place butter and cream cheese in a small bowl; mix well.
Form into a log and wrap in waxed paper. Refrigerate until
firm, about 3 hours, or overnight.

Working quickly; cut the roll into small pieces. In a food processor, (or with a
pastry blender)
pulse flour and salt for 10 seconds. Add the butter/cream cheese cubes
and pulse until coarse crumbs form, about 10 seconds.

With the food processor running, add enough of the water slowly, through the
top opening until dough holds together in a ball without being sticky,
about 20-30 seconds.

Place dough on a lightly floured surface. Using a rolling pin, roll out dough
beginning at the center and pushing it toward the edges. Before the dough
is completely rolled out, dust the top with flour and flip so that it doesn't
stick to your surface. If the edges crack a bit, just pinch them back together
and roll over them lightly with the rolling pin.

Roll dough to about 2" larger than the size of your pie plate. Fold dough in
half and carefully transfer it from your surface into a 9" glass pie plate.
Unfold the dough and form it lightly into the pie plate without stretching it;
you should have rough edges hanging over the pie plate all around.

Run a knife around the outer edge to trim off the rough edges. (Use the
trimmed pieces for pie crust snacks) Dust the bottom of crust lightly with
flour to help seal it from absorbing the liquid filling before it is baked.

Shape your edges in a pretty shapes...scalloped, edged, crimped.
Place your crust in the fridge while you assemble the filling.

~Every kitchen should have home made goodies sitting on the counter~
It just makes the kitchen twice as warm and welcoming.

The next day a storm blew in...and I do mean BLEW!

It was so windy and cold as it brought in snow to Utah.

I could hardly see our entry gate but it was kind of fun to just

sit in a big chair under a warm blanket and watch the storm do

it's thing while we were all toasty warm inside.

~I liked this scene on the back deck~

Looks like little Ella has taken over her big brothers

cowboy boots...they are so very cute on her!

What a handsome boy our grandson

Caleb is..we sure do love, love him!

This is my little sister Marty with one of her grand children.

Marty lives in Alaska so I don't get to see her very much...

I sure do miss her! I have always adored her and thought that

she is so beautiful. She has a wonderful family too..love ya sis!

Hannah and Gavin...sweet kids!

And little Sophia sitting in her bumba chair and growing

up so fast and so sweet too! Yes, life is good, so good! Full

of family and the many blessings that family brings.

I just wanted to express my love to each of you, and so I am

sending out all my love and best wishes for a very, very

~HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO YOU AND YOURS~

FRIENDSHIP AND GOODIES...

" Reflections "

If you walk as a friend,
you will find a friend,
Wherever you choose to fare,
If you go with mirth
to a far strange land
You will find that mirth is there,
For the oddest part
of this strange old world
Is that like will join with like;
And who walks with love
for his fellow man,
An answering love will strike.

For each of us builds
the world he knows,
Which only himself can spoil,
And an hour of hate
or an hour of shame,
Can ruin a life of toil,
And though to the utmost
ends of the earth
Your duty may bid you fare,
If you go with truth
and a friendly heart,
You will find friends waiting there.
(Author unknown)

This picture of the kids above, reminds me of the year
5 of our grands were born...one boy and 4 girls!

" Velvety Pumpkin Soup "

In a 4 quart sauce pot, melt 2 T. butter at med. heat.
Add: 1 shallot, finely chopped, cook 30 seconds, stirring.
Add: 1/2 tsp. cumin, cook 1 minute, stirring.
Add:
1 can (15oz.) pumpkin
2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup water

Cover and heat on high, to boiling.
Stir in 1/2 tsp. of salt
Serve with roasted pumpkin seeds
on top as a garnish.
(Serves about 4)

" Pumpkin Cinnamon Muffins "

Preheat oven to 400'
Line 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners.

In a large bowl, stir together;

1 box (14 to 15 oz.)
Apple Cinnamon Muffin Mix.
1 cup pumpkin
2 large eggs
1/4 cup milk
2 T. oil
Add chocolate chips
Mix all together.

Divide batter among muffin cups.
Bake 18-20 minutes
Cool on a wire rack

I don't know about you my friends but I have been loving
everything made from pumpkin! I keep making pumpkin
cookies and am loving these too...I hope you will have fun
making them too.
~~~~~

Sending all my love to each of you...thank you so much for
your kind friendship to me. I so enjoy visiting your blogs and
your visits here. I hope everyone has caught the spirit of this
wonderful time of year and that you are enjoying every moment
of it all. Love and hugs to everyone!

OUR ANNIVERSARY WEEKEND...

The entrance into our home and property... "Circle Cliff"

on a beautiful sunny but snowy veteran's day.

Our home with a back ground of red rock and new snow.

The red rock mountains behind our home,

I love the white snow on the red rock!

It was such a beautiful and sunny day...I went for

a walk and then stayed out... enjoying all the beauty.

Sorry, my bed's not made here...but this is the reason

I don't want to get up in the morning. Ron brought this

down-filled comforter home from a trip he took to Austria.

It is SO warm and cozy! Within about a minute of climbing

under it I am so toasty-warm and I have been sleeping like a

baby under it. It sure feels good since the weather has turned cold!

When we were on our vacation this last month to Nauvoo Il.

I bought this and had it sent to me. It's a tall glass beehive

cake dome. I just love it and it's very special to me because of our
wonderful trip to Nauvoo. Some are ceramic but this one is metal.

And this delight is what I have under the glass.

This past weekend was our wedding anniversary...so we took

a weekend trip up to Provo,Ut. The mountains there are so tall

and beautiful. The tops were covered with new snow...this is

the "Y"... for BYU .

A little part of the beautiful Wasatch mountain range...
the Utah ski resorts opened today too...come on people,
it's the greatest snow on earth!

The mountains up above BYU. I love living by mountains, I

really miss them when I travel to places with no mountains,
It's just feels safe to me, to be surrounded by them.

We stayed at a pretty place, and

at night it was all lite up with lights.

It reminded me of some place in England...

I loved the climbing vines so beautiful in

their Autumn colors.

It had a beautiful fireplace that
was fun to snuggle up next to.

I thought as I took this picture...
"This looks unreal..like a picture
from a story book."

It was beautiful...all dressed up in Fall colors!
The temps were cold and I could just feel...
Fall, turning the corner into Winter.


(I went in and got my film developed and then
deleted all the pictures on my camera, then I
realized that I would need some of them to
load so I could put this post on...so I took
pictures of my developed pictures to get these!
But it worked out ok)

