The Kindness Box

My fav outdoor Christmas decorations - Reason for the Season

Yesterday my almost 9 yoa grand-angel Miss M pondered what to give Santa for a present. And here is what I had told her, I said the absolute best present you can give Ole St. Nick is a year’s worth of kindness. More on that in a bit ….

Christmas Letter 2019

Dear Friends,

As I write a Christmas/New Year letter, it’s been a good year.  As I look out the window, it is snowing…..finally.  With that coat of fluffy white stuff, it just makes this girl’s world a bit more magical.  

When the Stars Line Up

When the stars line up and you have one of the best week-ends with your special person, you wonder can life get any better than this? 

Molasses Gingerbread Cinnamon Rolls

 

My Christmas decorating came to a sudden halt this afternoon after I took a short break and saw this recipe posted by an FB friend and author, Eliza Cross. The recipe was posted on Eliza's FB page and after looking at it, I literally dropped everything I was doing and made them.(Printable Recipe on OMG page)

Happy Times Past and Present

I just love this picture as Rod was dragging home a perfect tree

Hello friends,

The urge to write overpowered my desire to finish up decorating the house for Christmas.  I chalk it up to long ago happy memories that swirl around my brain as I acknowledged the passing of my beloved step dad on this day eight years ago. He may be gone, but the heart never forgets.

Fall + Baking + Gluten/Dairy Free - Yummm

Cranberry pumpkin chocolate cake

Fall baking, it just can’t get any better and it’s  been a baking marathon for me.  For those who have allergies yet want to enjoy some delicious treats for Thanksgiving, I wanted to share some wonderful items for those who have food allergies.  

Cozy Sunday

There is something incredibly cozy on a cold rainy Sunday afternoon where the kitchen beckons to whip up something.  My plan was to hang home and start decorating for Christmas, but when you get a message that your daughter and kiddos miss you, well…… it spurs you to finish up in the kitchen and go hug on those grand-angels and their momma.

So from this gal’s kitchen, I wanted to share a quick update on some recipes. First I wanted to try a new recipe - Pickled Cranberries” and an old  recipe for the best Snack Mix ever. 

November Thoughts, Grateful

Oh November, just the mention of the month and my mind registers on one word…. grateful.  It’s a beautiful concept and of course, I am thankful for the good in my life, but the weird thing is I am more grateful for all the hard lessons and dissatisfaction of situations that forced me out of my comfort zone and to have to take action.

Honoring the Past Helps with Living in the Present

Early morning sky.  Just like life's journey, after the darkness there will be light

It’s weird how the body remembers trauma.  Our mind may forget or our memory may slightly become blurry in time, but the body remembers.  This week has been more mentally and physically fatiguing than normal.  I was wondering why as the workday chaos wasn’t really anything out of the norm.  I was tired, but weirdly I wasn’t sleeping as well as I could.  My house was quiet and there were no distractions of grand-angels hanging out. 

Family+Love=Summer Sweetness

A couple nights ago, I BLISSFULLY ENJOYED DINNER OUTSIDE and soaked up the warmth of the fading sun.   I checked my urge to work at my front door and let myself  keep the mindset of being on vacation mode after having just gotten back from the coast. After the sun set, and darkness forced me into the house, the scent of ripe peaches that I had picked the day before spurred me into action to do something with them and pronto! So I made my first batch of peach-butter, canned peaches and made two peach pies.  Yummm.