I Heard A Bird Sing

I love this little poem.
The words are just as true in January as December.

I heard a bird sing

In the dark of December.

A magical thing

And sweet to remember.

"We are nearer to Spring

Than we were in September,"

I heard a bird sing

In the dark of December.

–Oliver Herford (1863–1935)

The robins, cardinals, jays, doves and sparrows have been busy singing.
Thanking me for putting extra food out for them on these cold days.

I thought the cold winter days could use a little cheer.
Cassie helping me with this little still life,
Yellow is such a happy color!

Meanwhile, my tree is still up.
It's hard to take it down.
It's so pretty and twinkly -- everyone needs more twinkly!

The snowmen will have a place of honor throughout the month of January.
It is winter -- even on the Gulf Coast.

Wishing YOU well and much joy in this new year!

Make It Pretty Monday

Keep In Touch

Share Your Cup Thursday

Willy Nilly Friday

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The Last Month of the Year

"Of all the months of the year

there is not a month one-half so welcome to the young,

or so full of happy associations, 

as the last month of the year...." 

 "All the Year Round: December"

All the Year Round: A Weekly Journal Conducted by

Charles Dickens, 1887 December 10th.

*

I am hoping our 80 degree temperatures are over,

but I'm not willing to place a bet!

Today the high is expected to be 68

and by the weekend highs will be in the 50s.

On the Texas Gulf Coast -- that means sweater weather!

It also means:

Oatmeal in the mornings

Slipper socks to keep the feet warm

Gloves for my morning walk

Hot chocolate several times during the day

and soup making!

*

Today I'm making Turkey Vegetable Soup.
Have to use up the turkey and stock from Thanksgiving.

The recipe is from one of my favorite cookbooks:

CAMPBELL'S GREAT AMERICAN COOKBOOK. 
Amazon does have used copies.
I use this cookbook a lot.
I like all the "home" style cooking and stories that are included
and not a can of soup anywhere! 


TURKEY-VEGETABLE SOUP


"Today's improved transportation and preservations techniques
make it possible to have virtually any combination of vegetables
available any time of year in almost every part of the country.
Enjoy this turkey soup with its spring peas and summer tomatoes
during any season."  

(We've come a long way, baby!)

Makes 6 servings

1 tablespoon butter or margarine
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium carrot, sliced
(I love carrots so I always put extra.)
1/2 cup slice celery
1/4 teaspoon thyme leaves, crushed
5 cups chicken or turky broth
1 can (8 ounces) tomatoes, cut up
1/2 cup fresh or frozen peas
1/2 cup diced yellow squash
1 cup diced cooked turkey
1/4 cup raw regular rice

1. In 5-quart Dutch oven over medium-high heat, in hot butter, cook onion, carrot, celery and thyme until just tender, stirring occasionally.

2.   Stir in broth, tomatoes, peas, squash and turkey. Over high heat, heat to boiling. Reduce heat to low. Cover, simmer 20 minutes.

3.  Add rice. Cover; simmer 20 minutes more or until rice is tender.    

I hardly ever make a recipe as it is written.
In this case, I used olive oil instead of butter.
I didn't have squash, so I added more peas and corn
and brown rice instead of "regular" white rice.
Sometimes I add a pinch of green or red chili powder ... in this case red!
           

Some soup with sugar cookies for later.
Snowman cookies on the list to make when these are all gone.

*


Speaking of snowmen --

I like snowmen.
They can stay out when the holidays are over.
And, they make me smile. 

*

Oliver is ready for Christmas.
He wore his fancy new collar for all of three minutes.

 

This will be Oliver's first Christmas.
I've decided when I put the tree up to use the unbreakable ornaments.
Oliver is a climber! 







Wishing YOU well and much joy!

Five On Friday

Willy Nilly Friday

Mosaic Monday

Monday Social

Snowmen take over!

I celebrate the Christmas holidays through Epiphany.
I did take down the snowman and Santa Claus from the balcony.

I left the lights and garland around the balcony door.

Talking with my next door neighbor, we decided things will look very dull and drab when all the lights are down. 

Perhaps we should leave them up a little longer.

After all, it is winter! 

It's cloudy, rainy and cold (for here).

Some sparkly lights will make us feel better.

Right?

***

My Christmas cactus started blooming before Christmas.

Almost waited too long to take a photo.

Snowmen will take over the indoor decorations for the month of January.

***

I really like English Muffins.

THOMAS bakeries makes a special edition English Muffin for the holidays -- Cranberry.

I bought extra packages this year and froze them.

You never know when I might need a special edition treat! 

Hope your New Year (sweet 16) is off to a good start.

I'm joining Kim at

Wishing YOU well and much joy!

Day 3 of Snow People!

I'm sharing more Snow People that I found around town.

A big thank you to our hostesses:

Mary for Mosaic Monday

and 

The Tablescaper for Seasonal Sunday.

Wishing you WELL and a JOY filled week!

More Snow People

I LOVE Snow People.

So, I decided to continue the post from Friday

with some Snow People from Pinterest.

A Cheese Ball Snowman

Source: lessthanperfectlifeofbliss.blogspot.com via Snap on Pinterest

Snowmen from a Handprint

Source: littlebitfunky.com via Snap on Pinterest

A little burlap and some felt and a happy snowman is made!

Source: giftideapros.com via Snap on Pinterest

That's quite a nose my friend and who's that in your hat?

Source: flickr.com via Snap on Pinterest

Clay!

/9*

Source: flickr.com via Snap on Pinterest

How about a Snowman Christmas Tree?!!!

 

Source: bhg.com via

A big thank you to Natasha for hosting:

Wishing YOU well and a JOY filled weekend!

Snow People

More postcards published by Darling and Company, Seattle.

"It is hard to imagine a winter without snow creatures, but Bob Eckstein, in his History of the Snowman, can find no proof of their existence before the Middle Ages. They make their first appearance in the 16th-century, travel to Colonial America with its abundance of snow, flourish in 18th-century Northern Europe and Russia, and, like so many other whimsical and ephemeral creative pursuits, bloom in the Victorian era. Sadly, the middle and late 20th-century see the advent of artificial snowmen,but technology gives, even as it takes away, and snow people are now being celebrated via the internet -- perhaps the perfect medium for these transients. The picturing of snow people flourished in the penny postcard era (1890 - 1920) when many thousands of Christmas postcards featured these merry creatures. The illustrators, not content with everyday static snowmen, showed them in a variety of activities - walking, playing, courting, spying, cooking, and even melting. Families of snow people were pictured as well as their snow companion animals. There are 30 postcards in this collection."

Gertrude Caspari was the artist for this snowman carrying his hat.

Caspari was a very important childrens' book illustrator in Germany.

She was known for her bright colors.

The original was published around 1911.

No artist, publisher or date are given for this charming postcard.

Even the tree is smiling and waving!

My thanks to Beth for hosting Postcard Friendship Friday.

Wishing YOU well and fun filled weekend!