~~~~~

We went to the first day of an art exhibition at BYU. It is a
art exhibition of the Danish painter, Carl Heinrich Bloch's
work. These gorgeous paintings are 200 years old! It was
so moving to stand as close as we wanted, and look deeply
into this man's great art work!

This great painter has been recognized and beloved by
our church worldwide. Since 1955, our church began featuring
Bloch's paintings on the life of Christ in our church magazines,
on the walls of our temples, meetinghouses and visitors' centers
throughout the church. Our church has come to identify Bloch as
one of the defining artists of the Savior Jesus Christ.

To celebrate his works and his artistic connection to our church,
the Brigham Young University's Museum of Art has unveiled an
exhibit dedicated to this artist's Christ-themed works.

It features
over 250 paintings and 78 etchings, including five large alter
paintings on loan from our Lutheran friends from Denmark and
Sweden.

After a decade of negotiations between the BYU museum and
churches in Scandinavia, dozens of Bloch's great works are being seen
together for the first time during this BYU exhibit.

We really appreciated this artist, he was a man who loved the Savior.
He was a father of eight children who loved his wife and family. And
it was a joy and a blessing to observe deeply his beautiful art work.


You may recognize some of his work...enjoy.

" Healing at the Pool of Bethesda "

" Christ and Child "

" Casting Out Satan "

" Christ and the Children "

" The Doubting Thomas "

" Gethsemane "

It was awesome to stand close enough to see the
little tiny cracks in these 200 year old paintings.

We had so much fun for our anniversary...
eating out, shopping, the art exhibit and
the sunny but cold day.

So now, on we go with
another year of marriage...I wonder what
this year will hold for us...I hope it will be
another good year!

( These Photo's from the Hope Gallery)

"TODAY...WINTER CAME TO MY HOUSE"

As of this morning... I can say...Winter is here!

I was at the high school this morning to be a judge
for the Harvest/FFA week. There was not one bit
of snow when I went in and when I came out, my car
was buried in snow! It was quite a shock to be sure!

It's really quite beautiful and it really puts me in the mood
for Christmas! It was fun to be out in it, cleaning off my car
and going for groceries etc. but now it feels so good to be in
the house and warming up by a roaring fire.

So, Happy Winter Day to all....Is it winter where you are yet?

We gathered together the other night, to visit and

share goodies, this is my daughter Lisa with Sophia.

And Brickelle with her cousin Sophia...

And Brody with his cousin Sophia...

Some of the grands playing a game...

and look at those two in the back....

so into the football game!

And our son Shane holding Sophia...

I think she is a pretty popular little

gal when we all get together! Everyone

wants to hug and love and squeeze her.

Have you seen these? A very easy and fun little cookie to make and share.

" RITZ CRACKER COOKIES "

Spread creamy peanut butter (or Nutella) between 2 Ritz crackers.

Melt white or dark chocolate (chips or bark) in the microwave, stirring
after every minute until all melted. If desired, add 1 tsp. Vanilla.

Dip each sandwich, with a fork, let it drip off. Set on wax paper.
When cookie sheet is full, set it in the freezer for 5 minutes.

Then decorate each cookie with the opposite color chocolate,
or with any color sprinkles, or toffee chips, or nuts.

(You can also just buy the mini peanut butter and Ritz crackers
and just dip them in melted chocolate.... great snaking!)

And they are SO good!

" DATES AND NUTS RITZ CRACKER COOKIES "

Combine and cook over med./low heat:

1 cup chopped dates (I used boxed)
1 cup Eagle Brand condensed milk

When it starts to get hot, it will
thicken pretty fast, 12 min.

Add:
1/2 cup chopped pecans.
Cool all of this a bit.

Spread onto Ritz crackers..
place them on a cookie sheet.

Bake for 8-10 minutes at 325'
Just so it sticks to the cracker.
Cool and Ice them.

"Icing"

4 oz. Cream Cheese
1/4 cup butter
1/2 tsp. Vanilla
2 cups Powdered sugar
Use a bit of milk if needed
to thin, if desired.

You can
decorate with some chopped
pecans and maraschino cherries.

These are really good too, bet you can't eat just one!

I hope you can use these easy cookies for the up coming holidays.
~~~

Sending out my best wishes for great holidays to come...and I hope
you get some snow too...it's a lot of fun!