And More Shopping

Yes . . . shopping the Saturday before Christmas. Somewhat dreaded, but in actuality--we had fun! To our credit we didn't have a lot to do. 

We just took a deep breath, shopped and took in all of the wonderful decorations. One of our local and nationally well known resorts, Grand Traverse Resort, not only had decorated, but held a gingerbread house contest. In pretty much any of the pix you see of these delectable domiciles everything is edible including the life size cottage with the train tracks curving out the front door! Within 20 feet of the display we could smell the ginger!

They had thousands of lights both inside and out. And, both Suttons Bay (our home town) and Traverse City did much the same. The Traverse City tree at the very end of this post was lit the first week in December. 

Well, we're happy to report that we're done! 
Andy

Last minute Holiday Shopping

I feel so fortunate to live in our small village, where last minute Holiday shopping is fun!

~Michele

Christmas Revelry

Before the blizzard hit us on Sunday, Michele and I had a great time taking in the holiday season on Saturday, the day before. A re-zoned, wonderfully re-developed area (Building 50 or The Village) had a Christmas walk earlier that day. 

We did some shopping, took in the trimmings, had a wonderful dinner (at Trattoria Stella or simply Stella's), and finished up with a music concert. (Luckily, Michele was able to rest a great deal in prep for this day--her immune system disorder severely limits her activity.) 

The concert included a friend of ours, Jim Hawley, who helped found "Peter, Paul and Mary Remembered". A very fun time was had by all!

Andy

BLIZZARD! w/ a Vid

Well, we were going to blog the fun time we had YESTERDAY, but this storm took precedence! 

We got at least a foot of snow and it keeps coming. In these shots, the snow drifts next to and around our house are anywhere from 2 to 3 feet deep. To be a blizzard, winds need to be at least 35 mph (56 km/h) and have 1,330 feet (400m) max of visibility. 

No, we did NOT go for a drive to "test" the visibility for ourselves. We took the weathermen's word for it, waited for a good break, cleared some snow and took these pix and vid. Again, the vid was during a break in the weather. Sometimes throughout the day we could not make out the rows of pine trees in the distance!

Glad we did not have to go out, yet sure hope our plow guy can make it . . . our drive-way is about a 1/4 mile long . . . whew. Stay warm!
Andy

Christmas in the Village: with REINDEER!!

Well, I guess we're sentimental. Drifting snow, "Christmas in the Village", and reindeer!

Very pretty, very Norman Rockwell-esque. 

And, one of the many cool stores, Enerdyne, held their annual "Antlers and Elves" event.

We always enjoy shopping this store and seeing these hooved creatures.

Happy Holidays,
Andy

Green Grocery Bag Challenge

For years my family has been wrapping our holiday gifts in cloth bags which we reuse each year. (I will do a post on those next week.) This year I heard about the Green Grocery Bag Challenge and decided to join in on the fun! To learn more about the challenge check out their facebook page "Green Grocery Bag Challenge." Or this link: "sewmamasew."

The pattern I used is from the book called "Simple Sewing." It's a great book, filled with quick and fun projects.

I'm adding a tag with Green Grocery Bag Challenge information to each tote.

Take a small step toward a greener holiday season this year,

~Michele

Baking

When I was young my Mom always made these Wedding Cake cookie look-a-likes for me, because I didn't like the nuts in the traditional ones. (To this day, I still don't like nuts in baked goods.)

Meltaways

1 C butter

1/2 C powdered sugar (plus extra for rolling)

1 t vanilla

1/4 t salt

2 1/4 C flour

Cream butter and sugar; add vanilla, salt and flour. Chill dough till firm. Preheat oven to 400. Use a melon ball scoop to scoop teaspoons of dough. Roll in to balls* and bake on shiny cookie sheet for 7 - 8 minutes; till set but not brown. Roll in powdered sugar while still warm.

Yield: 3 - 4 dozen

* You can also roll a couple chocolate chips in the center if desired.

Take a break, have a cup of tea and a cookie; enjoy the season.

~Michele